Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you.-- Pericles (430 BC)
Recently, the Chinese government has stepped up its campaign of atrocities again the Falun Gong Spiritual Movement. As part of this program, the Chinese propaganda authorities are attempting to portray Falun Gong as a suicide cult. This causes a dilemma for people like me. When the press reports that members of the Falun Gong "commit suicide" in Chinese prisons or even in Chinese provinces, I know that the truth is that these people were probably murdered. In my opinion, this is what everyone should believe. In fact, as a general policy, when a member of an oppressed group dies in a totalitarian police state, the burden of proof that it wasn't murder belongs on the police state. If they want to prove it wasn't murder, they should invite neutral observers, such as the Red Cross into their prisons to observe conditions there around the clock, seven days of the week. At the very least, they should make sure that prisoners remain healthy and in good spirits, because they should understand that absent a free press and democratic processes every death in police custody and every suspicious death will be considered a murder in world public opinion.
We should all be worried about the government of China. They've shown a reckless disregard for world opinion and maintaining healthy diplomatic relations with other countries. (Bringing down that American spy plane was a good example of this.) They are imperialistic, by which I mean they intend to expand their territory. They have been very brutal to the nations they have conquered, such as Tibet or Inner Mongolia.
The conditions that the Falun Gong members in labor camps and other Chinese prisons suffer are barbaric. Their stories remind me of the book 1984 brought to life. The Falun Gong practitioners are tortured and forced to sign, "seperation statements." The tortures are as horrible as anything the Chinese government can come up with. For specific stories, try reading Falun Info Net, and remember that these are things that are happening every day in the People's Republic of China.
I want to make a note that these are my own opinions, and I am not trying to represent any group. However, I hope people will at least think about what I have said. There is little that we can do to stop these atrocities, but letting the government of China know that we are aware of them is a start.
An example of cruelty: Zhao Yayun's Story.
The above story is fairly typical. Besides stories like this, female Falun Gong practitioners are often raped and otherwise sexually assaulted before they are murdered in the Chinese Communist Party's current reign of terror.
Created on ... July 6th, 2001
Previous Editorials