(Clearwisdom.net) A Spanish judge recently indicted five high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials for their role in crimes of torture and genocide committed against Falun Gong practitioners. The officials include Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Bo Xilai, Jia Qinglin, and Wu Guanzheng. They have four to six weeks to reply to the charges, and could then face extradition if they travel to a country that has an extradition treaty with Spain. Human rights lawyer Carlos Iglesias said of the decision, "When one carries out the crime of genocide or torture, it is a crime against the international community as a whole and not only against Chinese citizens."
The Persecution of Falun Gong Is a Crime Against Humanity
In 1985, Spain passed a law enabling its courts to try individuals for genocide and crimes against humanity under the principle of universal jurisdiction. Universal jurisdiction asserts that regardless of the defendant's nationality, country of residence, or relationship to the country in which the trial is to be held, the nature of the crime, when it goes against commonly-held values of humanity and is especially heinous, gives jurisdiction to any country to hold that defendant accountable. Such crimes include genocide, terrorism, and piracy.
This indictment is based on persecution suffered by Falun Gong practitioners, which has been verified by multiple sources, including firsthand testimony, as well as official investigations.
When Jiang Zemin and his gang initiated and expanded the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners, its scope was not limited to physical abuse and deprivation of financial means. It focused on the Falun Gong practitioners' spiritual beliefs, including the fundamental principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," and placed in jeopardy all of humanity's views on morality. Jiang Zemin and his gang's crimes are not limited to genocide and torture of innocent people, but also amount to an assault on humanity's collective morality and value system.
Precedent Set with Chile's Pinochet
Former dictator of Chile Augusto Pinochet had considered himself above international trial after serving as Chile's head of state for more than ten years. When he sought medical treatment in 1998 in England, Pinochet certainly had no idea what awaited him. He underwent an operation in September of 1998, and in October of the same year, a Spanish judge issued a warrant for his arrest on the grounds of conspiracy to commit murder, torture, and conspiracy to commit torture. Pinochet was subsequently arrested, and Spain's actions received overwhelming support in the European Union.
Chile's government twice protested to England, claiming diplomatic immunity for Pinochet, as well as immunity as a former head of state. However, based on the severity of his crimes, British courts denied his claims of immunity. Although Pinochet was allowed to return to Chile eventually on medical grounds, this case set a groundbreaking precedent for the validity of universal jurisdiction.
Political Power Does Not Mean Immunity from Justice
Throughout Chinese history, it is a commonly accepted fact that good and evil actions will receive their due retribution, and that no one can escape justice forever. When Jiang and his gang executed the persecution against Falun Gong and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, they sealed their own fate. They may be able to escape human justice for a time, but they cannot escape heavenly justice forever, whichever form it may choose to take.
Jiang has tried all kinds of diplomatic, economic, and other maneuvers to escape justice over the past few years. This indictment by the Spanish court is a huge setback for Jiang and his gang, and is another sign that while the CCP may hold sway in China for now, it cannot escape justice forever. If the heads of the CCP cannot escape justice, then it certainly behooves those at lower levels of the CCP to reconsider their actions, as well, before it is too late. It is no small wonder then, that more and more people are awakening to the true face of the CCP and the persecution, and are turning away from committing these crimes, and instead withdrawing from the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and choosing a good future for themselves.
Category: Perspective
