My name is David Duan. I gave myself this name after I came to New Zealand. Today, I’d like to announce to the world that I quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as excitedly as when I vowed to join it many years ago.
I worked for Tianjin Daily as a technician before I was enrolled in the army in 1978 and was assigned to what is now Lanzhou Military Area Command 87254. In 1981 I joined the CCP, and went back to Tianjin Daily in 1982 after I retired from military service. Since I was a CCP member, the Tianjin Daily’s leaders treated me well and gave me adequate professional trainings. For some time I was really grateful for that.
But as I grew older and came to know the world better, I gradually realized that the CCP is not a “servant of the people” as it claims in its Party Constitution. Instead, the CCP is just a selfish interest group who never does what it promises. Our newspaper [Tianjin Daily], for example, never covered the real sufferings of the people, but only flattered the CCP and helped build its “brilliant image.” Such realization started to push me away from the CCP.
In April 1999, Tianjin police beat up and arrested dozens of Falun Gong practitioners, for which many practitioners went to the central government’s petition office in Beijing to appeal. But the CCP framed them and told the world that they were besieging the government.
I was not a Falun Gong practitioner then, but many of my friends and relatives were. I knew that Falun Gong is a belief that teaches people to be good and healthy, and to live up to the principles of “truthful, compassionate and forbearance.” I believed its teachings could only do good to society. I told my colleagues my thoughts, and said it was not fair to suppress Falun Gong. What I said was reported to the leaders of the newspaper. They talked to me and warned me that as a CCP member I must remain “unified” with the CCP’s policies. I would not lie, so I honestly told the leaders how I felt about Falun Gong. As a result, I was slashed, moved to a lower position and never trusted again.
In 2005 I came to New Zealand, where I had opportunities to know more about Falun Gong. I also had the opportunity to read Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party which fully exposed the CCP’s evil history since its establishment. Such true history is off limits in mainland China because of the CCP’s firm information control. When I learned the evil nature of the CCP, I was ashamed of myself for being its member.
Therefore, I decided to quit the CCP. I’m determined to wash off the evil influences that the CCP imposed on me, and become a new and better person.
David Duan
New Zealand
