Amy refreshes our memory in the story about the friend they called “The Missile”. He had done very well for himself as a chemist and was married in Shanghai. They had a little boy named rocky.
Amy would like to put a Hollywood ending on the story, but life is not a like fictional story. In 1998 Amy invited her friend Susan for Christmas. They discussed memories from the work camp, recalling an occasion when there were many leaches in the rice patties. Recalling this, her friend cried. Her friend remarked that in China she could not cry and asked, “How come in China I can not cry?”
Susan says the “The Missile” had been divorced. Amy suggests finding his contact info through some connections.
The next day, Amy considered the question of “why she can’t cry in China”. Amy and her friend realize that in the US they felt free to express their emotions without being punished.
Amy follows up to find out what had happened to “The Missile” and finds out that he had disappeared. She learns that his divorce was a result of a business circumstance were the state partnered with him, stole his patents and opened a competitor in another area. This caused a lot of stress in his life. To deal with the stress, he became a Chi Gung practitioner. He found a Chi Gung master who insisted he had to leave his family for extended periods to take his practice seriously. His wife soon divorced him and left for Paris. “The Missile” lost his company and suffered from mental problems. He was put in a mental hospital after being found walking down the street naked. After being released from an institution, he disappeared.
After some friends followed up further, he was found living in a small room in the country, laying on the floor waiting to die. The friends wanted to help him, but didn’t have any resources. Five friends in North America raised $2500 and sent it to help take care of him. Through some further connections, he was put on a government welfare program. He eventually met with his wife and son.
Last year Amy received a video clip from a local TV station interview where “The Missile” is asked to think back on his life and describe what he’s really missing. After being silent for a moment, with pain in his eyes and trembling lips he said, “Family… I lost… And was never able to find back.”
Billy introduces Michal Olsen. Michael thanks Amy for her personal stories. He mentions that, when preparing a presentation on Mao’s great famine, he mentioned it to a student at UCSC, who responded, “Who’s Mao?”. Michael recalls studying China as a student at the time of the Cultural Revolution. He recalls translating Mao’s Long March poetry. He recounts the end of Mao’s poem Kunlun.
Michael asks “What is the sword that Mao would use?” and recalls the Pogroms of Soviet Russia in which you “repudiate and get rid of what you do not want”. Michael asserts that Mao used these pogroms over the years and they culminated in the Great Cultural Revolution, though there were 22 pogroms against the Chinese people during Mao’s reign. The first was against the land owners in 1947.
Contrasting to the more organized Soviet strategy, Mao’s land reform insisted on “getting rid” of the landlords by any means. Nan mentions that Mao’s land reform truly started in 1921. Killing landlords was a way of showing that you were loyal to the Communist Party. Amy mentions that it was not just the land owners, but their whole families, including the children. Michael remarks that an estimated 3 million were killed.
The next pogrom was against business owners. Business owners were killed or forced to commit suicide. An estimated 2 million died.
Nan recalls a comment by a top party official. Who asked “How many people became airborne yesterday?” every morning, referring to the number of suicides.
Amy mentions that, to enter the Korean War, all business owners were coerced to donate money and provide supplies. Amy explains that since the business owners were owed money, one way to remove the dept was for the business owners to die.
Michael describes how, in 1956 the Hundred Flowers campaign began. After encouraging a form of free speech, 1-2million people were killed for expressing “rightist” intellectual traits.
Michael mentions that, during this time, the transition between Stalin and Khrushchev occurred. Mao was concerned that he would be removed for having similar traits to Stalin. His solution was The Great Leap Forward, which began with a collectivization of farms. There was a steel factory built in every village. Amy recalls there was a door to door search for any metal possessions, which would be confiscated. The metal was melted down and sent to the industrial centers.
The party was charged with distributing quotas of food and industrial products, but the party officials were lying about their production. When tax was collected on the miss reported crops, many villages were left with nothing to eat.
The 4 Pests Campaign sought to target rats, flies, misquotes and sparrows. The villagers worked very hard to eliminate the sparrows, which then caused a collapse of the ecosystem. An estimated 40 million people died in the Great Leap Forward.
In 1966 Mao began the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. With the help of his wife, “a great revolutionary fervor” was instilled in the youth of China. The schools were closed and Mao directed all the children of the country to destroy traditional culture. The Red Guard attacked Mao’s enemies in the Communist Party. Michael suggests that the Cultural Revolution was just the culmination of many pogroms.
Michael leaves us with the thought, “Is the United States being set up for a Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution?” and reads a quote from a newspaper article titled Open Forum On The Democratic Narrative, “What is really needed is a massive cultural and intellectual shift in perspective, one that entrenches the new Democratic narrative of collective welfare in American hearts and minds”.
Billy and Nan discuss the loss of culture and sense of family experienced by the survivors of the Cultural Revolution.
Nan introduces the Bill to stop forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience. Nan introduces Dana Cheng, Senior Editor of the China News Department for The Epoch Times and one of the Founders of The Epoch Times.
Nan asks what the purpose of this legislation is. Dana responds that when The Epoch Times first reported on forced organ harvesting, no one believed it was possible. But over the years, thousands of cases and many reports have revealed that it has really been happening. She suggests that it is something any government should face, because it is a question of morality.
Billy asks how a doctor can do such a thing. Dana explains that the morality of the communist party is non-existence. She explains that organ transplants are advertised as guaranteed within weeks and at very low prices. When Israeli doctors heard about these short time frames, Israel made a law that Israelis seeking organ transplants in China would receive no health coverage. She mentions some international condemnation, but suggests that it is not enough.
She describes that organs are removed without anesthesia in order to better preserve the organs.
Billy asks why no one has done some thing about this already? Dana explains that many international politicians are not serious about human rights. Instead, they have other interests to peruse. Knowing access to Chinese politicians would be lost if they made any public mention of Falun Gong persecution, most politicians have kept silent.
Dana explains the history of Falun Gong as a traditional medical practice that gained great popularity in the 1990’s. There were between 70 to 100 million Falun Gong practitioners. Though the CCP was suspicious of the organization, the Falun Gong were a benign organization practicing being Truthful, Compassionate and Tolerant. In 1999, the chairman of the Communist Party was very jealous of the popularity of Falun Gong. He ordered a persecution of Falun Gong with the intention of wiping it out within 3 months. The entire propaganda apparatus of the CCP began running a disinformation campaign and many thousands of arrests were made.
Arrested practitioners would be sent to labor camps or prisons. The police, labor and military hospitals in particular formed a supply chain to provide organs.
Falun Gong practitioners are still persecuted. Many are still in prison. Dana has 9 friends in prison for practicing Falun Gong.
Billy asks if it is possible to practice Falun Gong without the government knowing. Dana explains that it is very difficult to do anything in China without other people knowing in a society were the government encourages everyone to report on each other. Also, Falun Gong practitioners are honest by nature. Dana explains that the belief in doing good, regardless of the consequences is very strong.
Dana explains that people from many countries purchase the organs, because of their availability. She tells the story of an acquaintance who had seven kidney transplants. Billy asks Dana if she believes the Bill will be passed into law. Dana says that she is hopeful, because people are becoming more aware. You can visit TheEpochTimes.com to find out more.
Nan describes how Israeli doctors were some of the fist to draw attention to the organ harvesting story when they heard stories from their patients getting liver or heart transplants on specific dates. Nan describes how in 2007-08, there was a thriving medical tourism business for organ transplants in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
Billy considers that, in a population as large as China, perhaps recipients thought that organs were more available. Nan point out that forced organ removal happens in other groups like the Uyghurs.
Dick’s brother in law had been hit by a car and was an organ donor. He speculates about the nature of organ donations in the US and hopes the legislation is well thought out.
Nan mentions the Human Body Exhibition, speculating that there was a relationship between the first human body plastination factory and the prosecution of Falun Gong.
Bill requests that a transcript of Michael Olsen’s discussion be made available.
Nan mentions that in 2009, most students in China had never heard of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.