Chinese Dictator Reveals Thoughts of Mortality Jiang Zemin attempts to shift blame as the end of the Party looms
Tom Jigme Wheat
Chinese Dictator Reveals Thoughts of Mortality Jiang Zemin attempts to
shift blame as the end of the Party looms
By Heng He
Epoch Times Staff Created: Mar 1, 2011 Last Updated: Mar 3, 2011 .
Related articles: Opinion > Thinking About China The Persecution of
Falun Gong in China
According to a magazine article published in Hong Kong, China’s former
paramount leader is having second thoughts about his time in power.
Those second thoughts are in an article in the Chinese-language
Frontline magazine, where they are simultaneously hidden and in plain
view. A message is being delivered—if one can sort the noise from the
signal.
The article’s headline is “Admitting Human Beings Have Universal
Values.” Its subhead is “The two major events Jiang Zemin regrets in
his life.” The two events in question are the bombing of the Chinese
Embassy in Belgrade and the persecution of Falun Gong.
The largest part of the article discusses the power struggle
surrounding the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Eighteenth National
Congress—the quadrennial meeting of Party members to take place in
October, at which time the next set of Party leaders will be
installed.
This part of the article portrays Jiang as someone who wields
considerable political power behind the scenes. He is also said to
take a flexible stance toward universal human values—democracy and
freedom—and to be more likely than some other CCP leaders to adopt
them.
But this discussion contradicts itself by pointing out that any change
the Party makes will be in the direction of strengthening the Party’s
rule. The adoption of democracy and human rights contradicts that
basic premise. Jiang could not be serious about both political power
and adopting democracy and human rights. The article’s discussion of
Jiang’s supposed flexibility is not serious.
The reader is given a clear visual cue as to what is significant by
the unusual layout of the article. The font used for the headline is
50 percent smaller than the font used for the subhead. The smaller
part of the article, the discussion of Jiang’s two regrets, is what
counts in the Frontline article.
A Question of Motive
With any leaked story, the question of credibility arises.
Related Articles
■Photo Report: Falun Gong Protest 11-Year Persecution During Hu’s US
Visit
■Tina's Story: Overcoming Ten Years of Persecution (Video)
Frontline magazine has a track record of publishing confidential
information about CCP officials. Many of these stories have later been
confirmed.
For example, in July 2007, the magazine published an article about the
Liu Zhijun brothers’ corruption. Liu was the minister of Railways. On
Feb. 12, the CCP Central Discipline Committee started to investigate
him, and he was removed from his position on Feb. 25. Most of the
corruption exposed by Frontline more than three years ago was
eventually confirmed by the CCP itself.
According to the article, Jiang, in his retirement, has wanted to
publish an autobiography. However, for a long list of reasons, the
Party won’t allow any former Party or state leaders to publish their
autobiographies. Li Peng, premier at the time of the 1989 Tiananmen
Square massacre, wanted to publish his autobiography to defend his
role in 1989 and still couldn’t get it approved.
Jiang is said to have tried to circumvent the ban on autobiographies
by writing articles under the names of his children—in the CCP
leadership circles, children writing about their parents is common. He
also began in 2010 dictating his experiences to trusted, close
assistants, according to the article.
The article about Jiang didn’t release the source of the information
about Jiang’s regrets. Assuming the report about the regrets is
accurate, there are only two possibilities. Either the assistants who
heard the stories from Jiang told the reporter, or Jiang himself
leaked the story.
The key question is whether Jiang had a reason for arranging for this
story of his regrets to be told
Embassy Bombing
The bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade happened directly
because of Jiang’s decision. In the spring of 1999, NATO air raids had
destroyed the Serbian military’s command and control system. Slobodan
Milosevic sought help from Russia and China. Russia refused, but Jiang
agreed to help without hesitation. Jiang also denied the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs’ request to evacuate the embassy staff, even though
all other countries had already done so.
Three Serbian intelligence units moved into the basement of the
Chinese Embassy and started operations from there. When the NATO air
strike hit the embassy, three embassy staff died. The Chinese media
did not report 14 other deaths suffered by those in the basement.
The Chinese regime’s response was unusually weak because, according to
the Frontline article, the United States showed the evidence that the
Serbian military intelligence units were operating in the embassy.
Jiang was then considered the most useless leader in China.
Persecution
Jiang Zemin has not expressed regret for the tremendous suffering and
loss of life his policy of persecution has caused.
The persecution of Falun Gong also began in 1999. This spiritual
practice involves doing five meditative “qigong” exercises and living
according to the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and
tolerance.
After first being taught to the public in 1992, Falun Gong had become
extremely popular. According to state sources, 100 million people were
practicing Falun Gong by 1999. Beginning in 1997, though,
practitioners of Falun Gong had begun encountering different forms of
official harassment.
On April 25, 1999, an estimated 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went
to the central appeals office in Beijing to ask for a safe and legal
environment in which to practice Falun Gong. The appeals office is a
short distance from the CCP leadership compound, Zhongnanhai, and
practitioners ended up lining the streets around it in the day-long
event.
This peaceful demonstration panicked and angered Jiang, and he decided
to “eradicate” the practice of Falun Gong. The decision was met with
disagreement in both the Standing Committee of the Politburo and in
Jiang’s own home.
Zhu Rongji, then premier, and Li Ruihuan, the chairman of the Chinese
People’s Political Consultative Conference, believed that there was no
need to make a big issue about a qigong practice, much less to start a
mass campaign. At home, Jiang’s wife, Wang Yeping, and grandson Jiang
Zhicheng both practiced Falun Gong, according to the article.
Nevertheless, Jiang insisted that under the CCP, China couldn’t
withstand having an organization out of the Party’s control. In the
end, he forced the Politburo to adopt his policy of persecution.
Now, after eight years of reflection since he left office, Jiang has
realized that the Falun Gong issue could have been handled
differently, according to the article.
According to the article, Falun Gong has become the most-powerful
force outside China opposing the CCP, and CCP officials encounter
protests wherever they visit. Those officials who have been heavily
involved in the persecution have faced lawsuits and even arrest during
visits abroad, which damages the image of the CCP officials and the
state. Moreover, persecuting Falun Gong has turned millions or even
tens of millions of people against Jiang and the Party.
These are the reasons Jiang regretted the persecution, according to
the article. He has not expressed regret for the tremendous suffering
and loss of life his policy has caused.
Two Fears
English-language and Chinese-language media have handled Frontline’s
discussion of Jiang’s regrets very differently. Western media that
have reported on the article have concentrated on the embassy bombing,
but in Chinese-language media outside China, Jiang’s regret over
targeting Falun Gong has been widely discussed.
The information about the bombing and persecution in the article is
not news to those who have closely followed the events of the past 12
years. The story of the embassy bombing is the same as was told
several months after the bombing took place.
Also, people in China have known all along that Jiang’s decision to
persecute Falun Gong was not supported by other top leaders and by
some of his family members—they just didn’t know those family members
were his wife and his grandson.
The story of the embassy bombing has no effect on today’s China and
could not be the main message. The real message is the persecution of
Falun Gong, which is still going on in China and is still having an
impact on every aspect of Chinese society.
Related Articles
■Photo Report: Falun Gong Protest 11-Year Persecution During Hu’s US
Visit
■Tina's Story: Overcoming Ten Years of Persecution (Video)
The article does have something new to say about that persecution:
Jiang is presented as wanting to avoid responsibility for the
persecution that has continued since he retired.
All CCP leaders have their own political legacies. Mao’s two main
legacies are taking China away from Chiang Kai-shek and launching the
Cultural Revolution. Deng Xiaoping’s legacies are economic reform and
the Tiananmen Square massacre. Jiang has only one legacy—the
persecution of Falun Gong.
From the point of view of the CCP, Jiang’s decision maintained the
CCP’s rule and prevented Falun Gong from “competing for the masses.”
For the CCP, it’s a “good thing.” Why does Jiang suddenly want to give
up the “honor” of having ordered the persecution?
Usually, CCP leaders know the crisis they are facing better than
ordinary Chinese people, and, in most cases, better than Western
governments and Western China experts. Jiang fears he will be held
responsible for his actions.
He obviously does not fear the Party or the next generation of
leaders. Although the article mentions that during Xi Jinping’s rule,
the Falun Gong issue will be solved without damaging the Party, this
is still not Jiang’s concern. As long as the CCP is around, there is
nothing for Jiang to fear. Jiang can only now fear punishment from God
or from the law and the people when the CCP is gone.
Jiang cannot believe a magazine article will change what he will face
after death. He wants to shed as much responsibility as possible for
the persecution he launched in case the CCP can no longer protect him.
thomaswheat1975
rst9
and scattered all over Chinatown. It made huge mess at Stockton St.
and Washington. Epoch Times should be outlawed. Nobody read that
junk.
Anti-DabianchenVirus
fraud and a liar.
Oy, what's the matter, homo punk? On the 17th of February, you accused
me of advocating the overthrow of American democracy, and "just a loud
mouth with a one inch rice dick":
http://groups.google.com/group/talk.politics.tibet/msg/3535c4db40a0115c?hl=en
I have since then asked you to prove it and you couldn't. All you have
done was try to avoid the issue and give cockamamie excuses of why you
can't answer it. Why? Because you are a fraud and a pathological LIAR!
On Mar 3, 5:59 pm, Tom Jigme Wheat <thomaswheat1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/opinion/chinese-dictator-reveals-thou...
> He obviously does not fear the Party or the next ...
>
> read more »
Tom Jigme Wheat
the website averages 16,000 page views a day.
http://valuethewebsite.com/www.theepochtimes.com
do you believe the epochtimes is lying about Jiang zemin having second
thoughts about cracking down on falun gong, or what about the chinese
embassy in belgrade harboring serbian terrorists.
Anti-DabianchenVirus
fraud and a liar.
Oy, what's the matter, homo punk? On the 17th of February, you accused
me of advocating the overthrow of American democracy, and "just a loud
mouth with a one inch rice dick":
http://groups.google.com/group/talk.politics.tibet/msg/3535c4db40a0115c?hl=en
I have since then asked you to prove it and you couldn't. All you have
done was try to avoid the issue and give cockamamie excuses of why you
can't answer it. Why? Because you are a fraud and a pathological LIAR!
On Mar 3, 8:55 pm, Tom Jigme Wheat <thomaswheat1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mar 3, 6:05 pm, rst9 <rst9w...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Epoch Times is handed out free of charge in San Francisco Chinatown
> > and scattered all over Chinatown. It made huge mess at Stockton St.
> > and Washington. Epoch Times should be outlawed. Nobody read that
> > junk.
>
> the website averages 16,000 page views a day.http://valuethewebsite.com/www.theepochtimes.com
Tom Jigme Wheat
bombing of the chinese embassy in belgrade in 1999 and that he admits
the embassy was harboring serbian intelligence agents. The article
also acknowleges that Jiang regretted the crackdown on falun gong.
Truth about "mistake" bombing of Chinese embassy
Attack in Serbia by US was no error
By MICHAEL SHERIDAN
Last Updated: 5:16 AM, February 13, 2011
Posted: 10:45 PM, February 12, 2011
Comments: 0 More Print The former Chinese president Jiang Zemin has
admitted in an unpublished memoir that Serbian military intelligence
units were hiding inside the Chinese embassy in Belgrade when Nato
bombed it in 1999.
The memoir is reported to say that Jiang acceded to a personal plea
from Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian leader, to shelter key military
intelligence personnel, and that 14 Serbs and three Chinese citizens
died there when US bombers struck.
Although the United States apologized for the raid - which led to anti-
western demonstrations in China - blaming faulty target mapping by the
CIA, the Chinese government never accepted this explanation.
Now a Chinese-language magazine in Hong Kong has published an account
of the bombing from a series of essays written in retirement by Jiang,
85, who stepped down from his last post in 2004.
It said Jiang regretted allowing the Serbs sanctuary inside China's
diplomatic mission and believed it was a serious political mistake.
The memoir is said to tell how a furious Chinese government was forced
to mute its protests after the Americans privately presented evidence
of Serbian electronic communications from within the embassy.
The diplomatic bargain appeared to be that the Americans saved China's
face by apologising for a "mistake" and the Chinese allowed the street
rage to cool off without serious violence.
Jiang believes the Belgrade bombing destroyed his relationship with
Bill Clinton, then the US president, according to the magazine Qiansao
(Outpost), which quoted Jiang's aides and family members. He appears
to have gambled and lost because he saw a chance to outflank Russia,
which had refused to help Milosevic protect his intelligence assets.
The magazine claimed the Chinese were already sending secret supplies
of surface-to-air missiles to the former Yugoslavia through Libya.
"When the air campaign began, Yugoslavia's defence ministry,
information department and police headquarters were all destroyed by
NATO bombs," it said, quoting the memoir.
"Slobodan Milosevic once again asked Jiang to allow core departments
of military intelligence to take refuge in the Chinese embassy
basement so as to keep operating." The Chinese leader agreed.
As the NATO bombing intensified, the Chinese foreign ministry asked
Jiang if it could withdraw its staff from Belgrade, but he ordered
them to stay put as a sign of solidarity with Milosevic, the memoir
admits.
NATO was bombing Serbia to force it to withdraw from Kosovo, a
province seeking independence. To China, fighting its own separatists
in Tibet and Xinjiang, it was a matter of principle to support the
government in Belgrade.
Although the memoir seems not to say so, there was another reason for
Chinese involvement on Serbia's side. The magazine says Milosevic's
agents handed over to China some navigation gear, thermal insulation
and part of a jet exhaust from an American F-117 Stealth fighter shot
down over the Balkans. China surprised the Americans by unveiling its
own stealth fighter in a test flight last month.
The Belgrade bombing is one of "two regrets" in Jiang's memoir, said
Qiansao. The other is his decision to stage a crackdown on the Falun
Gong meditation group.
Chinese journalists believe the magazine's account of the memoirs is
authentic, pointing to previous instances when high-level documents or
memoirs have first appeared as leaks in Hong Kong.
Asked about the magazine's claims, a NATO spokesman referred to a
statement made by Jamie Shea, then its spokesman, in May 1999, in
which he regretted the loss of life and damage to the embassy.
Shea added: "I would like to remind the people of Yugoslavia that we
carefully select targets that are directly related to President
Milosevic's political and leadership apparatus."
On Mar 3, 5:59 pm, Tom Jigme Wheat <thomaswheat1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/opinion/chinese-dictator-reveals-thou...
> read more »...
rst9
website to let people think there are a lot of people looking into it.
Anti-DabianchenVirus
fraud and a liar.
Oy, what's the matter, homo punk? On the 17th of February, you accused
me of advocating the overthrow of American democracy, and "just a loud
mouth with a one inch rice dick":
http://groups.google.com/group/talk.politics.tibet/msg/3535c4db40a0115c?hl=en
I have since then asked you to prove it and you couldn't. All you have
done was try to avoid the issue and give cockamamie excuses of why you
can't answer it. Why? Because you are a fraud and a pathological LIAR!
On Mar 3, 9:21 pm, Tom Jigme Wheat <thomaswheat1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> here's an article on the same topic of jiang zemin and the Nato
> bombing of the chinese embassy in belgrade in 1999 and that he admits
> the embassy was harboring serbian intelligence agents. The article
> also acknowleges that Jiang regretted the crackdown on falun gong.
>
> http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/truth_about_mista...
> Read more:http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/truth_about_mista...
> ...
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Tom Jigme Wheat
wrote:
> Bull! That's what you say, homo punk, but you have been proven to be a
> fraud and a liar.
>
> Oy, what's the matter, homo punk? On the 17th of February, you accused
> me of advocating the overthrow of American democracy, and "just a loud
> mouth with a one inch rice dick":
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/talk.politics.tibet/msg/3535c4db40a011...
> > > Milosevic sought help from Russia and China. Russia- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -...
>
> read more »
Anti-DabianchenVirus
> On Mar 3, 9:34 pm, Anti-DabianchenVirus <wuso...@rocketmail.com>
> wrote:> Bull! That's what you say, homo punk, but you have been proven to be a
> > fraud and a liar.
>
> > Oy, what's the matter, homo punk? On the 17th of February, you accused
> > me of advocating the overthrow of American democracy, and "just a loud
> > mouth with a one inch rice dick":
>
> 2 out of three isn't bad.
So, you confess that you are a homo and a liar!
> ...
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
Tom Jigme Wheat
wrote:
> On Mar 3, 9:39 pm, Tom Jigme Wheat <thomaswheat1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Mar 3, 9:34 pm, Anti-DabianchenVirus <wuso...@rocketmail.com>
> > wrote:> Bull! That's what you say, homo punk, but you have been proven to be a
> > > fraud and a liar.
>
> > > Oy, what's the matter, homo punk? On the 17th of February, you accused
> > > me of advocating the overthrow of American democracy, and "just a loud
> > > mouth with a one inch rice dick":
>
> > 2 out of three isn't bad.
>
> So, you confess that you are a homo and a liar!
>
>
> - Show quoted text -...
>
> read more »
Anti-DabianchenVirus
> On Mar 3, 9:44 pm, Anti-DabianchenVirus <wuso...@rocketmail.com>
> wrote:> On Mar 3, 9:39 pm, Tom Jigme Wheat <thomaswheat1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > On Mar 3, 9:34 pm, Anti-DabianchenVirus <wuso...@rocketmail.com>
> > > wrote:> Bull! That's what you say, homo punk, but you have been proven to be a
> > > > fraud and a liar.
>
> > > > Oy, what's the matter, homo punk? On the 17th of February, you accused
> > > > me of advocating the overthrow of American democracy, and "just a loud
> > > > mouth with a one inch rice dick":
>
> > > 2 out of three isn't bad.
>
> > So, you confess that you are a homo and a liar!
>
> no, you are a loud mouth and have a one inch rice dick
Prove it!
Oy, what's the matter, homo punk? On the 17th of February, you accused
me of advocating the overthrow of American democracy, and "just a loud
mouth with a one inch rice dick":
http://groups.google.com/group/talk.politics.tibet/msg/3535c4db40a0115c?hl=en
I have since then asked you to prove it and you couldn't. All you have
done was beat around the bush trying to avoid the issue and give
cockamamie excuses of why you won't answer it. Why? Because you are a
Tom Jigme Wheat
wrote:
> On Mar 4, 3:58 pm, Tom Jigme Wheat <thomaswheat1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Mar 3, 9:44 pm, Anti-DabianchenVirus <wuso...@rocketmail.com>
> > wrote:> On Mar 3, 9:39 pm, Tom Jigme Wheat <thomaswheat1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > > On Mar 3, 9:34 pm, Anti-DabianchenVirus <wuso...@rocketmail.com>
> > > > wrote:> Bull! That's what you say, homo punk, but you have been proven to be a
> > > > > fraud and a liar.
>
> > > > > Oy, what's the matter, homo punk? On the 17th of February, you accused
> > > > > me of advocating the overthrow of American democracy, and "just a loud
> > > > > mouth with a one inch rice dick":
>
> > > > 2 out of three isn't bad.
>
> > > So, you confess that you are a homo and a liar!
>
> > no, you are a loud mouth and have a one inch rice dick
>
> Prove it!
>
> Oy, what's the matter, homo punk? On the 17th of February, you accused
> me of advocating the overthrow of American democracy, and "just a loud
> mouth with a one inch rice dick":
china on usenet. How can I be lying if all I do is summarize what they
say and give my views on the topic. You think you have something with
me, but you have nothing, your just a vindictive little bitch working
for the 50 cent brigrade. You dont intimidate me, one inch rice dick
bitch. So keep being like DP and posting the same shit over and over
again, it only shows your mentally deranged obssessive compulsive
nature.
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/talk.politics.tibet/msg/3535c4db40a011...
>
> I have since then asked you to prove it and you couldn't. All you have
> done was beat around the bush trying to avoid the issue and give
> cockamamie excuses of why you won't answer it. Why? Because you are a
Anti-DabianchenVirus
Tom Jigme Wheat
>
> I have since then asked you to prove it and you couldn't. All you have
> done was beat around the bush trying to avoid the issue and give
> cockamamie excuses of why you won't answer it. Why? Because you are a
>
of what the free press says. You think the chinese people are too
stupid for democracy because you attach socioeconomic preconditions
for democracy. It is easy to assume that you advocate the overthrow of
the US since you rabidly defend the CCP. I have been willing to
acknowlege the faults of my government but you fail to be an objective
voice on china, your just another ideolouge. You are also a bigot.
This probably means you need to come out of the closest.
Anti-DabianchenVirus
Tom Jigme Wheat
100% of the time, that makes you a foreign agent of the CCP in my
book. If your here on a visa it will be soon revoked. So go on like
DP, posting the same old shit over and over again, I dont care. you
are lame and a homophobe. Time to come out of the closet.
Hide quoted text -
rst0wxyz
The CCP doesn't need anyone's support. The CCP has the power of the
gun. Unless you have bigger guns, there is no way to fight against
it.
Anti-DabianchenVirus
So you've come out of the closet and admitted you are a homo!
If I were here on a visa? You have a very short memory span, homo
punk:
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.china/msg/8e211f9563fe6443?hl=en