On February 10, 2006, several non-governmental organizations in Australia formed the "Oceania Hunger Strike Support Network for Human Rights in China", and held a press conference outside the Chinese Consulate in Sydney. They declared their support and participation in the relay hunger strike initiated by Chinese attorney Gao Zhisheng and other human rights activists. Renowned jurist Yuan Hongbing and former First Secretary of the Chinese Consulate in Sydney Chen Yonglin volunteered to be the first ones in the 24-hour hunger relay in Sydney.
The Sound of Hope Radio Network interviewed Chen Yonglin.
Reporter: You used to be a staff member of the Chinese Consulate. Were you still working at the Consulate, what would the consular staff be doing in response to an event such as today's?
Chen Yonglin: Usually when there is an activity like this, we first notify the local police for fear of an attack on the Consulate and secondly, we observe and record the course of the protest and then report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security.
Reporter: Will the course of today's activities be reported back to mainland China?
Chen Yonglin: Yes. You see that video camera over there? When there is an activity, they will almost certainly have at least four people watching the monitor and recording the entire event. These materials will then be sent back to China to be filed.
Reporter: You are sitting here today in support of Gao's hunger strike. What do your former colleagues think?
Chen Yonglin: Their thoughts can be classified into several categories. I just saw a few people I knew at the Consulate. One of them reacted in a friendly way: he smiled at me and waved to me, showing that he supports me and has a conscience. There are also people who are more or less scared, they are afraid of making contact with me. Some glanced at me and then immediately hid away. Lastly, there are those who do not understand what's going on at all, but there are not many of them. A short while ago, a child of my former coworker came over and questioned me why I was sitting here. It saddens us, he is too young and he does not understand the things that have happened in China, including those crimes the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has committed. His views may reflect those of his parents'. This shows that there are still people in the Consulate being deceived by the CCP. In fact, they have been brainwashed and mentally controlled by the CCP.
Reporter: During the pro-democracy movement in 1989, students also carried out a hunger strike campaign. What do you think is the biggest difference between the hunger strike campaign today and the one in 1989?
Chen Yonglin: During he campaign at that time, people hoped that the CCP could change from within. They held these illusions towards the CCP; it was a kind of petition. Today our hunger strike is to support the anti-persecution campaign in China. It is actually a protest. Today everyone can see that we don't hand in any petition. We don't ask anything from the CCP, we are protesting against the CCP's tyranny and the brutal persecution the CCP has imposed on people in the human rights movement. Our main purpose is to awaken more people's conscience. We hope more people can step up to protest against the CCP and overthrow the CCP.
Reporter: The Relay Hunger strike is a global campaign; can you predict or analyze its development?
Chen Yonglin: This relay hunger strike activity was initiated by the renowned attorney Gao Zhisheng in China. He has the conscience to defend the basic human rights of the Chinese people and to fight to redeem the Chinese people's rights, democracy and freedom from the CCP. It is really compelling. I feel that since the pro-democracy movement in 1989, it is the largest national or global protest against CCP's tyranny, and the campaign aiming to give democracy to China as soon as possible. I believe that this campaign will have far reaching and deep historic effect. This campaign should last for a long time, and it will have a great effect on history.
Reporter: In supporting the hunger strike campaign initiated by Gao Zhisheng, what reaction do you think the CCP will have?
Chen Yonglin: I feel the CCP is indeed running scared. It knows that it has no more trick up its sleeve. The CCP's leaders have already used their ultimate suppression measure – violence. This includes shooting at people, assassination and all measures used by the gangland groups. Even after using all of these measures, it found that people, human rights activists and the underprivileged ones who are now fighting back against CCP's repression, are far from becoming subdued. It has no trump card. If people are not afraid of death, what is more there to be afraid of? Therefore, the CCP is helpless in this situation. I believe that if all Chinese people come to support this campaign, it can finally make crucial impact on the whole situation in China.
Mahatma Gandhi in India finally won freedom and dignity for the Indian people through the non-violence campaign 59 years ago. This human rights campaign initiated by attorney Gao Zhisheng has the same historic meaning. We hope Chinese people seize this opportunity; otherwise, our future will be bleak. If we don't seize this opportunity we will be abducted by the CCP, and the whole Chinese culture might disappear from the planet.
Reporter: In Atlanta, an Epoch Times staffer was recently beaten by a mob…
Chen Yonglin: Is that Li Yuan?
Reporter: Correct. Li Yuan is the chief technical officer of The Epoch Times. Was it an accident? Or are they looking for a chance to retaliate?
Chen Yongling: The CCP has implemented a massive Internet blocking campaign in China and they receive technical support from Google and Yahoo. They think that their Golden Shield program is very successful. But one thing they can't avoid is that The Epoch Times' use of technology to break through internet blockade is always ahead of their Golden Shield program. The Epoch Times, especially its chief technical officer, has developed a technology that can penetrate the Golden Shield firewall, and many people in China are using it. The technology has become a headache for the CCP. Because it wants to control the media and prevent people from knowing the truth, it has to have a complete control over all the networks. The fact that Li Yuan was beaten and only his two computers but no other valuables were stolen, tells us something.
My gut feeling is that it is most likely that the CCP's secret agents gave a beating to Li Yuan, because the CCP urgently wants to understand The Epoch Times' networking penetration technology. They want to reinforce their Golden Shield program by understanding and blocking this technology.
Reporter: Is there any other specific way to show your support besides the hunger strike?
The purpose of the hunger strike is to awaken more people's consciousness. The other purpose is to attract more attention from people in democratic countries. We should gain their support to put pressure on the CCP and to cut off the external support the CCP receives now. By doing so, we can eliminate the legitimacy of the CCP. I think we should strive to do more work with media and governments of democratic countries. Our main goal, in the long run, is to strengthen the movement, that it becomes thoroughly developed.
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