On July 30, a forum was held by the Australian Federation of Chinese Associations in Melbourne, and the local Chinese communities were invited to attend to discuss the case of Chen Yonglin, a Communist Chinese official who recently defected. Nearly 50 Chinese people attended the forum; however the appearance of Chen Yonglin and Hao Fengjun made the host and some participants very uncomfortable. These two attendees had controversial opinions on the case, which resulted in very harsh discussions. The forum was hurriedly ended within an hour. After the forum, Chen Yonglin accepted an interview with The Epoch Times.
Reporter: Why did you come to Melbourne today?
Chen: I’d seen the Australian Federation of Chinese Associations’ advertisement on Huaxia Weekly (Huaxia Zhoubao), that they would discuss my case. I also wished to hear the opinions that the Chinese people in Victoria have about me, so I came.
Reporter: Today the host clarified that this forum was only for its members, not for all overseas Chinese. The host also said that he did not know you would come, nor did he know that the media would come. What is your opinion of that?
Chen: It does not surprise me at all. The advertisement said that all Chinese people were welcome. I think, since I’m also Chinese, they should have anticipated that I might come. But judging by the reaction of the host, they do not welcome me. They were even surprised by my attendance.
Reporter: In general, what do you think of today’s forum?
Chen: The so-called forum was actually an attempt by the Federation of Chinese Associations to manipulate the Chinese public opinion. However, their effort was in vain because many other freelance writers, pro-democratic people, and lecturers from the Melbourne University also attended. Apparently, these people were not welcomed by the Federation of Chinese Associations either, because all of their speeches were interrupted.
In the end, their speeches were limited to one minute, while Federation members were allowed to speak for at least two minutes. The host manipulated the forum in this way.
Reporter: We recall that in past interviews there was mention of the CCP’s manipulation of the Chinese community. As a former diplomat, could you introduce the background of the Federation of Chinese Associations for us?
Chen: Since I worked at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, indeed I know quite a bit about its background. I know that, among the methods that the CCP uses to manipulate the Chinese community, one is to make use of the Chinese community when necessary, particularly in politics. In essence, they want to mentally control the Chinese community.
As for today’s forum, the original purpose of the Federation of Chinese Associations was to control the whole forum. However because a lot of people with integrity and conscience stood up to speak, it did not succeed. Today’s incident is a very good example of the CCP manipulating the Chinese community.
The Federation of Chinese Associations in February 2003 rejected the request of Falun Gong practitioners in Victoria to participate in the Chinese New Year celebrations, and in the end, was sued by the practitioners through the Equal Opportunity Tribunal. It was confirmed through arbitration and assessment that political persecutions did exist, which led to reconciliation outside the tribunal.
The Federation of Chinese Associations was required to allow Falun Gong practitioners to participate in the Chinese New Year celebrations for the next five years. This organization, which is directly controlled by the CCP’s consulate in Melbourne, has been following the orders of the Chinese Consulate in Melbourne to persecute Falun Gong, restrict Falun Gong practitioners’ participation in the activities of local communities.
Reporter: Some Chinese people think that your openly speaking out has damaged the Chinese-Australian friendship and the reputation of the Chinese people. What is your response?
Chen: The main purpose of my leaving the Chinese consulate was to expose the violent reign of the CCP, to expose the fact that the CCP is persecuting its own people. I love my motherland, love the Chinese nation. Many Chinese people are suffering from the brutal violence of the CCP. I express my strong protest by leaving the CCP.
In fact, this clearly shows my appropriate pride in upholding the Chinese nation. The CCP cannot represent the Chinese people. What they represent is only a small group of violent rulers who are enslaving the people.
Reporter: Today some Chinese people mentioned that when you raise the issue of spies that could cause mainstream Australian society to view the Chinese unfavorably, and make it difficult for Chinese people to find a foothold in Australia.
Chen: I have not seen any evidence that the Australian society has initiated another round of racial discrimination. I simply mentioned the fact that there are over 1000 spies and contact persons for the CCP here. Some people in the Chinese community like to take their seats according to the numbers on the tickets.
Furthermore, these spies and contact persons that I mentioned are from both Chinese and non-Chinese community. The non-Chinese community can even accept this fact, why should a few Chinese disbelieve it? I’ve read in Huaxia Weekly that this sentiment, these words were actually a quote from Ambassador Fu Ying.
Reporter: A moment ago the chairman of the Federation of Chinese Associations mentioned that a university professor had written an article discussing whether the country should deny the entry of Asians or colored race into Australia. After this article was published, a lot of Chinese people wondered whether the Australian society would discriminate against the Chinese.
Chen: Australia is a society of freedom and democracy, it cannot be ignored that some individual non-Chinese people have a certain bias towards Chinese people. However, with the current condition of Australia, I don’t see any chance that mainstream society would move toward discrimination of the Chinese community.
Australia now runs a multicultural policy, and among the different groups of people there is a very peaceful relationship. In particular, people can see that a lot of Chinese are participating in political affairs in Australia, and are in a better position than their fellow Chinese who participate in political affairs in other western countries. This point should be seen.
(According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, Professor Tim Sprague from Macquarie University openly expressed his opinion that he is against the migration of non-Caucasians to Australia, which generated strong reactions in the society. On July 29, the university suspended him from teaching.)
Reporter: During the forum, we observed that some Chinese think that you have made the Chinese people’s “domestic shame” public so that they’ve appeared extremely angry. What do you think of such reactions from them?
Chen: Since the CCP gained power, they have made a series of political movements. With the dissidents, it worked to eliminate their bodies, thereby making the people become submissive, lose their humanity, conscience and honesty, and fear the violence of the CCP. During the CCP’s rule, over 80 million innocent people have been persecuted to death. Such historical lessons make the elderly hold fear in their hearts. We all know that in China, everyone is brainwashed by the CCP’s culture from a very young age. That is, the CCP is the country, and if the CCP makes a mistake, the problem can only be solved within the party. A lot of people, due to the brainwashing, still hold hope for the CCP.
Actually, all should have seen that, for decades, the CCP has never changed its violent nature and persecution of the people. Many Chinese people feel that domestic shame should not be made public, and this clearly makes no distinction between the CCP and the country. In truth, it is the CCP’s shame, and what I want to expose is just their misconduct. If it is not exposed, the Chinese people will never have a chance to escape this misfortune.
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