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February 25, 2007 (Sunday) － Issue No. 90 |
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China's
Central Publicity Department Sets New Rules for Chinese Media |
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The
Communist Party Owns the Police |
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Tourists
Witness Bloodshed in Tiananmen Square |
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Million Religious Adherents in China The results of the polls show that 31.4 percent of Chinese people over the age of 16 identify themselves as having religious beliefs. This translates to a total of around 300 million people, which is three times higher than official statistics....…Full Article |
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The 'Crimes' Committed by Wang Lian After three and one-half days of sleep deprivation, constant interrogation, and threats, Prof. Wang Lian agreed to spy for the Chinese regime. Wang's mission: to bring down the Hong Kong Epoch Times. After fleeing to Melbourne on Feb. 7, he explained what had been done to him, and what he had been coerced into doing......…Full Article |
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The Central Publicity Department (also known as the Propaganda Department) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has established a new policy to grade the print media in China. Some commentators consider this another wave to intensify the control of freedom of speech. According to the South China Morning Post 's report on Feb. 9, the CCP's Publicity Department decided to use a new grading system on the print media in China. Each print media will have 12 points to start with. If the authorities consider that the content of a media is against the order or ideology of the CCP central government, the Publicity Department and the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) will decide whether to adjust how many points to take off from the media. The number of points that can be removed are 3, 6, 9, or 12, and the penalties include internal warnings, removal of the responsible personnel, and stopping the press from printing. Analysts consider the grading system a new way for the authorities to intensify control over freedom of speech because the inspecting agents are also from the central government and the details of the new regulation are still unclear. Li Xinde, the administrator of a mainland Web site named Public Opinion Monitoring, considered the new rule was about the Publicity Department's desire to please central leaders before the 17th National Party's Congress. "Reporters who work in the CCP news agencies often receive internal notices of what can't be reported. The 17th Party Congress is approaching and the Publicity Department will have something to show the central leaders what they have been working on," said Li. Since Jan. 1, 2007, the CCP authorities has removed a lot of restrictions for the foreign media on an unusually large scale. The foreign media can interview any individual as long as the individual and his organization agree. But one and half month later, the CCP put more regulations on the local media. Huang Qi, founder
of June 4 Tianwang.com, a forum that posts news on human rights and
media's freedom in China, said, "The foreign media and national
media both have limited freedom over what to report. The government
even controls the depth and breadth of the news reports of Chinese
media. If the CCP doesn't put restrictions on the media, then freedom
of speech will put its political power in danger. However, at the
same time, the CCP wants to keep its promise to the international
media, for this reason it has to intensify its control over the Chinese
media." Back A reporter from Sound of Hope recently interviewed a police officer living in Sichuan Province who announced he was quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on the Epoch Times website. This officer thinks that China is under the rule of the Communist Party and it does not have a healthy legal system, which has caused corruption and darkness. Talented people will never be successful and the most unscrupulous people can go all the way up, The country and society is lead by those corrupted people and as a result the conditions of social and economic development is becoming more and more unfair. The gap between the rich and the poor is getting larger and the crime rate is getting higher. People of course can't live and work in peace under these circumstances. The reporter asked the policemen whether the police force represent a kind of power to get rid of the cruel and pacify the good people to stabilize the society? This officer who had quit the CCP expressed: (Recording) Officer: Do you know the CCP owns the police force? Policeman: Mainland China is dominated by the CCP. I can tell you that first and foremost, the organization is dark; secondly people there are not of one mind; thirdly the crime rate is extremely high and people can't live and work in peace. Of course the forth thing is the huge gap between the rich and the poor, some have a car and live in a house, some are living in shanties. Reporter: With the current economic situation in China, are there still people eating grassroots? Policeman: Yes, the situation is better in Chengdu City now; but if you go to the Badong areas or Deng Xiaoping's hometown, Wangan, to take a look around, you can see that their living conditions are extremely poor. Policeman: Under the one-party dictatorship of the CCP, there is absolutely no way to implement the legal system to eliminate corruption. Policeman: How should I talk about China's legal system? Ah, the law is useless because the legal system is not functioning! Policeman: You
asked me if the corruption is very bad here, right? Every official
is corrupt. What I can say is that I know the system of the CCP is
very dark. Back According to a report by Minghui.net on Feb. 17, 2007, the Gansu Provincial Court sentenced Falun Gong practitioner Cao Dong to five years in prison on Feb. 8, 2007, under the charges of "illegal collusion with anti-China forces in and out of China" and "accepting illegal interviews." Right now Cao Dong is filing an appeal. On May 21, 2006, Cao Dong met with Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice-President of the European Parliament. He talked about the persecution he, his wife and other Falun Gong practitioners he knows well received. He also talked about how he saw the body of Falun Gong practitioners after organ extraction. On the same day of meeting, Cao Dong was kidnapped by spies of the Beijing National Security Bureau. Initially he was secretively jailed in Beijing, and on Sept. 4, he was transferred to the detention center in Lanzhou City, which belongs to the Gansu Provincial National Security Bureau. Cao's case, through Mr. McMillan-Scott's urging to the outside world, has gained extensive attention from international society Some people in the legal field pointed out there is no such rule of "accepting illegal interviews" in Chinese laws. The Gansu Provincial Court apparently created this phrase. Another charge pressed against Cao Dong is that Cao provided documents to prove the persecution of Falun Gong such as "Helping and Teaching Agreement," "Complaining Letter," "Police Department Meeting Notification," and "Notification of Relief from Labor-Education" to foreigners for photographing, "so as to pressure the government." Analysts pointed out that these documents are legal documents that labor camps issue to those who complete their full-term of labor-education. Theses documents are made by the labor camps and related agencies. Releasing these documents should not generate any threat to the country. Cao Dong emphasized at the court that what he told the Vice-President of the European Parliament was his own experience. On Dec. 22, 2006,
Gansu Provincial Court held a court hearing over Cao's case. But the
final verdict had to be announced after the approval of "upper-level
610 office." The final verdict of five-year in prison was eventually
delivered this Feb. 8. Back Minghui.net reports that on February 9, 2007, tourists witnessed a group of policemen suddenly attack a person sitting on the grass by Tiananmen Square. The attack lasted only a few minutes time. When it was over there was a large pool of blood left on the ground where the beating took place. The tourist who reported the attack arrived in Tiananmen Square at around noon with two of his friends. On the other side of the square was a man sitting on the grass. He was sitting motionless. Suddenly, several policemen ran up to him and surrounded him. The police held the man down on the ground, and proceeded to beat and kick him. The man curled up in response to the attack. During the attack,
members of the Armed Police shielding the attacking officers from
the view of spectators. No one was allowed approach. After the attack was over, a police car arrived. The policemen picked up the man and threw him into the car. They also covered the blood on the ground with white paper. Soon after, an ambulance arrived. The policemen dragged the man from the car to the ambulance. The ambulance and police cars then left the square. Soon after, three
undercover police brought two workers who were carrying mops, brooms,
and water buckets. They promptly started to clean the scene. One undercover policeman was seen forcefully scrubbing the trash bins to wash the blood away. The entire process only took four or five minutes, from the time the man was held down on the ground until the ambulance arrived. However, the result was a surprisingly large pool of blood on the ground. According to the
Minghui.net report, the man who was brutally beaten was likely a Falun
Gong practitioner. Many mainland practitioners have been performing
Falun Gong exercises in front of Tiananmen Square to protest the unjustified
persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese communist regime. Back A recent poll from East China Normal University found that the number of people practicing religion in China is over 300 million. The Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper China Daily said that these statistics are drawn from 4,500 polls conducted by professors at the East China Normal University. The results of the polls show that 31.4 percent of Chinese people over the age of 16 identify themselves as having religious beliefs. This translates to a total of around 300 million people, which is three times higher than official statistics. Another official publication, Outlook Weekly, has also recently published an article saying that in the economically undeveloped Shaani-Gansu-Ninxia region of China, farmers actively participate in religious activities. The article mentioned that in some rural areas, it's almost as if "there are temples in every village. People pray as soon as they see a statue." This has resulted in a flurry of new temple building, which further widens the influence of religious believers. The Outlook Weekly article admits that people's control over their own culture and ideology is becoming stronger. Experts point out that religious pursuits are a manifestation of human nature – which is hard to contain. Righteous religions and beliefs are actually beneficial to society's stability and development. Consequently, the government should not suppress these ideas, or tell the general public what they can or cannot believe. China's Religious Practitioners Total Three Times the Official Number The poll conducted by East China Normal University in Shanghai indicated that of the 300 million religious believers, 200 million are adherents of Buddhism, Taoism or the Dragon King, and the rest are worshippers of the God of Wealth and other folklore. To date, the atheist communist regime only recognizes state-approved churches, temples and mosques. Citizens are only allowed to participate in ceremonies at government-controlled churches, temples and mosques. The international community has always criticized this approach. Fan said: "It is a natural tendency for the human race to pursue spirituality and belief. This tendency will continue unabated. It is human nature to pursue religious freedom." Back The
'Crimes' Committed by Wang Lian Back On Sept. 12, 2006, a Macau academic who worked part-time as a computer consultant for the Hong Kong Epoch Times was abducted by agents of the Chinese Public Security Bureau (PSB). After three and one-half days of sleep deprivation, constant interrogation, and threats, Prof. Wang Lian agreed to spy for the Chinese regime. Wang's mission: to bring down the Hong Kong Epoch Times from within. We know of Wang's case because, after fleeing to Melbourne, Australia, on Feb. 7, he sent an e-mail to the editors of the paper explaining what had been done to him, and what he had been coerced into doing. At one point on the third day of his interrogation, a man who appeared to be a higher-level PSB official exploded at Wang: "You should know what crimes you've committed! The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party [an editorial series published by The Epoch Times ] attacked the great Chinese Communist Party. It made the leaders of China look bad. Now everyday someone is reading articles on the Web site of the Hong Kong Epoch Times, where you work. Everyday, someone is reading The Epoch Times on the street. The influence is very bad. What do you think should be done? Even execution and dozens of years in prison are [punishments that are] too light [for you]!" Freedom and Conscience The Nine Commentaries understands independent thinking as having its roots in the beliefs of traditional culture. If a scholar believes in the Tao or in Confucian ethics, he judges all political things by a higher standard. Thus, China's scholars had traditions of "risking their lives to admonish the monarch" and "maintaining justice at the expense of their lives." After agreeing to serve as the CCP's agent, Wang Lian found "I could not fall asleep for these several months."It was completely against my conscience and the way they asked me to go almost destroyed me...I cannot betray my conscience." With a plane flight to Melbourne, Wang gained the chance to speak freely and to deliver this message about the necessity of living according to one's conscience. This message is what the CCP considers the most serious of all crimes. Back |
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