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Statistics and Analysis on the Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners in Hebei Province

March 25, 2011 |   By a Clearwisdom correspondent from Hebei Province, China

(Clearwisdom.net) Hebei Province is a geographically important province with the two major cities of Beijing and Tianjin within its borders. Because the Chinese central government pays special attention to Hebei Province, the persecution of Falun Gong in Hebei Province is among the most severe in the county.

Shijiazhuang City is the capital of Hebei Province. It is known as a “Satellite City” of Beijing. The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Shijiazhuang City is also very brutal. All the labor camps, prisons, and brainwashing centers in Hebei Province have been used in the persecution of Falun Gong over the past 11 years.

Many practitioners have died as a result of the persecution, with many more suffering mental breakdowns, disability or disfigurement. The number of practitioners who have suffered arrest, detention, or harassment is incalculable. The brutal persecution has caused practitioners and their families mental and physical damage and huge financial losses.

As of March 3, 2011, we have received reports of 4017 arrests and detentions, 467 forced labor sentences, and 140 prison terms for Falun Gong practitioners in Hebei Province during the course of the eleven plus years of persecution.

155 practitioners were forced to leave home to avoid persecution, and the resultant financial losses for practitioners and their families in the province totaled over 3 million yuan (only from the reported cases). Since the persecution has been conducted out of the public eye and hidden to the greatest extent possible, it is believed that the actual numbers are much higher.

The persecution in Hebei Province is representative of the severity and brutality of the Falun Gong persecution across the country.

Below are some statistics:

1. Analysis of Arrests in Shijiazhuang City

The majority of the arrests were premeditated. (refer to Figure 1).

Premeditated arrests include cases such as practitioners who refused to renounce Falun Gong, practitioners who were taken to brainwashing centers, and those who were rounded up in mass arrests leading up to so-called “sensitive days.”

The majority of these arrests were ordered directly by the central, provincial, or city government.

One example: in April 2008, a meeting to plan the persecution of Falun Gong was held in the Shijiazhuang City government to prepare for the Olympic Games. More than 200 arrests were conducted in the Shijiazhuang City area during the Olympic Games. During annual NPC and CPPCC meetings, a large number of practitioners were arrested.

Falun Gong practitioners appealed to the government and told people the truth about Falun Gong because of the lies that the government had spread. Group study, group exercises and experience sharing gatherings are routine activities for Falun Gong practitioners, as is clarifying the truth. They bring no harm to anyone. Practitioners do these things freely in some 100 countries around the world; in China, however, they are arrested for doing them.

Practitioners were arrested in the following circumstances:

I) Appealing in Beijing
II) Clarifying the truth
III) For brainwashing “classes” or on “sensitive dates”
IV) Being reported to authorities
V) Participating in group study, sharing, or exercises
VI) During daily life
VII) At material production sites
VIII) For filing lawsuits
IX) Caught visiting forbidden websites (eg. Any site with positive information about Falun Gong)
X) No apparent reason


Caption for Figure 1 of 5: Categorization of Excuses for Illegal Arrests of Falun Gong Practitioners in the Shijiahuang Area

2. Timeline of Arrests in Shijiazhuang City

From 2002 to March 2011, there were more arrests in March, April, and July every year. The Shijiazhuang City government and its 610 Office held more meetings to plan for the persecution in March, April, and July. (Refer to Figure 2)

The annual NPC and CPPCC meetings are held in March (Editor's note: These two meetings are like an annual convention for the Chinese Communist Party). The persecution is always more acute around this time of year. In 2006, the Shijiazhuang City government ordered its agencies to conduct massive arrests and harass Falun Gong practitioners. This year is no different.

April 25, 1999, is the date that some 10,000 plus Falun Gong practitioners appealed to the central government for the right to practice, and July 20, 1999, was the official beginning of the persecution. The anniversaries of these two dates have become “sensitive days” for the Chinese government, and times of intensified persecution.


Caption for Figure 2 of 5: Total Arrests by Month, 2002-present

3. Analysis of Sentences in Shijiazhuang City

The highest number of sentences handed out were to practitioners involved with production Falun Gong materials. Second highest were practitioners who were publicly clarifying truth and posting Falun Gong materials (refer to Figure 3). The CCP is afraid of Chinese people learning the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution and thus severely punishes practitioners involved in the production and distribution of Falun Gong materials.

Practitioners were sentenced after being arrested under the following circumstances:

I) Appealing in Beijing
II) Clarifying the truth
III) For brainwashing “classes” or on “sensitive dates”
IV) Being reported to authorities
V) Participating in group study, sharing or exercise
VI) During daily life
VII) At material production sites
VIII) For filing lawsuits
IX) Caught visiting forbidden websites (eg. Any site with positive information about Falun Gong)
X) No apparent reason

Caption for Figure 3 of 5: Categorization of Excuses for Illegal Prison Sentencing of Falun Gong Practitioners in the Shijiahuang Area

4. Analysis of Data on Detained Falun Gong Practitioners

In the Shijiazhuang City area, more practitioners were sentenced to forced labor in 2000, 2001, and 2008 than other years (refer to Figure 4). In 2000 and 2001, many practitioners went to Beijing to appeal to the central government to plea for an end to the persecution. They were arrested and sentenced to forced labor. In 2008, the Chinese government arrested many practitioners in preparation for the Beijing Olympic Games.


Caption for Figure 4 of 5: Number of Falun Gong Practitioners Taken to Forced Labor Camps in Shijiazhuang Area

Caption for Figure 5 of 5: Number of Falun Gong Practitioners Held in Labor Camps (Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp and Hebei Women's Forced Labor Camp)

Figure 5 shows the number of detained Falun Gong practitioners in the Shijiazhuang City forced labor camps by year. Besides the practitioners from the Shijiazhuang City area, practitioners from other areas in Hebei Province have also been detained in the Shijiazhuang City Forced Labor Camp. The peak times for detaining practitioners were the Beijing appeal and the Bejing Olympic Games.

Since the Chinese central government is located in Beijing, the Chinese government has tightly protected Beijing. Although Falun Gong practitioners were peaceful when they went to Beijing to appeal, they were arrested. When the Beijing Olympic Games were held, Falun Gong practitioners were agressively persecuted as well.

Conclusion

The persecution of Falun Gong in China harms every Chinese citizen. The persecution promotes dishonesty, evilness, and violence and destroys basic standards of morality. During the past 11 years, the morality of Chinese society has sunk dramatically and tainted every aspect of society. Because of the lies and threats from the government, many people have gone against their consciences and done wrong, including the perpetrators. The Chinese government has built up an atmosphere of terror since it has taken power, and the Chinese people dare not say anything against this persecution, despite the fact that their silence in the face of this evil is a passive crime. Falun Gong practitioners across China have been clarifying truth to Chinese people despite the dangers they face. They would like people to know the truth, listen to their consciousnesses, recover from the poison of atheism, and discover the lost, divine Chinese culture. The crimes perpetrated by the Chinese government must be stopped and there should no longer be any “peaks” of persecution.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Statistics on the Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioner in the Shijiazhuang City Area

 

Year

Arrests (per person per time)

Imprison-ment (per person per time)

Custody (per person per time)

Detention (per person per time)

Sentenced to Forced Labor (per person per time)

Sentenced to Prison (per person per time)

Sent to Mental Hospital (per person per time)

Left home to avoid persecution

Economic Loss (in millions of yuan)

1999 

413 

83 

160 

181 

17 

3 

0 

12 

596801 

2000

1066 

159 

306 

403 

102 

18 

5 

28 

1013343 

2001 

1197 

315 

140 

436 

115 

32 

2 

53 

679807 

2002

270 

97 

64 

39 

27 

19 

0 

30 

216000 

2003 

216 

65 

10 

24 

19 

17 

0 

13 

97560 

2004

273 

73 

59 

57 

33 

12 

0 

8 

180800 

2005

92 

28 

6 

7 

8 

9 

0 

3 

148100 

2006

54 

6 

19 

3 

3 

3 

0 

0 

82870 

2007

75 

8 

2 

18 

15 

9 

0 

2 

0 

2008

234 

18 

15 

48 

86 

13 

0 

5 

72500 

2009

64 

3 

0 

31 

31 

1 

0 

1 

0 

2010

53 

11 

3 

11 

9 

4 

0 

0 

3550 

2011

10 

0 

2 

1 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Total 

4017 

866 

786 

1259 

467 

140 

7 

155 

3091331 

Appendix 2: The Statistics of the Circumstances Practitioners under for Their Arrests and Sentences (based on the reports of 3061 cases)

 

 

Circumstance

Arrests (per person per time)

Sentenced to Forced Labor (per person per time)

Sentenced to Prison (per person per time)

1

Appealing in Beijing

749 

95 

7 

2

Clarifying truth

318 

95 

21 

3

Being Arrested for brainwashing classes or on “sensitive days”

1134 

96 

9 

4

Being reported to authorities

16 

3 

0 

5

Participating group study, sharing or exercise

333 

18 

16 

6

During daily life

27 

5 

0 

7

Being arrested related to material production

97 

16 

23 

8

Filing law suits

7 

0 

0 

9

Using internet

6 

2 

0 

10

No reason

374 

12 

4 

 

Total

3061 

342 

80 

Appendix 3: Summary Data on Monthly Persecution of Falun Gong from 2002 to 2011

 

Year/Month

Arrests (per person per time)

Sentenced to Forced Labor (per person per time)

Sentenced to Prison (per person per time)

January 

84 

9 

5 

February

94 

8 

0 

March

129 

22 

7 

April

188 

31 

12 

May

91 

17 

8 

June

99 

28 

7 

July

158 

45 

4 

Augu

92 

22 

10 

September

71 

14 

12 

October

112 

8 

6 

November

100 

9 

4 

December

88 

14 

11 

 

1306 

227 

86 

(From 1999 to 2001, large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners went to Beijing to appeal and the number of the arrests during that period was large. The statistics since 2002 reflect the pattern of the systematic persecution.)