(Minghui.org) From ancient times, success has often been measured by an individual’s capability or achievements. However, without a moral compass, people, and even society, may become corrupt and spiral downward toward certain ruin.
When one focuses on integrity, success is long-lasting and serves as an example for future generations. Conversely, those who use their power to satisfy self-interest and act against their conscience are eventually destroyed.
Emperor Yongle, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was very accomplished and reigned during that dynasty’s golden age. His support of Taoism not only enriched China, but also influenced other civilizations. Two officials, Chen Ying and Ji Gang, however, were well known for abusing their power and in the end they met with deserved consequences.
Chen was appointed to a key position in the Censorate, a high-level supervisory agency that investigated corruption and audited officials. He often falsely accused innocent people. He impeached Geng Bingwen, a founding general of the Ming Dynasty, for using items reserved exclusively for the emperor. Due to the resulting pressure, Geng committed suicide. In the third year of Emperor Yongle’s reign, Luo Qian, the Minister of Justice, wrote a memorandum that offended the emperor. Chen impeached him for corruption and tyranny, and Luo was executed.
Chen later submitted a memorandum falsely accusing Li Zhen, a minor official in the Ministry of War. After Li’s wife protested their innocence, a joint investigation was conducted by the ministers of the Six Ministries, who found no evidence to support Chen’s accusation. But Li had already been tortured to death. Several ministers then submitted memoranda accusing Chen of indiscriminately killing Li and called for Chen’s punishment. Chen was convicted and executed in the ninth year of Emperor Yongle’s reign.
Ji Gang was clever and cunning, and had a knack for understanding people’s thoughts. Emperor Yongle trusted him and appointed him commander of the guards. Ji was later promoted to Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, an agency that monitored and suppressed people without trial. Ji planted spies everywhere, and collected information on officials and ordinary citizens. He also framed people and followed up with harsh punishments.
Abuse of power is always accompanied by corruption. Ji forged imperial edicts to extort more than four million jin (or 2,000 tons) of salt from salt fields across China. He framed many wealthy merchants and extorted money from them. Ji even seized ordinary citizens’ land.
Ji’s sense of power became so inflated that he began wearing the robes of a prince, used utensils reserved for the emperor, and secretly manufactured weapons.
An officer exposed Ji’s crimes in the fourteenth year of Emperor Yongle’s reign. The Emperor ordered officials to publicly impeach him and handed the case over to the Censorate for investigation. Ji subsequently suffered a painful public execution.
The abuse and corruption of power also exists in modern-day China. Ten years after the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 that suppressed the student-led democracy movement, in 1999, former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin launched a nationwide campaign to suppress Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, a meditation system based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, was greatly admired by officials and ordinary citizens for its major benefits to health and morality. However, unsettled by Falun Gong’s tremendous popularity, Jiang set about to eradicate the practice. He created the 610 Office, an extrajudicial agency that penetrates all levels of government, to implement his persecution policy. The Party Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) is often appointed head of the 610 Leadership Team. Those who have held these positions include Luo Gan and Zhou Yongkang.
Zhou, a top official who actively implemented the persecution of Falun Gong per Jiang’s directives, continued to carry out the genocide even after Jiang stepped down. Wherever he held office, the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners intensified. This included his positions as Party Secretary of Sichuan Province (2000-2002), Minister of Public Security (2002-2007), and Party Secretary of the Central PLAC (2007-2012). In late 2009 and early 2010, Zhou specifically instructed the courts and other departments to more aggressively handle cases involving the framing and prosecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
Despite his power, Zhou was merely a CCP pawn and was soon discarded. In December 2014, he was expelled from the Party and transferred to the judicial organs for investigation. In June 2015, the Tianjin First Intermediate Court issued a judgment on Zhou for bribery, abuse of power, and intentional disclosure of state secrets. Zhou was sentenced to life in prison, deprived of his political rights, and his personal property was confiscated.
Another example is Bo Xilai, who followed and flattered Jiang. As Mayor of Dalian, Bo erected a giant portrait of Jiang in a public square. During his tenure as mayor (1992-2001) and governor of Liaoning Province (2001-2004), both Dalian and Liaoning were among the regions where the persecution of Falun Gong was the most severe. Many Falun Gong practitioners were illegally arrested, detained, and tortured—resulting in injury, disability, and a large number of deaths. The notorious Masanjia Labor Camp was located in Liaoning Province.
As discussed above, abuse of power is always accompanied by corruption. In July 2013, the Jinan Procuratorate of Shandong Province filed a public prosecution with the Jinan Intermediate Court against Bo for suspected bribery, embezzlement, and abuse of power.
Two months later, the Jinan Intermediate Court indeed convicted Bo of bribery, embezzlement, and abuse of power. He was sentenced to life in prison, deprived of his political rights, and his personal property was confiscated.
The ancient Chinese sage Laozi wrote, “The divine shows no partiality and always favors the virtuous.” Many Western cultures have a similar understanding. These teachings remind us of the importance of maintaining a strong moral compass to guide our integrity as individuals, which in turn ensures that society remains stable and prosperous.