The Third CCP Official Being Sued for Participating
in Persecuting Falun Gong after the Publication of the Falun Dafa Association
Announcement
By Xin Yu, Minghui correspondent
in Sydney
On November 8, 2005, Zhang Dejiang,
member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Politburo and Secretary of
the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province, was served with a summons from the Supreme
Court of New South Wales for the crime of torture against a Sydney resident, Falun
Gong practitioner Ms. Xie Yan. He received the court summons as he led a delegation
to attend the China Guangdong-Australia Business Conference 2005 at the Hilton
Hotel in Sydney. The news that Zhang Dejiang was sued and messages from the “Great
Wall of Courage” formed by Falun Gong practitioners outside the Hilton Hotel caused
a ripple among conference delegates from both inside and outside of China. At
the noon break, many delegates carefully read the contents of the banners while
leaving or entering the Hilton Hotel. Quite a few people stood at the gate discussing
amongst each other while looking at the banners.
  Falun Gong practitioners hold press conference in front of the Hilton Hotel in downtown Sydney |
  Falun Gong practitioners form a “Great Wall of Courage” in Front of the Hilton Hotel in downtown Sydney |
  Falun Gong practitioner Xie Yan, who sued Zhang Dejiang in court, holds a photocopy of the letter of complaint |
Australian Federal
police accept list of officials who participated in the persecution
At
around 11:00 a.m. on November 8, 2005, Xie Yan, together with NSW Falun Dafa Association
representative Kay Rubacek and John Deller, went to the Federal Police Department
to deliver a letter of complaint. They introduced the contents of the complaint
to a representative from the Federal Police Department. The complaint was against
Zhang Dejiang, Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Committee of Guangdong
Province, Wang Huayuan, Deputy Secretary of the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province,
and Lu Xiao, Deputy Head of the 610
Office of Guangdong Province, all of whom have committed crimes of torture
and crimes against humanity for actively participating in the persecution of Falun
Gong. The complaint requested the federal police to investigate the crimes committed
by these CCP officials, arrest and detain them and file a criminal lawsuit against
them. Police officer Ms. Thaiter accepted the complaint document on behalf of
the federal police, and expressed that she would immediately deliver the document
to related departments for handling and investigation. She said they would inform
Xie Yan as soon as possible of the result of the investigation and of the decision
they made.
One of the officials listed in the letter of complaint, Wang Huayuan,
is currently deputy secretary of the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province, secretary
of the Discipline and Inspection Commission, and in charge of the Political and
Judiciary system. In 2001, after the CCP authorities staged the self-immolation
incident at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Wang Huayuan, who was secretary of the
Provincial Discipline and Inspection Commission, immediately summoned Guangdong
Province's Discipline and Inspection commission to hold a session to “expose
and criticize Falun Gong.” He made a speech to attack Falun Gong during the session.
As revealed by Falun Gong practitioners who have personally suffered persecution,
Wang Huayuan once came to Sanshui Forced Labor Camp when he was deputy head of
the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province and secretary of the Guangdong Province
Discipline and Inspection Commission, to direct and oversee the persecution of
Falun Gong practitioners. Moreover, Wang Huayuan also went to the province's
No. 2 Rehab Center, the Women's Forced Labor Camp, to inspect and organize
the persecution. The third official listed in the letter of complaint, Lu Xiao,
is deputy head of the 610 Office of Guangdong Province. She was once head of the
“Leadership Group for Handling Falun Gong Issues” of the CCP Committee in Maoming
City.
A spokesperson from the “World Organization to Investigate the Persecution
of Falun Gong” (WOIPFG) said that WOIPFG has recently implemented the Global Monitoring
and Tracking System. New cases of severe persecution are documented and filed,
ensuring that when the responsible persons leave China, appropriate legal action
can be taken against them. The legal action against Zhang Dejiang and others has
been assisted by WOIPFG.
Secretary of the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province
is sued in the NSW Supreme Court for the crime of torture in relation to active
participation in the persecution of Falun Gong
On November 8, 2005, Sydney
Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference and formed a “Great Wall of Courage”
in front of the Hilton Hotel in downtown Sydney to introduce the facts about Falun
Gong to delegates attending the conference. They also announced to the media the
lawsuit against Zhang Dejiang, secretary of the CCP Committee of Guangdong Province,
who has been charged with the crime of torture, filed with the NSW Supreme Court
by Australian Falun Gong practitioner Xie Yan on November 7. The lawsuit concerns
Ms. Xie's experience of being persecuted in China, including physical injury
and illegal incarceration. The court has accepted the lawsuit and issued a summons,
which was formally delivered to Zhang Dejiang himself as he was attending the
China Guangdong-Australian Business Conference 2005 held at the Hilton Hotel in
Sydney. According to the Australian Judicial Act, Zhang Dejiang must respond to
the court within 28 days from the day that the summons was delivered to him, otherwise
the court will issue a default verdict against him.
Ms. Zhao, who helped Xie
Yan successfully deliver the summons, said that the guards at the conference were
on strict alert as if they were expecting an enemy attack. But when the conference
was about to conclude at noon, she broke through layers of guards and media reporters,
and handed the complaint letter to Zhang Dejiang in person. The CCP's ambassador
in Australia, Fu Ying, standing nearby quickly shouted, “Don't accept it!”
and struck the letter out of Zhang's hand. The letter fell on the table in
front of Zhang. She then called security, and the situation became chaotic. The
whole audience witnessed the scene, and many reporters took pictures of it.
At the press conference, plaintiff Xie Yan recounted her experience of torture
and persecution. She was sentenced to two years and three months of forced labor
for distributing Falun Gong truth-clarifying
materials to passersby on a Guangdong street. While being incarcerated in a forced
labor camp, Ms. Xie suffered tremendously, both physically and mentally. She was
once force-fed and hung up by the handcuffs. At one time, she was hung up for
five days and nights, and she was also forced to read and watch materials and
videos that slander Falun Gong, in an attempt to force her to renounce Falun Gong.
Fortunately, with the help of her fiancé who is an Australian citizen, and of
kind-hearted people overseas, Ms. Xie was rescued to Australia. However, in China,
tens of thousands of persecuted Falun Gong practitioners do not have a place to
appeal, so this time, through suing Zhang Dejiang in the Australian court, she
hoped that justice will be upheld in this free land.
Zhang Dejiang, as a member
of the CCP Politburo, during his term as secretary of the CCP Committee of Guangdong
Province, actively implemented the CCP's policy to persecute Falun Gong.
After he took office, 33 Falun Gong practitioners in the Guangdong area died as
a result of persecution. He should take full responsibility for the severe persecution
against Falun Gong practitioners in the Guangdong area. The governor of Guangdong
Province, Huang Huahua, was also sued when he visited the U.S. and Canada this
year, for the crime of torture in relation to his active participation in the
persecution of Falun Gong.
Falun Gong spokesperson Kay Rubacek and Sydney
Falun Dafa Association representative John Deller said at the press conference
that on October 9, 2005, the Falun Dafa Association published an announcement
stating, “From today on, overseas Falun Gong practitioners will file civil or
criminal lawsuits against all important government or CCP officials who participate
in or continue to implement the persecution of Falun Gong and as a result, commit
new crimes in addition to those they have already perpetrated against Falun Gong.”
Zhang Dejiang is the third CCP official sued for participating in the persecution
of Falun Gong since the Falun Dafa Association published the announcement. Falun
Gong practitioners sternly warn those CCP officials who continue persecuting Falun
Gong: Once they land on Australian soil, they will be subjected to possible lawsuits
against them at any time. Some staff members who had persecuted Falun Gong in
the past expressed a willingness to change their behavior and correct their mistakes.
These people are advised to send their guarantee statement or regret letter through
safe channels to the Minghui/Clearwisdom website or to any regional Falun Dafa
Association to be archived. The Falun Dafa Association will not investigate the
various crimes of those who are determined to correct their mistakes. However
they will continue to monitor their actions.
Guangdong Province is among
the provinces that severely persecute Falun Gong
According to WOIPFG's
investigation, Guangdong Province is one of the provinces where Falun Gong is
severely persecuted in China. As of October 2005, the number of Falun Gong practitioners
in Guangdong Province who are verified to have died as a result of persecution
was 64, ranked eighth in the country. The methods used to torture Falun Gong practitioners
are horrific and brutal.
In addition, according to the Falun Dafa Information
Center, Australian citizen Richard Chen's sister-in-law Liang Zihui from
Guangdong Province suffered severe persecution. Before practicing Falun Gong,
she suffered from meningitis, external injury to her head and severe depression.
After practicing Falun Gong, she became healthy both physically and mentally.
Her husband Chen Ruichang was the deputy editor-in-chief of the Guangdong Television
Station. The couple was illegally
arrested and sentenced to forced labor numerous times by the police department
and the 610 Office for practicing Falun Gong. In January 2005, Liang Zihui was
arrested once again for distributing truth clarification materials. As she resisted
the arrest, three to four guards held her on the ground and brutally beat her
to the point where her whole body was black and blue. She was then detained at
the Tianhe Detention Center. On June 8, 2005, the Guangzhou City Tianhe District
Court charged Liang Zihui with “using [slanderous term omitted] to disrupt
legal implementation.” Ms. Liang refused to plead guilty and protested the persecution
against her. On September 15, 2005, she was illegally sentenced to two years in
prison.
Australian citizen Lisa's younger sister, 37-year-old Tang Yiwen,
who lives in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province in China, was released in October
2003 with the help of the Australian Government and the international community
after being tortured for two years in the Chatou Women's Forced Labor Camp
of Guangzhou. Even though her legs had been beaten until they were disabled, she
was once again arrested by Guangzhou City's Zhuhai Police Station when she
applied for a passport to come to Australia to visit her relatives on February
23, 2004. Ms. Tang was then sent to Chatou Brainwashing Center of Baiyuan District,
Guangzhou City. After learning about this news, Australia Falun Gong practitioners,
together with Tang Yiwen's sister Lisa, held a press conference in front
of the Chinese Consulate in Sydney. Tang Yiwen started a hunger strike the day
she was arrested to protest the persecution against her, and by the 17th
day of her hunger strike, she was at the brink of death. The Guangzhou City 610
Office, being afraid of pressure from both inside and outside China, and afraid
of taking responsibility for the consequences of her death, informed Ms. Tang's
family to take her back home. Though they verbally promised to release Tang Yiwen,
they sent four or five people to follow her home. Tang Yiwen had to live a homeless
life in order to avoid harassment and re-arrest. She is still homeless, and her
life is in great danger.
Posting
date: 15/Nov/2005
Original article date: 12/Nov/2005
Category: Australian News
