Stories from Ancient China: "Wei Sorcerers" and the Chinese Communist Party's Golden Shield

The book Guo Yu records that Emperor Li of the Western Zhou Dynasty (878-841 B.C.) was a tyrant who ruled over his people cruelly and greedily. A noble courtier named Zhao warned the Emperor, "The people cannot tolerate your rule anymore. They will rebel." Emperor Li neither heeded the advice nor feared an uprising. Instead he became infuriated. Emperor Li hired several sorcerers from the Wei nation at a high price to quench the public uproar. These sorcerers used dark magic to closely monitor Li's people and reported all those who held grievances against the Emperor.

Emperor Li appointed a wicked courtier to oversee the disposal of dissidents, all of whom were beheaded immediately following their arrests. Most people under the tyranny of Emperor Li feared even speaking in public. Passersby on the streets would only nod at one another or exchange glances to communicate their discontentment.

The Emperor gloated over the effective oppression, "I made all criticism against me disappear. Now no one dares to speak against my rule." Zhao replied sorrowfully, "You have used the wrong method to quench public opinion. The consequence of damming the people's voices may turn out worse than that of damming the Yellow River. Once the dam cracks, the surge would burst with high power and bring disaster to the country. You may not even have a burial place. Successful water-control requires a thorough survey of the river and appropriate measures to direct the flow and to remove silt. A successful Emperor should get the people's input and respond to public needs. People have to voice their concerns, just as streams have to flow. Sovereigns should heed to constructive inputs from the subjects."

Emperor Li refused to listen and continued to oppress dissent. No one dared to talk about the Emperor. Finally, people of the Western Zhou Dynasty rebelled against the Emperor and banished him from China. Li went into exile in a desert. The Wei Sorcerers were beheaded, of course. These sorcerers were instrumental to Emperor Li's oppression of dissidents, but nonetheless, their fate is closely linked to that of the brutal Emperor.

A traditional Chinese adage says, "When one goes on the stage, one should planhow they will depart the stage." Today, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wants to control people's minds and to extend its villainous reign. To accomplish these goals, the CCP has invested huge amounts of money and resources in building the Golden Shield, which is the largest Internet police force in the world. The Golden Shield and its foreign contributors, including Cisco, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google, are the modern-day Wei Sorcerers. History repeats itself, and accomplices of the CCP, who receive their share of benefit now, will also get their share of punishment in the future. The China that emerges after the CCP will certainly remember and prosecute these corporations for their partnerships in crime.