(Clearwisdom.net) The story of Mr. Sun Changjun was recently published on the Clearwisdom website (http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/10/25/128976.html). The Changchun City Cable Television network was tapped into almost ten years ago, and five of the practitioners involved in this incident were tortured to death while in custody. Mr. Sun Changjun, then only 26, has been incarcerated in Jilin Prison for nine years. His condition was once critical, and now he needs to be rescued.
On March 5, 2002, Mr. Sun Changjun and other Falun Gong practitioners tapped into the Changchun City Cable TV network and broadcast two videos: “Self-immolation or Deception?” and “Falun Dafa around the World.” The documentaries stayed on the air for 40-50 minutes. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens watched as the truth of Falun Gong was explained. The Minghui website reported this as a feature article on the evening of March 6, 2002, and the BBC, Reuters, AFP (Agence France-Presse) also reported the story on March 7, 2002. The Reuters report said this incident was “one of Falun Gong's bravest acts.”
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used all of the state run media to slander Falun Gong during the persecution. The staged self-immolation incident was used to incite people's hatred. At the same time practitioners were not allowed to speak out. Given such restrictions, practitioners exercised their right to speak by tapping into cable television. The people had a right to know the truth. The practitioners paid a huge price when they spoke out truthfully. Their courage was admired and their suffering now needs our attention. Imprisoned practitioners are urgently in need of rescue.
The Weekly Standard published a long report authored by Ethan Gutmann, in part 12 of volume 16, on December 6, 2010, entitled “Into Thin Airwaves—How a few unknown Chinese heroes helped world freedom.” Mr. Gutmann is an adjunct fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. From a Westerner's viewpoint, he retold the moving story of tapping into the Changchun Cable Television. He believes the current, widely-used circumvention software, such as Dynamic, Noboundary, and Freegate, were developed as a result of the inspiration of these heroes. This incident sparked the push for information freedom.
Through their tremendous sacrifice, what were Mr. Sun Changjun and his fellow practitioners trying to tell the world? The titles of the documentaries help to give us some answers.
“Falun Dafa around the World” is the story of Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa. The founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi, introduced this cultivation practice in Changchun in 1992. In just a few years, the practice spread all over China and then overseas. People's illnesses improved, the exercises helped people keep fit, and the moral character of practitioners was deeply affected. After the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong openly on July 20, 1999, Falun Gong spread overseas to more than 100 countries and regions. The main book of Falun Gong, Zhuan Falun, has been translated into more than 30 languages.
Overseas and Chinese practitioners come from all walks of life. Overseas practitioners have the freedom to come and go as they like. They can obtain information, enjoy a normal life, and have families. They often join community activities and are welcomed by local folks. They are peaceful, rational, and have no political agenda. In Taiwan, there are several hundred thousand practitioners. They are an integral part of society and are never involved in Party conflicts during elections. Falun Gong practitioners can peacefully exist in any society and benefit the society. Falun Gong is only severely persecuted in mainland China.
“Self-immolation or Deception?” is a documentary about a fabricated, self-immolation incident. To defame Falun Gong, the CCP staged a self-immolation tragedy on Tiananmen Square on January 23, 2001. CCTV quickly broadcast a news report on television. Close up and distance images were shown, and clearly shouted slogans could be heard. But many flaws can be seen throughout this video. If the self-immolation incident was not staged, then how were the police able to access so many fire extinguishers and fire blankets so quickly? How was the CCTV able to record so many close-up shots as soon as the tragedy began? How were they able to record Wang Jindong shouting slogans so clearly? Wang's clothes were burned, but the Sprite bottle filled with gasoline sitting on his lap was untouched. These unanswered questions help to prove that this unfortunate incident was staged.
An officer waiting for Wang Jindong finish shouting his slogan to cover him with a blanket
The principles of Falun Gong clearly forbid killing or suicide. For the nine years before this incident, and the ten years after this incident, there has never been a similar event in China or overseas involving Falun Gong. A journalist with the Washington Post went to Kaifeng City, Henan Province, the hometown of Liu Chunling, one of the victims from that day. Her neighbors told him that they never saw Ms. Liu practicing Falun Gong. She worked in a bar and was known to have beaten her foster mother. She was not a practitioner of Falun Gong.
Mr. Sun Changjun and fellow practitioners have been tortured in prison and some of them have been tortured to death. This is an example of how hard it is to speak the truth under the CCP regime. Let us remember that Mr. Sun Changjun and so many other practitioners continue to suffer in prison. Please stand up and condemn the persecution and stop the killing.
Category: Perspective
