(Clearwisdom.net) For those of us who grew up in China, from the time we were young children we have continually heard the phrase “Party Rules and National Laws.” The phrase actually puts Party Rules at a higher level than National Laws, an idea that has slowly and almost imperceptibly changed people's thinking over the years. Today, most people in China not only agree with the saying, but even protect it. The will of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been placed above the law and has become the standard for judging right from wrong, good from bad. On the other hand, the law in China has simply become another tool at the CCP's disposal to lash out and protect itself while suppressing dissidents.

Many people were confused when the CCP mandated all state organizations to persecute Falun Gong. Out of their acknowledgment and fear of the authorities, plus the propaganda and lies spread by the state media, many believed that Chinese people shouldn't practice Falun Gong because the Party would not allow it, and that if anyone did so, he or she was in violation of the law.

In a constitutional government, no Party or organization is above the Constitution. This means that the CCP had no right to outlaw Falun Gong. Many lawyers in China have pointed out that not even one law exists in China that prohibits the practice of Falun Dafa, and that therefore the practice has always been legal. The list of “cults” defined by the State Department does not include Falun Gong either. No law in China states that Falun Gong is a “cult,” yet that is what it is loudly decried in the massive waves of CCP propaganda contrived to turn public opinion against Falun Gong. In other words, the persecution of Falun Gong is completely illegal.

Former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin and his regime held themselves above the law, abusing their power, and asked the entire Party and country to work with them to combat Falun Gong with groundless accusations. Jiang and the CCP first broke the law, then tried to use the law to cover their illegal acts. They convicted innocent Falun Gong practitioners under Code 300 of the Criminal Law (Crimes of using a cult organization to break the laws and administrative regulations) and legalized the ensuing persecution in order to deceive the people throughout the country and around the world.

Based on criminal law theory, it takes four elements to constitute a law. One is whether the criminal offense causes danger to society, and to what degree.

While defending Falun Gong cases, lawyers often asked: “What law or administrative regulation did the practitioner break?” “What was done? What was the severity of it? What was the result of the offense?” Prosecutors from the state legal and Procuratorate departments are often speechless when confronted with such questions.

Recently, the Bayuquan Court secretly sentenced seven practitioners in Yingkou City, Liaoning Province to prison terms ranging from one year and 6 months to seven years. None of their families received written verdicts. (http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/1/19/122757.html)

In many cases involving the persecution of Falun Gong, the process followed was completely illegal. For example, the 610 Office ordered the abduction of Falun Gong practitioners and their subsequent imprisonment. Practitioners were often taken to brainwashing centers and tortured until they agreed to give up Falun Gong. Many of the brainwashing centers are disguised as “law schools” or “legal training centers.”

The CCP tries to legalize its illegal persecution and hide its unlawful acts behind the law. However, its attempts to prevent the fair-minded people in the world from discovering their crimes will not long succeed.