(Minghui.org) Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners from around the world have joined the wave of lawsuits against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese Communist regime who ordered the violent suppression of Falun Gong in China. More than 160,000 criminal complaints were filed between the end of May and the end of August, according to the Minghui website.
However, not all complainants escape harassment, arrest, or detention. Some practitioners in Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province were harassed by the local authorities after they mailed lawsuits against Jiang.
Suspected Surveillance
A practitioner said that he received a call from a man who identified himself as a community office staff member on July 31, 2015. After he verified the practitioner's home address, he asked him if he had mailed a complaint to Beijing. The practitioner said that he sent complaints to the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate and wanted to explain why he had done so.
“You don't need to tell me anything more. As you know, our conversation might be monitored,” he said before hanging up the phone.
Speaking Up for Falun Gong
Without warning, community office personnel went to another practitioner's house on the same day. They asked the practitioner's husband where she was and if she had mailed complaints against Jiang to the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Her husband told them that he did not know anything about the matter.
They returned in the afternoon, and the practitioner refused to let them in her house. She asked why they were there, and they appeared embarrassed. They told her they were to see if she needed a job, and if she did, they would help her find one. The practitioner, who is in her 70s, is well past retirement age and did not believe their pretense.
The practitioner then told the staffers about Falun Gong and how she has benefited from the practice.
“Your story sounds great,” one of them said, “But, you better do the exercises at home, and don't participate in any activities. Take a look at the posters around your building.” They were referring to posters about prosecuting Jiang and ones that counter the communist regime's propaganda against Falun Gong.
“I cannot tear down these posters,” she said. “People will learn the facts from these posters.” After the officials read the posters, they left with smiles on their faces.
Continued Harassment
A deputy police chief and two officers went to a practitioner's home on August 20. They asked if she still practiced Falun Gong. She explained that she would not stop because the spiritual practice had improved every aspect of her life.
The deputy chief suggested that she practice at home, but not participate in outside activities and suing Jiang Zemin. They then wanted her mother's address.
She warned the officers, “Do not harass her again. A few years ago, she was held in a detention center where she was tortured.”
They walked away without saying another word.
In 1999, Jiang Zemin, then head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), overrode other Politburo standing committee members and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong.
The persecution has killed countless Falun Gong practitioners during the past 16 years. Many have been murdered for their organs. Others have been imprisoned and tortured for their belief. Jiang Zemin is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of this brutal persecution.
Under Jiang's direction, the Chinese Communist Party established an extralegal security force, the 610 Office, on June 10, 1999. The organization overrides the police and judicial system. The 610 Office carries out Jiang's directive to eradicate Falun Gong: ruin practitioners' reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.
Jiang stepped down as head of the CCP in 2002, but he has exerted much power from the shadows through a network of officials he put in place.
Chinese law now allows citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.
