Falun Gong and Human Rights in China

What is Falun Gong

  1. Falun Gong is also known as Falun Dafa. It is a Chinese body and mind practice based on "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance". 
  2. "Falun" means universe; "Gong" means energy; "Dafa" means principle.
  3. Falun Gong is famous for its health benefits. A 1998 official survey in China indicated that 98% of practitioners reported improved health. Its data stated that 72% of Falun Gong practitioners were female. 
  4. Over 100 million people are practicing Falun Gong in over 100 countries. 
  5. There is no registration or membership to practice Falun Gong.
  6. The Falun Gong teachings are always free of charge because no one should use it for profit according to its principles. All the books, audio, and videos are free to download from websites maintained by volunteers. There are practice sites worldwide where newcomers can learn from other practitioners. 


Why Persecution

  1. The Chinese Communist Party is afraid of the popularity of any independent thinking. Falun Gong represents traditional Chinese value, which the Chinese authority regard as a competition to the communist ideology.
  2. In 1999, 70 million Chinese people were practicing Falun Gong, including members of the Chinese Communist Party.
  3. The Chinese Communist Party has been persecuting various groups all the time ever since it took over China. 
    1. About two million intellectuals died during the Great Cultural Revolution (1966 - 1976) because the CCP persecuted intellectuals to eliminate independent thinking.
    2. The CCP reformed religious groups in China by controlling their temples or churches and distorting their teachings. This approach does not work in Falun Gong because it is an individual practice. 
    3. The Chinese government started a persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, detaining about half a million practitioners. 


The Persecution of Falun Gong in China

  1. Falun Gong is the largest group persecuted in China.
    1. A 2006 report by the United Nations pointed out that 66% of torture victims in China were Falun Gong practitioners.
    2. A 2013 report by Amnesty International stated one-third to 100% of detainees in China's labor camps were Falun Gong practitioners.
    3. A 2022 U.S. State Department report indicated that 79% of detained dissidents in China were Falun Gong practitioners.
  2. The persecution of Falun Gong is through China's Gestapo "610 Office".
    1. Formed on June 10, 1999 to persecute Falun Gong
    2. The 610 office is above China's judicial and legal system.
    3. The main functions of the 610 office include
      1. Creating propaganda to demonize Falun Gong
      2. Surveillance and intelligence to monitor Falun Gong practitioners and their family members
      3. "Re-education" and detention of victims without legal procedure.
    4. The 610 office expanded its function in 2003 to target all spiritual groups and human rights lawyers.
    5. The Chinese government reorganized the 610 office in 2018 by transferring its function to the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission and the Ministry of Public Security.
  3. Minghui.org is a website documenting the persecution of Falun Gong. The website reported over 5000 cases of death from the persecution since 1999. These are tips of iceberg because of the information blockage. The state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China caught international attention. 
  4. Detention locations
    1. Brainwash centers at schools or hotels
    2. Detention centers
    3. Mental hospitals
    4. Labor camps (pre-2013)
    5. Prison terms
  5. Torture methods used in police custody
    1. Beatings, High-Voltage Electric batons
    2. Force-Feeding, Burning, Scorching with Hot Iron, Exposed to Freeze and Extreme Temperatures, Tied, or Forced to Stay in Painful Position for Extended Periods of Time
    3. Using Torture Devices, The Water Dungeon, Tiger Bench ...
    4. Psychiatric Torture, Sleep Deprivation
    5. Sexual Abuse


Falun Gong and the Human Rights Movement in China


1999-2001: Falun Gong practitioners in China appealed to the public.

 

2001: Falun Gong practitioners outside of China started to develop Software helping Chinese people to bypass the Great Firewall on the internet.

 

2004: Falun Gong practitioners started the Movement of Quitting the Communist Party in China.

 

2005: Gao Zhisheng was the first Chinese Human Rights Lawyer to openly defend the rights of Falun Gong. He went through severe persecution and had been "disappeared" since 2017. 

 

2009: Chinese people started to sign petitions to support Falun Gong.

 

2015: Falun Gong practitioners in China started to file lawsuits against human rights perpetrators.




References


  1. http://faluninfo.net
  2. https://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/1999/6/26/5629.html
  3. https://en.minghui.org/
  4. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/570962?ln=en Page 13, Table 1
  5. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa17/042/2013/en/
  6. https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/china/ “The NGO Human Rights without Frontiers estimated that as of year’s end, the [Chinese] government imprisoned 2,649 individuals for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief, including 2,102 Falun Gong practitioners, 463 CAG members, 24 Muslims, 40 members of other Christian groups, and 20 Buddhists."
  7. https://jamestown.org/program/the-610-office-policing-the-chinese-spirit/
  8. https://chinatribunal.com/
  9. http://StopOrganHarvesting.org
  10. https://chrissmith.house.gov/uploadedfiles/testimony-cecchearing-yinliping-final-4-11-2016.pdf
  11. https://global.tuidang.org/


(Photo Credit: Group Exercise of Falun Gong at Long Beach, California, U.S.A., Oct. 20, 2013 )


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