When Hate And Enmity Turn Into A Political Culture...

Recently, Canadian paper Les Presses Chinoise, was sued for defamation for publishing articles that slandered Falun Gong. As seen from this court case, this mind-set of hate and enmity towards Falun Gong propagated by Jiang's regime has already gone beyond the borders of China and become an international issue.

In China today, some people are filled with an unexplainable enmity towards Falun Gong, and the subject is considered a contentious political issue.

Not too long ago, while talking over the phone with my parents-in-law in Beijing, they reminded me of a message from an old time friend of mine. He specifically phoned them to tell me not to send any more Falun Gong related articles to him over email; the case had already been settled and no one would believe us anymore.

He was once my close friend and we confided in each other, yet he was afraid to tell me directly, but had to relate the message through someone else. What sort of a mentality is that?

A history teacher from a small town in the east of Sichuan Province told me this: As a requirement in the grading of exams, not only do students have to criticize Falun Gong in the political subjects, but also in their history subjects as well. It is not difficult to imagine the degree of hate and enmity towards Falun Gong that will build up in those innocent minds, when the teachers, whom they trust, endorse the lies fabricated by Jiang's regime to discredit Falun Gong, by reading them directly to the students.

Similarly, when people are seeking for employment, applying to study in higher institutions, sitting for high school examinations, applying to go overseas or even just keeping their current jobs, their success is dependent on whether or not they are associated with Falun Gong. What political pressure the people are now facing!

Why does Jiang's regime spread hate and enmity?

A) The imposed persecution lacks legitimacy and mass support

For the last twenty years, the communist party has been focusing on issues such as democratic movements, calls for independence by Tibet and Taiwan, etc. On territorial issues, the people are for the government, but on the issues of democracy, there is a feeling of uncertainty and insecurity. Hence, to incite public condemnation on those issues, the party needs to have a common Chinese characteristic - "mass support," and then the people's feeling will easily be provoked.

Ever since Falun Gong has been introduced to the public, its health benefits are obvious among the practitioners and, as people are craving for a higher moral level to return to society, its name spread far and wide. To suppress such a group that does not have a political agenda, what Jiang Zemin lacks most of all is the legitimacy and mass support.

In April 1999, following the arrest of a few practitioners, thousands of practitioners
went to Beijing to appeal. To ease the tension of the public, the government announced later that they had never stopped people from practicing Qigong and the public could still continue to do so. However, three months later, taking the law into his own hands, Jiang Zemin instigated the persecution, which, of course, was hard for the people to accept.

So, what did he do? Jiang's regime used slanderous lies to provoke enmity in the public, which was the only way out.

B) The persecution lacks a moral basis

Unlike other organizations, Falun Gong does not have a political agenda. In fact, it is even not an organization. Its faith is built upon three words - Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, from which people learn to become good, not only in principle, but also in action as demonstrated by its practitioners. It promotes sincerity, forgiveness, tolerance, and abstention from drugs and gambling. It respects marriage vows and all the other laws, and it teaches practitioners to consider the interests of others first in all situations. All of those things are good for the society in every respect. It can be said that Falun Gong has an insight into every moral issue.
To attack a group of such a high moral distinction, Jiang's regime could not use morality as a tool. Therefore, his only tactic was to spread lies and provoke hate and enmity among people to maintain his suppression of Falun Gong.

How did Jiang Zemin manage to get away with his lies?

After many past experiences of innumerable political movements, the Chinese people by now should be immune to this type of "bloody" propaganda. However, in this suppression of Falun Gong, because of the extensive and deceitful cover-up by Jiang's regime in its propaganda and, by not giving Falun Gong a chance to defend itself, most of the people are deceived again. Even during the SARS outbreak and the recent launch of the manned space shuttle, Jiang's regime did not miss an opportunity to fabricate lies to undermine Falun Gong's image and fortify the hate propaganda.

There is a limit to people's immunity to this type of propaganda. Jiang's regime has not stopped its propaganda for the last few years, how can the people cope?
Following the spread of hate propaganda is the political suppression. Every organization in China is now linked up with Falun Gong. Jiang Zemin personally takes Falun Gong as his public enemy number 1, and has made it a top issue both nationally and internationally. One can imagine the pressure received by the people themselves.

When the recent case of Sun Zhigang, a university student in Wuhan beaten to death in a detention camp, was made known to the public, the people were shocked by the violence and many people courageously voiced their opinions, which brought the case to the attention of the central government. Whereas, in the persecution of Falun Gong, hundreds and thousands of people have been tortured to death and countless people are still suffering in prison camps, but the public is keeping quiet. The media in China are afraid to publicize the atrocities, which some of them don't believe, and some, do not want to believe or are unwilling to investigate. Instead, they have chosen to stand on the side of Jiang's regime, and put the blame on the suffering victims. Moreover, whenever slanderous news about Falun Gong is published, many websites immediately respond in agreement with the central government's view to indicate their close support and stance.

The hate and enmity, generated from high political pressure, have made the people who are afraid to be dragged into the whirlpool of politics cold and hardhearted. Also, for some personal gains and selfish reasons, they choose to side with the strong and oppress the weak In other words, the hate propaganda, which has developed into a culture, is now deeply implanted in the fiber of the nation. When hate and enmity are a part of the culture of China, what does Jiang's regime, a keen promoter of cultural exchange, have to offer to the world?

You will know the answer after reading about the court case of Les Presses Chinoise.