Defectors Chen Yonglin and Hao Fengjun are backing the formation of a support network for others who may wish to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and are calling on the Australian government to offer assistance.
The “Quit CCP Support Network” would encourage more people to renounce their Communist Party membership. It would also offer support to those who decide to leave the CCP, in the form of advice, legal assistance, and helping expose their plight outside of China.
Mr Chen Yonglin told a conference on Friday September 16, that since The Epoch Times published the "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party", editorial series, more and more people had realised that the CCP is “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”, and have withdrawn their party membership. The number of withdrawals has now passed 4.3 million, with 325 thousand withdrawals so far this month.
He said that top leaders of the Chinese government, fearing an imminent party collapse, had taken harsh action against party members who wish to quit, as well as “ordinary people who spread the message of quitting the CCP”.
“A lot of people, whose names have appeared on the website withdrawal list, are facing more persecution and harassment from the CCP ruling machine,” Mr Chen said.
“Some people have been detained and put into prisons, some have been questioned by the police and secret agents, some have been threatened and followed, some have been kidnapped and secretly jailed and severely beaten, some have been spiritually pressured by the Communist authorities, some have been strictly monitored while surfing on the website, some met interferences from the CCP in finding jobs.”
“When I quit the CCP and left the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, I had an extremely difficult life. Safety was my major concern at that time. Fortunately I was offered the quick support in safety, legal advice and moral support from the Australian society.”
“You can imagine how difficult it must be in China to quit the CCP. I wish to help as much as I can to those who have preserved their conscience and are still under the evil control of the CCP.”
David Rubacek from Free China said that for a communist party official to decide to leave the party was a tough decision, with implications for their families and friends.
“It’s a very courageous decision they have made,” Mr Rubacek said, “not just for themselves, but it is a life and death decision for their families, for their friends, and for their colleagues.”
Mr Rubacek said that a colleague of Mr Hao Fengjun’s who had driven Hao to the airport the day he left China, had been interrogated by the police, having been caught on airport security footage.
Mr Hao Fengjun, once a 6-10 secret policeman in China, would later defect from the Chinese Communist Party not long after Mr Chen, having witnessed the cruel torture of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Mr Hao thanked the organisations and people supporting the establishment of the support network, and called for the Australian government’s assistance.
Mr Rubacek said that defectors offered “valuable knowledge on the inner workings of the Communist ruling class, and it’s affiliated organisations, and this knowledge is not readily available in free and democratic countries and governments.”
“We believe this knowledge can aid in improving Australian security, and also global stability.”
Regarding Prime Minister John Howard’s recent comments that the world should embrace China as an economic partner, Mr Chen said: “He is not the only government official to make such comments.”
“Right now the situation in China is quite different from the views of the senior officials of western countries,” Mr Chen said.
He said that according to official statistics, China experienced 74,000 riots last year, and the Chinese government had recently taken stronger measures by deploying hundreds more anti-riot police in may of China’s major cities.
“They are regarding all the people who oppose, or have different opinions, with the government, as terrorists. So the more they are against the people, the quicker they will dig their own tomb.
“I’m not opposing the normal trade with China, I just mentioned that the Australian government should not trade the human basic values. I believe this is the foundation of Australian society, and important for the Australian people.”
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