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Former Chinese Journalist Urges Chinese to Break Free from the Grip of the CCP

April 13, 2020 |   By Zhang Yun, a Minghui correspondent

(Minghui.org) “The evilness of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has exceeded most people’s imagination. It is a government that is willing to do anything to maintain its power, no matter how many lives are sacrificed,” said Zhang Zhenyu, a former reporter for Phoenix TV, a pro-Beijing Hong Kong-based television network.

Zhang shared with a Minghui correspondent how he has breached the “invisible wall” in China over the years and come to understand how the CCP persecutes the citizens of China, including Falun Gong practitioners and other vulnerable groups, and uses violence and deception to maintain its totalitarian rule. 

He also noted that as the CCP virus (Wuhan coronavirus or COVID-19) has quickly spread throughout the world, the CCP has prepared a comprehensive plan to control the narrative and public opinion in order to advance its ambition to take over the world.

Zhang, now a resident of Canada, said he hopes the Chinese people can see the true colors of the CCP and properly protect themselves in this unprecedented pandemic. 

“Don’t Be Afraid to Seek the Truth by Bypassing the Firewall”

When Zhang Zhenyu was in college, he received a DVD in his mailbox that contained information about why and how the CCP launched the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999 and about the Tiananmen self-immolation hoax. The DVD also contained “FreeGate,” firewall-bypassing software developed by Falun Gong practitioners. The software allows people living under repressive regimes to bypass their countries' internet censorship to access the worldwide web. He was able to read many articles about Falun Gong using the software. 

“I became a reporter for Phoenix TV after I graduated,” related Zhang. “The first thing I was trained to do was to spot Falun Gong media using FreeGate, which I was already very familiar with. Our supervisors didn’t allow us to quote any Falun Gong content, use images from their websites or propagate them, or contact Falun Gong practitioners on our own. They also prohibited us from downloading or reading their books. I’m sure not many people really followed those rules.” 

Based on his experience, Zhang said one need not worry about getting caught bypassing China’s firewall. “There are just too many people doing that. Imagine 20 Internet police having to monitor over a million people; how? I lost confidence in the CCP after reading the truth about Falun Gong and I quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.” 

The Shocking Persecution of Falun Gong

From what he saw as a reporter, Zhang said that the CCP has never stopped persecuting Falun Gong or actively suppressing the lawyers who defend them: “The Chinese media would never say that the lawyers were arrested or imprisoned because they defended Falun Gong. They just mention that the lawyers committed certain crimes.” 

Zhang said that, in recent years, the CCP gradually removed “Falun Gong” from media reports so that people in China no longer hear about it. By doing that, they have shifted public attention from Falun Gong and continue the persecution on the sly. But occasionally, they will produce a few slanderous reports about Falun Gong to continue deceiving the public.

“I once reported on what happened in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. The victims I talked to verified that all the tortures used on them were first applied to Falun Gong practitioners. Some of the victims witnessed how practitioners were beaten unconscious. On many occasions, Falun Gong practitioners disappeared for no known reason. 

“As for whether the CCP systemically harvested practitioners’ organs while they were still alive and sold them for transplants, the people I talked to confirmed it. After Wang Lijun, the former police chief of Chongqing, fled to the U.S. Consulate to seek asylum, I looked into some of the patent applications Wang had submitted. A lot of them were directly related to organ transplants. Since then I have had no doubt that practitioners’ organs were forcibly taken when they were still alive. 

“The CCP is terrified that the atrocities of organ harvesting will be exposed. It would be the end of its reign because the truth is too astonishing and evil. The CCP was so scared that they tore down Masanjia Forced Labor Camp (to destroy the evidence.)” 

Media Run by Falun Gong Practitioners Stay the Most Truthful 

Zhang commented that after reading the media outlets run by Falun Gong practitioners, he found they have stayed the most truthful and have become his most-trusted news sources.

He said, “Their media do not lie, and they provide real information. They are the most trustworthy Chinese media. I wish more people could know what is happening in China. That’s why after I left China, I chose to talk to Falun Gong’s media about the things I know.” 

CCP’s Cover-up of the Pandemic 

As to how the CCP manipulates the narrative regarding the pandemic, Zhang said, “The information I heard from reporters inside China is that the regime mobilized 300 strictly-screened reporters to Wuhan in recent weeks after it claimed victory over the epidemic and no longer reports new cases. The places these reporters went to and the things they saw were pre-arranged by the regime. The principle for their reporting was: to be in line with Xinhua NewsChina News, and People’s Daily (all state-run media). Most of the reporters have no access to real news. 

“The main task of the 300 reporters was to paint the picture that the epidemic has indeed gone away and new cases are no longer being detected. They keep repeating the lies until the public believes it. 

“When the outbreak first started, the CCP tried to cover it up. When that effort failed, the CCP acted like it was determined to combat the disease. It bragged about how fast they built the field hospitals or how much the officials cared about the people. It’s trying to shift the focus and criticism from itself to other things. 

“And while the CCP is trying to blame other countries for the outbreak and acts like it has saved the world, it really wants to make itself look ‘great and glorious.’

“It sealed off Wuhan and physically locked people inside their homes and described this utter human rights violation as the gold standard that other countries tried to replicate. They brainwash the Chinese people into believing that other countries were learning from them, which indirectly says their police and totalitarian system is good.

“Because the CCP controls public opinion, many people believe that the outbreak isn’t serious and can be easily handled. Of course there are always people who know the truth but stay silent out of fear. One of my relatives is a doctor in a hospital in Wuhan. He just says that everything is fine.” 

Break Away from the CCP to Stay Safe

Zhang said that the CCP purely disregards human life and has sacrificed so many people to maintain its authoritarian power. While some people may think they are safe for now, as long as the CCP still exists, it will extend its tentacles to everyone and harm them. 

“I hope more people can understand it sooner and better. Under the current special circumstance, we need everyone to make an effort, to make our society more just. We shouldn’t allow any of these tragedies to happen in our country anymore.

“I hope people can see the true colors of the CCP through the pandemic and truly break away from it. This will help them stay safe and survive this disaster,” Zhang said.