A summary of recent arrests of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and specifically Beijing, along with several cases resulting in the death of the practitioner.

Another arbitrary arrest of a practitioner without regarded for family circumstances.

Hundreds of Falun Gong Practitioners Arrested in Beijing

Based on incomplete statistics due to China's information blockade, 586 Beijing practitioners have been arrested from January to July 2008, 83 arrests in January, 87 in February, 57 in March, 112 in April, 144 in May, 48 in June, and 55 in July.

As of June 30, 2008, 8,037 practitioners have been arrested all across China this year. About one-fourth of these were in Beijing. The population of Beijing, including non-residents, is only one-seventieth that of the country. These two ratios reflect the severity of the persecution in Beijing, where most of the Olympic Games are hosted. Most concerning is that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used the Sichuan earthquake, a terrible national disaster, as an opportunity to conduct many of these mass arrests. From the earthquake on May 12 to May 31, there were 104 known arrests. On May 12-14, at least 28 Beijing practitioners were arrested in a three-day period. One week later, on May 20, at least another 30 practitioners were arrested during a city-wide mass arrest. During the preliminary hearings in the districts' domestic security sections, many officers mentioned that it was a citywide coordinated operation and they were merely following "orders from higher levels."

After Beijing practitioner Mr. Yu Zhou was tortured to death on February 6, another two Beijing practitioners, Ms. Lang Fengxian and Ms. Kang, also died as a result of the persecution.

Ms. Lang Fengxian, in her sixties, lived in Chaoyang District, Beijing. She was harassed and imprisoned many times by the CCP. From January to May 2008, she was arrested three times. She died in mid-June 2008 as a direct result of mistreatment she received during these arrests.

Ms. Kang, 72, lived in Yuzhongxili community, Beijing. On May 20, 2008, she was arrested by officers from the Garden Road Police Station while she was distributing truth clarification materials. She died on May 29, 2008, after having a stroke while in police custody. Ms. Kang had practiced Falun Gong for 15 years and was in good health.

Mr. Geng Dong Arrested While His Family Members Need His Care and Support

On July 27, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Geng Dong was arrested at home by Xuefu Street Police Station in Nankai District, Tianjin City. After his release on July 28, he was arrested again on July 29 and his personal computer was confiscated. The arrest took place after Tianjin City Police Department received secret orders to "severely suppress Falun Gong" before the Olympics when the Olympics torch relay was passing through Tianjin City on August 1 and 2.

Three days before he was arrested, Mr. Geng's wife gave birth. She was weak and needed care. His mother, shocked by the repeated arrests of her son, had a stroke. She can no longer speak, continues to drool and has lost the ability to take care of herself. Mr. Geng's father is in tears over the repeated loss of his son.

Mr. Geng Dong was a volunteer assistant at one of the practice sites at Tianjin University before the persecution began in 1999. After July 20, 1999, Mr. Geng was brutally mistreated numerous times. In March 2001, he was illegally sentenced to a forced labor camp for two and a half years by Tianjin City authorities. In January 2004, he was detained after publishing a "solemn statement" on the Minghui/Clearwisdom website. Also in January 2004, Mr. Geng took photos to expose the Zhuhai City Brainwashing Center located in Zhuhai City's Fumin Hotel. For this, he was sentenced to a forced labor camp for two years. He was released in May 2006 after being detained longer than the scheduled term.

According to incomplete figures, more than 8000 practitioners have been arrested since the second half of 2007.