Ever since The Epoch Times newspaper published the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, the demand for an open and upright way of renouncing Chinese Communist Party (CCP) memberships has emerged among Mainlanders. The Epoch Times newspaper has launched a website to address this need. With about 20,000 joining the ranks of those renouncing their CCP membership each day, the number quickly reached the one million milestone on April 21, 2005,and continues to climb. As of May 5, 2005, over 1.3million people had renounced their CCP memberships via the Chinese-language website at http://tuidang.dajiyuan.com/.
In the past, such phenomena were never thought possible due to the iron grip of the CCP. As the number grows larger, more and more people are starting to walkout of the fear. Mainlanders who appeal to the Beijing government for rights protection held homemade banners to welcome that more than 1 million renounced the CCP (see picture below). In support of those who have risked their jobs, social status, or even their lives to renounce the CCP, overseas Chinese have launched many forums and rallies in major U.S., European and Australian cities. Among them, the April 23 New York City rally and parade sponsored by 250 organizations attracted more than 4,000 participants. The parade started from Foley Square and ended in front of the Chinese consulate.
The CCP is not sitting idle either. One day before the parade, the CCP launched large-scale arrests throughout China, targeting those who have a copy of the book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. This has been the largest arrest since July 20, 1999,when the persecution of Falun Gong first started.
Two days before the April 23 parade, the New York Police Department cancelled the permit. According to a person present at the April 21 meeting of parade planners and police department officials, New York Police Patrol Borough Manhattan South Assistant Chief Bruce Smolka told everyone that he checked with the State Department and was told that the parade was not a significant event. A State Department official later told the media that he checked with several China Desk officials, and none of them had a conversation with NYPD. One of the planners of the parade, Ms. Zhou, believes it is probably an attempt by the CCP, as it is not normal for the State Department to interfere with affairs of state and local authorities. With the help of New York Congressmen and parade participants, the planners had their permit restored the night before the parade.
The planners of the rally and parade signed a contract on April 19 for an advertisement of the New York activity on April 21 and 22 in the World Journal, a Chinese newspaper with a Taiwan background. On the morning of April 21, the World Journal asked if planners could remove the words, "renouncing the CCP." Upon refusal, World Journal cancelled the advertisement. The planners have requested the World Journal to provide a written explanation of their reason for canceling the contract. As of May 6, no written explanation had been received.
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Middle To Grassroots Level CCP Cadres Responded To A Survey
A survey team conducted a survey among 100 middle to grassroots level CCP cadres in relation to the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and renouncing CCP memberships. The survey team has asked to remain anonymous for security reasons. The following are the survey results:
Among the 17 officials who have read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, 11 of them thought it was a verdict on the CCP, and that it was well written. As for the current CCP campaign of "maintaining the vanguard nature of the CCP," all the100 officials thought that it was just telling and listening to lies in groups. The result is "the top deceives the bottom, the bottom deceives the top, you fool me and I fool you, everyone cheats the central government, and the central government cheats everyone."