[Clearwisdom.net] In China, newspapers are propaganda tools and media of the government. They should have a high reputation among readers. However, the behavior of newspapers in Mainland China is so dumb-founding that there is no word that can be used to describe it precisely, even in Chinese--one of the most comprehensive languages in the world.
Please read the following facts:
On April 25, 1999, some practitioners went to the Central Appealing Center (in Beijing) to state their opinions. Because of that, an announcement was released by the Central Appealing Center, National Appealing Center and Beijing Police Department. This announcement claimed that the people who went to appeal were "gathering" around Zhongnanhai. (the Chinese governmental compound near Tiananmen Square) On April 28, 1999, this announcement was published in all the newspapers in Beijing.
In the middle of July 1999, the Civil Affairs Department declared Falun Gong an illegal organization, and banned it. In describing the same event on August 13, the People's Daily said that practitioners were "besieging Zhongnanhai".
A year later, on January 7, 2001, an editorial article in the People's Daily went further and described the appeal as "assaulting Zhongnanhai". From "gathering" to "besieging" to "assaulting", such a dignified national newspaper has become the propaganda tool of the Communist Party. They have depicted the appeal as an attempt to overthrow the government. Isn't this a ridiculous contortion of the facts and the language used to describe them?
The appeal of some practitioners to the Central Appealing Center on April 25, 1999, is part of the basic rights of a citizen. It was based upon the peoples' trust of the government, and the hope that the government would resolve the issue. The announcement by the Central Appealing Center and National Appealing Center clearly confirmed that it was an appeal, and nothing else. Since there were so many practitioners, it was interpreted as a "gathering" by some people. However, this "gathering" turned into a "siege" in August. What is "besieging"? In Cihai (one of the most respected, official dictionaries of Chinese words), "besieging" is defined as "encircling the enemy, so that one can attack and annihilate them." This article in People's Daily really scared the readers. Why were the people that went to appeal trying to "annihilate the enemy?" On January 7, 2001, an editorial article from People's Daily simply referred to it as "assaulting Zhongnanhai". In Cihai, the definition of "assaulting" is "a military term, means to attack and beat". Thus, in the editorial article, the unarmed, peaceful people who went to appeal suddenly became a fully armed military unit that attacked Zhongnanhai. Isn't this absurd? Believe it or not, this is one of the vicious lies told by the People's Daily, the newspaper of the highest authority, which represents the Communist Party and the country. What is the purpose of this? It is not difficult to figure out the reason--it was just to make preparations for the crackdown on Falun Gong. The current inhumane persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China is the proof of these lies.
Dear readers, please don't be surprised if someday in the future, you read from those newspapers that Falun Gong practitioners committed arson to burn Zhongnanhai on April 25, 1999.
January 12, 2001
