(Clearwisdom.net) I read a piece of news lately that made me feel rather sad: Mr. Sun Changjun, who participated in the interception of cable television broadcasts in China's Changchun City some years ago, has been imprisoned for over nine years, and at one point the cruel torture nearly took his life. He is in need of immediate aid to get out prison. While I was thinking how I could help as an individual, my heart was filled with admiration for these brave and courageous people who risked their lives to broadcast the truth to the public. They pre-empted regular cable programming with documentaries explaining the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution it faces in China; information that people in communist China may otherwise never have had the opportunity to learn.
I remember reading a well-known story about a brother and sister who gave their lives in resisting the Nazis. Their names were Hans Scholl and Sophie Scholl. Over sixty years ago, Hans and Sophie, together with four other youths, set up an anti-Nazi group called “The White Rose”. They resisted the war and the Nazi rule by distributing anti-Nazi leaflets. However, Hans and Sophie were spotted and reported on and were arrested as a result. Four days later, on February 22, 1943, Hans and Sophie were condemned to death and beheaded at the young age of 25 and 22. As they walked up the guillotine, they shouted “Long live freedom!” Their brave deeds made countless German people feel ashamed and their actions also awakened many apathetic souls.
Some of the flyers the group distributed questioned Nazi rule, some exposed the Nazis' lies, some exposed the shameful truth about the slaughter of Jewish people. There were also messages that called for an awakening of conscience of those German people who behaved apathetically: “For through his apathetic behaviour he gives these evil men the opportunity to act as they do.... ”. They encouraged the readers of the leaflets to fight for “freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and protection of the individual citizen from the arbitrary action of criminal dictator-state”.
Didn't Hans and Sophie know the danger they were facing? Of course they did. If they had chosen to be silent like many other Germans, they would have continued to complete their university studies, and then perhaps become doctors or professors. However, for the sake of freedom, they fought against the Nazi tyranny. Sophie once said to her friends, “Many people have died due to this despotic rule, and now there should be people who give their lives to fight against this tyranny!” They were so courageous not because they were naive, but because they knew exactly what they were fighting for.
Precisely because of this, Sophie Scholl and her brother are greatly respected in Germany today and are regarded as heroes. Someone once admiringly commented that, “They built the bridge leading to a world without the Nazis.”
Over sixty years later, on March 5, 2002, consider what happened in China, under the bloody rule of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). The regime has acted with brutal violence all over the land of China, most recently with its unscrupulous persecution of the good people who believe in the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the practitioners of Falun Gong.
A group of kind-hearted Falun Gong practitioners in Changchun, Jilin Province, stepped forward and intercepted local cable TV programming to broadcast the films, “Self-immolation or a Fraud” and “Falun Dafa Around the World”. In order to dispel the regime's lies and bring the truth to mainland Chinese, the practitioners chose to tap into state-run cable television. The truth-clarifying programs lasted almost fifty minutes and enabled 100,000 residents in Changchun to learn the truth about the fraudulent “Tiananmen self-immolation” and the facts about Falun Gong. The cable TV signal interception was reported by various media around the world such as BBC, Reuters and AFP. Reuters called the incident, “one of the most defiant protests by members of the Falun Gong”.
It is said that this “most defiant protest” made Jiang Zemin, then-Chairman of the CCP, furious. He ordered all participants “killed on sight”. It was reported that some 5,000 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested in Changchun. During the massive raids, at least seven practitioners were killed. Another 15 practitioners were sentenced to prison terms ranging in length from 4 to 20 years. Four of them have been tortured to death and one suffered a mental collapse due to brainwashing. Mr. Sun Changjun has been imprisoned for nine years now. How can we not worry about him?
Were these brave people aware of the danger they were in? Of course they were. They knew very well about the great danger intercepting the regime's television broadcasts might bring them, but they felt they needed to do it in order to let more people learn the facts. They knew that once people learned the truth they would be able to make a righteous choice between good and evil, and such a choice would bring hope to their future.
The sacrifices and the unyielding efforts of Falun Gong practitioners over the years have built a bridge leading to truth and hope and made it possible for the Chinese people and the whole world to understand Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners. Just like Hans and Sophie Scholl, who are deeply respected by later generations of German people, the names of those brave Falun Gong practitioners will also be forever inscribed in Chinese history and they will be revered by everyone.
Let us remember their names: Liang Zhenxing, Liu Chengjun, Zhou Runjun, Lei Ming, Sun Changjun, Liu Haibo, and others. They have sacrificed their lives or are imprisoned for our sake. Let us also draw strength from them and stop being apathetic; instead, let us bring the CCP's persecution to an end for the sake of justice.
