(Minghui.org) Another Chinese New Year, a time for families to get together and celebrate, is almost upon us. But as a result of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s persecution of Falun Gong, thousands of families have been shattered and live in misery during the happiest time of the year.
Massive Persecution
Since the CCP began to persecute Falun Gong, a spiritual and meditation discipline, in July 1999, many practitioners have been arrested, held in forced labor camps, detained, and incarcerated. A total of 4,730 deaths have been documented by Minghui as of January 25, 2022. But due to the strict censorship of information in China, the actual number is most likely much higher.
According to information from Minghui, in 2021 alone, the deaths of 131 Falun Gong practitioners due to the suppression were reported and confirmed and 1,184 were confirmed sentenced to prison. (Note that the incidents were reported and confirmed in 2021 but may have occurred earlier.) Among them, 44 received terms of at least 9 years and 227 were over 65 years old with the oldest being 88. In addition, 5,886 were illegally arrested, 10,527 were harassed, 608 were sent to brainwashing centers, and 1,751 had their homes ransacked.
In the same year, practitioners were fined or extorted 7,594,244 yuan (US $1,200,000) by the police or courts. Count fines accounted for 79% (5,997,800 yuan) of the total while the police were responsible for 21% (1,596,444 yuan) in extortion.
Over the last three years, 2,727 practitioners were sentenced for upholding their belief: 43% (1184) in 2021, 23% (622) in 2020, and 34% (921) in 2019.
Selected Cases from 2021
Behind each of these numbers is a tragic story. Mr. Sun Pijin of Mengyin County in Shandong Province was arrested while working on his family farm on June 17, 2021. He died of torture the following day. The authorities forced Mr. Sun’s family to have his body cremated on June 26, leaving the real cause of his death a permanent mystery. His wife Ms. Yu Zaihua, also a Falun Gong practitioner, lost her life at 47 in 2015 due to the persecution. Their daughter Ms. Sun Yujiao is still being held in the Linyi Detention Center.
Mr. Guo Zhenfang from Inner Mongolia died one day after he and his wife were tried for their faith in June 2021. When Mr. Guo’s family rushed to the hospital, they saw dozens of plainclothes officers guarding the body. They noted that Mr. Guo’s lower back was purple, there were injuries on the inner side of one of his knees, and his nose had blood on it. The police barred them from getting any closer to the body. Without his family’s consent, the police took Mr. Guo’s body to the Songshan District Funeral Home for cremation.
Mr. Liu Xiyong, 80, from Dalian City in Liaoning Province, was held in Dongling Prison for practicing Falun Gong. Although his term expired on April 9, 2021, officials took him to a detention center and then he was given another four-year prison term. After being admitted to Dalian Third Prison, Mr. Liu’s condition deteriorated and he died on December 29, 2021.
Mr. Zhao Peiyuan was an elementary school teacher in his 40s. Because of his belief, he was fired from his job and sentenced to six years. After being arrested again on October 30, 2019, Mr. Zhao was sentenced to 13 years and fined 50,000 yuan.
A family of three in Tianjin was sentenced for their faith in Falun Gong in 2019. Mr. Li Guoqing was sentenced to 12 years; his wife Ms. Yu Bo, to 10 years; and their daughter Ms. Li Lei, to 7 years.
Mr. Li Dengchen, an 82-year-old retired teacher in Shenzhou City, Hebei Province, was sentenced to 10 years in January 2021 for his faith.
Ms. Tang Zhuyin, in her 70s, is retired from the Harbin Tungsten Platinum Material Factory. For practicing Falun Gong, she was arrested and incarcerated several times over the past two decades. The latest arrest took place on April 8, 2020, after she made phone calls telling people how the communist regime covered up the pandemic. Ms. Tang was sentenced to 9 years and 4 months with a 50,000-yuan fine.
Two Liaoning residents, Mr. Ren Haifei and Ms. Sun Zhongli, were arrested on June 26, 2020. On October 14, 2021, Mr. Ren was sentenced to 10 years and fined 100,000 yuan and Ms. Sun was sentenced to 7 years and fined 70,000 yuan.
After former CCP leader Jiang Zemin started the persecution in July 1999, he gave the order to “ruin Falun Gong practitioners’ reputations, bankrupt them financially, and eliminate them physically.” This has led to untold suffering throughout China.
We hope more people will lend a hand to end the persecution so that Falun Gong practitioners can have the freedom to live by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
All content published on this website is copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
