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January 7, 2007 (Sunday) － Issue No. 83 |
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Over
200 Arrested on Tiananmen Square on New Year's Day |
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Falun
Gong Founder Responds to Swell of New Year's Greetings |
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2006:
China's Economic Difficulties and the Regime's Responsibility |
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the Olympic Flame Enlighten the Politically Weak? For them, land development was rather an issue of protecting culture. Today, it turns out to be a human rights issue for those who are forced to move out....…Full Article |
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The New Year Spectacular: a Chinese Cultural Renaissance on Stage Chinese culture has experienced a remarkable renaissance in the form of an international theatrical phenomenon known as the "Chinese New Year Spectacular."......…Full Article |
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On the morning of January 1, 2007, Chinese authorities arrested over 200 protesters on Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen public security, armed police and plainclothes officers were on the scene to interrogate and arrest demonstrators. Voicing a variety of complaints, the majority of these protesters came from all across China. Demonstrators were arrested in several groups near the exit of an underground tunnel leading to the Square. Police hauled off five vehicles full of protesters. Tiananmen Square was not the only location where New Year's dissidents have been apprehended. Laying bait for arrests, authorities infiltrated several villages, circulating rumors of a planned protest at Shijing Hill on New Year's Day. Caught in this trap, individuals later found at Shijing Hill were taken into police custody. Beijing human rights advocate Liu Anjun believes that a dozen people were arrested at Shijing Hill and are being held by local authorities. Just before the New Year, several groups of demonstrators protesting outside of Chinese primer Wen Jiabao's house were apprehended by authorities. Their whereabouts are currently not known. Some demonstrators claim that authorities began systematically hunting
down and arresting protesters gathered in Beijing since December 29.
Protesters were all arrested and sent to a Beijing detention center—they
have neither been claimed by the respective local authorities nor
have they been released. Some were still detained after two days.
The rooms of the detention center are cold and crowded, with the entire
building holding about 1,000 people. Back The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has tried for over seven years to eradicate the peaceful meditation practice of Falun Gong, but an exchange of New Year's greetings suggests that Falun Gong is more than surviving the CCP's campaign. On New Year's Day, in response to thousands of New Year's greetings, Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, published on the Falun Gong Web site Clearwisdom.net a message addressed to the people of the world. Mr. Li had received greetings from all over the world, including Turkey, Iran, Belize, Saipan, and Thailand. In general, these greetings wish Mr. Li well and express gratitude for his teaching of Falun Gong and its three principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Mr. Li's New Year's Greetings: My Thanks to Sentient Beings Who Have Sent Greetings Dafa disciples, people of the world, and all sentient beings: Greetings! Sentient beings! All that you have been hoping for, awaiting, and concerned over for thousands of years, has arrived, and is in fact currently unfolding. Through it each and every person is choosing, whether knowingly or not, his or her fate. I would like to tell you: Dafa disciples are the sole hope of salvation for the beings in each region and each nation. Cherishing what they are doing amounts to cherishing yourselves! Thank you again for sending your greetings! Li Hongzhi The estimated several thousand New Year's messages from mainland China express such sentiments, but also tell another story. In their graceful messages, artful presentation, and wide variety of authors, they give evidence of the triumph of Falun Gong over the CCP's persecution. While some of these greetings are very simple, many of them feature beautiful, original art work, some of it multi media. Favorite motifs include pictures of the lotus flower, a symbol of beauty and transformation, or the plum blossom, a symbol of noble endurance. Greetings were sent from every corner of China, including remote rural or mountainous areas and also ethnic areas, such as Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region—the home of the Hui people. Such greetings show the failure of an intensive propaganda effort
meant to turn the people of China against Falun Gong. This propaganda
effort was one cornerstone of a systematic and comprehensive persecution
that began on July 20, 1999. Back According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng was taken away from his Beijing home a week ago by police. No one can now confirm his whereabouts, although one report suggests he may no longer be in police custody. In an interview on Jan. 3 with RFA reporter Zhang Min, Gao's mother-in-law said of Gao, "He had only stayed [at home in Beijing] for a couple of days, then he was taken away by them, and no one knows where he went." According to the RFA report, the mother-in-law had lived for about three months at her daughter's home in Beijing, and returned to her own home in Urumchi on Jan. 1. According to her recollection, Gao was taken away by police on Dec. 27 or 28. The AIDs and democracy activist Mr. Hu Jia told RFA that one of Gao's relatives in Shandong Province said that Gao had been seen since at the house of his sister in Shandong. However, according to RFA, no one has been able to confirm this report. Gao has been one of the most outspoken human rights activists in China. The removal of Gao from his home is the latest incident in Gao's public, two-year-long challenge to the CCP to end its human rights abuses and the CCP's subsequent attempts to silence Gao. Beginning with a letter on Dec. 31, 2004 to the National People's Congress, Gao wrote three open letters to the top leadership of the CCP asking for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. In Nov. 2005 Gao's law office was shut down and Gao's law license revoked. In December 2005, Gao wrote an open letter resigning from the CCP in which he revealed that his investigations into the persecution of Falun Gong had lead him to lose hope completely in the CCP. In Feb. 2006 Gao called for a Hunger Strike Support Group to Support Human Rights, which organized relay hunger strikes by thousands of people in China in support of human rights. While Gao was still free, he and his family were subjected to 260 days of daily harassment by the police, which included three attempts on Gao's life. On Aug. 15 2006, Gao was arrested on the charge of "inciting subversion." After Gao's arrest, his family continued to be subjected to intense harassment, which included attacks on his wife Geng He and his daughter Geng Ge. On Dec. 22 in a closed trial at which he was not allowed to have his own chosen counsel, Gao was given a suspended sentence under the condition that the three year prison sentence would be enforced should the CCP charge him with another crime. Since being released, Gao had been incommunicado and was assumed to be under house arrest. Whether Gao is now in prison, under house arrest at his sister's,
or somewhere else, entirely remains a mystery. Back In the past year, the Chinese economy has not gradually begun to cool down as expected by the Chinese communist regime's plan, but continued to increase at a speed higher than any previous year. For years, different opinions on the Chinese regime's macro-control policy have been held between the central and local authorities, experts and policy makers. Regardless of whether China needs a macro-control policy, almost everyone agrees that the effect of the regime's macro-control policy has not been good. For example, over-investment is not effectively controlled; real-estate prices continue to grow; foreign trade surplus and foreign exchange reserves have steadily increased. There are four main problems that are most prominent in the Chinese macro-economy. First is the income gap problem, which receives much attention from society and causes people dissatisfaction. The Chinese regime's policy of supporting western development has been out for seven years, but the newest statistic shows that the income difference between eastern and western regions is becoming larger and larger. The second is the imbalance between consumption and investment. Because of insufficient consumption and too much saving, a lot of low rate investments are promoted, this sets a time bomb for a future financial crisis. Simultaneously, it strengthens the dependence of the Chinese economy on the overseas market. Thirdly, China's economy has come to rely more and more on foreign countries. In the past few years, China has enjoyed an overwhelming trade surplus and a large quantity of foreign exchange reserve. On one hand, it shows how the exportation revenue has not really benefited the average people; on the other hand, it shows how China has not effectively utilized foreign funds. Fourthly, there is absolutely no sign of alleviation on environmental deterioration or consumption of natural resources. In the latest document from China's National Environmental Protection Agency, all the provinces and cities claimed they had successfully met the goals for environmental protection. However, the majority of provinces and cities had produced fraudulent statistics to meet these goals. The macro-control of the Chinese communist regime is not able to
effectively resolve these issues. This is because they are governed
by many factors, the most critical being that China cannot risk the
slowing down of its economic growth. Because of how China's revenue
distribution is structured, lowering economic growth would directly
impact the low-income group. Obviously, from a political point of
view, the regime has no confidence in whether this group can sustain
the impact from even worse unemployment rates and more severe income
reductions. Back As the 2008 Olympic Games approach, more of Hutong disappears, and are turned into high-end mansions, modern-looking business centers and shopping malls. Residents of Hutong get driven out of the homes they have lived in for generations, and have to head towards the suburbs, as the compensation offered is too little to stay nearby. Those who resist, or attempt to take legal action, run the risk of harassment including visits by gangs. Chinese law, in theory, protects property rights of residents, but in practice, is not functioning. Ms.Ni Yulan, a Beijing based lawyer who also confronted the authority after her house was demolished, points out that while more than 90% of the land in the city of Beijing has fallen into government hands, 99% of the farms in the suburbs have disappeared under government leadership. "They have chased away the farmers, and built luxury vacation houses, golf courses, etc. Farmers have no place to plant seeds. They have no chance to protest, if they do they will be arrested on charges of making an attempt to overthrow the regime." says Ni. "Do the government officials live in those places? No, they make money via their partners, the land developers!!" "My husband used to ask me, can't I just forget about the small piece of land, get rid of all the mess?" says Miao, a Chinese who has lived in Japan for nine years. "Still, when I am reminded of those people who suffered a lot, the elderly woman who got beaten badly by the mobs, I feel I should not give up. I really need to voice the truth." Despite having put in a lot more money than they can ever recoup, Mr.Shen, Miao's husband said that he fully supports his wife's activity. "What makes me extremely concerned is that the facts are not well known to the rest of the world" says Miao. "Those who have hold of money, have hold of power. They bully innocent people, by using the Olympic project, and chase them out of the houses where they have lived for decades." "Is making money at the expense of the right of common people to live a quiet life, what the Olympic Games is all about? The Olympic Games should not belong only to the rich or the people in power. It also needs to bring a better life to the poor and the weak." What remains in Miao's hand is a piece of paper showing her ownership of a small portion of land in downtown Beijing. The house is gone, the land is gone, and the community is gone. Even her life in Beijing is gone, as it looks too dangerous for her to return. Despite those experiences Miao is determined to carry on fighting. Back The
New Year Spectacular: a Chinese Cultural Renaissance on Stage Back Over the past four years, Chinese culture has experienced a remarkable renaissance in the form of an international theatrical phenomenon known as the "Chinese New Year Spectacular." The production has grown from seven performances in five cities in 2004 to 76 performances in 30 cities for 2007. The distinguishing feature of this production is that its artists and creators have immersed themselves deeply in China's ancient traditions, which have been systematically suppressed for over half a century. Never before have China's traditions and culture been expressed on such a grand scale internationally. The shimmering reemergence of this beautiful culture is the secret to the phenomenal success of the Spectacular, which is constantly evolving with the creation of new programs. Traditional Chinese culture inspired many of the greatest achievements of humankind. Nurtured in Taoism, Buddhism, Confucian thought, and a deep sense of spiritual reverence and moral obligation, it infused the thoughts, actions, art, poetry, music, dance, and architecture during the 5,000-year parade of China's dynasties. Artists from all over the world, including many who were initially from mainland China, have come together to journey into this vast and profound history to bring forth the theatrical creations that make up the Spectacular. Many of China's cultural artifacts and records still exist, having survived the openly stated intent of China's communist regime to completely eradicate all traditional Chinese culture during the Cultural Revolution, which lasted from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. During this cultural catastrophe, thousands of temples, countless paintings, sculptures, scrolls, poems, and other precious artifacts were destroyed. It was a period of extreme violence and spiritual devastation. But 5,000 years are not easily eradicated. The deeply rooted beliefs and traditions survived, if silently, in the hearts of many Chinese. The artists of the Spectacular have completely devoted themselves to understanding and conveying the ancient traditions. They have made an artist's sacrifice. Much like painters who have endured years of harsh conditions to understand and recreate the essence of beautiful landscapes, the artists of the Spectacular have likewise embarked on a noble, some would say, sacred journey. This is the tangible experience of audience members who have been enthralled and deeply moved by this cultural phenomenon that has resulted in the soaring growth of the Spectacular in four short years. Back |
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