(Minghui.org) Ren Changxia was recognized as a “national model” by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for persecuting Falun Gong during her term as chief of police in Dengfeng City, Henan Province. On April 13, 2004, she was killed in a car accident at the age of 40. Although she was seated in a safer rear seat, she died while no one else in the vehicle was injured.
This left Ren’s coworkers and acquaintances wondering about her unusual death. For those who knew about Ren’s active role in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, many linked it to a well-known Chinese saying:“Good deeds will be rewarded, while evildoing will be met with karmic retribution.”
Ren's younger sister, despite her grief, said more explicitly, “I didn't believe in retribution; now I know it is real.”
For quite a long time after the accident, few persecution cases occurred in that city.
Consequences of Committing Bad Deeds
Numerous cases like Ren's have occurred in the past several years.
The persecution of Falun Gong is believed to have been triggered by the arrest of a group of practitioners by the Tianjin City police in April 1999. Song Pingshun, then Tianjin police chief, as well as head of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), played a critical role throughout the process. Song committed suicide in June 2007 after the he was targeted for investigation by the CCP. His death shocked many people, because it was the first reported minister-level suicide since the Cultural Revolution.
Considered one of the most lethal and widely publicized defamations against Falun Gong, the staged Tiananmen Square self-immolation in early 2001 came at a critical moment. At that point, the 18-month-long persecution had failed to eradicate Falun Gong, contrary to what Jiang Zemin, the then head of CCP, had planned. Rather, the atrocity and illegitimacy led to increasing dissatisfaction among the general public.
The self-immolation hoax quickly changed the situation, fueling a new wave of hate propaganda and pushing the nationwide “crackdown” to new levels. Chen Meng, producer of the propaganda piece broadcast constantly by state-run TV, died of stomach cancer at the age of 47.
Another example was Luo Jing, a well-known news anchor at Chinese Central Television (CCTV), the CCP's main mouthpiece. Ever since the persecution started in July 1999, he had broadcast dozens of news pieces that defamed Falun Gong to nationwide viewers.
Luo died at age of 48, also because of cancer. According to a nurse working in the hospital, Luo's mouth had completely deteriorated inside and he could hardly eat or take pills. He even asked to stop therapy due to the severe pain.
Minghui has reported at least 433 cases of people who faced serious consequences after persecuting Falun Gong. Among them, 194 died of illness or accidents. Seventy-two were hospitalized due to fatal illness, and fifty-seven were investigated for corruption or imprisoned. Seventy-two family members were affected and died. Due to news censorship and information blockage, the actual numbers are likely much higher than what has been published on Minghui.
Among the various agencies involved, the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), a committee that directly supervises the persecution of Falun Gong alongside the 610 Office, was hit the hardest.
Within three months after CCP’s 18th Congress, at least 400 people at various levels of the organization were investigated or arrested. Twelve high-level officers committed suicide.
The list of fallen CCP officials includes high-profile people such as Wang Lijun (former Chongqing City police chief, arrested and sentenced), Bo Xilai (former Central Politburo member and Chongqing City Communist Party Secretary, arrested and sentenced), Li Dongsheng (610 Office head, arrested), and Zhou Yongkang (former head of PLAC and member of Politburo Standing Committee, reportedly under house arrest).
Normally Respectful Professions Become Disgraceful and Dangerous
Although from various backgrounds, everyone mentioned above have one thing in common: actively participating in the persecution against Falun Gong.
When the persecution started in 1999, a group of key government agencies began to collaborate, forming a core network for the massive persecution campaign against Falun Gong. They include: police (spying on and arresting practitioners), Procuratorial Office (bringing practitioners to court), court (illegal sentencing), justice bureau (originally an auditing agency, now a tool to secure the persecution).
Shenyang City Justice Bureau director Han Guangsheng once told overseas reporters that these four agencies are the main components of the persecution network directed by 610 Office. This network has a special authority that supersedes other government agencies—often above the law, driving the nationwide persecution deeper and broader.
In a normal society, these professions, along with people working in them, are highly respected for their role of maintaining social order and upholding justice. Unfortunately, the same system, once manipulated, can be transformed into a powerful machine that harms innocent citizens, causing far-reaching damage to individuals as well as the entire nation.
Numerous recent reports from Minghui highlighted how these departments worked together to maximize its effect in suppressing Falun Gong. Physical detention is only one aspect of the persecution. By ransacking practitioners' homes and confiscating personal property, these agencies deepen the wounds of physical suffering through financial and mental persecution. While detained and tortured, practitioners are also forced to watch brainwashing videos and do physical labor. This creates an environment in which giving up one’s belief is the only way out; all other options are dead ends or even harsher retaliation.
Very often, prison hospitals and mental hospitals also come into play, followed by news media propaganda. After driving practitioners to mental collapse with the use of nerve-damaging drugs, they fabricate stories to defame Falun Gong, claiming that these practitioners went insane because of their belief.
Perpetrators Are Also Victims of the Persecution
Although practitioners have suffered tremendously during the persecution, those who are made to carry it out will suffer the consequences. Deceived and manipulated into giving their lives away, they are the most pitiful victims of the CCP.
Adolf Eichmann, one of the major war criminals during the Holocaust, oversaw the deportation and mass murder of Hungarian Jews. Although he was responsible for the deaths of millions of Jews, he appeared rather ordinary. With 15 criminal charges, he was sentenced to death and executed in May 1962.
Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal said, “The world now understands the concept of 'desk murderer.' We know that one doesn't need to be fanatical, sadistic, or mentally ill to murder millions; that it is enough to be a loyal follower eager to do one's duty.”
Similarly things are now happening in China as tens of millions of people are forced to give up the practice which brought them health and spiritual well-being. The physical, mental and financial loss—for both them and their families—is beyond description.
When Chen Meng visited the U.S. in 2001, the same year that he produced the slanderous program on the Tiananmen Square self-immolation, he said in a symposium, “I will work for whoever pays me money, even die for him.”
Unfortunately, many people in China are following in the footsteps of Adolf Eichmann and Chen Meng. In accordance with the laws of heaven, they too will be held accountable for their actions and will face serious consequences.
