How this Book Came Into Being…

One day out of the blue, we got a call from an associate of ours who runs a well-known publishing house in the UK. He told us he had been contacted by a middle-aged Chinese gentleman who had a long-standing business relationship with a very close friend of his. Owing to our associate’s solid reputation in the publishing industry, he was asked if he would be interested in publishing a book on the Chinese’s persecution of Falun Gong, written by a high level Communist Party member. However, the unique twist here was the fact that the author was not siding against Falun Gong at all. Rather, he was siding against the way his comrades routinely persecuted Falun Gong. What he was doing, in effect, was standing up to the entire Communist Party!

      This Chinese gentleman was upfront about everything relating to the book and he wasted no time in telling our associate what risks were involved, now and in the future; in taking on this most serious project.

      Based solely on the risk factors alone, our associate felt very reluctant to go ahead with it on the spot. Nonetheless, he told the Chinese man before he left his office, that he would think everything over and get back to him within the week. The gentleman left our associate with a small portion of the manuscript and thanked him for his time. The more our associate thought about publishing the book, the more uncomfortable he got and the more uncomfortable he got, the less appealing this whole project became to him. That’s when he called us… 

      From what little he told us on the phone, I myself was not too keen on the idea either. I realized that once a project like this was taken on… there was no turning back. Then he asked, “Would you mind giving the material a cursory read through?” I was just about to tell him, “No thanks!” but before I could verbalize my thoughts, he immediately reminded me that the only way I was going to know whether I wanted to take on this project or not, was to read the small section of the manuscript he had in hand. With that said, I agreed.

      After reading through the material, I realized just how gutsy the author must be to risk his life in order to bring forth the truth. However, I still found myself reluctant to commit to the publishing of the book. I was convinced I did not need the extra headaches in my life, nor did I relish the idea of having to look over my shoulder every time I stepped out the door.

      Although the persecution of Falun Gong was a well-known fact throughout the world, researching the subject was never a #1 priority for me. However, after reading the material my associate gave me, I now felt drawn to investigate it more thoroughly. I spent the next day glued to my computer screen, pouring over the plethora of information available on the Internet. The more I investigated the persecution, the more I realized how senseless and unnecessary it really was. The idea of innocent people being arrested, tortured, and murdered just because there were essentially “too many of them practicing truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance,” really struck a chord in me.

      I called up my associate and told him, “Let’s take this project to the next level!” The next day I was visited by the same Chinese man my associate was contacted by. We went over what each of us could and would expect from each other, in minute detail. He  agreed to hand deliver the complete 260 page manuscript, whenever I wanted to see it.  Since our native language is English, I insisted that the manuscript arrive in English and that I establish direct contact with the author; that is, after I read his material and before any formal contract was signed.

      After going through the manuscript, I made arrangements to meet with the author in person, (outside of China, of course), and discussed the details of the book from every conceivable angle imaginable. I felt very comfortable in his presence and enjoyed the calm, easygoing way he addressed all of my questions, doubts, and concerns. I decided right then and there that I wanted to publish his book. As time went by, the more I understood about this persecution, the more I was committed to getting the word out to the world.

      When the book was finally uploaded to our website and news of its release started circulating about, some people wrote to us asking about the book, the author, the contents, our personal reasons for getting involved, etc. Here are a few of the many questions we were asked… and our responses:

Does the publisher grant interviews?

At the direction of the author, the publisher will not be available for phone, letter, or email interviews; given concerns for his safety.

What does Falun Gong have to do with the author?

As far as we know, absolutely nothing.

Did Falun Gong authorize this book to be written?

No. This book was written by an individual out of a desire for the truth to be known. He did not write it under anyone else’s suggestion. The author felt he had no choice but to write it; seeing that no one else was ready to step forward to do it.

Do Falun Gong practitioners endorse this book?

We have never asked them to endorse the book nor will we ever do so in the future. Looking at it strictly from their point of view, as Falun Gong practitioners, there are many unknowns in this book—the exact identity of the author being one of them. And since we cannot reveal the author’s identity, we would not expect Falun Gong to endorse the book.

      Whether practitioners choose to discuss or share the book with others will be entirely up to them. We do not expect or require any assistance from them at all. Likewise, we feel it is in our best interests to remain unaffiliated with Falun Gong. We just publish books.

What is the publisher’s purpose in making this book available?

 One of our main purposes is to expose the truth behind Jiang’s persecution of Falun Gong. He is under the definite illusion that social terrorism is the one and only way to govern the people of China, but, of course, this is not true.

      Neither is it true that citizens should be routinely slandered, arrested, thrown in jail, tortured, and murdered for practicing truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. We are all for the idea of stopping this injustice in any small way we can. Agreeing to publish this book grew out of this desire to help.

Why is the publisher offering the e-book version of the book for free?

The publisher feels that everyone should read this book regardless if they can afford it or not. It is available in PDF format at: <http://www.deep6-publishing.org>.

Why don’t we see any indication of who edited or translated the English and Chinese versions?

The editors and translators of the book are fully aware of the far-reaching and corrupt influence of the Chinese government. As such, they requested not to receive credit for their work. They preferred to remain anonymous, just like the author.

How can anyone verify if the things that are being said in the book are actually true?

It is not our job as publishers to convince anyone of anything. As such, we do not feel obligated to defend the book’s contents, to excuse it, to justify anything the author said, or to back things up with undeniable proof.

      As far as people’s expectations, demands, questions, bewilderment, indignation, suspicion, and the like, we cannot really offer any universal remedy here. The only thing we can suggest is that the reader do some independent investigation into the subject; starting with such groups as Amnesty International, Freedom House, or Human Rights Watch.

      Whoever does the research will find that many of the facts presented in Mr. Mo Wen’s book are backed up by third party investigations. Although the amount of investigation these human rights organizations can do in China is severely limited by the Chinese government’s constant stonewalling, they are at least beginning to paint a clearer picture of the horrible scope and intensity that Jiang’s persecution has taken on.

      Because of all the known and unknown risks involved in revealing more inside information to the reader, the book must stand on its own, as is.

I’m not sure I believe everything that’s contained in this book… some of it sounds too incredible? 

We understand your feelings; however, we do not believe it is our job to convince you of  anything here. It is up to you to believe what you choose to believe.

Did the author practice Falun Gong? Does he practice it now? 

We cannot tell you if the author has ever practiced Falun Gong or not, as we do not know ourselves.

Does the publishing company itself practice Falun Gong? 

No.

Can we see the physical evidence the author has gathered from his investigations?

We have no authority, nor the means to make any evidence the author gathered in his investigations, available to the public. We simply publish books.

When the author’s pseudonym, Mo Wen, is translated into English, what does it actually mean?

The Pinyin (pronunciation) of the Chinese characters is Mo Wen. This name can be directly translated as “Silently Writing.” It is perfectly suitable for an author who doesn’t want his name to be shown on his works and especially ideal for a government official who writes something that might not be very good for his career… or his life. 

Why was the English version of the e-book offered before the Chinese version? 

We insisted on receiving the book’s contents (originally 260 pages) in English, as this is our native language. It would have been impossible to edit the book if it came to us in Chinese. Once it was edited and approved by the author, we uploaded it to the website.

Why does the English version sound so “English” and not Chinese?

First off, we received the author’s material in English as per our request, then edited it using English speaking, English writing editors.

      Moreover, the author wanted to avoid the normal syntactical awkwardness that comes from translating one language into another and asked us to “make it as English sounding as you can.” We did just that. 

How can you publish a book in all good conscience if you cannot 100% verify its contents?

A lot of thought went into our decision to go forward with publishing this book. From what we know, we are satisfied that the claims the author makes are true. That is why we decided to publish his work.