Jiang Zemin is facing another lawsuit. In Australia, after Falun Gong practitioner
Ms. Zhang Cuiying announced her intent to launch legal action against Jiang Zemin
in her own name, practitioners in Sydney decided to bring forward a class action
lawsuit against Jiang in Australian Federal Court. Currently, the case is in the
stage of consultation and collecting materials.
One of the plaintiffs of the class action lawsuit, Mr. Li
Qizhong.
According to reports from Epoch Times, since October 2002, Falun Gong
practitioners filed a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin and his “610 Office”
for torture, genocide and other crimes against humanity in the Illinois District
Court in the United States, assistants to Chinese high officials took actions in
countries outside China, attempting to prevent legal action against Jiang from
proceeding. It is reported that the Chinese Embassy in Australia had contacted
the Australian Foreign Ministry to seek advice for the possibility of filing a
lawsuit against Jiang in Australia.
An Epoch Times reporter interviewed Mr. Li Qizhong, one of the coordinators
of this class action lawsuit. Mr. Li talked from both legal and moral aspects
the significance and feasibility of suing Jiang Zemin and his “610
Office” in Australia.
Reporter: For Australia, Jiang Zemin is a former leader of another country.
It is said that Australia did not have a corresponding law based on which he can
be sued. Would you please tell us how you plan to go forward?
Mr. Li (Li Qizhong): Indeed, this is the first time in Australian history
that Australian citizens are going to sue another country’s leader in their
local federal court in Australia. Countries including the United States have
this kind of law to allow this sort of suit to proceed, but there is no related
law in Australia. However, through repeated consultation, our attorney clearly
told us that because of the particularity of this case, the corresponding
lawsuit can proceed. To put it simply, first, Australia is a member nation that
signed the United Nations’ international criminal law. Second, although Jiang
regime’s persecution of Chinese citizens in China’s territory is out of the
control of Australian law, people who live in Australia are being harmed, and
that is within the scope of Australia.
Another fact is that if the federal court encounters pressure from the
government, it might not accept this lawsuit. However, if there are many
plaintiffs and the evidence is conclusive, the court has to accept this suit.
Reporter: How is it possible for Jiang Zemin in China to persecute people who
live in Australia?
Li: Our attorneys explained to us the legal concept of being persecuted in
Australia, which can be summarized as three cases:
(1) That family members
encountered persecution in China also puts their relatives in other countries in
a painful situation. Australian law considers that this kind of harm has already
indirectly persecuted people who reside in Australia.
(2) To enforce the repression policy, China’s state-run media conducted
extremely extensive slanderous propaganda and used all kinds of channels to
spread the propaganda all over the world (for example, the staged “Tiananmen
Square self-immolation incident”) According to Australian laws, this kind
of rumor-mongering propaganda has ruined (Falun Gong’s) reputation, which
directly exerts mental pressure on Falun Gong practitioners in other countries,
or causes other people (for instance, family members and friends) to
discriminate against practitioners. This is within the scope of the Australian
laws.
(3) When Australian residents went to China to visit their family members,
they were barred from entering China’s territory, or were casually detained in
China, illegally imprisoned, or their names appeared in a “blacklist”,
so on and so forth. As long as these experiences still remain in your memory,
Australian laws consider you to be enduring successive harm. In particular,
those who are unable to meet with their family members in China (even when their
family members were on the verge of death, they were not allowed to visit them)
are considered to encounter the biggest harm.
People who meet any item of the above three has the right to bring forward a
lawsuit in Australia.
Our attorneys said that, from this angle, every Falun Gong practitioner has
the right to become a legal plaintiff. In fact, whether you practice Falun Gong
or not, no matter what your status is (Australian citizen, Australian permanent
resident or alien residing in Australia), if you have encountered Jiang regime’s
direct or indirect persecution, you have the right to file a lawsuit in
Australia.
Reporter: How many people have joined your plaintiff group? Are they all
Falun Gong practitioners? How much expense do you need to proceed with this
lawsuit?
Li: Earlier, we sent more than 3,000 consultation letters to all attorneys in
New South Wales. We received more than 180 supportive replies, among which, 15
attorneys are willing to help us to proceed with the lawsuit and requested
further discussions. During our conversations, the attorneys said that this case
is very special, which has never been seen in Australian history.
We chose a large, well-known attorney firm. They are willing to take care of
all of the affairs regarding the lawsuit for us free of charge. The attorney who
will be present in court on our behalf will also not charge us anything. This
attorney expressed that this case can become a research project, and he will ask
university students in the law department to study this case.
According to the law, at least 10 plaintiffs, but with no upper limit, are
required for a class action lawsuit. At present, more than 80 Falun Gong
practitioners signed up to be plaintiffs. Thirty-two plaintiffs’ testimonies
have been completed. Things are going smoothly. We believe that our plaintiff
group will continue growing. Victims are not limited to Falun Gong
practitioners. We welcome anyone that has been subjected to the Jiang regime’s
persecution to join our class action lawsuit.
Reporter: How much effect will this lawsuit have on the former leader of
China? What might be the final result?
Li: The former leader of Serbia was detained in an airport in the United
Kingdom, because a U.K. court sent a subpoena to him. Australia and U.K. have
very similar laws. We can also request the Australian court to send the
subpoena. When Jiang Zemin, members of his “610 Office”, direct
persecutors or ones who are responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong
practitioners, enter Australian territory, they may receive the Australian
court’s subpoena or be detained.
To bring a class action lawsuit against Jiang Zemin in Australia is only part
of the activities of “Global Coalition to Bring Jiang to Justice”. The
significance is: No matter who he is, as long as he committed crimes, he has to
bear the legal responsibility for that. Laws are supposed to protect victims,
uphold justice and punish criminals. One should note that Jiang Zemin not only
persecutes Falun Gong, but he also persecute other religious beliefs. Laws and
morality should protect people’s basic human rights. We are not against any
country or any government. What we are opposing is the persecution and those
people we are suing are criminals whose hands are stained with innocent people’s
blood.
For many Falun Gong practitioners, as victims of the persecution, we are
simply stepping forward to do what we are supposed to do. We firmly believe that
through this series of legal actions, when more and more people get to know the
facts of the persecution, Jiang Zemin is already being tried in the court of
people’s conscience and morality, while the trial in the legal sense can be
expected to follow.
Posting date: 21/Aug/2003
Original article date: 18/Aug/2003
Category: Australian News
