Editors' Note: The persecution of Falun Gong has been going on for four years, having begun officially on July 20, 1999. Jiang Zemin continues to abuse his power and impose his personal will on the Chinese people. In order to persecute Falun Gong, he set up the illegal "610 Office" to systematically create and spread lies in attempts to demonize Falun Gong. Jiang and his "610 Office" have committed huge crimes, yet they have used all means at their disposal to cover the truth of their misdeeds from the public. As a result, the people have had great difficulty recognizing the nature, depth and breadth of the persecution of Falun Gong. The stories in this Tribunal article are all based on facts and actual events that have taken place. Some are true stories while others are compilations of different people's experiences. When the Tribunal is performed in public, the witnesses are played by practitioners who speak fluent English. In order to clarify the truth of the persecution in a more comprehensive manner, the script of the Tribunal will be modified periodically. We ask readers who plan to use the script to please pay attention to these updates.
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[Judges appear. Behind them are chairs with placards denoting the name of each Judge]
Bailiff - All rise for the members of the International Criminal Tribunal -- the Judge of the International Tribunal of Rwanda, the Judge for the trial of Pinochet, and the Judge for the trial of Milosevic. Please be seated. The Court shall now proceed.
Judge - In the case of the People of China versus Jiang Zemin, the people of China have charged Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin with, among other charges, conspiracy to destroy the spiritual practice of Falun Dafa, torture, abuse of authority, genocide, and crimes against humanity. Prosecutor, please be prepared to make your opening argument.
Prosecutor - Ladies and Gentleman, Honorable members of the Judicial Panel, members of the Press. I am here today on behalf of 100 million Chinese practitioners of Falun Dafa, their fellow practitioners overseas, their families, business associates, schoolmates, friends and neighbors. We are here to begin one of the most important criminal trials of the 21st century.
The scale and scope of this case is vast - spanning the landscape of Mainland China and every other country as well as the harm done to millions of people. And yet this is also a case about a personal vendetta, the distorted attempt of one man, and one man alone, to destroy a peaceful spiritual cultivation practice by abuse of his authority. One who hijacked the State mechanism.
Let us think for a moment, ladies and gentlemen, what it means to "destroy" a spiritual practice that has no houses of worship, no formal institutions, no coffers, no membership rosters - just millions of citizens of all ages and walks of life who study the teachings and practice simple exercises in the parks. To destroy Falun Gong, he must try to literally change the minds of those who believe in it, forcibly pluck out their core beliefs. Failing that, he must destroy the physical lives of the practitioners.
As you will see from this trial, Ladies and Gentlemen, Jiang's approach has been as calculated and systematic as it has been brutal. On June 10, 1999, he established what is called the "610 Office," an organization that he gave power to override China's constitution and all its laws and regulations. This organization, known as the "610 system," is a system that extends all the way down from the core of the Chinese power structure to the smallest local village This system specialized in persecuting Falun Gong and carrying out state-terrorist policies. It is a Chinese "Gestapo," if you will.
As for how to deal with Falun Gong practitioners, Jiang Zemin ordered his Gestapo to implement a three-pronged approach: to "smear their reputations, bankrupt them financially and destroy them physically."
It's no simple matter to ruin people's reputations. It helps, of course, when, as a dictator, Jiang owns the media, the security and police apparatus, as well as the judicial system. It means having reporters fabricate stories and demonizing the practice and all those associated with it 7 days a week on newspapers, radio stations, and TV. It means framing practitioners as worse than common criminals or even murderers. It means throwing them into mental hospitals create the stigma of mental illness and insanity. It means discrimination from every angle. Landlords won't dare to rent their apartment to your family anymore. Friends are suddenly no longer to be found, fearful of "trouble" or of being tainted. Husbands divorce their wives because of the pressure.
The matter of driving people to financial ruin in a totalitarian state where salaries and pensions are in the hands of Party officials is not so complicated. But the results are no less devastating. Practitioners fired from their jobs and students expelled from school for keeping their faith. Others made homeless because the police are waiting for them at their workplace and apartment. Nowhere to go, nothing to eat, nothing to wear in the freezing cold. Sometimes, in order to add insult to injury, families are forced to pay thousands of dollars to labor camps and brainwashing centers for "room and board."
As for the phrase to "destroy them physically," the 610 Office certainly took their orders to heart. More than 750 practitioners have been confirmed dead from this persecution, with actual estimates closer to 1,600. Their brazen use of violence comes from the top - Jiang personally sent down orders that "the death of Falun Gong practitioners from beating is nothing and shall be counted as suicide, and the body shall be directly cremated without investigation or identification." Imagine the despair and anger of a family who knows nothing of what happened to their loved one and has literally nowhere to turn. For the authorities to simply claim they have not killed a single practitioner - they were all supposedly suicides or death by natural causes is incomprehensible, immoral and the worst of the worst behaviors. And sometimes death can almost be a relief, if the alternative is unending torture and torment. Police guards burning the flesh, the mouth, the genitals with electric batons, hammering metal spikes under fingernails, whipping with spiked wooden sticks, beating with metal clubs, sexual humiliation and rape... the list goes on.
As you will see, Ladies and Gentlemen, this case is about a nationwide campaign of terror, a systematic and brutal effort to break the will of good people who seek to practice virtue, those who believe in Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.
It is a case about the machinations of one man who abused his authority as head of state, who violated the laws of his own country, who trampled the freedoms so clearly written into the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, a man who used his position as chief of the military to force an unwilling government, an unwilling Party, and an unwilling people to participate in some of the worst crimes of the 20th and 21st centuries. It is a case about forced-brainwashing, about the use of psychotropic drugs, about the use of torture devices to control the minds of the people. It is about the breakdown of civil and moral society and the rupture of ties among families, friends and co-workers. It is a case about the injustice, cruelty and jealousy of Jiang Zemin, who himself designed, created, and implemented a persecution unmatched in history.
This case is also about the spirit and courage of all practitioners of Falun Gong, and especially those in China who refused to renounce their spiritual beliefs in spite of the terrible price they knew they would have to pay - loss of liberty, loss of dignity, painful and unbearable torture and in many cases, death.
In the People of China versus Jiang, defendant Jiang has been formally charged with a violation of the most sacred norms, laws, and mores of civilized nations. The evidence is voluminous indeed, including the testimonial evidence of many of the victims of the Jiang regime's crimes, the written affidavits of other victims in China, the United States, Europe and Asia, such tangible evidence as models and pictures of the torture equipment utilized in detention centers, labor camps and mental hospitals.
It is not often in the affairs of man, that we find ourselves in the shadowy presence of true evil embodied in one being. It is even less often that such a man is brought to trial by the people of an entire nation. The defendant is charged by the people of China with crimes of such magnitude as to give us pause as we try to understand how such things could occur. How could a single man with the aid of perhaps two or three co-conspirators manage to abuse his power as head of state to violate the Chinese constitution, the criminal law, the civil law, and all ius cogens norms of international law, the law of nations, morality and the common good? Perhaps it has to do with a Communist system, a dictatorship that has used repression of thought as its way of remaining in power. Perhaps it has to do with its system of propaganda, economic and social leverage, and terror that has controlled a nation of people through an all pervasive fear, a nation of people who have lived under the repression of tyranny for so long that they think it's normal. And perhaps they have long given up trying to defend virtue and what is right and good. Of course we can only begin to answer such questions today. But in the search for answers in this historic case, I believe will come some wisdom, an appreciation of the principles, and the practitioners, of Falun Dafa, and, of course, a guilty verdict for the defendant.
Judges - Mr. Defense Counsel, you may now begin your opening statement.
Defense Counsel - Defense waives an opening statement your honors but reserves the right to present when the Prosecution rests.
Judges - Prosecutor, you may now call your first witness.
Jiang's Personal Vendetta - Persecution Is Illegal and Unconstitutional
Prosecutor - We now call General Zhao Zhonghua to the witness stand.
Bailiff - Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Zhao Zhonghua - I do.
Prosecutor - good afternoon General Zhao. Could you tell us your position in the PRC immediately prior to the persecution of Falun Gong?
Zhao Zhonghua - Let's say I was at the ministerial level and I also held posts with the Chinese Communist Party and military.
Prosecutor - What would you say was the general attitude of the Chinese government towards Falun Gong before the persecution began?
Zhao Zhonghua - At first you know, the government supported the practice of Falun Gong. It has clear and visible moral and health benefits and also good psychological benefits. The most prominent men in China positively endorsed the practice. At the time, not only was the general public learning Falun Gong, but seven of the Central Politburo members read Zhuan Falun and many of their relatives and friends were also practicing. Many high-ranking officials in the Communist Party, government and military either attended Mr. Li Hongzhi's lectures, or became Falun Gong practitioners through other channels.
Prosecutor - Excuse me. May I ask, who is Mr. Li Hongzhi?
Zhao Zhonghua - He's the founder of Falun Dafa.
Prosecutor - Thank you. Please continue.
Zhao Zhonghua -- Even I endorsed the practice. I found the practice made me calmer, a little steadier. But sitting in the double lotus position was a bit tough for me! The National Qigong Commission gave Falun Gong different awards and the reports about it in newspapers, television and radio broadcasts were positive.
Prosecutor - What happened on April 25th, 1999?
Zhao Zhonghua -- In the afternoon of April 25, I got a phone call that there were thousands of Falun Gong practitioners outside Zhongnanhai -- the main government compound. When I drove out there, I have to say, it was quite a sight. Ten thousand people, sitting and standing so peacefully, with such dignity, but not regimented like the military. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. These people made sure not to block traffic or pedestrians and when they left, there wasn't a scrap of litter on the ground. I know the international press reported on the gathering in a very favorable manner.
Prosecutor - What was this about? Why were these people there?
Zhao Zhonghua - I think basically some Falun Gong practitioners in Tianjin had been illegally arrested for exercising their constitutional right of appeal, so other practitioners were going to Zhongnanhai to peacefully appeal their arrest. It makes sense -- the main Appeals Office is on one side of Zhongnanhai and that's where citizens are supposed to go when they have a problem with the government that can't be resolved at the local level. That night, Premier Zhu Rongji went and spoke with some representatives of the group. It was very calm and their requests were reasonable, so Zhu was able to agree to them and the whole thing could have been resolved right there and then.
Prosecutor --- So why wasn't it? What happened that changed things?
Zhao Zhonghua - Personally, I think Jiang was jealous of the way Zhu was able to handle things so well. Who knows what was going on in Jiang's petty little brain at that point?
Defense Attorney - Objection!
Judge - Sustained.
Zhao Zhonghua - Some say Jiang felt threatened by the ability of Falun Dafa practitioners to gather in such large numbers. After all, he's known to be incredibly insecure. Some say he was jealous of Mr. Li Hongzhi, too, because of the practitioners' obvious faith in Falun Gong and Mr. Li Hongzhi.
Defense Attorney - Move to strike! Speculation.
Prosecutor - Attempt to establish motive should be allowed, your honor.
Judge - Motion to strike denied. Prosecution may proceed.
Prosecutor - General Zhao, please continue with what you saw on April 25th, 1999.
Zhao Zhonghua -- A group of top officials were called to meet with Jiang that night and it was then that he shared with us his desire to completely eradicate, completely exterminate, Falun Gong. But because of the foolishness of the idea, from the beginning he received little support within the Party leadership and was also opposed by the more honest elements within the Party. By the way, the night of April 25, 1999, Premier Zhu persuaded Jiang on the Central Politburo urgent meeting Jiang hosted, "Let them (Falun Gong practitioners) practice," but he was criticized by Jiang in front of every one, and became silent.
Jiang became very angry and decided to copy what Chairman Mao did in his bid to start the Cultural Revolution - he wrote personal letters to high-ranking officials within the Politburo and other high-ranking officials, and forced them to pass the letter down to Communist Party officials of a certain rank from top to bottom.
So Jiang went ahead and had the "610 Office Head" Luo Gan arrest many practitioners between April 25 to July 20th of 1999, under conditions totally against the State Constitution and laws. It wasn't until October that year that Jiang Zemin went to France and for the first time openly defamed Falun Gong in person during an interview with the French "Figaro" newspaper, calling Falun Gong an "evil cult." This is absolutely ridiculous! Later in October Jiang Zemin had the People's Daily, the state-run newspaper in China, describe Falun Gong as a cult. You know, for someone who's usually so incompetent, that was actually a pretty clever move on his part. He knew a label like that is hard to shake. Then, months after he'd already illegally arrested practitioners, he forced the People's Congress to retroactively legitimize their arrest by having them unlawfully pass an "Anti-Cult Law."
Prosecutor - I'm not sure I understand. You're saying Jiang first started the persecution, then he started calling Falun Gong a cult, and then he got an anti-cult law passed as a way to try to justify his actions?
Zhao Zhonghua - Yes. You know, it's like that joke where someone's at the shooting range and shoots his gun at a target, then he runs up to the target and draws the circles around his bullet to show he'd hit a bull's eye. Jiang knew that persecuting Falun Gong was illegal and unconstitutional from the start. Jiang also knew he never could have passed a law outlawing Falun Gong, nor could he have convinced people then that Falun Gong was bad, so he did the next best thing. He had an "anti-cult law" passed that was vague and had no parameters, and it never even defined what it means to be a "cult." No matter what, we all knew Falun Gong was not a cult. Most government officials didn't want to participate in the persecution, but few felt free to speak openly. I tried suggesting that we reconsider the campaign, but I was placed under house arrest. But there were many ways in which many high-level officials quietly tried to turn the situation around.
Prosecutor - People who come from free nations might ask: "Since this is just something Jiang wants to do of his own personal accord and it's wrong, then why doesn't the entire government and machinery of the state oppose it? Why do they systematically go forward and implement it?"
Zhao Zhonghua - It's about power, really. The truth is, the Chinese government has never had a stable, rational, enduring policy. All of its policies are closely linked to the personal will of the highest holder of power. In the history of the CCP's rule, it's always been "Power comes from the barrel of a gun." Jiang Zemin used this malady that has harmed Chinese society for several decades, and gave it full play to achieve his goal.
The Chinese government's governing principle is supposed to be "to serve the people." But of course Jiang serves himself by using his tremendous Party, administrative, and military power to essentially hijack the government of China. In a situation where nobody dares to say 'no,' when a dictator holding the military power can recklessly rape the will of the people and rape the law, I don't know if I would call it a "national policy." It's probably more accurate just to say the persecution against Falun Gong was "the individual will of a dictator."
Prosecutor - Thank you, General Zhou. I have no further questions.
Defense Attorney - I have no questions for this witness.
[Stage Instructions: One Judge will speak and appear. Behind him will be chairs with huge placards with the names of the below mentioned Judges.]
The 610 Office
Prosecutor: I'd like to call Mrs. Ding (pseudonym) to the witness stand. Mrs. Ding, what office did your husband hold in China?
Mrs. Ding: He worked in the 610 Office.
Prosecutor: Could you remind us what the 610 Office actually is.
Mrs. Ding: It's the office that was created to stop Falun Gong. It's all over the country.
Prosecutor: What role did your husband have in the 610 Office?
Mrs. Ding: He was appointed head of the 610 Office in Heilongjiang Province.
Prosecutor: What did your husband do as the head of the 610 Office in Heilongjiang Province?
Mrs. Ding: He carried out the orders of the central 610 Office.
Prosecutor: Orders in regards to what?
Mrs. Ding: Falun Gong.
Prosecutor: Can you be more specific?
Mrs. Ding: I don't understand.
Prosecutor: What orders did he carry out in regards to Falun Gong?
Mrs. Ding: Whatever orders were passed down by his superiors.
Prosecutor: What was the nature of those orders?
(pause)
Mrs. Ding?
(pause, more strongly)
Did he arrest Falun Gong practitioners?
(pause)
Did he arrest?
Mrs. Ding: Yes.
Prosecutor: Did he sentence Falun Gong practitioners to forced labor camps?
Mrs. Ding: Yes.
Prosecutor: Did he beat Falun Gong practitioners?
Mrs. Ding: No.
Prosecutor: Did he order Falun Gong practitioners to be beaten?
(Slight pause)
Mrs. Ding.
Mrs. Ding: I don't know what orders he gave.
Prosecutor: did he order Falun Gong practitioners to be force-fed?
Mrs. Ding: I don't know.
Prosecutor: Did he tell his officers that Falun Gong deaths would be counted as suicides?
Mrs. Ding: I don't know.
Prosecutor: Did he order his men that "no law regulates the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners", and tacitly approve the police to shock Falun Gong practitioners with multiple electric batons?
Mrs. Ding: I don't know.
Prosecutor: Did he order female practitioners to be thrown in jail cells with male prisoners?
(Mrs. Ding and Defense Attorney speak at the same time)
Mrs. Ding: I don't know! Defense attorney: Objection your honor!
Judge: Objection sustained.
Prosecutor: (immediately) Is it true that orders were given to "defame Falun Gong practitioners' reputation, bankrupt them financially, destroy them physically"?
Mrs. Ding: Those orders did not come from my husband.
Prosecutor: Where did those orders come from? Did he carry out those orders?
(slight pause) Your husband was the head of the 610 Office in Heilongjiang Province. Did he not carry out the orders he was given?
Mrs. Ding: (pause) He had no choice.
Prosecutor: No choice? Mrs. Ding, everyone can have a choice in front of righteous and evil, good and bad; and everyone must bear responsibility for his choice.
Mrs. Ding: You don't know what you're talking about. If you understood Chinese history, if you understood the nature of the Communist Party then you'd know there's no such thing as "choice" in China. When Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution, he detained and tortured the President of China. In order to open fire on students on Tiananmen Square, Deng Xiaoping removed the head of the Communist Party from his post, who had a choice? It's not just Falun Gong that's been persecuted. I've been persecuted, too. Jiang Zemin, you've persecuted me, you've persecuted my family, you've persecuted everyone in China.
Prosecutor: Are you saying Jiang Zemin is the person responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong?
Mrs. Ding: Yes.
Prosecutor: Is it correct to say that the 610 office has been the primary agent in enforcing and implementing Jiang's will to destroy Falun Gong?
Mrs. Ding: Yes.
Prosecutor: And that Jiang gave this system powers above the law and above all normal channels of procedure?
Mrs. Ding: Yes.
Prosecutor: Mrs. Ding, please remember my advice: everyone can have a choice in front of righteous and evil, good and bad; and everyone must bear responsibility for his choice. No further questions.
Defense Attorney: No questions for this witness, Your Honor.
Overseas Harassment
Prosecutor: I would now like to call Terrance Williams to the witness stand. Mr. Williams, what do you do for a living?
Mr. Williams: I'm the mayor of Martinville, Texas.
Prosecutor: Last year you signed a proclamation supporting the practice of Falun Gong and condemning the persecution. Could you tell us about that?
Mr. Williams: Yes Sir. Last summer I had a call come into my office requesting a meeting from a couple of young ladies and a gentleman who were passing through town. I invited them into the office and they started to tell me about the nature of their spiritual practice and the terrible stories of people who are being persecuted for practicing it.
They looked me in the eye when they spoke and I felt they were good, honest people. They had a nice way about them so I asked them what it was I could do to help. They said that it has a good effect when elected officials here in the U.S. publicly showed support and asked if I would sign a proclamation. I was more than happy to do so.
They left, I wished them luck, and told them to let me know if there was anything else I could do.
Prosecutor: What happened after that?
Mr. Williams: A couple of weeks after the proclamation was sent out, I received a package in the mail. It was full of hideous material attacking the practice I had signed the proclamation for the people who practice it.
Prosecutor: What practice is that.
Mr. Williams: That's the Falun Gong practice.
Prosecutor: What else was in the package?
Mr. Williams: Well, if the materials weren't offensive enough, there was an accompanying letter from the head of the Chinese Consulate that just fell shy of ordering me to rescind the proclamation.
I could be scared, but I can tell you that sent a chill down my spine. Right here in the U.S., a foreign government was bold enough to tell me an elected official what I could and could not do. I wondered why they felt they could openly have such gall right here on U.S. soil.
I sent a letter of response to the gentleman at the consulate and told him that regardless of how they might operate where he comes from, here in the U.S.A. we take our freedom seriously. I said that the garbage he sent me was not welcome and if he wanted to discuss things, he could come to visit so we could talk eye to eye. He didn't reply to my invitation.
Prosecutor: No more questions Your Honor. Thank you Mr. Williams.
Mr. Williams: My pleasure.
Judge: Defense?
Defense: No questions Your Honor.
Prosecutor: Will one of you please begin and tell us what you know about the persecution of Falun Gong in the United States.
[One of the three steps forward and begins to speak.]
Leeshai -- We know that Jiang Zemin and his 610 organization have a network of spies in the United States. We know this because one of the spies, Mr. Liao, has confessed. We have his written confession, the evidence of his crimes -- notebooks and other records, and depositions from eyewitnesses. Because I have served as legal counsel on recent lawsuits, I have here a certified copy of probative portions of his notebook.
Judge -- Bailiff, please have them marked as prosecution exhibit 2 and move them into evidence.
[Bailiff does so]
Prosecutor: Could you summarize the contents of the notebook for us?
Leeshai: It tells how Mr. Liao received $3,500 from an "employee" of the Chinese consulate for supplying information about Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Liao was also seen stealing records of Falun Gong contact persons.
Prosecutor: Did Mr. Liao admit that he worked for the defendant?
Leeshai: He admitted that he worked for several Chinese agents who had close ties with Jiang Zemin's 610 Office.
There have been similar cases in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York where Chinese agents not only harassed but assaulted Falun Gong practitioners. A few men have already been charged and sentenced for their crimes. Because the assailants target not individuals but practitioners as representatives of a larger group of a particular creed or faith, I think they can safely be called hate crimes. Even worse, they seem to be hate crimes committed by agents of a foreign government right here on the U.S soil.
Judge: Are saying that you believe the difficulties Falun Gong practitioners have encountered here in the United States are really just an extension of the persecution inside China?
Leeshai: Yes, Your Honor.
[EXPERT WITNESS FROM THE FOREIGN POLICY ASSOCIATION IN THE U.S.]
Judge (towards prosecutor) -- Any more questions for your witness?
Prosecutor -- No, thank you. No further questions.
Defense Attorney -- I have no questions at this time.
Persecution is based on lies
Prosecutor: We now call Ms. Jin Youming.
Ms. Jin is sworn in.
Prosecutor: Ms. Jin, please tell us about the conditions that surrounded the death of your mother.
Jin: At the beginning of the persecution after July 20, 1999, the media was broadcasting anti-Falun Gong content 24 hours a day, everyday. It was always "evil cult this, evil cult that... " trying to find ways to make Falun Gong look bad. They kept bringing up a list of about 1400 people who had allegedly died because they practiced Falun Gong. My mother's name was Ma Jinxiu and she was on that list.
Before she began practicing Falun Gong, my mom was critically ill. As far back as when I was in high school, she had begged relatives to take care of my two sisters and me in case she died. She had suffered from advanced diabetes for over 10 years and had suffered a major stroke in 1994 and another one in 1995. Due to the seriousness of her condition she had to take more than 30 pills over the course of the day. Her face was ashen and it had become deformed from the strokes -- one of her eyebrows was much higher than the other one and a corner of her mouth sloped downward. She would get tired from just walking a few blocks and her doctors told her she would probably die if she had another stroke. Then in 1996 she began to practice Falun Gong on her own, and her health greatly improved. She no longer needed to take any medication. As she continued to practice the Falun Gong exercises, read the Falun Gong books, and tried to improve her moral character, she began to feel better than she had for years. Her deformed face actually returned to its normal state! The doctors had said that such a thing was impossible! Her eyes began to sparkle. She was able to walk much faster than before, she was now able to perform the housework, and her complexion went from a grayish color to that of a fair color. Her body felt light, and all the symptoms associated with her diabetes disappeared. Many of our relatives, friends, and neighbors witnessed the changes in her.
In the middle of 1997, my mom began to experience discomfort in her body and so we took her to the hospital on the same day. They told us she was critically ill and might die soon. She remained hospitalized and died several months later. Her doctors said she died from a brain aneurysm.
Later on I heard that Jiang and the "610 Office" had come up with 1400 cases where people had supposedly died from practicing Falun Gong, in which my mom's case was included. My mom had clearly died from a brain aneurysm. While she was hospitalized, she received a great deal of medical attention and she took all the medications that her doctors prescribed and she also received many injections, but unfortunately she still passed away. So why didn't they say that she died as a result of the treatment that she underwent at the hospital? How could the authorities say that my mom died from practicing Falun Gong just because she had practiced Falun Gong at one time?
My mom's case is just one of the many lies Jiang has fabricated. Now you can see how evil those lies are! They've made people associate "Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance," the most majestic principles in the world, with images of murder and people being hurt. They've caused people to turn their backs on virtue. Jiang should be tried for ruining the souls of some many Chinese people.
Prosecutor: Thank you. I have no further questions.
Judge: Defense?
Defense Attorney: Thank you your honor. Mrs. Jin, you bring up this case of your mother. But hers is just one of 1400, maybe many more where people received injuries practicing Falun Gong. Isn't that possible, my dear? Isn't it true that Falun Gong has driven people to do crazy things? To carry out acts of what a criminal would do?
Prosecutor: Objection! Leading the witness!
Judge: Overruled.
Jin: Well, I know there was a case of a murderer called Fu Yibin who killed a bunch of people in his family. They said on TV that he committed the crime because he practiced Falun Gong. But I happen to know one of his neighbors who said that Fu Yibin had never practiced Falun Gong or read the books regarding Falun Gong in his life. And Fu's wife even told a neighbor she thought it was weird when the CCTV reporter kept making her say on camera that Fu had practiced Falun Gong when he had never been the kind of person to be practicing something that is good for one's spiritual health.
Defense Attorney: Move to strike from the record. Hearsay.
Judge: Overruled.
Defense Attorney: Wouldn't you say, my dear, that people would have to be just a little bit crazy to set themselves on fire, like those people on Tiananmen Square, those Falun Gong practitioners?
Jin: I don't know about crazy, but I think they'd have to be pretty desperate. The self-immolation incident you're talking about didn't involve Falun Gong practitioners, so I can only guess that whoever did it was driven to it by despair.
Defense Attorney: Despair brought on by their practice of Falun Gong?
Jin: Well, I don't think they were practitioners at all. If they were, I think that practitioners in their area would at least have recognized them. But no one knows who they were. Anyway, I live in the U.S., and there was an article in the Washington Post where a reporter went to investigate the background of one of the people who took part in the self-immolation and none of her neighbors had ever seen her practice Falun Gong or talk about it or anything. There are just too many inconsistencies in the case. I think it may have been staged by Jiang and the "610 Office" to frame practitioners and to fool the people of China.
Defense Attorney: That's a very serious accusation. Can you prove this?
Jin: I have a videotape here with me, and it's quite clear from the tape that the participants were acting out this incident like they were on stage and as if it were part of an act.
Defense Attorney: I asked for a simple yes or no reply to my question. Move to strike from the record.
Judge: What is it that you have with you?
Jin: It's a videotape that runs through the events of the self-immolation and points out some of the inconsistencies.
Defense Attorney: Your Honor, this videotape was not submitted as evidence prior, your Honor. Move to strike it from the record.
Prosecutor: May I move to enter this tape as evidence for the prosecution.
Judge: Permission granted.
[They play the tape]
Judge: What are we watching here?
Jin: This is a broadcast from China's state-run television station, CCTV. That's Liu Chunling, a young woman who reportedly burned herself to death. You can see clearly in this footage that she's being struck on the back of her head by a heavy object and then she falls to the ground. It looks like the object was wielded by a man in a police uniform standing behind her... That's Wang Jindong, sitting on the ground shouting strange words. See how he's charred all over his body and face, but look at his hair -- it's still there and it's not burned. Normally a person's hair is one of the most flammable parts of his body. Look at the green plastic Sprite bottle on his legs. It's intact and unburned, too, but it was supposed to have contained gasoline. And there -- there's a policeman holding a fire blanket standing by his side posing in a leisurely fashion, as though there's a camera right in front of them.
Defense Attorney: Speculation. Move to strike.
Judge: Please do not interrupt the testimony, Counsel. Motion denied.
Jin: This part's interesting. It's only a few miles from Tiananmen Square to the hospital, but the ambulance arrived at the hospital 2 hours and 10 minutes after it left the Square! Makes you wonder what happened during that time, considering this was supposed to have been an urgent rescue. Oh, and this part -- four days later, it was shown on TV that the little girl who lost her mother in the tragedy was interviewed by a CCTV reporter. This young girl, who was completely covered with thick bandages, was somehow able to sing a song loudly and clearly for the camera, even though she had just had a tracheotomy, which means she had had her throat cut open so they could insert a tube to help her breathe. For her to sing like that would probably have been a medical miracle! Makes you wonder if that was the same girl as the one on Tiananmen Square.
[the video ends]
Defense: For the record I would like to state that this procedure has been highly unusual.
Judge: It is recorded. Any more questions from defense?
Defense: None your honor.
Judge: Ms. Jin, you are saying that the allegations made against Falun Gong in the Chinese media were essentially falsified.
Ms. Jin: Yes, your honor. I would say that this entire persecution has been entirely based on lies and deception. I think Jiang has taken the Chinese people for a ride. I think he's betrayed his own people. I also think that he has put all the Chinese people living overseas into a very difficult position.
Judge -- Thank you, Ms. Jin.
Physical Torture
Prosecutor: We now call Wang Yuzhi to the witness stand. Please state your name for the record.
Wang: Wang Yuzhi.
Prosecutor: Thank you. You know why you are here of course. Like so many other practitioners sentenced to labor camps, or detained in police stations, you endured a form of torture unfamiliar to most other civilized nations of the world. But I understand it is one of the most common means of torture used in China to persecute Falun Gong. Ms. Wang, could you describe how this particular form of torture was administered and how it affected you, both physically and mentally?
Wang: Well, when people usually talk about force-feeding, it usually means someone went on a hunger strike to protest something, and to prevent them from starving or dehydrating to death, they're force-fed food or water. But under the persecution against Falun Gong, the force-feeding is a painful form of torture. The prison guards have no medical training. They just jam the rubber or plastic feeding tubes down people's throats either through their noses or their mouths. Sometimes they do this several times a day. It's very difficult to endure. When we begin to gag and choke, blood gushes from the torn tissues and is mixed with saliva, as well as the things they put down our throats -- hot pepper sauce, coarse salt mixed with a little water, drugs, human urine and feces.
When they stick the tubes into our throats, frequently they puncture the trachea or the lungs, or even the stomach. Many police were reluctant to carry out the force-feeding as it was resulting in many gruesome deaths. However, Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan assured the police that they would not be held responsible should a Falun Gong practitioner die from the procedure. Encouraged and supported by those in command, many police officers began to use force-feeding relentlessly. The point wasn't to feed us but put us through enough pain and agony that we would renounce our belief in Falun Gong. Jiang Zemin didn't want us to think for ourselves or hold a dissenting opinion.
Defense Attorney: Objection. Hearsay.
Judge: Sustained.
Prosecutor: Could you tell us what you yourself endured?
Wang: Yes of course. I began to practice Falun Dafa in 1998. Since the onset of the persecution, I was jailed a total of three times. On July 15, 2000, I was printing Falun Gong literature when I was reported by someone and put in jail. They interrogated me and punched and kicked me. My face became swollen; I couldn't move my arms and hands. I was bruised all over and I had black eyes. I went on a hunger strike in protest. In order to force feed me, the doctors at the Harbin City Detention Center used a metal clamp to pry open my teeth and then pushed a thick rubber tube down to my stomach. My mouth was filled with blood and my body was covered in bruises after every force-feeding. Several people were there to beat and subdue me. Then they would pour two big bowls of cold water mixed with corn flour into me. When I screamed, the police were afraid of others hearing me, so they ordered inmates to gag me and beat me even more.
One day I heard the desperate cry of a man in the woman's ward. It was the husband of a Falun Gong practitioner named Ding Yanhong. He had begged to be able to visit her, and when he finally was allowed to come in, they force-fed her right in front of him. This man cried terribly while his wife struggled in pain. I will never forget that day.
I always knew that if I would simply write a letter denouncing Falun Gong, denouncing its teachings and promise to never practice again, I would be released immediately. But if it is wrong to believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance, what hope does humanity have? This persecution was forcing people to choose between their lives and their conscience. I knew that I was being forced to make that choice, and I chose my conscience because I knew that when good people renounce sacred beliefs under pressure from a dictatorship, something much greater than our lives dies.
Prosecutor: Is there anything else you'd like to tell the Court?
Ms. Wang: Yes. We see clearly from the police's words and behavior that they dare to persecute Falun Gong ruthlessly only because Jiang Zemin is backing them up. I'd just like to say that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance exists deep in my heart, far beyond the reach of any electric baton, far beyond the reach of a prison guard's fist. Lies and slanderous propaganda cannot stand up to the truth. Brutality and torture is no match for compassion. Violence and hatred cannot overcome forbearance. For nine months, they had tried to make me believe these principles are not true. They failed.... [turning to the defendant] You failed.
Prosecutor: Thank you, Ms. Wang.
Defense Attorney: I have no questions for this witness.
Judge: Prosecution may now call your next witness.
Ms. Liu enters the stage.
Prosecutor: Ms. Liu, please tell the Court about the time you spent with Chen Zixiu in Weifang, China. Could you please describe what you saw Ms. Chen go through before her death?
Liu: Yes. I was with Chen Zixiu in the same detention center in Weifang. She was 58 years old -- just about the same age as I was. They beat her all the time and shocked her with an electric baton. One day when I saw her, her legs were badly bruised and her head was covered with pus and blood. They beat her for two whole hours and told her to change her thinking and renounce Falun Gong, but she wouldn't. The next morning they ordered her to go outdoors to run in the cold. The rest of us watched from the window as she crawled on her hands and knees in the snow. I would have never believed there was such torture in the world had I not witnessed myself. There was nothing we could do, so we wept for her. As she crawled outside, she vomited and collapsed. We never saw her alive again. And you know, the young police guard had just been brought in from a factory as temporary help to do this. At first he had cried, and then got himself drunk so he could beat her. After she died, he was shaking and beside himself. We heard later that he lost his job with the "610 Office" and also with the factory. You know, a lot of people, not just practitioners, have been damaged by this persecution. No one who has done that to another human being is ever going to be the same again.
Prosecutor: Ms. Liu, I turn your attention to another situation involving an elderly couple, Mr. Tan Shiling and his wife Hou Jinyuan from Hunan province. You visited them not long ago. Could you tell the Court about their situation?
Liu: I'd be glad to. The husband is 62 years old. He was kept in a damp, dark cell in a detention center for so long that he lost his eyesight. His wife is 59 years old. She protested being detained by going on a hunger strike. They moved her to the psychiatric ward of a hospital and injected her with unknown drugs every day. She told me first her head and tongue went numb. Then she lost all feeling in her legs. By February of 2002, she was completely blind. After more than a year of brainwashing, incarceration, and suffering, they were finally released, but now they are facing the rest of their lives in darkness. How will they take care of themselves? What has Jiang and his "610 Office" really gained from all this?
Prosecutor: I have heard that more than a quarter of those practitioners who have been killed in this persecution are people over the age of 50. Is that correct?
Liu: Yes, that sounds right. I really don't know what kind of political threat senior citizens pose to Jiang Zemin. About half of the more than 750 deaths that have been confirmed are women. Of course, the real death toll is likely much, much higher.
[EXPERT WITNESS FROM WORLD ORGANIZATION AGAINST TORTURE]
The characters that play the parts of Wang Yuzhi and Ms. Liu now leave the stage.
Mental Torture and Control
The Prosecutor now calls Zhao Ming to the stand. A character, wearing a placard that reads "MENTAL TORTURE AND ANGUISH," sits in the witness box and places a smaller placard with the name "Zhao Ming" over his head.
The bailiff swears in the witness and the Prosecutor begins his direct examination of Zhao Ming.
Prosecutor -- What was your personal situation at the time you were illegally detained by police?
Zhao Ming -- I had gone back to China from Ireland where I was pursuing graduate studies at Trinity College. I was arrested and put in a labor camp. Right before the 2002 New Year, I was put in a separate building to isolate me from others. They wouldn't let me sleep, keeping me awake throughout the night by waking me every few hours. One night, a policeman pushed me into an office. As soon as I entered, I saw a wooden platform on the floor with a number of straps made from strips of blanket attached to it. There were five policemen in the room, including the directors of different departments. I immediately knew what was going to happen -- they were going to use electric shock torture on me. They first threatened me in an attempt to what they call "reform" me, meaning to make me sign statements renouncing my beliefs and denouncing Falun Gong. When I firmly refused, they tied me down on the wooden slats. They tied my feet, legs, torso, and arms and used one strap across my mouth to strap down my head. After tying me down, they once more tried to "reform" me with threats. When I refused again, they brought out a stack of electric batons and started distributing them.
The electric batons are more than 50 cm (almost 2 ft) long. Apart from the two electric prongs on the head, the club also has metal wire twisting all around it. Using this part to deliver the electricity, it's possible to inflict an electric shock over a broad area. They used at least six electric batons to shock me, simultaneously, all over my body.
My body started to jump and shudder. Occasionally they would stop and try again to force me to sign my name and accept their so-called "reformation." One vicious police guard seemed to have done this sort of thing a lot. He took a club in each hand, held them parallel against my chest, and turned them around in circles, using the metal wrapped around the batons to deliver the electricity. My upper body was numb and shuddering, I felt my breathing speeding up, and my throat was on fire. My teeth clenched the cloth across my mouth, and I was taking labored breaths. I could smell my own flesh burning. I don't know how to describe the pain... One of my legs went into spasms. All I know is that it went on for what seemed like endless hours, endless... Then, I did something....
Prosecutor -- Mr. Zhao?
Zhao Ming -- (pause) I signed a letter renouncing Falun Gong.
(Pause) Later on many Dafa disciples asked me what was the most painful thing inside the labor camp. Signing my name on that letter--that was the most painful thing. The purpose of their tortures is to control you mentally, thoroughly stripping away your confidence and your dignity, those qualities that stem from your virtue and spiritual belief. They would do anything to turn a person with self-esteem and conscience into a person who would sell his most precious possession for a few moments of ease!
What is even worse is that Falun Dafa practitioners are not their only targets. They spread their spiritual poison and mental control throughout the entire society to all Chinese people. Police from the National Security Brigade and the labor camps are telling carefully fabricated lies to send a strong message to those deprived of their freedom, "Your only choice is to agree with me if you want to stay safe and maintain your financial security and social status." They threaten anyone who needs to take a train or bus, travels internationally, or needs any kind of official permission.
-Do you want to keep your faith? No matter what you truly think in your mind, they will do anything to force you to knowingly curse your own faith, betray your Esteemed Teacher, and sell out your spiritual beliefs!
-Do you want to keep your job, housing, and social status? You must declare that you will stop practicing Falun Gong and stop speaking out for Falun Gong, otherwise you will be dismissed from your job, sent to brainwashing classes and even labor camp.
-Do you need to take the train? They force you step on Mr. Li Hongzhi's photo before boarding the train.
-Do you need to take the bus? You have to repeat words cursing Falun Gong, otherwise not only will you be forbidden from boarding the bus, but you will also be detained.
-Do you need to visit your family in China? You must first agree that genocide and persecution towards Falun Dafa practitioners are "reasonable and legal," or agree to be an overseas spy to collect information about Falun Dafa.
-Do you want to do business with China? You first must not be a Falun Dafa practitioner and second have to agree never to hire a Falun Dafa practitioner or talk about the persecutions of the Falun Dafa practitioners. You also may be asked to cooperate with the persecution policies of Jiang and his "610 Offices!"
They teach people to be numb towards the issue of good or bad, righteousness and evil. They force people to unknowingly sell conscience. In the past 4 years, Jiang and his regime have done these things to one quarter of the world's population. They have used these same deceits and threats with foreigners who have business relations with China. Isn't this an insult to humanity? Isn't this trafficking in human consciences? The most cruel and shameful acts perpetrated by this persecution have been forcing people to exchange their good conscience to maintain their status quo and forcing people to betray "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance" in the pursuit of personal interests. These are the key reasons why defendant Jiang and his regime are guilty of committing crimes against humanity!
Who wants to have to accuse their own parents just to be allowed to attend school?
Who wants to have to divorce their spouse just to keep their job?
Who wants to have to betray their neighbors just to be trouble-free?
Who wants their own children to shiver with fear or curse whenever they hear the words "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance?"
Who wants to see the ruin of our present human society and live in one that admires a dictatorship and violence and disrespects conscience and virtue?
These are the reasons why the governments and people of this world that still value justice and conscience must stop this persecution!
With time the wounds and pain left by torture will slowly heal, but the mental and emotional torture can stay with a person for life. Even when they weren't doing anything to me, just being in the labor camp wore me down. I wanted my life back. As soon as I got sent back to Ireland, I threw myself back into reading Dafa books again and clarifying the truth to the public. I knew it was the only thing that was going to save me.
(Silence)
Prosecutor -- (Breaking the silence) Sir, are you at present a practitioner of Falun Dafa?
Zhao Ming -- Yes, I am. I have witnessed other Falun Dafa practitioners suffering tortures and brainwashing in the Chinese forced labor camp. Now, in this free environment, I can tell you how much I benefit physically and mentally from the practice of Falun Dafa. My heart of faith towards Falun Dafa has never changed. Nothing I wrote in the labor camp that contradicts my faith in Dafa came sincerely from my heart, and I recognize none of it. I will use the rest of my life to amend the moral loss caused by my temporary weakness.
My tormentors clearly knew I would never truly give up, but they still used such evil means to force me, against my will, to abandon my faith and my conscience. I want the Court to know what they are doing so that it will understand that the evil of Jiang's persecution lies in the darkness it injects into people's hearts, a darkness which takes away people's dignity and conscience. I am honored to be able to stand before this tribunal today, not only to do my part to bring Jiang to justice, but also so that I may be able help others to truly step out from the shadow of the persecution and start their lives anew.
Prosecutor -- Thank you. I have no further questions.
Judge (addressing the Prosecutor) -- Do you have any further witnesses?
Prosecutor -- Yes, I will now call the defendant, former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, to the witness stand.
[The Defense Attorney gets into agitated exchange with Jiang. Counsel stands up.]
Counsel for Jiang -- Your Honor, my client wishes to exercise his right to remain silent.
Judge -- Are you saying he is now refusing to take the witness stand?
Defense Attorney -- Yes, your Honor.
Judge -- Then let it be duly noted that the defendant has refused to take the stand. Will you as his Counsel then be making a closing statement on his behalf?
[Defense Attorney consults with Jiang]
Defense Attorney -- Yes, your Honor.
Judge -- Then please proceed.
Defense Attorney -- Your Honor, my client enjoys head of state immunity because he currently is...er...uh...was the President of.... .... Your Honor, I would like to forgo the closing remarks.
Judge -- Prosecution, please present your closing remarks.
Prosecutor -- Thank you, your Honor, ladies and gentlemen, members of the press. Much evidence has been presented to you all in this historic case. Bringing a former world leader or head of state to trial is no trivial matter, not least because the kinds of crimes that such a person is capable of are no ordinary crimes. They are on a far-reaching, very broad scale. After all, is genocide not just murder on a massive scale? One man may torture another at one time, but someone with power over a nation may order others to inflict torture on many at the same time. A head of state may choose to use his power wisely and benevolently, or he may choose to abuse that power. Given the overwhelming evidence that has been presented in this case, it should be clear that Jiang Zemin has abused his power to inflict tremendous harm on Falun Dafa practitioners as well as the citizens of China and to waste the precious resources of the PRC. We are confident that Jiang will soon be held accountable for his many sins. Thank you.
Judge -- We find the defendant guilty as charged. The testimony of the witnesses over the course of this trial, the affidavits supplied to the court, the documents providing evidence of Falun Gong practitioners directly affected by the persecution by forced participation in brainwashing classes at re-education centers, as well as those detained illegally in mental hospitals, police stations, jails, detention centers, hotels, and medical hospitals is overwhelming. In addition the Court considers the millions more who were indirectly affected, such as family members, friends, co-workers, and relatives who live abroad. Families were torn apart, civil society was disrupted, and neighborhoods and communities were turned into war zones for ferreting out Falun Gong practitioners. The Court further considers the ways in which the propaganda apparatus slandered the innocent to justify their persecution. The Court notes the extent of the persecution and the millions upon millions whom it affected. The Court notes the extent of the mental component of the persecution geared to force persons to betray their conscience and to betray their dignity and belief in the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
The Court notes further the countless lies Jiang Zemin and his "610" organization created and spread throughout China, Asia, Europe, and the United States. Because of Jiang Zemin's lies, countless people were led to misunderstand and discriminate against Falun Gong practitioners.
The Court notes further the illegality of the persecution -- that the defendant violated the Constitution of China, that he abused and misused his authority as head of state, that he suborned and abrogated functions of the government by means of threats, the examples of arrest and torture, bribery and slander. That he betrayed the entire government and the Chinese people, the very ones whom in fact he was obligated by law to defend and serve.
There is no question that the defendant is guilty of the most serious crimes of the century. He will be condemned and recalled as a most shameful and sinful figure for thousands upon thousands of years. It is imperative that history learns important lessons from this case. This trial is not only meant for the people of today. It speaks to a far wider audience -- to all peoples from all times and places. All who hear the evidence will know that the persecution against Falun Gong was not merely misguided but motivated by the basest of human flaws -- jealousy, greed, fear, self-interest, and antitheism.
And what has allowed the persecution to come to an end is the best of humanity -- honesty, kindness and compassion, and fortitude. The nobility and courage that Falun Gong practitioners have exhibited throughout this persecution will be remembered always. This process has been a testament to their perseverance, their courage, their ability to withstand what no human being should ever have to withstand.
We shall reconvene in two weeks, at which time the punishment of the defendant shall be imposed.
All adjourned.
[Gavel sounds]
Bailiff -- All rise!
--------------------------------------------------
(Dai Zhizhen, with her daughter on stage, speaks)
My name is Dai Zhizhen. My daughter is only 3 years old. We are Australian citizens. What you saw here today was a portrayal done with actors, even though the facts are real. But there are still true stories happening in the persecution, and mine is one of them.
My husband was killed simply because he insisted on speaking the truth about Falun Dafa. He went to Beijing to hand a letter to the central government's appeal office, explaining how our family had benefited so much by practicing Falun Dafa, that Falun Dafa is good and should not be persecuted. He was then arrested by the Chinese police, put into jail, tortured, and died at the age of 34. I lost my husband when our daughter was 9 months old.
My sister-in-law was sent to a labor camp for 2 years because she did not want to give up her faith in Falun Dafa. My father-in-law was so shocked by these happenings that he died shortly afterwards.
After my husband was killed, I wanted to go back China and collect his ashes. But the Chinese Embassy refused to issue us a visa to go to China. I had to carry my daughter to visit all the members of parliament, the media, and the non-governmental organizations I could reach in Australia, until the Australian government finally helped me get his ashes back.
The most heart-breaking thing I have to face is my daughter's question, "Where is my daddy? I want Daddy." I don't know how to explain to my small child how her father died in this terror, because I am worried that it might affect her whole life.
In China, this tragedy did not happen just to my family. Millions of Falun Dafa practitioners in China are treated this way by Jiang Zemin, and they do not have a chance to speak out to the world.
Finally, I would like to say that I'm standing here today, on behalf of all the mothers and children that have been persecuted by Jiang Zemin and his 610 office in China, to ask the world's help to bring Jiang Zemin to justice and to end the persecution immediately.
The judges leave, followed by the lawyers.
The End
Editor's note: The persecution has been ongoing for over 4 years. It began on July 20, 1999, now ominously referred to as "7.20." Jiang Zemin abused his power to pursue his personal goals by illegally establishing "610 Offices" in order to persecute Falun Gong and to systematically fabricate lies and propaganda about Falun Gong. This blanket of lies perpetrated by the state-owned media has made it very difficult for people to see the facts clearly. This mock tribunal took 75 minutes to better clarify the truth to the world.
Category: Karma & Virtue
