September 11, 2002
(Clearwisdom.net) Editors Note: This review was written by Lin Baohua, a special commentator for Radio Free Asia. It is reprinted here for readers' reference, and does not necessarily reflect the understandings of Falun Gong practitioners.
"No desire to remember, yet we dare not forget" is the appeal slogan used by the Hong Kong Alliance In Support Of Patriotic Democratic Movement Of China (HK Alliance) in remembrance of the June 4 massacre. I have the same view towards the September 11 incident. On the anniversary of September 11, people in New York and all over America are again in deep mourning.
Nonetheless, the United States is a democratic society. The mourning and memory of the dead, the abhorrence and repugnance of the terrorists, did not shake Americans' rationality and intellect. Their patriotism is demonstrated by their innate resolve, not by cursing and shouting. It could not be farther away from the loud hoots and hollers of the Chinese Communists shouting "patriotism."
Even during their war against the terrorists, the United States never tried to control the media, or block off access to websites. Opposition parties constantly criticized the government's policy, and Anti-war organizations could still carry out anti-war rallies at will. It is exactly this type of democracy that guarantees that the United States will not suffer from serious faults and grave oversights on important policies, thus safeguarding people's freedom and well being .
At the memorial service in New York, accompanied by music, each and every name of more than 3,000 victims was read aloud, led off by former New York Mayor Rudi Juliani, followed by celebrities and families of the victims. The lengthy list of names demonstrated the significance placed upon each and every life lost. On the other hand, where did Chinese leaders pay their respects to the lives of their own people? Why was there no improvement year after year amid all the natural disasters [that have befallen China] one after another?
If anyone stated that the Chinese government ignores human life, it would be an understatement. In fact, they simply and literally destroy life. On the surface, China supports the anti-terrorist policies of the United States, but in actuality they have always conducted government sponsored national terrorism against their own people; they attempted to target their own citizens such as Xinjiang separatists and Falun Gong. Specifically, the brutal killings of Falun Gong practitioners have taken place constantly during the past few years.
Against Taiwan, the Beijing government also carried out its warmonger terrorism policy by adding 50 more missiles per year targeting Taiwan. From time to time high-level officials make threatening remarks with the promise of war against Taiwan.
At 8:46 AM Eastern Standard Time on September 11, the precise time when the first airplane struck the World Trade Center, President Bush and First Lady Laura conducted a moment of silent mourning with the rest of the White House staff and workers.
Yet, the Beijing government applied pressure to the New York Mayor, requesting that no Taiwanese officials should be permitted to attend the New York September 11 memorial. Rather, they insisted that Chinese Communist officials represent the Taiwanese victims. This is an insult to the victims themselves. First, what qualifications did the Chinese Communist officials possess to represent the Taiwanese victims? Second, Chinese Communists had close ties with world wide terrorist organizations, and they offered aid and support to the Taliban government. If they were not the villains behind the scene, they would be more than qualified as accomplices. How could they represent the victims? It was wrong to contradict the policy established by the former mayor Juliani, and it was the result of high-pressure tactics by the Chinese Communists. Through the efforts of friends and Taiwanese officials, the invitation was extended to Taiwan on September 9th.
