On a sweltering Monday afternoon, three ordinary people gathered for an extraordinary purpose—to bring former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of China Jiang Zemin to justice.
They held Jiang accountable for his role as the mastermind behind the massive persecution and genocide of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Ms Pan, Mr Zhang and Ms Wang are among tens of millions who have suffered immensely for their spiritual beliefs. After 16 years of persecution, they and many other fellow victims have come forth to seek justice by filing criminal complaints against Jiang at China’s Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate.
To date, at least 166,579 other complaints have been filed against Jiang for a multitude of alleged crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity.
Undaunted by Adversity
What Jiang Zemin has committed is so horrific that the word ‘evil’ is no longer sufficient to describe him.
– Falun Gong practitioner, Ms Pan
Ms Pan, a young lady from Shandong Province, comes from a family where everyone practises Falun Gong. She spoke softly and gently, yet with dignity and force.
“During summer holidays, my father was forced to shut down his humble business and attend “study sessions” at a labour camp,” Pan recounted. “He was not allowed to sleep at night and had to watch brainwashing videos repeatedly.”
“In 2005, my father was detained. He never told us what happened during his detention, but when he was finally released, he was so skinny that we couldn’t bear to look at him.”
But for Pan, the most remarkable memory was the loss of her home.
“After repeated harassments and raids on our house, our family decided to move. It was 11pm on a cold winter night. I asked my grandmother if she wanted to leave. We knew it was a difficult decision as this was her ancestral home, where she had lived all her life.”
Her response surprised all of us. She packed up her belongings in a bundle and simply said, “Let’s go”. She did not hesitate because she knew that Falun Gong was good, after seeing its effects on my father’s health and character.
“That night, we left everything behind. The feeling was … heartbreaking. When we finally found a place to stay, there was nothing inside, not even a bed. We huddled together and cried. We felt great injustice from having to endure all these simply because of our belief in Falun Gong.”
Pan’s father passed away in 2013 at the age of 52 years old. She and her family lodged criminal complaints against Jiang in June this year, a risky move for her and her family as the judicial system is frequently rigged to support the persecution. Yet, Ms Pan and her family are undaunted.
Ms Pan said confidently, “I do this because of what is right. There is nothing wrong with practising Falun Gong. There is nothing wrong with believing in Zhen (truthfulness), Shan (compassion), Ren (forbearance).”
“What Jiang Zemin has committed is so horrific that the word ‘evil’ is no longer sufficient to describe him. They cut open these good people’s hearts and livers and sell them for black money on the global market. They make plastinated models out of the victims’ bodies and put them on show. He is just like a devil. In fact, he is the devil.”
“I feel that our criminal complaints against Jiang will definitely succeed. The good will definitely prevail,” Ms Pan said.
Facing Injustice With a Laugh
The second interviewee, Mr Zhang, is a dark and scrawny man in his early 30s with a face that always seems ready to break into a smile. Zhang was persecuted for practising Falun Gong while he was still a university student.
He recounted, “When I went into the detention centre, the first thing I received was a round of thrashing. They asked while hitting me, ‘What did you learn in Falun Gong?’”
“I replied, ‘My teacher taught me not to hit back when someone hits me, and not to swear back when someone swears at me.’ That was an easy thing to say!” Zhang said with a laugh.
Zhang was subsequently sent to a prison. “I had to sit very still every day, or I would get beaten whenever I moved. We were given one meal a day which consisted of vegetable soup mixed with mud inside and a hard and mouldy bun. Well, it wasn’t always mouldy; sometimes, it was okay,” Zhang said with a grin.
“The beds were extremely crammed with over 20 people in a small cell. And as it was damp with no sunlight, many prisoners became infected with scabies.”
It seems that the opportunity has finally come for China. How it responds to these blood petitions will likely decide the country’s future.
After Zhang was released from prison, the persecution did not end for him. He was expelled from the university in 2001 without a graduation certificate, and faced great difficulties in finding employment. He has been under constant surveillance ever since.
Zhang has completed his criminal complaint against Jiang, although it has yet to be filed. On his pursuit for justice, Mr Zhang said light-heartedly, “Justice may be late, but it will always have its due.”
Suffering Beyond Words
For Wang, the greatest pain lay in witnessing her beloved mother and sister suffer.
Choking and tearing, she spoke haltingly, but her quivering voice betrayed much more about her ordeal than she had to say.
“Prior to practising Falun Gong, my mother had severe rheumatism. It often became so bad that my sister and I had to pin her to her bed and pinch her hands with all our strength to distract her from the pain. Back then, we were told that our mother had only two more years to live. Yet we wanted her to live on so badly.
“After practising Falun Gong, she could run, and she laughed and smiled for the first time in ages. Falun Gong gave us our mother back, but the persecution took her away.
“In the labour camp, they kept her in an iron cage, and they would repeatedly kick her shins with their leather boots. They hit the bottom of her feet with mop sticks so many times that the sticks broke. She became crippled once again because of the persecution.
“Once, they called and informed me that my mother couldn’t make it anymore and could die any moment. I could take her back, but on one sadistic condition–I had to give them my sister (who was herself recently released from the labour camp) in exchange for my mother.
“It was an excruciating choice. When I finally saw my mother at the hospital, she couldn’t even move. The other inmates dragged her on the floor. Despite my strongest protests, I couldn’t bring my mother back. I had to watch them drag my mother away… it was a heart-shattering moment.”
Not only did the persecution torture Wang emotionally, it also drained her financially. She was frequently extorted and had to pay large sums of money to the labour camp before she could visit her mother and sister each time.
At one point, she was left with only 100 yuan (S$22). “I counted, at least it was enough for food until my next payday,” she said dolefully.
Like the rest, Wang has filed her criminal complaint with the Chinese courts. At the very end, she made a remarkable statement with startling conviction. She said, “After more than ten years of cruel persecution, I am only more resolute than before.
“If the persecution is to happen again, I would do the same because Dafa (Falun Gong) has given me more than I have lost. Force cannot compel a person’s heart. I will persevere.”
Justice 16 Years Overdue
Ms Pan, Mr Zhang and Ms Wang’s stories are a microcosm of what has happened to millions of other Falun Gong practitioners who are now coming together to pursue a justice that is 16 years overdue.
According to exclusive sources inside China, former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was once known to have said, “We foresaw the horrendous consequences that persecuting Falun Gong would bring to China a long time ago.”
We investigated and discovered that Jiang Zemin used a startling amount of the nation’s resources to persecute a group of harmless civilians. It is absurd.
– Former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, according to exclusive sources
“We investigated and discovered that Jiang Zemin used a startling amount of the nation’s resources to persecute a group of harmless civilians. It is absurd. Yet till this day, the Central Committee has not confronted or resolved this problem.”
It seems that the opportunity has finally come for China. How it responds to these blood petitions will likely decide the country’s future.
