The Chinese dissident Tang Baiqiao, who is chairman of China Peace and Democracy Federation, said recently that nowadays many Chinese people have a very good understanding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), thanks in part to the “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.”
“A friend of mine once told me this story. This friend is a Christian and a human rights activist,” Tang said.
“After the publication of the ‘Nine Commentaries,’ my friend began distributing it to people. This friend of mine then met a well-known gang leader who had become a Christian because of my friend. This gang leader was later arrested, and he spoke of how his faith in Christianity had helped in during his time in prison.
“After getting out of prison, this gang leader asked my friend what he could do to show his appreciation. My friend casually asked if he could help distribute the ‘Nine Commentaries.’ This gang leader said he surely would help.”
“That night, something great happened in the city,” Tang said. “A copy of the ‘Nine Commentaries’ was placed on the desks of the five most important officials in the city—the municipal party secretary, mayor, head of the municipal People’s Congress, head of the municipal Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress, and head of the municipal military district.
MORE:
- The Book That Is Changing China Is Ten Years Old
- First Post-Soviet President of Ukraine Praises “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party”
“Everyone knows that there are military police officers guarding all government buildings and military compounds. It is hard for people to go in. However, within a single night, a book that is feared the most by the Chinese regime showed up on the desks of the five most powerful people in the city.
“I was told that Zhongnanhai [the CCP leadership compound in Beijing] was aware of this incident. An order came from the top Chinese leaders to solve this case and arrest the person who did this as soon as possible. Leaders from the municipal security bureau did everything they could to solve this case in order to save their own jobs.
“I tell such a story, a true story, to let everyone know the ‘Nine Commentaries’ has become well-known across China. And there are many touching and legendary stories related to the ’Nine Commentaries,'” Tang said.
A Copy in Almost Every Household
Tang told this story at a Nov. 22 forum held in a Washington, D.C., suburb to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the publication by Epoch Times of the editorial series “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.”
The series was soon released as a book online and in print, and the book soon sparked a social movement in China. “Tuidang,“ which means ”quit the Party” in Chinese, involves Chinese people renouncing their association with the CCP and its affiliated organizations, the Communist Youth League and the Young Pioneers. As of Dec. 1, over 185 million people have done so.
The blind human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng said he became aware of the “Nine Commentaries” after he successfully used the anti-censorship software “Free Gate” to hear programs by the Sound of Hope Radio Network. Chen said that all his friends are using anti-censorship software to bypass the CCP’s firewall.
Chen said he has a very good memory of the date on April 9, 2008, since it was on this very date that he could begin hearing clearly the SOH broadcast. Before, he could only listen to about 10 minutes of the broadcast every day.
Chen added that the popularity of the “Nine Commentaries” has allowed the Chinese people to expand their minds. Chen explained that the “Nine Commentaries” has basically spread everywhere in the country—with every household getting a copy.
Lawyers Take a Stand
Peng Yongfeng is a former human rights lawyer in China who took over 10 cases related to the traditional spiritual practice of Falun Gong—a very serious step that can cost a lawyer in China his profession and his freedom. He said reading the “Nine Commentaries” has changed the way he thinks.
“I began to accept cases regarding Falun Gong after reading the ‘Nine Commentaries,’ as well as the three public letters by fellow lawyer Gao Zhisheng.” The human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng wrote three open letters to China’s top leaders calling for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong.
Peng said that almost all the Falun Gong cases he handled had to do with Falun Gong practitioners distributing materials that explained to people what Falun Gong is and why it is persecuted, including the “Nine Commentaries.”
He felt these arrests showed how much the Chinese regime fears the “Nine Commentaries.”
Of the more than 12,000 lawyers in China who got calls from abroad about Tuidang, more than 1,000 have decided to quit the Party and its affiliates. Of the total, 624 said they accept cases related to Falun Gong and argue in court that Falun Gong practitioners are not guilty.
Revival of Traditional Chinese Culture
Dr. Zhang Tianliang, a columnist for the Chinese-language Epoch Times and a commentator for New Tang Dynasty Television, said modern political science has taught that any political party can maintain its rule by violence, wealth, and culture. Of the three, culture has enormous power.
“In ancient China, Confucius did not use violence to intimidate students, nor did he use money to bribe students. Confucius himself was so poor that sometimes he had nothing to eat. However, students still followed Confucius because of the cultural essence within him,” Dr. Zhang explained.
MORE:
- Canadian MPs: Regime Change Ahead as Chinese Renounce Communist Party Membership
- Former Chinese Diplomat Supports ‘Nine Commentaries’
Dr. Zhang said the CCP also recognizes the importance of culture. It established Party culture, imposed strict information censorship, and abolished the traditional Chinese virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust. The attack on these virtues became the campaign of “Casting Away the Four Olds” in the Great Cultural Revolution.
“Before there is communism, any culture has ties to deities since culture itself originates from deities. Chinese culture is no exception. Chinese culture is a divine, traditional culture, with connections to Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. The Yellow Emperor, the founder of the traditional Chinese culture, was a cultivator in Taoism,” Dr. Zhang said.
Dr. Zhang emphasized that the Tuidang movement would eventually lead to the collapse of the CCP—which would lead to the disintegration of the Party culture and the revival of traditional Chinese culture and morality.
A Powerful Nation Weak on the Inside
Dong Fang, television host for New York-based New Tang Dynasty Television, said that he was studying at a university in Beijing 25 years ago and saw in person the Tiananmen Square massacre. Since then, Dong said he gave up any hope for the CCP.
Dong said that it was very interesting how to this day, the CCP has not made any public statement regarding the “Nine Commentaries.”
“The CCP usually responds immediately when it is criticized by any country,” Dong said. “However, as of now, the CCP has not refuted the ‘Nine Commentaries’ in any way. The truth is that the ’Nine Commentaries’ has exposed under broad daylight the true nature of the CCP. If the CCP were to respond with criticism, it would only draw more people to read it. So, the CCP dares not respond in any way.”
He Bin, a China expert living in Washington, D.C, said China is a weak country that appears to be powerful. He explained that any powerful country would not be easily toppled.
In China, a person can easily be thrown into prison on a charge of “subversion of state power” for shouting a slogan at Tiananmen Square, hanging a banner in a local residential area, or making a few comments on the Internet.
On the other hand, a powerful nation should allow its people to speak freely, have the freedom of religion, and have the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution—the CCP can do none of the above.
He said that the greatest enemy of any nation comes from inside the country. “Who is the greatest enemy to the CCP? The Americans? No, that is just propaganda. Rather, its people are the greatest threat to the rule of the CCP,” He said.
“The citizens of any powerful country should be happily living in their own country. Why do wealthy Chinese all move overseas? It is because these people fear the CCP—an unstable bomb ready to explode.”
Imminent Collapse
Chen Guangcheng said Tuidang will lead to the collapse of the CCP. “If the CCP were like a building, it was constructed with bricks, and now it merely consists of soil. The cement used before has lost its adhesion. Now, it takes the power of everyone to push down this building,” Chen explained.
Nieh Sen, professor of mechanical engineering at American Catholic University and the host of the forum, said that of the different institutes, governments, think tanks, and many experts on the Soviet Union, none had predicted the dissolution of the Soviet Union 25 years ago. Similarly, nobody can possibly predict [exactly when] the CCP will collapse.
Every day in mid-October this year, about 120,000 Chinese people renounced their ties to the CCP and its affiliates, meaning that three people quit the Party every two seconds, according to Professor Nieh. Now, the total number of people cutting their ties to the CCP stands at 184 million, and in a few months, the number will reach 200 million, Nieh said.
“The collapse of the CCP is inevitable,” he emphasized.
“Do not think that the CCP is so powerful that it is indestructible. It is a matter of minutes when it collapses,” Tang said. “The collapse of the former superpower, the Soviet Union, is the proof.”
