Freeing China from Disaster

Why the Chinese regime needed to "stage" a riot in Flushing New York

By Gong Ping Epoch Times Staff

May 20, 2008

Members of Japan's disaster relief medical team depart for China from Narita Airport on May 20, 2008, 8 days after the earthquake hit. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

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Sichuan, China and Flushing, New York may seem far apart, but events this past weekend showed them to be closely connected.

In the streets of Flushing, on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday a large group of Chinese were organized by the Chinese regime to insult, curse, intimidate, and even beat those who had come there peacefully to encourage the Chinese people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Chinese-language media that are either owned or influenced by the CCP covered the events on Saturday and reported that those who had rallied on behalf of quitting the CCP "did not care about the earthquake victims" and "did not love China."

The disastrous Sichuan earthquake poses great dangers for the CCP. The earthquake has unleashed in the Chinese people strong feelings of patriotism—not the hyped up over-the-top nationalism the CCP manufactures when it wants to put pressure on Japan or the U.S., but genuine love of country inspired by concern over the suffering of fellow Chinese.

China quite unexpectedly awakened. The CCP has never allowed an independent civil society to exist and has encouraged getting rich to the exclusion of all else, including caring for one's fellow man. Yet, of their own initiative individuals drove fleets of SUVs filled with aid to the quake epicenter and shipped heavy equipment to the disaster area in order to save lives. Those who could not help directly hung on every newscast for reports from the quake area.

With over a week having passed since the earthquake, the hopes of finding survivors have almost disappeared. And with pictures being passed around all of China showing CCP administrative buildings standing erect without a visible crack next to demolished school buildings in which much of a generation perished, the generous impulses unleashed by the earthquake may now take surprising new directions.

The desire to save fellow Chinese from disaster may now express itself in uncomfortable questions about what made that disaster possible.

The regime-sponsored riot in Flushing with its carefully arranged media coverage is meant to channel the deep feelings still coming to the surface against those dissidents who would dare to challenge the CCP.

Whether such a cheap propaganda trick can fool the Chinese people remains to be seen. Consideration of the disaster in Sichuan, though, does provide the Chinese people the chance to understand the disasters they are suffering.

The Many Unexplainable "Whys"

While a natural disaster, the earthquake brought calamity because of human errors. These human errors are not technical in nature. They are related to the issue of the CCP's power. The CCP put concerns for its own power before the requirements for disaster rescue.

Why didn't the CCP investigate when signs of an earthquake were first reported, but instead jumped at discrediting the information as rumors? The Sichuan government even investigated the "rumor" and publicly "dismissed the rumor" on its official website.

Why did China claim over ten years ago to have an all-weather airdrop force of over 10,000, yet no air drops were performed in the three days after the earthquake?

Why, in the critical 72 hours after the earthquake, did only 20 military jet-planes and less than 1,000 soldiers enter the epicenter in Wenchuan County?

Why did the CCP wait until the fourth day after the earthquake to bring in the world's largest all-weather jet planes that can carry engineering equipment?

Why at the crucial juncture of the emergency rescue of heaven-bestowed human lives did the CCP refuse the entry of foreign rescue teams?

Why have so many innocent children died or been injured in the collapse of their school buildings, while regime buildings are standing safely?

Why does the Olympics have a budget of over 400 billion Yuan (US$57.4 billion), surpassing the grand total of all previous Olympic games, while the CCP is so careful with money in saving people in disasters?

Why has the CCP issued orders to maintain positive propaganda, instead of reflecting the true suffering of the people in the disaster-hit area?

The Same Tragedy Repeats

All Chinese have the right to ask these questions out of sympathy for the dead and concern for those suffering disaster. In China, the regime monopolizes the bulk of society's resources, and thus private mobilization is extremely limited in resources and ability to assist in disaster relief. People have good reasons for demanding the regime assume responsibility.

When the regime is so incapable, people have the right to criticize and condemn. Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering in a disaster, yet the authorities are shamelessly boasting.

This is definitely not the time for people to show tolerance or sing eulogies to those who are responsible. On the contrary, when disaster strikes, this is the time people should monitor, criticize, and correct any problems, making accountable those who are responsible.

Otherwise, how can we face those sorrowful souls whose lives could have been saved? How can we avoid future calamities? Our patriotic feelings and sympathy for the dead should equal in no way to our indulgence of the incapable and inhumane CCP regime. If we indulge the CCP, that amounts to cruelty to the dead and the suffering.

The Chinese leader Wen Jiabao knows clearly that "It is the people who are nurturing you." But as the premier, Wen Jiabao could not mobilize the army quickly enough for disaster rescue and could not gain approval for his proposal of requesting foreign rescue teams.

We are without doubt facing CCP authorities who take life extremely carelessly and are selfish to the extreme. All they know is how to claim achievements and how to pretend. The corruption and decadence of the CCP power cannot be rectified by Hu Jintao (the head of the CCP) and Wen Jiabao, no matter what their personal intentions might be.

The CCP's inability, shamelessness, and lack of conscience did not just show up in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. From the Tangshan earthquake 32 years ago (in which an estimated 250,000 died) to the SARS epidemic five years ago to this year's snow storm, the CCP has covered up the truth and neglected life every time when disaster comes.

The same tragedy repeats itself over and over. How long will people continue to be fooled by the CCP and continue to follow the CCP blindly?

The Disaster of Persecution

The CCP shows the same inhumanity toward healthy Chinese as it does in its boastful insincerity toward earthquake victims.

The history of the CCP is permeated with the misery of the Chinese people. In the consecutive political persecutions that have lasted till now, over a half of the Chinese population has suffered suppression at one time or another by the CCP.

Even while the rescue of earthquake victims is on-going, the CCP has still continued the arrest of innocent appellants, those who dare to speak the facts, and religious groups.

The most outrageous of these is the persecution toward Falun Gong, which has lasted for 9 years.

The righteous beliefs of millions of Falun Gong practitioners have been suppressed. Hundreds of millions of family members and relatives of Falun Gong practitioners are involved. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are sent to labor camps or sentenced to long jail terms. Several million families of Falun Gong practitioners are distorted or broken.

Because of the CCP's blockade on information, the real picture of the persecution is still not known. But from the limited information we do know, the evilness and extent of the persecution is clear.

By March 2008, 3,145 Falun Gong practitioners have been reported dead with their names, personal information, and details of their deaths recorded. From sources inside the CCP, those who have been beaten to death are said to number over 10,000. In addition, tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are believed to have died due to organ harvesting, which is still ongoing.

In the history of China, when a natural disaster would come, the emperor would repent, reflect on his own conduct, and then issue a document reproaching what he had done wrong.

Yet, with natural disasters piled upon the grievances of the Chinese people, we have never seen the CCP repent and reflect. What we do see is the CCP continuing to cover up its criminal deeds and continuing to commit crimes that offend both gods and humans.

If the emperors were right, and crime brings disaster, how many disasters has the CCP brought to the Chinese people? How many disasters will it continue to bring?

Cleaning the Heart

2008 has been an unusual year for China. Since New Years day, disasters have come one after another. How to avoid even larger disasters is a problem to which all should pay attention.

Undoubtedly, the CCP does not care about this problem. The CCP only cares about its power and interests. Kind-hearted people should not count on the CCP to become a savior. What is really effective is to save oneself.

In this Sichuan earthquake, a nongovernmental rescue team including 120 people and 60 pieces of large scale rescue equipment arrived at the center of the quake in 36 hours and conducted large-scale rescue work. Their efficiency and speed far surpassed that of the regime's teams. Chinese military experts highly praised their swiftness.

This fully demonstrates that the Chinese people are capable and wise. Without the CCP's corrupt rule, the Chinese people could do things better. The premier of China would not be so helpless and the Chinese people would not be so miserable.

While we are mourning the dead, we cannot forget how to help those who are alive. By quitting the CCP and restoring a society that is humane, responsible, and compassionate, the Chinese people will help to avoid disasters. This will be beneficial to all the Chinese people.

For this reason, we truly thank those who are working hard to call for righteousness and kindness, to spread truth, and to help the Chinese to quit CCP.

In order to deceive the Chinese people, the CCP has compiled various rumors. However, for those who have learned the truth and have quit the CCP, they will not retreat. Instead, there will be more Chinese who will quit CCP.

We hope more Chinese see through the nature of the CCP and withdraw from it. At this time of relieving the people in earthquake-stricken areas, we should also conduct a rescue of souls. Cleaning the poisons of the CCP from the heart is the fundamental way to get free of disaster.

Click here to read the original article in Chinese

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Copyright 2000 - 2007 The Epoch USA Inc.

Chinese regimes orders Chinese nationalists to attack Falun Gong outside of China

Aftershocks: Chinese Mobs Incited to Attack Falun Gong in New York, Elsewhere
Violence and vandalism suggest communist authorities exploiting Sichuan earthquake aftermath for political ends

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NYPD officers confront an angry mob in Flushing, New York, making at least two arrests of individuals assaulting Falun Gong adherents.

NEW YORK — The Falun Dafa Information Center reported Wednesday that mobs of hundreds have been assembled in Flushing, New York, daily since Saturday, May 17, to assail Falun Gong practitioners even as millions throughout China mourn.

This and similar incidents occurring on the same days elsewhere, coupled with aggressive coverage from state-run media in China, suggest that Beijing authorities are orchestrating these events, post-earthquake, as a means of channeling emotions against political targets.

Several adherents of Falun Gong, including U.S. and Canadian citizens, up to 70 years of age, and including a mother whose two sons are serving in Iraq with the U.S. military, have been physically assaulted by the pro-communist crowds, with others receiving threats on their lives. At least two arrests have been made by Queens police; hate crime charges are allegedly pending. Other Falun Gong members have been pelted with bottles, eggs, and stones, and been spit on by the assembled mass. (Details of the events are attached.)

The incidents, which are paralleled by happenings in Japan and Los Angeles, and possibly elsewhere, during the same four-day period, appear to have been coordinated by China’s authorities and are the culmination of escalating aggression towards Falun Gong and other forms of dissent in recent months. In the run-up to the Olympics, Chinese communist-backed student groups have, notably, harassed and threatened Tibet activists and turned to violence in South Korea, where rights activists were pummeled by a pro-communist Chinese throng.

“Each week we’re seeing acts of increasing belligerence like this, and Falun Gong has become a principal target,” said Falun Dafa Information Center spokesperson Erping Zhang today. “It is simply preposterous to see American citizens—and specifically, Americans who are trying to uphold values like liberty that are dear to our country—get threatened, berated, and assaulted in their own backyards by mobs who are directed by a foreign dictatorship.”

Much suggests that the gatherings and assaults in Flushing were pre-meditated, organized, and trace back to Beijing. Many Chinese student organizations and provincial associations are known to be linked to, and mobilized by, communist authorities in Beijing.

“I’ve had a good look at your face… and I’m going to kill you.” -- Assailant thre“I’ve had a good look at your face… and I’m going to kill you.” -- Assailant threatening Falun Gong adherent, Judy Chen atening Falun Gong adherent, Judy Chen

The seething throngs arrived, and left, seemingly on cue; witnesses report the group operating in what appears to be shifts, with groups leaving and arriving as if scheduled. Members of the pro-communist pack were equipped with identical red flags. Certain individuals stood out as ringleaders, leading the group in chants, directing actions, and inciting members. Certain others brandished professional cameras, and appeared to be gathering information on Falun Gong participants and supporters. An eyewitness reported that many—perhaps dozens—of mob members had identical iPhones, wrapped in the same green-tinted, transparent, waterproof enclosures.

Chinese journalists were also reportedly dispatched from China to the weekend’s events; this, at a time when the nation’s attention is fixated on the tragedy of Sichuan province. One woman at the Flushing scene identified herself as a reporter sent from Changchun Television, a state-run media entity in northeastern China. A second individual, a male, identified himself as a Beijing journalist assigned to take photos.

The mass gatherings have been aggressively reported by China’s state-run press, with a heavy political twist. The mob scene has been cast as a spontaneous backlash against Falun Gong by patriotic Chinese, who, according to one PRC paper, Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao), “could not tolerate” Falun Gong’s alleged indifference to the earthquake and “not fighting against the disaster… not donating a penny.”

“It’s almost like one big, bogus publicity stunt,” said the Center’s Erping Zhang. “Beijing seems intent on exploiting the tragedy of the earthquake and its emotional aftermath to stigmatize and attack Falun Gong. They’re trying to turn Falun Gong into a political rallying point. It’s a shameful way of diverting attention from very real problems inside China at this time.”

Significantly, similar operations appear to be under way in other regions around the world. On Saturday, May 16, ethnic Chinese assaulted another “Party-Quitting Station” (see attached), this time in Tokyo, Japan—some 8,000 miles away. In Japan, as in New York, poster displays were kicked or torn down and individuals assaulted.

In both cases the same station, or booth, had been incident-free for years, prior to this one weekend.

Flushing police arrest 33-year-old Wen Q. Li, charged with assaulting several Falun Gong adherents.

In Los Angeles on May 20, nonviolent Falun Gong demonstrators outside the Chinese consulate were similarly accosted by ethnic Chinese. The perpetrators again tore down banners and destroyed informational materials.

“This is clearly a centrally planned and engineered scheme, and there’s no doubt who is behind the scenes. It’s the same dictatorship that has deployed scores of angry Chinese to drown out dissenting voices wherever the Olympic torch goes, or whoever tries to speak out about Tibet or Falun Gong,” said Zhang.

At least one Chinese source familiar with these matters alleges that Zhou Yongkang, Secretary of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, is behind the overseas pro-communist groups.

The Falun Dafa Information Center is deeply troubled by the escalating pattern of intimidation and violence. Of concern is also the right to information of ethnic Chinese who should be able to frequent sites such as the Flushing Party-Quitting Station free of coercion or threat. If China’s communist rulers fear what such information reveals, it should curb its political persecutions and abide by international norms, thus having less to hide, rather than seek to stifle such facts.

The Center also calls upon all elected officials and relevant federal bodies to immediately take measures to protect those who are targeted by such abusive tactics; investigate the happenings in Flushing and elsewhere; and take active measures, including legislation, to ensure they do not occur again.

Victims of assault named above as well as others are available for media interviews upon request. Attached are further details of the incidents. A short news clip with footage of the incident (in Chinese) can be found here.

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Details of Incidents in Flushing, New York, May 17–20, 2008

Incidents in Flushing began on Saturday, May 17, when some 40 individuals gathered outside the Flushing branch of the Queens Borough Public Library to celebrate the disavowal of Chinese communist rule by compatriots back in China. Some 37 million there have reportedly quit the communist party in recent years, with each new million added to the figure being commemorated as a milestone. Those assembled included leaders of local Chinese organizations, democracy and human rights activists, and Falun Gong adherents.

Similar gatherings had been held over the past four years, free of incident, and a small group of individuals had manned a booth at the same spot meant to facilitate breaks from the Party by overseas Chinese. The booth is said to have been staffed daily in recent months, all along free of incident. Similar “Party-Quitting Stations” have been set up in densely populated Chinese areas elsewhere outside of China.

The group, which gathered outside the library at 12 noon on the 17th, soon found itself dwarfed by throngs of ethnic Chinese, who gathered opposite, across the street. An estimated 300-plus assembled. Witnesses describe the group as seething with anger, and focused almost exclusively on Falun Gong. Chants denouncing Falun Gong and its founder—including “death to Falun Gong!”—and not the event at hand, were belted out by the group. A glass bottle was soon hurled, along with various plastic beverage containers. At one point the assembled mass brandished red flags, which had apparently been distributed.

One Falun Gong adherent present, surnamed Wu, age 70, was physically assaulted after attempting to distribute an informational leaflet. After a pummeling, Wu heard the assailant on his cell phone say, “Call more people to come, $90 for each person!”

Throngs of ethnic Chinese similarly assembled again outside the library on May 18, 19, and 20. On the 18th the Party-Quitting booth was physically surrounded by the group, and a number of informational materials were vandalized and seized by the mass. Police disbanded the crowd, only to see it return again, as if on cue, on the 19th when the booth again opened at 10a.m. The group this time came equipped with stones and eggs, the latter of which it hurled regularly, and in several instances spit on persons staffing or supporting the booth.

One woman who practices Falun Gong, Judy Chen, 48, of Flushing, was assaulted on Monday by a Chinese woman in the pro-communist pack. Chen had attempted to take the woman’s picture after she berated and swore at Chen, who regularly staffs the Party-Quitting booth, only to have her camera seized and smashed. The assailant proceeded to slap Chen about the face and claw her (photo). Chen reports having been told, “I’ve had a good look at your face… and I’m going to kill you.” Chen is a naturalized citizen and has two sons, both of whom are in the U.S. military and currently serving in Iraq.

On Tuesday the 20th violence again erupted, this time with greater force and frequency; witnesses report as many as four assaults taking place. Upwards of 400 ethnic Chinese were assembled, and again seized and destroyed materials. One of those assaulted was Zenon Dolnyckyj, of Flushing, age 30, who practices Falun Gong. A second is also a Falun Gong adherent, Wenzhong Yu, age 53. Yu was badly beaten by ethnic Chinese at the scene, and had to go to the hospital for lacerations to the ear (photo1 / photo2).

Queens police arrested two men in connection with Tuesday’s assaults, Guang Chen, 46, and Wen Q. Li, 33. Both stand charged with assault, and may be prosecuted for a hate crime. The victims’ identity as Falun Gong members is believed to have been the crimes’ motive.

For more information on this issue…

“Beijing’s Obvious Hand at the U.S. Olympic Torch Run” http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/terrorism_weekly_april_16

“Student Organizations or Government Front?” http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9498

“Chinese Regime Looks to Student-Spies to Push Agenda in Canada” http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-7-19/57787.html

“Quake Quiets the Critics of China’s Human-Rights Record” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121121202564703765.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
(5/21/2008 16:55)

Chinese Communist Party Interfers with Democracy Activities in USA

Organized Chinese Crowds Attack New York Human Rights Activists

By Li Ming Epoch Times New York Staff

A bespectacled elderly Chinese man with black cap shouting insults and profanity raised a fist at volunteers at the service center, threatening to attack and smash the camera of an Epoch Times reporter. (The Epoch Times)

Flushing, NY–A group of Chinese crowds, suspected to be organized by the Chinese Communist regime, attacked the service center for withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Flushing, NY and volunteers at the center on Monday morning, following a similar attack on Sunday and an attack on Saturday on participants at a rally celebrating the growing trend of withdrawals from the CCP on Sunday.

A group of 400 or more Chinese men and women suspected of being hired by the Chinese Communist regime, besieged the service center in Flushing. The Chinese Communist regime's official media surprisingly appeared on time at the scene of the attack.

Today the volunteers of the service center for withdrawing from the CCP arrived at the Flushing Public Library as usual. After they set up the table and displayed photographs and print materials of The Epoch Times' The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and reports of over 36 million people that have withdrawn from the CCP and its two affiliated student leagues, the volunteers began to distribute free newspapers and print materials to passersby.

People suspected to be hired by the Chinese Communist regime shouting insults and curses. (The Epoch Times)

Mr. Zhang Derong, a resident in Flushing and a Falun Gong practitioner, said, "This attack is similar to the one on Sunday. Tens of people quickly surrounded volunteers at the service center. They closed in and they meant trouble. Then they started a verbal attack. They pointed at our poster display and shouted very nasty things. The rest of the crowd cheered them on. Some shouted, 'Get out! Get out! Kick them out of the place!'"

Several with cameras and TV cameras moved about among the mob, shooting footage. A female reporter told someone at the crowd that she is from Changchun TV Station.

Another Flushing resident Ms. Wu Hua said, "This is apparently a plotted and organized attack. Several men surrounded the volunteers at the service center, shouting insults. They didn't come here to collect donations for the earthquake in China.

"They were attacking us in the same way the Chinese Communist Party suppresses Falun Gong practitioners in China. They insulted us and shouted profanity. Before the police arrived, the mob attacked two volunteer ladies. They wouldn't dare without someone backing them up."

A man in the crowd started cursing when he saw the photo displays about The Epoch Times' Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. (The Epoch Times)

Another resident in Flushing Ms. Shi Rongfeng recalled, "I tried to reason with some people peacefully, but a woman refused to listen. She kept cursing and started to attack. She had a menacing look. If somebody didn't stop her, she would have kept on attacking us."

Eventually about 400 people surrounded the service center volunteers. In order to protect the personal safety of about ten volunteers at the service center, including several elderly people, the police asked the volunteers to leave the scene. The police interviewed several witnesses to the attack and made a report for further investigation.

About 400 Chinese people suspected to be hired by the Chinese Communist regime to disrupt the service center. (The Epoch Times)

A similar attack also took place on Sunday. According to a witness, Monday's crowd was the same mob as the one on Sunday. In fact, a group of Chinese disrupted a public assembly celebrating the trend of withdrawals from the CCP on Saturday, leading many to suspect that the Chinese Communist regime might be the mastermind of this series of three attacks.

According to the Falun Dafa Information Center, Zhou Yongkang is suspected of organizing China's overseas student and scholar associations, as well as Chinese community associations and local thugs, to instigate overseas Chinese people's hatred against Falun Gong practitioners, to attack practitioners, and to obstruct practitioners' civil rights.

About 400 Chinese people suspected to be hired by the Chinese Communist regime to disrupt the service center. (The Epoch Times)

The Chinese Communist regime's official media seemed to possess an amazing foresight concerning the three attacks because they had their TV cameras set up before each of the three attacks and then broadcast the footage to the audience in China.

Following the earthquake in Sichuan, the Chinese Communist regime's media in China have repeatedly run reports against Falun Gong practitioners, accusing practitioners of refusing to donate to the earthquake relief. These reports effectively aided in the regime's hate propaganda against Falun Gong.

The people that led the mob attacks allegedly have criminal records in the U.S. Some of them are currently under investigation. Falun Gong practitioners are asking the U.S. authorities to release these Chinese agents' personal information and to deport them from the U.S.

Click here to read the original article in Chinese

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Sadness turns toward Anger in Earthquake China

A Chinese Reporter's Anger

By An Anonymous Reporter The Epoch Times

A grieving mother looks back at the body of her child as she is escorted away from a temporary morgue after identifying the body at a sports centre, in the town of Hanwang in Sichuan Province. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

As we watch this natural disaster unfold it has slowly turned into one of man made calamities. The original feelings of sadness displayed by the disaster victims have now turned towards anger.

Faced with this unprecedented disaster, the authorities claim that they have made an all out effort in disaster relief. Each day increasing numbers of troops are being sent to help in the rescue operations, with scalable expansion. People are questioning why, if they have already claimed to have made an all out effort on the first day of rescue operations, then how is such an all out effort being broadened on the second and third day?

The Chinese authorities maintain tight control on all stories associated with this disaster. Only positive news reports are allowed to be released to guide the direction of public opinion. Critical and/or self-examination type stories are not permitted. As countless victims die while waiting quietly for rescue, the Chinese media start daily news broadcast swith the stories that are self-serving the authorities' interests. One after another, touching scenes are shown on TV—another child has been rescued.

Some people think the authorities have made significant progress on accurately reporting this disaster, with some factual news stories released. But, you would be wrong to think that this is due to a change in the authoritarian censorship policy. The scale of this disaster is so large that the censors have lost control and are unable to prevent negative stories from being published. The internet also plays an important role in disseminating information.

The police and the parents

Two days ago, all major newspapers reported the story of an armed policeman who had knelt down asking for another chance to save one more child. But throughout the entire disaster area, the most conservative estimates said that on that same day, there were over 50 tearful parents and relatives who had knelt down in front of rescue workers and begged them to save their loved ones. These types of bittersweet scenes have made many frontline reporters cry. Of course, the stories of the parents and relatives kneeling and begging for help were not reported in the official media.

The rescue operations are widespread. Most of the rescuers come from the People's Liberation Army. These soldiers arrived at the disaster areas with only their bare hands. They are young, brave and strong. However, these brave young men and women lack the appropriate training and tools to be most effective in saving lives. They are not professionals in disaster relief. Almost all of them are working with tears running down their faces. Reporters also noticed tears on their faces when they sang together during a break.

The Chinese censors have effectively kept the real stories of this disaster from reaching the people. But what are the quake victims thinking about right now? The first three days after the earthquake were the most important in respect to saving lives. This opportunity has now passed. It is estimated that for every minute that was wasted in the rescue operations, one or two buried victims could have died. Reporters have seen that although the troops and rescue teams have rushed to the disaster areas, the fact is that they are doing the rescue work very slowly. Many soldiers and rescue workers have never seen or faced collapsed buildings. Most of the time, they don't even know where to start. It is very difficult for the families who have lost loved ones in this disaster. The only thing they are able to do is to kneel down in front of the rescue workers and beg for their help.

As the people's emotions begin to stir, many have turned from sadness toward anger. At the same time, the news media have received orders to decrease the current emphasis on emotional scenes of panic stricken people, and focus on scenes of stability. The entire nation has been fooled by the government censored news media. Even the intellectuals and experts who were supposed to monitor the government's disaster relief programs also claimed to have put aside all prejudices and have stopped reflection and questioning, as if these ridiculous actions were supporting the Chinese communist regime in disaster relief.

Because of the effective censorship of the Chinese news media, people who have not experienced the earthquake believe that the regime has put forth its best effort. They believe that everything will be resolved for the better.

They do not know that this natural disaster has become a man-made disaster because of the regime's dismal attempt at disaster relief. The ones who see and feel the results of the disaster most directly are the quake victims. Even though frontline reporters understand what is really happening, they are not allowed to reveal this information to the public.

Refusal of rescue teams from Europe and the U.S.

There is a reason why it took almost three days to agree to accept foreign aid from Japan and why the Chinese authorities accepted Korea and Russia's aid, but not high-tech aid from the United States and other Western nations. Reporters have learned that within the Chinese leadership, a group of senior officials supporting "conspiracy theories" felt that, although accepting help from the Western countries might save more children and villagers, "national security" could be threatened because the world would see the incompetence of the Chinese authorities.

Reporters also learned of another reason: If the Chinese authorities allow United States and Western nations' rescue teams into the disaster zones, those individuals will reveal the details of the disaster once they return to their home countries. If they exposed backwardness and inflexibility in China's earthquake rescue system, it would hurt China's reputation. If such news reports got back to China, the Chinese people would lose confidence in their government.

Those Chinese government officials who put power and reputation above the lives of people are not concerned with those who have suffered. For them power remains safe in their hands as long as they control the media and have 1.3 billion people who "put aside all reflections and fully support their government." With their way of thinking and acting according to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ideology, they habitually feel that they have "reduced the deaths to a minimum."

It is quite easy to predict that next they will increase their popularity by hosting a large-scale performing arts show promoting their superiority and continue to maneuver the Chinese people into feeling touched by their efforts.

However, according to the information received by this reporter, it may not be easy to continue to fool quake victims and cover up the fact that the government was ineffective and incompetent during the rescue operations. Some victims' family members became very angry after learning from the internet that the government delayed the approval of foreign aid entry into China. Their eyes were full of fire. They looked as if they would kill anyone who challenged them.

No country in the world is able to bear the impact of an earthquake of such a large scale alone. Those who insisted on refusing to accept international aid are no different than murderers. I have to follow my conscience and say so!

Wen Jiabao's motion was rejected twice

The moderates at the top of the CCP leadership, led by Wen Jiabao, strongly promoted the acceptance of foreign aid. But Wen's motion was rejected twice at high-level meetings. Later, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao made a compromise to accept Japan's offer of assistance. Their explanation to the leadership was that the friendship between the two countries still lingered after Hu's recent visit to Japan and that the Japanese are more disciplined and easy to be controlled. How sad it is! While quake victims are struggling at the edge of death and people are passionately supporting the government's relief program, the government itself is still hesitant about whether to accept foreign aid or not! Despite the fact that we've already missed the best opportunity to save the victims, the government still sets restriction on the scale of foreign aid. Furthermore, the United States' rescue team, the best and the largest in the world, is not allowed to enter China to help.

The information is still tightly suppressed right now. But what will happen once those who have been desperately watching their loved ones buried in the rubble get to know the news?

Even though the Japanese rescue team is allowed to enter the area, the authorities still have many misgivings. If the efficiency and speed of the well-equipped Japanese rescue team were much better than the Chinese rescue team that works next to them, then the victims would be very likely to question the government—Why didn't we allow them to come earlier? Why didn't we allow more foreign rescue teams with more advanced equipment to come?

It is understood that this is the problem most worrying the authorities. Therefore, a circular was issued recently that paid special attention to the reports of the foreign rescue teams' activities, especially their achievements.

Of course, the authorities successfully launched a campaign for people across the country "to go all out to trust its rescue efforts." Even if the number of dead in the disaster area was more than 50,000 or 100,000, their relatives' crying and skeptical reaction would be submerged by the "patriotic rave" once again.

These past several days, as I stood in front of the ruins of schools where many young children remained buried under the rubble, I thought to myself, "They are just unfortunate to be Chinese kids."

My tears are dry, but my anger is still palpable.

Click here to read the original article in Chinese

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Copyright 2000 - 2007 The Epoch USA Inc.

Chinas' earthquake tribute

CHINA EARTHQUAKE TRIBUTE

Precious Chinese people

I am grieving for you

The earth is trembling

And your eyes are filled with fear

Your children are dying

Your family is suffering

From the bottom of my heart, I wish for you:

Quit the CCP Hurry! Quit the CCP

Quit the CCP Hurry! Quit the CCP

Heaven's will is clear

Make a choice for your future

Hurry! Hurry! Quit the CCP

Precious Chinese people

Disaster has befallen you again

Who could ever know the sorrows that you've seen?

Their lies have deceived you

They have destroyed your great culture

It is the evil communist party that did this to you

Quit the CCP Hurry! Quit the CCP

Quit the CCP Hurry! Quit the CCP

Heaven's will is clear

Make a choice for your future

Hurry! Hurry! Quit the CCP

Precious Chinese people

I wish that you could see

These disasters all have reasons

They all have reasons...

My heart is breaking for you

I hope that you can return

And follow your destiny

Quit the CCP Hurry! Quit the CCP

Quit the CCP Hurry! Quit the CCP

Heaven's will is clear

Make a choice for your future

Do not use your real name . It's what is in your true heart that counts.


Quit the Ccp here in Chinese

Quit the Ccp here in English

As of 8:03 AM EST, 36,844,867 people have submitted statements withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party or its affiliated organizations (for the text in Chinese of all of the statements, please visit the Tuidang website). Those who are current members of the CCP or its affiliated organizations are with these statements resigning their membership; former members use these statements to sever all association with these organizations. All are renouncing the CCP totally.

Do not use your real name . It's what is in your true heart that counts.

Chinese communist regime Crimes Against Humanity worse than Nazi Germany

Remarks of Dr. S. Liu at the Miami HRTR Event

Dr. Sherwood Liu

May 16, 2008

Dr. Sherwood Liu addresses the audience at the Miami Human Rights Torch Relay event in Bayfront Park. (James Fish/The Epoch Times)

Hello, I am Dr. Sherwood Liu. I am a representative of World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong.

The famous Chinese emperor Tang Taizong suggested that we use history as a mirror. We can learn lessons from history.

6-dozen years ago, Germany hosted the Summer Olympic games. The Nazi party saw the Olympics as an opportunity to promote their ideology. As we all know now, Hitler's ideology of racial supremacy led to the deaths of millions in his concentration camps.

Now history is seemingly repeating itself.

In 2001, Beijing's Communist regime was granted the honor of hosting the 2008 Olympic Game. In exchange, the regime promised to improve its abominable human rights record

At the same time the Chinese communists were negotiating for the Olympics, they were staging a fiery death show in their own capital.

In 2001 The communist regime staged the Tiananmen self-immolation to incite hatred against Falun Gong practitioners Since then the regimes has mobilized all the instruments ats its disposal to slander and vilify people who practice the peaceful meditation exercises of Falun Gong.

We have no way of knowing how many tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have disappeared forever into communist prisons and labor camps. When, at last, the persecution is over and we can count the full cost, it is sure to be staggeringly high.

As we heard from Dr. Finnegan, the mass organ-harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners has been going on for several years. Tens of thousands of practitioners have been killed to order for their organs. The illicitly harvested hearts, livers, lungs, corneas (and more) are being sold at huge profits to unwitting transplant patients, many from outside China. Meanwhile, the practitioners' murdered bodies are quietly and quickly cremated to destroy the evidence.

The persecution of Falun Gong reaches almost every corner of the country, with deaths confirmed in virtually every one of China's provinces, autonomous regions and province-level municipalities.

The Torch of Human Rights approaches the stage at the Miami Human Rights Torch relay event. (James/Fish/The Epoch Times)

In addition to the deaths, tens upon tens of thousands have been sent to forced labor camps. Many thousands of mentally healthy practitioners have been locked up in psychiatric hospitals, brutally beaten, and drugged into submission with anti-psychotic drugs. Huge numbers have been forced into brainwashing sessions organized to coerce them to renounce their beliefs. Tens of thousands have been detained, jailed, or imprisoned.

Torture is widespread and systematic, ordered by top Party officials to help wipe out the practice. Police and CCP officials at all levels routinely extort huge sums from those they threaten and arrest, and from their families.

Countless families have been broken up, and countless practitioners dare not return to their homes, wanting to avoid arrest and to protect their families and friends from the CCP's Guilt-by-Association policy.

Beijing 2008 reminds me strongly of Berlin 1936. I'm not the only one who feels that way. Here is what some Jewish leaders have said:

"We remember all too well that the road to Nazi genocide began in the 1930s, with Hitler's efforts to improve the public image of his evil regime. Nazi Germany sought to attract visitors to the 1936 Olympics in order to distract attention from its persecution of the Jews. Hitler's propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, called the 1936 games 'a victory for the German cause.' We dare not permit today's totalitarian regimes to achieve such victories."

The genocide is happening, the culture-cide is happening now. Chinese communist regime will not halt it's killing just because it will host the Olympic Games. Look at what is happening in Tibet, Look at the escalation of persecution of Falun Gong practitioners as the Games approach. Look at the communist party documents calling for the elimination of Falun Gong before the Games.

You and I, and all the people around the world can send a strong message to the communist regime: "We will not let history repeat itself!"

"Stop the Genocide! Stop Persecuting innocent people! Give people the right of belief, the right of freedom—simply, the right to live as a human beings!"

Thank you

see story here

The Twin Betrayals of the Olympics in 1936 and 2008

The Twin Betrayals of the Olympics in 1936 and 2008
By Thomas Kleiber Special to The Epoch Times May 12, 2008

The Olympic Games were first held in Greece, the birthplace of democracy, and from the beginning have carried the message that nations should gather in peace and compete in sports. There is an inherent kinship between the peaceful Olympic Games and the peaceful ways of democratic and free nations, and the Olympics have had their finest moments when hosted by democratic countries.

The years 1936 and 2008 have in common the hosting of the Olympic Games by totalitarian regimes: Nazi Germany and Communist China.


Nazi Germany was a one-party regime, as is China today. Both the Nazi and Chinese Communist parties struggled to gain power and the Nazis endeavored, just as the Chinese regime is endeavoring today, to establish a good reputation by hosting the Olympic Games.

Nazi Germany invented the tradition of having a torch relay, which served to connect and bind as many countries as possible to the event in Berlin. It was a propaganda campaign, one that continues to have an impact.

China has taken the torch relay to the extreme by planning the longest torch relay ever in history, including going high up atop Mount Everest. At every step the Beijing torch is protected by "torch guards," whose presence is already a break with the Olympic spirit.

These totalitarian Olympics may put a parenthesis around the torch relay: After the protest-plagued 2008 Olympic torch relay, the IOC is considering ending the tradition that started in Berlin.

Before holding the Olympic Games Nazi Germany had started to persecute the Jewish community, although it did not begin the "final solution" until several years later. The Nazis didn't even dare to officially exclude Jews from participating in the Games (although Jews were prohibited from representing Germany in the Games).

The Chinese regime has not only started to persecute a group of people for their religious beliefs, but is even very frank about its policy of persecution. At the end of 2007 a spokesperson for the Beijing Olympic Committee stated that practitioners of the Falun Gong are excluded from all Olympic activities.

All human rights organizations and governments know that Falun Gong is one of the main victims of state-sanctioned persecution in China. Several thousand adherents have been tortured to death because of their beliefs.

In Nazi Germany, Dr. Josef Mengele started human experiments on Jews after the Berlin Olympics, during the Holocaust.

In today's Communist China medical doctors have for several years been extracting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners for profit. The live organ harvesting is believed to have started in 2001, the same year that China won the bid for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Nazi Germany needed all countries to come to the Olympic Games in Berlin as a sign of the legitimacy of the Nazi regime. Nothing less is the case in China: The attendance of government officials from around the world at the opening ceremony is considered a measure of approval for the Chinese regime.

The fascist German regime and the communist Chinese regime would appear to be opposites, although similar in betraying the Olympic spirit. However, the communist regime in China has adopted so many capitalistic measures that it cannot be considered communist anymore. Since 1989 it has transformed itself into a fascist regime that uses the Communist Party to dominate society and ruthless capitalistic measures to provide sustaining fuel for the Party's rule.

Of course, the Chinese regime doesn't have a Führer like Adolf Hitler, who was the leader of a movement that sought to vindicate Germany's greatness. However, in China, the Communist Party plays a role similar to that of the Führer, demanding all serve it as the embodiment of China's national destiny.

In the debate about whether the Berlin Olympics should have been boycotted, some claim that Jesse Owens competing in the Olympics refuted Adolf Hitler's racist theories. However, Owens' four gold medals were not able to stop the Holocaust in which an estimated 8 million were killed. In looking back, we might ask if a boycott of the 1936 Berlin Games would not have been more successful in helping avoid World War II and the Holocaust.

In 1936, there were no precedents for how to deal with an Olympic Games held in a totalitarian country. In 2008, we once again face the question how to deal with a totalitarian host of the Olympic Games.

The Chinese regime argues that sports and politics should be separated.

The Olympic Charter speaks of placing "sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity."

The Charter also speaks of "respect for universal fundamental ethical principles."

By describing as "politics" any objections to systematic violations of human rights that retard the harmonious development of man, deprive society of peace, destroy human dignity, and violate "universal fundamental ethical principles," the Chinese regime is not separating "politics" from sports. It is separating the Olympic Games from their hallowed purpose. And it is doing so even while increasing the persecution against groups like the Tibetans and the Falun Gong.

It is fitting that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up under communism in East Germany, should be one of the first national leaders in her actions to show an understanding of the significance of the Beijing Olympics. She knows that basic human rights cannot be considered independent from other issues, much less the Olympics, and she has lead the way for other European leaders by announcing she will not attend the Opening Ceremony in Beijing.

In 1936 the world, when confronted with a betrayal of the Olympics by a totalitarian regime, failed to uphold the fundamental principles central to the Olympic movement. This year the world gets a second chance. The nations of the world may choose to participate in the self-promotion of a brutal regime and in doing so to betray the Olympic spirit or they may insist that the Olympics must be kept true to itself

FALUN GONG NEWS BULLETIN

Monitoring the Falun Gong Human Rights Crisis in China

• Center for Investigative Reporting: “Beijing Olympic Chief Linked to Torture”
• 15-Year-Old Orphaned as Mother Dies in Custody
• MSNBC: China’s Organ Harvesting Questioned Again by UN Special Rapporteurs
• Prisoner of Conscience Cao Dong’s Wife Writes Open Letter Detailing Official Torture, Family Harassment and Lack of Due Process
• Human Rights Watch Report: Lawyers Who Defend Falun Gong Face Punishment
• USA Today: “In China, a battle over web censorship”; Falun Gong adherents among “hacktivists” cracking “Great Firewall”

Center for Investigative Reporting: “Beijing Olympic Chief Linked to Torture”
April 24, 2008 – “The president of Beijing's Olympic Organizing Committee was once found liable for torture in a U.S. federal court, a review of court records by the Center for Investigative Reporting has found.”

“…In an extensive legal opinion, the U.S. District Court in San Francisco determined in 2004 that Liu Qi was responsible for the illegal detention and torture of two Chinese nationals and a sexual assault against a French woman in China….The lawsuit alleged that as mayor, Liu directed security forces to violently crush the Falun Gong. The plaintiffs claimed that Liu’s forces subjected them to severe beatings, sexual abuse and ‘electric shocks through needles placed in [the] body.’”

For more information visit: http://centerforinvestigativereporting.org/node/3625
For a summary of the case and relevant legal documents visit: http://www.cja.org/cases/liuqi.shtml

15-Year-Old Orphaned as Mother Dies in Custody for Practicing Falun Gong
May 8, 2008 – The Falun Dafa Information Center has learned of the death of Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Zhou Huimin (???), based on reports from her son and corroborated by sources from within China. Ms. Zhou passed away at Qingyang District People’s Hospital in Chengdu city, Sichuan province on March 15, 2008. She was 44 years old.

“Just a few days ago, I turned 15. [Also] just a few days ago, my kind and healthy mother was tortured to death,” wrote Zhou Hanyang, the son of Zhou Huimin, in a letter received by the FDIC last month. “During the 198 days since my mother was arrested, we worried and feared for her day and night. With great sorrow, I remember the days I spent together with my mother and mourn her.”

Full story: http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9521

MSNBC: China’s Organ Harvesting Questioned Again by UN Special Rapporteurs
May 8, 2008 – Two United Nations Special Rapporteurs have reiterated their previous findings on China's organ harvesting. Once again, they requested the Chinese government to fully explain the allegation of taking vital organs from Falun Gong practitioners and the source of organs for the sudden increase in organ transplants that has been going on in China since the year 2000.

Citing recently published 2008 annual reports of the UN Special Rapporteurs, the Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group (FalunHR) applauds the joint request that Ms. Asma Jahangir and Mr. Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Religion or Belief and on the Question of Torture, sent to the Chinese government.

Full story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24516546/

Prisoner of Conscience Cao Dong’s Wife Writes Open Letter Detailing Official Torture, Family Harassment and Lack of Due Process
April 8, 2008 – Yang Xiaojing, the wife of prisoner of conscience Cao Dong, published a letter addressed to the international community. Cao is a Falun Gong practitioner who was sentenced to five years in prison for meeting with European Parliament Vice-President Edward McMillan Scott in Beijing to discuss rights abuses.

“…right after his meeting with Edward McMillan-Scott, [Cao] was arrested and detained in the Beijing Security Bureau Detention Center. He was handcuffed to a chair for more than a month. The cruel torture caused massive hemorrhaging in his stomach,” writes Yang in the letter.

“…As his wife, I started to look for a defense lawyer for him in August, 2007...I consulted lawyer Li Heping. …Lawyer Li Heping was beaten up by police for several hours. All the materials that I gave him were taken away…My home was ransacked. Although the police didn't find any Falun Gong materials, they still took me away to a hotel. They interrogated me…”

Complete text of letter: http://www.faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=9522

Human Rights Watch Report: Lawyers Who Defend Falun Gong Face Harassment
April 29, 2008 – “Chinese lawyers who take cases seen by the government as politically sensitive or potentially embarrassing face severe abuses ranging from harassment to disbarment and physical assaults,” Human Rights Watch said in a new report. Among the cases highlighted in the report were lawyers such as Gao Zhisheng and Yang Zaixin who had defended Falun Gong practitioners and subsequently faced threats, disbarment, beatings, and/or detention.

“…On October 19, 2005, one day after Gao [Zhisheng] published a scathing open letter to the top state leaders about abuses against religious and Falun Gong practitioners, he received an anonymous threat by phone: ‘We know where you live and we know where your daughter goes to school.’ The next day Gao and his wife verified that their 12-year-old daughter was indeed followed by plainclothes police officers…” (pg. 34)

“…An attorney from impoverished Guangxi province, Yang Zaixin, was dismissed from his law firm in January 2006 after he took a series of sensitive cases, including those of defendants accused of being members of the banned Falun Gong.” (pg 48)

For more information visit: http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/28/china18656.htm

USA Today: “In China, a battle over web censorship”; Falun Gong adherents among ‘hacktivists’ cracking ‘Great Firewall’
April 23, 2008 – “If an Internet user in China searches for the word ‘persecution’, he or she is likely to come up with a link to a blank screen that says ‘page cannot be displayed.’”

“…It's a reflection of the stifling, bizarre and sometimes dangerous world of Internet censorship in China….Fighting the censors every step of the way is an army of self-described ‘hacktivists’ such as Bill Xia, a Chinese-born software engineer who lives in North Carolina…Invoking the hit science-fiction movie The Matrix, Xia has compared what he does to giving Chinese Web surfers a ‘red pill’ that lets them see reality for the first time…”

“…Xia admits he had little interest in politics until the Chinese government banned the spiritual group Falun Gong in 1999 and started persecuting its members. Xia is a member of the group.”

Full story: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080423/1a_cover23.art.htm

Australian Human Rights Commissioner speaks out

THE BEIJING OLYMPICS TORCH ODYSSEY

Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM

Australian Human Rights Commissioner (2000-05)

Adjunct Professor, CPACS, the University of Sydney

Speech for the Foreign Correspondents Club,

22 April 2008, MLC Centre, Martin Place, Sydney

Introduction

In just a few months time, China will be hosting the Beijing Olympics. Regretfully, these Olympics are not likely to only be about excellence in sportsmanship and the coming together of all nations in a spirit of good will.

The current controversy about the Olympic torch rely is an indication of things to come despite the iron blanket of Chinese security forces trying to extinguished any dissent. In a way, I would say that the disruptions we have already seen with the torch relay in the UK, France and US have come to symbolise the realities of the lack of civil liberties and freedoms in contemporary China. The flame, representing these civil liberties and freedoms if you like, is guarded by Chinese Special Services, kept away from people, locked up on occasions and, quite often, extinguished…

For the Chinese Government the Olympics are primarily about legitimising and enhancing China’s world status. In fact, the Chinese Communist authorities hope that the Olympics will showcase her economic achievements and consolidate China’s status as a world super power. To this extent, massive amounts of money are being invested and will continue to be spent to create an illusion of Beijing as a city of harmony and social peace under the communist rule

Looking back, Nazi authorities held the same hopes for the 1936 Berlin Olympics which they saw as an occasion to showcase the so-called German economic miracle and to assert Germany’s world power status. And let us not forget that in 1936, Nazi dictatorship was already well established, with political executions without trial, censorship of the media, abolition of the freedom of association and the racist Nurnberg Laws of September 1935 taking away all civil liberties from Jews. Despite this, the Western democracies decided to overlook these developments in the name of unity of Olympic spirit.

Soviet Union has had similar goals for its 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Olympics and the Politics

All the Olympic games of the past involved to a greater or lesser degree politics. Just think about Mexico City where Tommie Smith and John Carlos made a protest gesture on the podium against the segregation in the United States; Munich in 1972, where Palestinian terrorist group named Black September murdered a number of Israeli athletes and officials; the Montreal Games with a boycott by African nations to protest against apartheid South Africa; the Moscow Olympics that was boycotted by 66 nations because Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; or the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics boycotted by the Soviet Union and 14 Eastern Bloc countries.

At present, people who mention human rights in context of the Beijing Olympics are often accused of mixing politics with sport. I think it is an error of fact because the Olympics movement should symbolise human rights and because it is a legitimate expectation, not politics, to demand respect of human rights from the Olympics host nation.

So let us examine the legitimacy of this linkage being made in case of 2008 Beijing Olympics. Below I advance three facts to support my argument.

To start with, China, in lobbying the IOC to host the Olympic Games, had argued over the years, that it had become modern global society and that the human rights situation of its citizens had markedly improvement. The world was told “trust us” - the abuses of the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square massacre were a thing of the past to be banished to the annals of history.

We were told that the Constitution of the People's Republic of China included freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to a fair trial, freedom of religion, universal suffrage and property rights and that the authorities were doing everything in their power to advance implementation these fundamental rights. China also went on record when making the bid promising that the Beijing games will be the “greenest” Olympics ever.

We were further told that the Chinese Communist Government would use the Beijing Olympics to advance the human rights of its people. The Seoul Olympics were often quoted as an example to be followed as they contributed to democratisation of South Korea.

Then, when China was granted the right to host the Olympics, the government again reaffirmed its promise to live up to the Olympic spirit and uphold human rights.

The Olympic spirit

Second, for centuries the Olympic spirit has been linked to human rights, civility and peace. This is expressed in the Olympic Charter which specifically prohibits any form of discrimination.

In ancient Greece, a truce was announced before and during each Olympic festival. During the truce, wars were suspended, the carrying out of death penalties was forbidden and safety of visitors travel guaranteed.

So the question that needs to be asked is: Will China honour that ancient tradition of declaring and enforcing the truce in the Olympic year 2008?

Obligations under the International Human Rights Law

And third, China has definite human rights obligations under the international human rights law.

Since the early 80’s China has actively sought to increase its participation in multilateral affairs. In fact, contemporary China had become party to a range of over 273 international treaties, of which 239 had become applicable to China only after 1979. These watershed decisions decisively showed China’s acknowledgment the universal applicability of international law. Since then, international law has even been used by Chinese authorities to modify some of its domestic standards -- in particular in economic governance through accepting membership and the rules of, for example, the International Monetary Fund or the World Trade Organisation.

Although in the Chinese record of participation in international human rights regime has been largely negative, China has managed to enter a range of human rights obligations in international law.

As early as 1947 China was a member of a Drafting Committee of UN Commission on Human Rights developing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This declaration adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948 has established a list of “common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations” which, until today, constitutes the listing of most basic human rights standards for all.

In fact, according to Eide and Alfredsson book on The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A Common Standard of Achievement, published by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers in1999: The performance of governments, and even their legitimacy, is being measured against the standards of the UDHR. No government can afford to ignore these standards, and all governments are bound to feel their impact at home and in external relations.

Allow me now to quote here few principles from this Declaration:

• Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political