(Minghui.org) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) announced on November 30, 2022, that its former leader Jiang Zemin had died that day. According to modern criminal laws, usually a deceased person can no longer be held criminally responsible. That is why Adolf Hitler was not brought to the Nuremberg Trials since he had committed suicide.
However, posthumous trials (held after the defendant’s death), although rare, do have precedents in both ancient and modern times. Joan of Arc (1412-1431), a patron saint of France, was convicted of being a heretic and executed. A formal appeal was filed decades later, and her conviction was overturned in 1456. Manente degli Uberti (1212-1264), an Italian aristocrat and military leader, was exhumed and tried for heresy in 1283. He was found guilty and had his remains subjected to a posthumous execution. Henry Plummer (1832-1864), an outlaw in the American West who was accused of killing several people, was tried posthumously (which was later declared a mistrial) in 1993. Sergei Magnitsky (1972-2009), a tax advisor and lawyer in Russia, was convicted of tax evasion in 2013, a few years after he died in prison in 2009. His wrongful conviction sparked condemnation from the international community. The United States Congress in late 2012 enacted the Magnitsky Act aimed to punish Russian officials responsible for his death. The Act was later expanded to target human rights offenders in general. Several other countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, and European Union have followed suit in passing similar laws.
The above examples indicate that a defendant’s death does not necessarily end their prosecution. It is entirely possible to convict the wrongdoer or overturn a wrongful conviction posthumously.
Besides the punishment meted out by the court of law, other forms of posthumous punishment against the wrongdoer have also existed. For instance, Qin Hui, Chancellor of the Song Dynasty, was one of the most notorious imperial officials in ancient China. After he died in 1155, Qin was given two derogatory posthumous titles, one being miu chou (treacherous, from Emperor Ningzong in 1206) and another one miu hen (vicious and brutal, from emperor Lizong in 1254). In History of Song Dynasty, he was included in the “Traitor Biographies.”
Given above, I believe that a fair and just assessment of the crimes committed by Jiang, who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999 and led the nation by corruption, is warranted to cement him as one of the most corrupt, promiscuous, and evil leaders in history.
Minghui has published numerous articles on Jiang recently, including “Jiang Zemin Is Responsible for China’s Widespread Moral Corruption”, “Jiang Zemin's Legacy to China: Incalculable Destruction”, and “Jiang Zemin's Report Card Is All F's.” I’d like to share my thoughts on why we must still hold Jiang responsible after his death in this three-part series.
(Continued from Part 1)
2. Importance of Saving Chinese People
The persecution launched by Jiang against Falun Gong in 1999 was a political campaign targeting innocent citizens. It was illegal and immoral from the beginning for three major reasons. First, the targeted group (Falun Gong practitioners) did not violate any laws; rather, they simply wanted to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be better citizens. The nature of the suppression was sinister.
Second, Jiang’s persecution policy was ruthless, subjecting practitioners to various forms of abuse, including harassment, arrests, detention, torture, fines, suspension of pension, and job termination. For example, Jiang issued the order that “Torture death [of practitioners] is counted as suicide. Send [the body] to be cremated directly—no need to verify [the practitioner’s] identity.” He also instructed his followers to kill practitioners for their organs.
Lastly, the physical, mental, and financial damage to practitioners and their loved ones was enormous. Untold number of practitioners were discriminated against for their faith, saw their families torn apart, lost their education opportunities or jobs, not to mention the many practitioners who were detained, tortured, or even killed for their organs. This persecution has been totally unlawful, absolutely immoral, and extremely brutal.
Three long overdue actions
Jiang has died, but the persecution remains unabated after more than 23 years. It is a shame for China. In my view, China should take the following three actions:
* Since this persecution was carried out by all levels of the government at the order of the CCP, an official order should be issued to mandate all government agencies immediately stop all forms of persecution.* A formal apology should be issued to Mr. Li Hongzhi (founder of Falun Gong) and countless practitioners targeted for their faith. Thorough investigations of the perpetrators involved in the persecution should be conducted and prosecuted based on the investigation results.* Jiang Zemin and other chief perpetrators should be indicted and brought to justice.
Redemption for Chinese people
By suppressing Falun Gong, Jiang led China and the Chinese people down into an abyss. Falun Gong teaches one to be good by aligning with the universal values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Targeting Falun Gong amounts to opposing the universal values and defying the divine. The harmony of heaven, earth, and mankind was deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture. Being a part of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners means acting against one’s conscience and would result in consequences. SARS (2002 – 2004) and COVID (2020 – present) are just two such examples.
Nowadays people often focus on superficial reasons for the pandemic and other catastrophes while neglecting fundamental causes. In fact, the persecution of innocent people and acting against heavenly laws are the real reasons that China has been hit with one disaster after another.
With the death of Jiang, China can still bring him to justice and officially announce the end of the persecution of Falun Gong. By doing these three things, the Chinese people could stop the karmic debts that Jiang and the CCP brought to the nation. Only then will Chinese people reduce the losses forced upon them and will be blessed with a good future.
One more action
In addition to seeking justice against Jiang, China and Chinese people should also abandon the CCP and start anew.
The persecution of Falun Gong was able to happen in China because Jiang took advantage of what the Constitution said about “Leadership by the Communist Party of China is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” As General Secretary of the CCP and Chairman of the Central Military Commissions, Jiang led his Party officials to suppress Falun Gong with the support of the military. The persecution was then spread to the entire nation, with all levels of governments, businesses, schools, and local communities forced to take part in the persecution.
In addition, Jiang and his regime coerced his successor (and the CCP as a whole) to promise not to stop the persecution or seek justice on behalf Falun Gong. Although his immediate or later successors knew the suppression was brutal and groundless, they still wanted to maintain leadership of the Party for their own benefit. As a result, the persecution still continues today.
At this stage, the CCP is doomed. To save themselves, however, Chinese people need to abandon the regime and end the atrocities against Falun Gong.
Bringing back the real China
Since taking power in 1949, the CCP has caused unprecedented damage to China’s people, culture, and moral foundation.
Throughout history, ancient Chinese people, from emperors to average citizens, had always revered the divine and believed in “good and evil will receive their due retribution.” Confucius advocated “benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith.” A crime against universal values such as the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance would never have been committed by a state in ancient China.
China has a history of about 5,000 years, while the CCP was established only about 100 years ago. Even communism has not lasted more than 200 years. Communism’s core ideology of falsehoods, evilness and class struggle goes against traditional values and its materialism and atheist doctrines openly defy the divine.
Therefore, to prevent future persecutions (such as that of Falun Gong) from happening, it is critical to restore traditional culture and values. By ending the CCP and Party culture, Chinese people will be set free from the grip of the communist ideology.
Publicizing facts and stopping lies that harm people
The publication of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party in 2004, along with Falun Gong practitioners’ tireless efforts in exposing the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong and other crimes, has prompted over 400 million Chinese to renounce membership in the CCP and its two junior organizations (Young Pioneers and Youth League).
But many Chinese people are still poisoned by the lies from the CCP. Due to censorship by the CCP, they do not know how brutal the suppression is and they are not clear that the vicious CCP is against heaven's laws. Furthermore, countless defamatory propaganda from the Party, such as the staged self-immolation at Tiananmen Square, are still misleading people and pushing them against Falun Gong.
Some people are aware of the persecution, but they no longer believe in “good is rewarded with good and evil meets evil” due to the CCP’s atheism indoctrination. Even with sympathy toward Falun Gong, they dared not quit the CCP organizations for fear of retaliation from the regime.
This is a serious problem. For thousands of years, there were countless stories, novels, dramas, and personal experiences attesting to the heavenly principle that “good is rewarded with good and evil meets evil.” But in the past few decades, the CCP has brainwashed people to believe that anyone not listening to the CCP would be destroyed and only followers of the CCP would be protected. During its numerous political campaigns, the CCP stirred up hatred towards landlords (land reform in 1950), capitalists (Thee-Anti in 1951 and Five-anti in 1952), intellectuals (Anti-Rightist during 1957 – 1959), traditional values (Cultural Revolution, 1966 – 1976), political freedom (Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989), Falun Gong (1999 – present), and many more. The sad fact is that the group being protected today can be targeted tomorrow. No one is safe under the rule of the CCP.
Although there were many retribution stories after each political campaign, the CCP exhausted all resources to cover them up. Even the secret executions of Red Guard leaders after the Cultural Revolution (an effort to pacify top CCP officials who had been targeted in the chaos) were not known by the general public. As a result, ordinary citizens and lower officials had blindly followed the regime in one campaign after another without realizing the harm they have made to others and society, as well as the karmic debts accumulated for themselves.
A mission on our shoulders
Despite all these illusions and lies created by the CCP, someone needs to point out what is going on. In Hans Christian Andersen’s story of The Emperor’s New Clothes, it was an innocent boy. In China, it is Falun Gong practitioners who have been exposing the truth tirelessly, despite facing risks of losing their freedom, job, family, or even their own lives.
Among the four oldest civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China), only the Chinese culture was preserved and continued today. From Laozi to Shakyamuni, from Confucius to sages across dynasties, previous generations had passed down the civilization for thousands of years. But now, it is facing elimination by the CCP’s ideology of class struggle, hatred, brutality, and lies.
If we cannot stop the CCP or communism in general from doing evil, it would quickly transform the world into a swamp without law and order. It is the mission of everyone in the world, both inside and outside of China, to be clear on its importance and fulfill our duty, for ourselves and future generations.
(To be continued in Part 3)
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Perspective
