The Investigative Report on Liu Yunshan
Liu Yunshan (1947- ), member of Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo, was the deputy director of the Department of Propaganda of the CCP Central Committee from 1993 to 2002. Since 1997, Liu concurrently held the position of director of the General Office of Central Commission for Guiding Cultural and Ethical Progress (CCGCEP). From October 2002 to November 2012, Liu was the director of the Department of Propaganda of CCPCC. Since November 2012, Liu is in charge of the regime's ideology, including propaganda, as the Director of Central Commission for Guiding Cultural and Ethical Progress.[1]
Since Jiang Zemin led the CCP to start the persecution against Falun Gong in July 1999, Liu Yushan closely followed Jiang’s persecution policy. Liu controlled the nation’s propaganda machine to slander Falun Fong with lies, which has stirred up hatred against Falun Gong in mainland China, as well as in the international society, paving the path for Jiang to intensify the persecution. Since June 1999, Liu Yunshan was in charge of anti-Falun Gong propaganda in the “Leading Group for Handling Falun Gong Issue”,[2] which was established by Jiang Zemin to persecute Falun Gong. The notorious “610 Office” is the executive office of this leading group. In the early stage of the persecution, Liu was also the deputy director of the Propaganda Department of CCPCC. Because of his active involvement in the persecution, Liu was promoted to be the director of the Propaganda Department in 2002 and remained in the position till the end of 2012. During those years, the persecution of Falun Gong in mainland China has gotten to the most severe level. Countless numbers of Falun Gong practitioners were unlawfully detained and imprisoned, tortured and sentenced, causing massive injuries, disabilities and deaths; massive numbers of Falun Gong practitioners were killed through live harvesting of their organs. All these were directly related to the propaganda administered by Liu. Listed below is the partial evidence of Liu, as the (deputy) director of the CCP Central Propaganda Department and the director of General Office of CCGCEP, inciting hatred and slandering Falun Gong, which has intensified the persecution.
On August 6, 1999, only two weeks after the start of the persecution, the General Office of Central Commission for Guiding Cultural and Ethical Progress hosted an anti-Falun Gong forum. Liu attended the forum and gave a speech as the head of Propaganda Department and General Office of CCGCEP. He requested the audience to “fully realize the extreme importance of the ideological and political struggle(douzheng), and further expose and criticize(jiepi)” Falun Gong.[3]
On December 14, 1999, Liu Yunshan gave a speech as the Deputy Director of CCP Propaganda Department at the Second National Conference for Science Popularization. He specifically emphasized the importance of exposing and criticizing Falun Gong.[4]
On March 21, 2000, Liu Yunshan published an article on Guangming Daily, a CCP mouthpiece at the state level. With the title “A major event in the ideological and political construction of the whole party”, Liu claimed that “The exposure of Falun Gong issue gave us a serious political educational lesson. We should never underestimate the damage to our Party, country, and people.”[5]
Liu Yunshan chaired the National Conference of Propaganda Department Heads from Jan. 8 to 11, 2001. The meeting called for the exposition of "Falun Gong" as an important task to carry out persistently. The meeting also demanded to fully realize the long-term, complex and sharpness of the struggle (douzheng) against "Falun Gong", to deeply expound and criticize (jiepi) Falun Gong's political nature and social harm, and to help people to strengthen the consciousness of resisting the harm of cult and maintaining social stability.[6]
In February 2001, the CCP Central Organization Department, Propaganda Department, Political & Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Personnel, and the Office to Prevent and Handle Cult Issues (610 Office) jointly held an award meeting in the struggle against Falun Gong. More than 3,000 people attended the conference in Beijing. Deputy director of the Propaganda Department, Liu Yunshan chaired the conference. Liu demanded to totally eliminate the social foundation and soil that Falun Gong depends to survive and to carry out the struggle (douzheng) against Falun Gong to the end.[7]
In 2001, Liu Yunshan published an article on “Research on Ideological and Political Work” with the title “To fight the first battle of propaganda and ideological in the new century”. He especially emphasized the issue of enhancing the struggle (douzheng) against Falun Gong. Liu demanded that “the propaganda departments at all levels must fully realize the political meaning of the struggle (douzheng) against Falun Gong, and the long-term, sharpness and complex of the struggle (douzheng).” He asked them to actively involve in this serious political struggle (douzheng) with high political responsibilities. He demanded to treat the struggle against Falun Gong as an important political task of the propaganda and ideology work, with specially assigned leader, crew, propaganda plan, and enhanced working power.[8]
When the CCP first started the persecution, it was difficult to carry out the persecution policy throughout the entire country. Therefore, besides defaming Falun Gong through its mouthpiece media, the CCP also poisoned the general public through so-called “science and technology popularization.” On July 15, 2001, an exhibition to defame Falun Gong was jointly arranged by the Department of Propaganda (Liu Yunshan being the deputy director), General Office of CCGCEP (Liu Yunshan being the director), the 610 Office, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Justice, and China Association for Science and Technology. Liu Yunshan spoke at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, advocating Marx theory of materialism and atheism, and requiring the exhibition to be duplicated nationwide with the purpose to further “expose and criticize (jiepi)” Falun Gong.[9]
In January 2004, Liu Yunshan, as the director of the Propaganda Department, spoke at the teleconference of “combating pornography and unlawful publications”, deploying specific tasks for the year. Liu called the illegal confiscation of Falun Gong materials the “firm attack on the infiltration of the hostile forces.”[10]
In January 2010, Liu Yunshan published a report on “propaganda and ideological tasks” where he used the excuse of “spreading Chinese culture” to spread the persecution of Falun Gong overseas. The report said “to actively carry out the international public opinion battle (douzheng) concerning Tibet, Uighur, Taiwan, human rights and Falun Gong. To deepen the export of culture by establishing overseas culture centers and Confucius Institutes.”[11]
--------------------------------------------
Reference
[1] Biography of Liu Yunshan http://news.xinhuanet.com/rwk/2013-02/07/c_124334635.htm
[2] "Hong Kong Mail" February 16, 2001 The so-called ``June 10 Working Office'' is headed by Luo Gan, the party's main official in charge of maintaining law and order. It oversees the overall nationwide crackdown. The second, the ``propaganda work office'', is headed by Liu Yunshan, the second-in-command of the party central committee's Propaganda Department. It is in charge of winning the media war. Mr Liu's second-in-command is Li Dongsheng, the party chief at and deputy head of China Central Television.
[3] http://www.gmw.cn/01gmrb/1999-08/07/GB/GM%5E18141%5E1%5EGM1-0706.HTM
[4] http://www.hbstd.gov.cn/wzlm/info/6555.htm
[5] http://www.gmw.cn/01gmrb/2000-03/21/GB/03%5E18366%5E0%5EGMB1-214.htm
[6] http://www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/3586/20010112/376760.html
[7] http://www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/19/20010226/403922.html
[8] http://www.ropiw.com.cn/33/baha.htm (this website has been deleted but we have saved copy)
[9] http://www.people.com.cn/GB/other6902/5948/20010715/512083.html
