(Minghui.org) Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), singlehandedly started the persecution of Falun Gong 16 years ago.
Under his personal direction, the CCP established a Party-based security organization, the 610 Office, on June 10, 1999. It is an extralegal organization that overrides the law to execute Jiang's three-pronged policy regarding Falun Gong: ruin their reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.
So far, more than 3,800 practitioners have died as a result of the persecution and hundreds of thousands have been detained and tortured in prisons, labor camps, and detention centers. Human rights researchers estimate that at least 64,000 practitioners have been killed and their organs harvested for transplants, a practice sanctioned by the government.
Seeking justice over this wrongful persecution that has been disastrous for the entire Chinese nation, Falun Gong practitioners outside of China have sued Jiang in more than 30 countries since 2001.
Now, in China itself, a new wave of lawsuits against Jiang is on the rise.
These lawsuits are of paramount significance in modern history, both in terms of the severity of the persecution and Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful response and pursuit of justice.
I would like to share some of my understandings about the significance of bringing Jiang to justice.
Restoring the Reputation of Falun Gong and Its Teacher
Falun Gong was known for its enormous health benefits and its emphasis on personal morality. To justify the persecution, Jiang and the CCP spread anti-Falun Gong propaganda in China and abroad, demonizing the practice, its teacher, and its practitioners.
Those who weren't familiar with Falun Gong were deceived by the propaganda and thought of the practice as dangerous and evil.
The lawsuits against Jiang will give those deceived by the propaganda a chance to see Falun Gong in a new light. The reputation of the practice and its teacher will be restored. Once people truly understand what Falun Gong is, they will have a better chance to benefit from it.
Seeking Justice for Practitioners
To force the practitioners to give up their beliefs, Jiang ordered the 610 Office to torture them in every way imaginable, including beatings, electric shock, rape, injection of drugs that damage the nervous system, among others. Many practitioners died as a result, many became disabled, and many were driven insane.
Jiang turned the judges and prosecutors within the CCP-controlled judicial system into his puppets, directing them to sentence practitioners based on groundless charges.
As more and more human rights lawyers have stepped up to defend Falun Gong practitioners in recent years, they too have become targets of the CCP, which is trying every means possible to prevent them from their defending their clients.
The lawsuits against Jiang are an effort to secure justice for the practitioners and to uphold the law.
Ending the Persecution
By suing Jiang, his crimes against humanity, which have been hidden from the general public for 16 years, will be exposed to the light of day. That will encourage more people to speak up for Falun Gong, once they understand the facts about the persecution. This will eventually bring the persecution to an end.
For those who still hold illusions about the CCP, the lawsuits will help them see its true face, and that its claim of “governing the country according to law” is just an empty promise used by the CCP to fool the public.
A Warning for the Perpetrators
Suing Jiang Zemin also serves as a warning for those who have participated in the persecution. Whatever their positions, low or high, they will be held accountable. Their only hope is to stop their wrongdoing and make up for whatever losses they have caused.
A Courageous Example for Humankind
The brutal state-run persecution hasn't deterred Falun Gong practitioners. For 16 years, with compassion and perseverance, they have worked to inform the world about the persecution.
Guided by Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, Falun Gong practitioners are a courageous example of how to use peaceful means in the face of tyranny and unreasonable persecution.
