(Clearwisdom.net)
Last October, toward the end of his visit to the US, Jiang Zemin was served with a lawsuit filed against him in the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, by Falun Gong practitioners, for his crimes of genocide. As the case proceeds, the Court is holding hearings. The unique nature of the case gives it immeasurable meaning and profound historic impact.
First, it has a very positive effect in helping people to understand Falun Gong, in rescuing innocent people, and in stopping the persecution. Over the past three years, Jiang's policy of genocide against Falun Gong practitioners has consisted of "defaming their reputations, bankrupting them financially, and destroying them physically," and "beating them to death is nothing, and their death will be counted as suicide." As a result several thousand Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death. Over one hundred thousand have been illegally sentenced to forced labor camps. Several thousand have been forced into mental institutions, where they have received injections of drugs that severely damaged their central nervous systems. A large number of Falun Gong practitioners have been taken by force to "brainwashing classes" to undergo mental torture. Even more have been brutally beaten, physically tortured, and financially extorted by those supposedly upholding the law. Families have been torn apart. Thousands have been forced to leave home to escape illegal arrest and torture.
Hundreds of millions of Falun Gong practitioners' relatives and friends have been suffering because they are either directly or indirectly affected by the genocide. This is precisely the definition of "Genocide:" acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, in a systemic way. Because Jiang has control over all of the media and all of the political machines in China, he has been conducting a massive campaign of destruction against Falun Gong, both in China, and around the world, using strict control of information. His strategy of easing control over other groups, and focusing on Falun Gong, along with the hypocritical nature of his show-style performance, has made it difficult for people to see clearly what he has done, and who he really is. People are not able to understand the facts of the situation because of the false information disseminated about Falun Gong. A lot of foreign government officials have not been able to tell who is right, and who is wrong, which has greatly impaired their ability to recognize and support justice.
This lawsuit offers Falun Gong practitioners an opportunity to investigate and present evidence of the atrocities committed using the justice system. Because of the serious nature of this court case, the evidence presented will be different from the evidence distributed by Falun Gong practitioners who bring the situation to the attention of the public. The evidence will be more objective. It will have a more formal meaning, so that more government officials and more of the public will be able to understand Falun Gong with a more objective and fair attitude. After understanding the facts, people will be able to better support Falun Gong's effort to stop the persecution so that it will end sooner.
Second, this lawsuit will have a tremendous suppressing effect on those who persecute Falun Gong practitioners. The reason that they dare to act with impunity in torturing thousands of Falun Gong practitioners to death is that they thought that their crimes would never become known [560 have been confirmed dead. However, due to the strict information blockade, and the family members' fear of reprisal, the actual number must far exceed 560. According to Chinese government's internal statistics reported in October of 2001, the actual death toll of practitioners was well over 1600]. Even if they became known, the perpetrators never thought they would receive punishment. Although, inside China, no action is currently being taken to punish high-ranking officials, the lawsuit filed in the United States will mean that the facts will receive serious evaluation. Once the case is won, the persons who committed genocide will be punished. After the Holocaust, people searched for Nazi criminals for their entire lives. Government officials and policemen, who have been responsible for acts of genocide against Falun Gong, will restrain their behavior once they are faced with such serious future consequences.
The lawsuit mobilizes the strong force of justice on a global scale. Large numbers of people who oppose tyrannical regimes, and who are fighting for civil rights, will recognize a powerful tool available to them in their quest for justice. It has always been extremely difficult for a minority group to fight tyranny. For Falun Gong practitioners, however, the case serves as recognition and affirmation of their avoidance of force in their nonviolent approach. The defendant is the most powerful dictator in the world today. He has been ruling China for over a decade, and holds the highest title in the party, government, and military. He has control over several million soldiers, and several hundred thousand intellectuals. He holds hostage an economic body consisting of more than ten billion people. He wins people's hearts with his hypocritical performance by catering to their economic interests. It is unthinkable for ordinary people to put such a person on trial. Nevertheless, he is on trial. The defendant has been served. The case will receive its due attention. The tyranny will be on trial and people's rights will be respected--it doesn't matter who the defendant is, what official position he holds, or where he is.
This lawsuit also means that goodness and justice are sacred and inviolable. The effect on people's attitudes will be profound. Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong is a war between good and evil. He knows that Falun Gong practitioners will not resort to violence, which is why he dares to undertake his cruel persecution. He has taken advantage of Chinese society's belief that good people can be pushed around easily. He has exploited the mentality of fear of strong figures, who bully nice people, accumulated over several-thousand-years of Chinese history. He has made full use of the mentality of fear toward the government. So many people fall into the trap of believing that you are good if the government says you are good, and you are bad if the government says you are bad. Given this background, there is little belief left in justice and fairness in the world.
In terms of government's suppression, people have developed the mindset of enduring endlessly, without complaint, until the government comes to an end. Virtue, which we are supposed to cherish, is viewed as the useless attribute of fools. The moral standard of the human mind has fallen so terribly. Society has become twisted, with hidden danger and crises lurking everywhere. Reestablishing virtue, conscience, and justice will be the final resolution of society's deepest problems. Historically, it is not a rare case for innocent people, when persecuted, to use the Court to obtain justice. However, despite the ruthless persecution, Falun Gong practitioners are fearless and firm in confronting the highest-ranking official of the most powerful dictatorship--this is unprecedented.
What is even more admirable and stunning is the use of peaceful measures in steadfastly holding to beliefs that are both sacred and inviolable. It is the equivalent of fighting a dragon with bare hands. The new "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" (WOIPFLG) has expressed it well: "To investigate the criminal conduct of all institutions, organizations, and individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong will be investigated; to bring such investigation, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far and deep we have to search, to full closure; to exercise fundamental principles of humanity; and to restore and uphold justice in society."
What a remarkable determination and spirit! In the eyes of Falun Gong practitioners, goodness and justice are the expression of the power of heaven's principles and are sacred and inviolable. No earthly power, and no dictatorship can compete with it. If they make the attempt, their fate will be complete elimination. Never in history, and never in mankind's future will people place such a high value on goodness. It is not hard to understand why, over the past three-plus years, Falun Gong practitioners have unwaveringly stood up against the onslaught of such cruel persecution. This is a tremendous inspiration to all people with a kind nature and a heart for justice. It is the remedy for this age, when moral standards have been rapidly declining, and society has been beset with a myriad of problems. It is a brand new hope for human beings whose future previously looked bleak. The lawsuit supports justice, supports goodness, and contributes greatly to society's future. When history looks back, it will see even more clearly the glory of this event.
The law of heaven always prevails. Good will be rewarded with good and evil will be met with retribution. The net of justice has a wide mesh, but it lets no criminals through. Just as the Nazis, who slaughtered millions of Jewish people, eventually received retribution, and just as the Italian dictator Mussolini did not escape punishment under the law, similarly, Jiang Zemin, the man who has committed such horrendous crimes against the Chinese people, will not escape the punishment of history. The trial has already begun.
