Li Liangyuan, high-ranking Chinese Communist Party official, met Hamburg’s mayor Ole von Beust on September 25 and jointly opened the Hamburg Chinese Tea House. So far it is unclear if the discussion also included critical problems in Hamburg’s sister city of Shanghai.
It is not only difficult for German eyes and ears to differentiate between Chinese names; figuring out the titles and names that designate the delegate’s official position is even harder. Case in point: Hamburg is receiving a guest in her own home, or better, for the opening of a Chinese Tea House, and the guest’s name is Li Liangyuan, the first word/name being the family name (surname) signifying Mr. Li, of whom the people in Hamburg know very little.
Mr. Li is CEO of the “Shanghai Committee of the Political Consultation Conference of the Chinese People” (PKKCV). Those among us who still remember the former DDR (the communist-run section of Germany) and remember their newscasters and news reports will immediately fall asleep after the fourth word declaring the naming of such an official’s duties.
But it gets even worse. According to postings on the PKKCV website:
“The PKKCV is an organization for the political ‘line’ of the patriotic united front for the people of China. It is an important advise-giving political organ that is under the immediate jurisdiction of the Communist Party leadership and carries out its duties with other parties. It is an important vehicle to foster social democracy in the political life of our nation.”
All a Ruse, Deception and Sham
Why does this turn people off? Of course, because it is all a sham, a ruse, and a deception. The CCP designates, names and appoints all delegates for any other party. But wait, there is more!
“Besides, the PKKCV is supposed to conduct investigations and collect the opinions and the pulse of the masses to include them in political discussions concerning decisive economic, political, cultural and societal concerns and problems.”
And where should those opinions come from when, as a party member, one has to constantly wager how to influence others, how to manipulate them, how to suppress them, to preserve one’s own image?Besides, one wants to have a [political] career!
Party Career
Mr. Li was assigned his present post in September 2008, having previously been deputy secretary for the Shanghai Party Committee. But his Party career goes back to 1984. Shanghai is the Party’s base and former president Jiang Zemin’s headquarters. He is said to be chiefly responsible for the mass murder and massacre of students in 1989 at Tiananmen Square in Beijing and had since enlarged his power base. He is the same one who had ordered and pushed through the persecution of Falun Gong and has his hand in it to this day.
An official website for the Luwan district in Shanghai displays a 2002 message from the Shanghai Party Committee office regarding the formation of the 610 Office in regions and cities. This message verifies that this office does exist in Shanghai, under personal Party tutelage, and its function is to systematically and in an organized way persecute Falun Gong, and that human rights organizations have likened it to Gestapo offices.
Discussing Human Rights
Li in his capacity as former deputy general secretary of the Shanghai Party Committee must be aware of the 610 Office. Based on his present position in the Shanghai PKKCV, it is his responsibility, to ably respond to Hamburg politicians’ questions regarding grave human rights abuses.
The opening of the Tea House is considered the highlight of “China Time,” according to the newspaper and sponsors, “China Time.” A brief stage presentation will comment on the successful relations between Hamburg and Shanghai. Will human rights be addressed and other problems in Hamburg’s sister city?
