Crimes of Ji Bingxuan, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress

(Minghui.org) Sanctioning human rights abusers has become common among democratic countries. After the U.S. passed the Magnitsky Act in 2016, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the 27-member-country EU enacted similar laws. Australia and Japan are also working on similar laws.

In accordance with these laws, for the past few years Falun Gong practitioners have been compiling lists of perpetrators involved in the persecution. Every year, they submit several lists to democratic governments, urging them to sanction the named perpetrators.

Starting on July 14, 2021, Falun Gong practitioners in more than 30 countries have been submitting the latest list of perpetrators involved in the persecution of Falun Gong to their respective governments, calling for sanctions on these human rights abusers, including denying entry into their countries and freezing their assets overseas.

One name on this list is Ji Bingxuan.

Perpetrator Information

Full Name of Perpetrator: Ji (last name) Bingxuan (first name) (Chinese: 吉炳轩)Gender: MaleCountry: ChinaDate/Year of Birth: November 1951Place of Birth: Mengjin, Henan Province

Title or Position

November 1998 – July 2001: Vice Director of the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) and Deputy Secretary of its Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Committee

August 2001 – April 2003: Vice Director of the CCP Central Propaganda Department and Member of the CCP Central Office of Stability Maintenance

December 2002 – March 2003: Member of the CCP Central Leading Group for Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues

April 2003 – March 2008: Executive Deputy Director of the CCP Central Propaganda Department, Member of the CCP Central Office of Stability Maintenance, and Member of the CCP Central Leading Group for Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues (until April 2004)

November 2005 – May 2008: Director of the Office of the Central Steering Committee on Spiritual Civilization Construction

April 2008 – March 2013: Director of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress and Secretary of the CCP Heilongjiang Committee

March 2013 – Present: Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and Member of CCP Committee of the National People’s Congress

In the persecution against Falun Gong, Ji Bingxuan has held numerous important positions in the CCP’s central government and local governments. He was an important member of the CCP core group led by Jiang Zemin in the persecution of Falun Gong.

During his tenure as deputy director of the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) and deputy minister of the CCP Central Propaganda Department, he used the propaganda apparatus under his control to concoct and spread lies to slander Falun Gong, thereby “justifying” the persecution and persuading people to hate the practice.

During his tenure as secretary of the Heilongjiang Committee and director of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress, he actively implemented the persecution policies to “ruin practitioners’ reputations, destroy them physically, and bankrupt them financially.”

Over the past 22 years, the persecution of Falun Gong in Heilongjiang Province has ranked among the worst in China. As a key member of the CCP and cohort of Jiang Zemin in the persecution of Falun Gong, Ji’s crimes need to be fully investigated, without impunity.

The following are a selection of some of the crimes Ji Bingxuan committed in persecuting Falun Gong.

Crimes Committed During Ji’s Tenure at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT)

On July 20, 1999, after the CCP publicly launched its suppression of Falun Gong, the SARFT immediately announced its support. Under SARFT’s control, the CCP’s broadcast and film entities at all levels, from the central to the local, produced and broadcast a large number of radio and film programs that defamed and attacked Falun Gong.

On March 21, 2000, China Central TV (CCTV) held its 1999 annual meeting. Ji Bingxuan, as deputy director of SARFT, delivered a speech affirming and praising the role played by CCTV in demonizing Falun Gong.

In particular, after CCTV broadcast the Tiananmen Self-immolation Case in 2001, the SARFT ordered it and other local TV stations to produce a series of films, TV programs, dramas, and other audio-visual products to further vilify Falun Gong.

This propaganda added fuel to the flames of the persecution, inciting people to hate Falun Gong practitioners and building up momentum for the CCP to suppress it. Ji Bingxuan, who was then the SARFT deputy director and deputy secretary of the CCP Heilongjiang Committee, must be held accountable for these activities.

Crimes During His Tenure in the CCP Central Propaganda Department

Ji Bingxuan served, from August 2001 to March 2008, as deputy director and executive deputy director of the CCP Central Propaganda Department, member of the CCP Central Office of Stability Maintenance, and member of the CCP Central Leading Group for Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues (March 2003-April 2004).

As an organization directly under the Central Committee of the CCP, the Propaganda Department has complete control over what the national media puts out and therefore what the entire country is exposed to. The Propaganda Department has manipulated the media to concoct hundreds of lies defaming Falun Gong in order to incite hatred and deceive the public. The Central Propaganda Department became important in influencing public opinion in the CCP’s suppression of Falun Gong. Ji Bingxuan served as the deputy director of the Central Propaganda Department for nearly seven years and he bears full responsibility for all the denigration of Falun Gong that occurred during that time.

Ji Bingxuan wrote a preface on August 21, 2003 of over ten thousand words for the Focus Interview Red Book published by the CCTV “Focus Interview” program. In the preface, he applauded the program for its important role in “exposing and denouncing” Falun Gong. The “Focus Interview” program has played a key role in spreading the propaganda. To focus attention on the suppression, the station produced and broadcast many episodes of “Focus Interview” discrediting Falun Gong.

In addition, from March 2003 to April 2004, Ji Bingxuan was also a member of the Central Office of Stability Maintenance and member of the Central Leading Group for the Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues. During this time, a large number of Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted across the country.

Crimes During His Tenure in Heilongjiang Province

Massive Arrests of Falun Gong Practitioners

Ji Bingxuan served as director of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress and secretary of the CCP Heilongjiang Committee from April 2008 to March 2013. During this time, the persecution of Falun Gong in Heilongjiang Province was among the worst in the country.

After Ji Bingxuan took office, he directed massive arrests of practitioners in the province and gave orders for them to be detained, taken to brainwashing centers, held in forced labor camps, and sentenced to prison terms. Below are just a few cases of massive arrests that occurred in Heilongjiang Province during his tenure.

-From late June 2008 to early July 2008, at least 43 practitioners in Daqing City were arrested, and many of them were taken to forced labor camps or sentenced to prison, all in the name of “maintaining stability during the Olympics.”

-Between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. on May 14, 2009, Jixi City police officers broke into the homes of more than 20 practitioners and arrested them. In total, at least 27 practitioners were arrested and a large amount of personal property was confiscated.

-On November 13, 2011, the Public Security Department of Heilongjiang Province and the Harbin Municipal Public Security Bureau dispatched more than 100 special police officers to the home of a Falun Gong practitioner in Shuangcheng City and arrested 56 others who were participating in an experience sharing meeting. Thirty-six were taken to forced labor camps and seven were sentenced to prison.

-On December 7-28, , more than 50 practitioners were arrested in Shuangcheng, Harbin, and neighboring counties and cities.

-On December 31, 2011, the Public Security Department of Heilongjiang Province and the Harbin Municipal Public Security Bureau launched “Operation Zero.” During this operation, more than 30 practitioners were arrested in Harbin before midnight on January 1, 2012. Nearly 20 of them, including Zhang Shengguo, Hou Yinghua, Xiao Kun, and Xiao Yang, were sentenced to up to nine years in prison. Many others, including Zeng Shuling, Liu Yan, and Tian Qingling, were taken to forced labor camps.

-On September 10, 2012, dozens of police officers in Jiamusi City used violence to arrest 15 practitioners, 10 of whom were taken to forced labor camps.

-On November 2, 2012, the authorities in Mudanjiang City deployed a large number of police to arrest 39 practitioners.

-On the evening of March 29, 2013, authorities in Yilan County, Fangzheng County, and Tonghe County in Harbin City dispatched a large number of police officers, who arrested at least 61 local practitioners. Their homes were ransacked, and 14 were sentenced to prison, with terms ranging from 3 to 13 years.

Subjecting Practitioners to Brainwashing

The CCP can have a Falun Gong practitioner placed in a brainwashing facility without following any legal procedures. Most of these brainwashing facilities are identified as “legal education schools” or “learning classes,” while they are actually another means by which the 610 Office attempts to coerce practitioners to give up their belief.

During Ji Bingxuan’s tenure in Heilongjiang, he directed that Falun Gong practitioners be held in brainwashing centers to try to force them to give up their faith.

There are as many as ten brainwashing centers in Heilongjiang Province, and a large number of practitioners have been detained in them. For example, the brainwashing center in Mishan City was established in April 2011. Before the end of that year, at least 16 practitioners had been arrested and were being held there.

-In mid-October 2012, nearly 20 practitioners from Daqing City, Qiqihar, Qitaihe City, Mudanjiang City, and Lindian City in Heilongjiang Province were arrested and taken to the brainwashing center in Qiqihar.

-Around October 2010, seven practitioners in Jixi City, including Wang Wenying and Mu Rongmin, were taken to the brainwashing center in Jixi City.

-From June to August 2012, at least nine practitioners, including Liu Fenglin, Dijie, and Zhang Shuyun in Daqing City, were arrested and taken to the brainwashing center in Daqing City.

-From the time it was set up in 2000 to November 2011, the brainwashing center in Wuchang City detained and persecuted more than 400 Falun Gong practitioners.

In the brainwashing centers, practitioners are forced to watch videos that slander Falun Gong. They are also beaten, shocked with electric batons, hung up by their wrists, and made to stand and/or squat for long periods of time. Those in charge insult and intimidate the practitioners, deprive them of sleep, and force-feed them if they go on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.

-On June 29, 2012, Ms. Li Cuiling in Yichun City was arrested and taken to the brainwashing center in Yichun City. The brainwashing center staff kicked her in the chest and broke her ribs. They also hung her up by the wrists on many occasions, causing permanent injuries to her hands.

-Huo Jinping, a practitioner in Jiamusi City, was secretly seized from the Jiamusi Detention Center on the night of March 21, 2012, and taken to the brainwashing center in Qinglong Mountain, where he was beaten and deprived of sleep. The brainwashing center staff burned his face with candles, which left scars. When Mr. Huo went on a hunger strike to resist, he was force-fed five times a day for six months. The feeding tube was inserted through his nostril into his stomach and replaced only once every two months. As a result, his stomach was severely injured, and he was on the verge of death.

Practitioner Deaths

According to available statistics, during Ji Bingxuan’s tenure in Heilongjiang Province (April 2008-March 2013), a total of 88 Falun Gong practitioners were tortured to death in Heilongjiang Province. From April to December 2008, 14 died; 22 died in 2009; 15 died in 2010; 19 died in 2011; 14 died in 2012; and four died in the first quarter of 2013.

The following are a few examples.

On February 25, 2011, Mr. Qin Yueming, who was serving a 10-year term in Jiamusi Prison, was taken to the bathroom of the prison hospital. Five inmates held his head while a doctor grabbed his tongue with forceps, pulled it out, forced the feeding tube down his throat and into his lungs, and then force-fed him salted milk. Mr. Qin screamed in pain, but no one paid any attention and continued to feed him. Back in his cell, he groaned in pain all night and died the next morning. His lips were blue. He’d bled from his mouth and nose, and he was covered with bruises. He was 47 years old.

At around 3 p.m. on March 1, 2011, Mr. Yu Yungang passed out after being tortured in the Jiamusi Prison Strict Management Team. He was rushed to the hospital for a craniotomy. After the operation, he was in the intensive care unit of the hospital, closely monitored by guards from the prison. His family was not allowed in to see him until they protested. Even then the police only allowed two family members to visit him. Mr. Yu stared straight ahead and could not recognize anyone. He passed away at 3 p.m. on March 5. Dozens of prison guards surrounded his hospital room, keeping family members out until the police took away his body.

At around 1 a.m. on March 8, 2011, Mr. Liu Chuanjiang died in the Jiamusi Prison Hospital after being tortured. He’d been shocked by four electric batons and his back was crushed. He also suffered a broken arm due to violent beatings. The prison authorities forced his family to sign a cremation agreement two days after his death.

Mr. Li Hongkui was arrested by the Harbin Public Security Bureau on September 23, 2005, and sentenced to seven years in prison in the Daoli District Court. He was taken to Daqing Prison on February 15, 2007, and tortured to death on August 28, 2012.

Mental Breakdown and Physical Disability

During Ji Bingxuan’s tenure in Heilongjiang, many practitioners in Heilongjiang Province were persecuted so severely that they became mentally disordered or physically disabled. The following are a few examples.

On November 22, 2008, Ms. Fei Jinrong was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison. In the Second Detention Center of Hegang City, Ms. Fei was chained in a metal chair for several days and not allowed to sleep. She was beaten and verbally abused by inmates in the same cell. In just six months, she became mentally disordered at the age of 60.

Ms. Xiang Xiaobo of Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on September 10, 2012, and given two years in a forced labor camp term. At the Heilongjiang Drug Rehabilitation and Forced Labor Camp, she was held in solitary confinement and handcuffed behind her back with one hand pulled down over her shoulder and the other hand up behind her back. The guards forced her to sit on a small stool for extended periods of time and deprived her of sleep. She was also fed unknown drugs. After eight months of torture, she suffered a mental breakdown and was released. She passed away two years later at the age of 55.

Mr. Zhang Puhe, a former employee of Jiansanjiang Farm, was arrested in December 2002 and sentenced to ten years in prison. In Jiamusi Prison, he was shocked with high-voltage electric batons, beaten, and held in solitary confinement. As a result, Mr. Zhang suffered cerebellar atrophy. He also contracted tuberculosis in both lungs and had gallstones, cholecystitis, and arteriosclerosis occlusion of both lower extremities. On December 24, 2012, Mr. Zhang, then 48, was released in a wheelchair after ten years of torture.

Mr. Lin Zehua was arrested on September 12, 2007, and sentenced to seven years in March 2008. On July 10, 2008, he was taken to Jiamusi Prison. To force him to give up Falun Gong, guards instigated inmates to insult, abuse, and torture Mr. Lin. On November 7, 2008, guards directed inmate Li Yansong to push him down the stairs. Paralyzed from the chest down, Mr. Lin lost the ability to walk and could no longer take care of himself.