"Falun Gong Deaths Escalate as Olympics Approach"
("OnTheWeb", April 4, 2008)
Beijing, China - The Falun Dafa Information Center is alarmed at a series of reports indicating adherents in China are being killed in custody within days, or even hours, of being detained by authorities. The Center expressed today that the escalating maltreatment is a direct result of efforts to “stamp out” Falun Gong prior to the summer Olympics.
"The speed with which Falun Gong adherents are being seized by police, abused, and turning up dead is alarming and reprehensible,” says Falun Dafa Information Center spokesperson Ms. Gail Rachlin. “These are people who never should have been arrested in the first place. Arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial executions are no way to ‘prepare’ for the Olympics.”
“If China’s communist authorities wish to hold a truly ‘successful’ Olympic Games, rounding up and killing those who might remind us that ‘all is not well’ is not the way to go about it. The artificially sterile, silent streets of Beijing should give visitors the chills.”
The Center is particularly concerned over recent reports of adherents dying in custody shortly after their arrest. Within the first three months of 2008, the Center has documented six cases of practitioner deaths occurring within merely 16 days of arrest and in some cases, within hours. By comparison, in 2007, it was over the course of the entire year that the same number died within such a short time in custody. In several of the recent cases, family members were able to view the body before its cremation and saw signs of torture, including strangulation marks or bruises from electric batons.
Among the deaths reported in 2008 was that of Mr. Yu Zhou, 42, a musician who was arrested with his wife Ms. Xu Na at the end of January on their way home from a performance by his band. The couple was among those listed in a previous Center release about widespread arrests in Beijing (news). Eleven days after their arrest, the authorities notified their family members to come to Qinghe Emergency Center, where they found Yu already dead. He had been in good health before his detention, but the hospital refused to conduct an autopsy. Ms. Xu, who was released in 2006 after serving five years in prison for practicing Falun Gong, remains in custody at Beijing Detention Center. Yu had graduated from the French Department at Beijing University and an online music video of his band shows him playing the drums:
Cases such as Yu’s and others detailed below indicate an increase in the severity of treatment inflicted in custody on those who practice Falun Gong and point to the immediate danger facing the hundreds of adherents detained in Beijing and elsewhere since the beginning of the year. The reports also match testimonies from adherents who were released recently, stating that security agents had spoken to them of orders received from above to escalate the crackdown on the group ahead of the Olympic Games.
Since January 2007, the Center has documented the cases of 129 Falun Gong practitioners that died of abuse, passing away either in police custody or upon release as a result of injuries incurred while in detention. A complete table of the names and available details surrounding these known cases is available here. The table was compiled from a variety of sources, including testimony of relatives or friends of the deceased, photographic evidence, and follow-up phone calls made by researchers to the relevant police or prison authorities.
The following are a number sample cases. Additional details that lend themselves to independent verification can be made available upon request. Tables with the names of those Falun Gong practitioners who have died in the past 15 months are attached.
Examples of 2007 deaths occurring shortly after arrest:
On March 10, 2007, police arrested Ms. Tang Xingyun, 65, from the city of Shenyang in the northeastern province of Liaoning as she distributed printed material about Falun Gong. She died the same day at the police station, reportedly as a result of being shocked simultaneously by eight electric batons.
Mr. Deng Wenyang, a former employee of Shanhaiguan Bridge Factory in Hebei province who was in his thirties, was arrested on September 26, 2007. He was already in weak physical condition following an earlier detention in August, but was nevertheless was sent to Gaoyang RTL camp. He died ten days later, on October 8.
Examples of 2008 deaths occurring shortly after arrest
Ms. Gu Jianmin, 53, from Pudong New District in Shanghai was arrested on March 1, 2008. Twelve days later, on March 13, an agent from the local 610 Office called her husband, saying she was unwell and was to be released on medical parole. After spending several hours completing forms for her release, Ms. Gu’s husband was taken to a local hospital, where a doctor declared her dead after a brief attempt to rescue her.
Mr. Wang Guiming, 40, from Tonghua City in Jilin Province was arrested on February 13, 2008, while selling sweet potatoes. He was taken to Changliu Detention Center and within days was sentenced to re-education through labor (RTL). He was transferred to Chaoyanggou RTL camp on Feb 17, 2008, where he was reportedly shocked with electric batons. He died on Feb 29, 16 days after his initial arrest. His family was permitted to see his body on March 3, and found large bruises on his face, chest and anus.
Such deaths appear to be the result of official enactments of Chinese communist party policy. Official statements and documents have repeatedly named Falun Gong as one of the key targets for monitoring and repression in anticipation of the Olympics. (fact sheet) This fits a regular pattern of cracking down on the group before important national events, such as the recent 17th Party Congress in October 2007. (fact sheet)
According to one report from an intelligence journal in 2005, for example, China’s deputy minister of public security, Liu Jing, was assigned the responsibility of wiping out the practice before the Games. (news) More recently, according to Amnesty International, in preparing for the Games, former Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang issued the following order in the context of “successfully” holding the Olympics: “We must strike hard at hostile forces at home and abroad, such as ethnic separatists, religious extremists, violent terrorists and ... the Falun Gong.” (report)
In total, since 1999, the Center has documented the cases of 3,137 Falun Gong practitioners, who have died as a result of various forms of persecution, not only from abuse in custody, but also of destitution and other traumas related to the campaign. Despite the apparently high count, due to the secrecy surrounding such cases and the danger posed to families sending information overseas, the actual death toll is most likely much higher.
"Falun Gong cries foul over stricter entry regulations"
by Nishika Patel ("The Standard", March 28, 2008)
Hong Kong, China - The Falun Gong has slammed Hong Kong's strict immigration control in the run-up to the August Olympics, claiming it has prevented 80 percent of its Taiwanese members from attending a human rights awareness event in the territory.
While up to 90 percent of its members had been allowed entry in the past, the group told The Standard that the government has banned hundreds of practitioners from entering the territory over the past few months.
Hong Kong Association of Falun Dafa spokesman Kan Hung-cheung said only 100 Taiwanese members had been allowed in for last Sunday's Human Rights Torch Relay launch.
"We regret to say that the Immigration Department of Hong Kong is using every means to collect a blacklist [to] prevent our foreign members from coming in," Kan said.
"This is of great concern because Hong Kong is a free city but we regret the SAR government is more and more controlled by the mainland regime."
The Human Rights Torch Relay is a global campaign that spans 40 countries and 150 cities to highlight human rights violations by China, including the Tibet crackdown and the persecution of Falun Gong in the mainland
The Falun Gong is banned in the mainland but is legal in Hong Kong.
City University political professor James Sung Lap-kung said more and more members will be turned away in the coming months following pressure from Beijing, which views the group as a "dangerous" cult.
"The Falun Gong will be in deep trouble over the next few months. Beijing considers the Falun Gong to be a partner in the recent Tibet riots," Sung said. "As the Olympics draw closer, Beijing will be trying to identify dangerous forces that are planning to jeopardize the Games."
Kan said the Falun Gong will step up the number of parades and rallies in the run-up to the Olympics to highlight the persecution of its members in the mainland. He stressed the group was not calling for a boycott of the Games and was not against the Olympic torch relay arriving in the SAR on May 2.
Sung said the stuation in Hong Kong is very sensitive as the government will try to balance its role as an international communications center with any order from Beijing.
Last month the Falun Gong in Hong Kong lost a judicial review, appealing against the Immigration Department's refusal to allow hundreds of its Taiwanese members into Hong Kong during the 10th handover ceremony. The judge had ruled it was a one-off incident and was not a result of religious discrimination as argued by the group.
On the latest claims, a government spokesman said: "We do not comment on speculative reports. The Immigration Department has the responsibility to uphold effective immigration control so as to ensure Hong Kong's public interest."
The department, he said, handles all entry applications in accordance with the law and prevailing policy and having due regard to individual circumstances.
"Dance show risks Sweden China row"
(BBC, January 30, 2008)
Stockholm, Sweden - Diplomatic relations between Sweden and China are said to be threatened by a row over dance performances.
Swedish officials say China is against shows planned for Stockholm and Linkoping because some of the US-based performers have links to Falun Gong.
The spiritual movement is banned in China and accused by the Beijing government of being a cult.
Authorities in the two cities say they have no intention of stopping the performances booked for March.
The Shen Yun - Chinese Spectacular is performed by a troupe of more than 100 dancers, singers, musicians and orchestra from the New York-based Divine Performing Arts.
Performances are based on ancient heroic legends and fables from the Tang, Song and Qing Dynasties, as well as contemporary tales.
The Associated Press news agency says organisers in Sweden include the local branch of the Falun Gong.
Crossed the line
City officials from Stockholm and Linkoping say they received calls from the Chinese embassy saying the troupe was linked to Falun Gong.
"They stepped way over the line. I think they really owe us an apology and an explanation," Madeleine Sjoestedt, Stockholm Vice-Mayor for Culture and Sports, told the AFP news agency.
A Chinese embassy spokesman told AFP that the only aim was to inform the authorities "of what Falun Gong is". The spokesman said any decision about cancellation was left up to the city.
"Chinese Falun Gong followers in South Korea win lawsuit, paving way for refugee status"
(AP, January 18, 2008)
Seoul, South Korea - A Seoul court ruled in favor of two Chinese followers of the spiritual movement Falun Gong, paving the way for them to receive refugee status in South Korea, a court official said Friday.
The Seoul Administrative Court ruling Thursday rejected a Justice Ministry decision denying recognition of the plaintiffs as refugees, according to a copy of the ruling and court spokesman Kim Jung-wook.
The plaintiffs - a man and woman whose identities were withheld - filed a lawsuit in 2006, seeking to reverse the ministry's decision on grounds that they would face persecution in China because of their Falun Gong-related activities and their opposition to the Chinese Communist Party.
The two, who are members of China's ethnic Korean minority, would be the first Falun Gong followers to be granted refugee status in South Korea if the ruling is not appealed.
A Justice Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing office policy, said the ministry would decide whether to appeal after reviewing the ruling.
Meanwhile, the court rejected similar suits by 30 other Falun Gong followers, saying their activities in South Korea were believed to be aimed at seeking refugee status.
Falun Gong has attracted millions of followers with a mix of traditional Chinese calisthenics and doctrines drawn from Buddhism, Taoism and the ideas of its founder, Li Hongzhi. China banned it as a threat to public safety and communist rule, calling it an "evil cult".
