Opinion: Falun Gong Is Not Actually Illegal in China

(Minghui.org) Ever since I was a child, I knew that we should obey the law. Whenever my parents or teachers told me to do something, I did it unconditionally.

I was 36 years old in 1999, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress Falun Gong. The havoc created was nationwide, and on a scale of severity and length, surpassed the Cultural Revolution. Many things can be learned from these two CCP initiatives.

For example, one movement during the Cultural Revolution was “Criticising Lin (Biao) and Criticising Confucius.” At that time, I was in elementary school, and the teacher said that everyone must do a skit to show our position. I created a show-and-tell parroting just what the teacher had instructed.

But I really didn’t know what was going on, and that almost got me in trouble…

It started with some books my parents brought home from their workplace, books that were being targeted in the movement, like Sanzijing (The Three Character Classic), Boudoir Training Thousand Characters, and others. I liked them so much that I even recited some passages from them. At that time, I did not link these texts to the “Criticising” movement until I was in the fourth grade.

We had some free time one afternoon, and several of my classmates were playing around just outside the physical education office. I laughed and said, “No fighting. No fighting. He Wei Gui (“Peace Is Yours,” a saying by Confucius).” Suddenly, the office door flew open and a skinny female gym teacher dashed out, yelling, “Who said that? Who said that? It’s counterrevolutionary!”

Frightened, the other kids stopped playing around and I had no idea what to say or do. Fortunately, no one told on me. From then on, I learned that books such as Sanzijing and Boudoir Training Thousand Characters were to be criticised, not studied.

A similar thing happened when the CCP began to suppress Falun Gong. Although the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance had benefited practitioners and society, the CCP was arresting practitioners and destroying Falun Gong books. In fact, I couldn’t figure out why the CCP banned Falun Gong books. If the teachings were indeed bad, wouldn’t people see that firsthand by reading the books?

In the 22 years since the persecution began, the regime has tried every trick available to discredit Falun Gong, but all to no avail. The only reason that the CCP prohibits people from reading the Falun Gong books is that it knows whoever reads them will realize that the persecution is groundless.

Unfortunately, those who blindly follow the CCP are not only harming others but also hurting themselves. For example, in response to public anger after the Cultural Revolution, the CCP executed many people who played critical roles in persecuting others during that time. During the past 22 years of the suppression of Falun Gong, officials and ordinary citizens alike have followed the CCP’s policy to persecute innocent practitioners. By doing that, they have actually violated laws, because there are no laws in China that actually prohibit freedom of belief or Falun Gong. In other words, it is completely legal to practice Falun Gong and to possess its books and materials.

People’s familiarity with the law in general varies widely. Almost everyone knows the traffic laws, but few know about other laws that don’t impact them directly. When enough of us know that practicing Falun Gong is a legal right, the suppression will no longer continue.

When one person violates the law, he or she can be brought to justice by following legal procedures. When 1,000 people violate the law, they can also be held accountable. When law enforcement and judicial officers violate the law and goad citizens at large with financial enticements to do the same, it leads to a lawless society. When that occurs, the divine may intervene to straighten things out.

Thinking further, many disasters may be the consequences of people’s wrongdoings. Falun Gong practitioners have been trying to help people embrace traditional values, support the innocent, and reject the CCP for a better future blessed by the divine.