(Minghui.org) Twenty-four years after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong in 1999, practitioners from 44 countries submitted a new list of perpetrators to their respective governments in advance of Human Rights Day, December 10, 2023, urging them to hold these individuals accountable for the persecution of Falun Gong in China. The practitioners asked their governments to bar the perpetrators and their family members from entry and to freeze their overseas assets.

Among the perpetrators listed was Chen Run’er, the current deputy chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress.

Perpetrator Information

Full Name of Perpetrator: Chen (last name) Run’er (first name) (陈润儿)Gender: MaleCountry: ChinaDate/year of Birth: October 1957Place of Birth: Chalin County, Hunan Province

Chen Run’er

Title or Position

April 2000 – November 2006: Deputy Secretary of the Xiangtan Municipal Party Committee, acting mayor, and mayor of Xiangtan City, and Secretary of the Xiangtan Municipal Party CommitteeNovember 2006 – April 2013: Member of the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Changsha Municipal Party CommitteeApril 2013 – March 2016: Deputy Secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Social Security Comprehensive Management CommitteeMarch 2016 – October 2019: Governor of Henan Province and Deputy Secretary of the Henan Provincial Party CommitteeOctober 2019 – March 2022: Secretary of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Party CommitteeApril 2022 – Present: Deputy Chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of National People’s Congress

Major Crimes

Since the CCP started to persecute Falun Gong in July 1999, Chen has actively implemented the CCP’s extermination policy against Falun Gong and is an accomplice to the persecution. Since April 2000, Chen has served in four provinces: Xiangtan City and Changsha City of Hunan Province, Heilongjiang Province, Henan Province, and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

During his tenure, Chen was directly responsible for overseeing the persecution of local Falun Gong practitioners who were arrested, brainwashed, sent to forced labor camps, and sentenced. At least 71 practitioners were persecuted to death in various regions while he was in office. Many more practitioners were injured, became disabled, or suffered from mental illness. Some were forced to live away from home to avoid the persecution and some went missing.

The following are select death cases that happened during Chen’s tenure.

Death Cases in Xiangtan City, Hunan Province

From April 2000 to November 2006, Chen served as deputy secretary of the Xiangtan Municipal Party Committee, acting mayor and mayor of Xiangtan City, and Secretary of the Xiangtan Municipal Party Committee. At least seven Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted to death in Xiangtan City during this time.

Case 1: Health Destroyed by Torture, Ms. Cheng Linghui Dies Four Years After Labor Camp Release

Ms. Cheng Linghui, of Xiangtan City, Hunan Province, went to Beijing to appeal in January 2001 and was detained for 15 days. She went to appeal again in May 2001 and was given a one-year forced labor term. In the Baimalong Women’s Forced Labor Camp in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, she refused to wear the inmates’ uniform or the number tag. The guards hung her up by her wrists, with her body suspended in the air, and placed her in the scorching sun.

As a result of the torture, she was paralyzed and unable to take care of herself. It was not until she was on the verge of death that the forced labor camp released her. The police arrested her again in May 2002 and took her back to the labor camp 36 days later. She was not admitted due to her physical condition. She never recovered after returning home and passed away on August 17, 2006. She was 67.

Case 2: Ribs Broken by Police Beating, Mr. Li Zhen Dies Two Years Later

Mr. Li Zhen was arrested for delivering Falun Gong materials by officers from the Xiangtan City Domestic Security Office on February 2, 2002. The police beat him so hard during an interrogation that his ribs were broken. He was given two years at Xinkaipu Forced Labor Camp, but was denied admission due to his physical condition. He was released on medical parole. He was only 52 years old when he died on May 26, 2004.

Case 3: Ms. Guo Lifang Dies 17 Days After Arrest

Ms. Guo Lifang, then 54, was arrested at home on March 31, 2005, and taken to the Sanjiaoping Detention Center in Xiangtan City. Her family was informed of her death 17 days later on the morning of April 17. Her body was held in a funeral home. It is reported that her neck had signs of strangulation. The police did not allow her family to touch or get close to her body. An insider revealed that all her organs had been removed.

Death Cases in Changsha City, Hunan Province

From November 2006 to April 2013, during the seven years when Chen served as the secretary of the Changsha Municipal Party Committee, at least twelve practitioners were persecuted to death.

Case 4: Mr. Xie Wutang and His Wife, Ms. Tan Xiangyu Persecuted to Death

Mr. Xie Wutang was arrested on July 14, 2007, by officers from the Tianxin District Domestic Security Office and was later sentenced to four years and eight months in prison. He was tortured in the Changsha City Detention Center and the Jin City Second Detention and Dispatch Center. By the time he was taken to the Wuling Prison in February 2008, he was already very weak. He developed heart disease, prostate cancer, and other illnesses due to continued torture in prison. The family repeatedly requested medical parole for him, but it was denied by the prison authorities on the grounds that Mr. Xie refused to renounce Falun Gong. Not until the prostate cancer metastasized and spread to his bones did the prison release him on medical parole in March 2010. He was bedridden for over a year before he passed away on April 12, 2011. He was 71.

Mr. Xie’s wife, Ms. Tan Xiangyu, was arrested with him on July 14, 2007. She was taken directly to the Hunan Provincial Women’s Prison and tortured for more than five months. When she was released on December 16, 2007, she developed disseminated tuberculosis. She was later found to have liver ascites as well. She passed away on February 14, 2014. She was 66.

Case 5: After Repeated Persecution, Ms. Jiang Deying of Hunan Normal University Passes Away

Ms. Jiang Deying, an administrative officer of the Hunan Normal University, was given one year of forced labor in 2005. She was arrested again in April 2009, a year after she was forced to live away from home to avoid the persecution. She was given another two-year labor camp term. When she was incarcerated in the Baimalong Women’s Forced Labor Camp, her lower body, legs, feet, and abdomen were swollen as a result of being tortured. She was released when she was on the verge of death. She was only 59 years old when she passed away on August 18, 2010.

Case 6: Ms. Jiang Meilan Tortured to Death in a Brainwashing Center

Ms. Jiang Meilan was arrested at home by officers from the Xintian County Domestic Security Office on September 7, 2012. After 23 days at the Hunan Changsha Legal Education and Training Center, she was on the verge of death. Her family took her to the hospital on October 1, 2012. Her body was covered with bruises. Her mouth was severely injured, and so were her internal organs. Her lower body was bleeding. Her condition was critical and she died the next day. She was 65.

Death Cases in Heilongjiang Province

Heilongjiang Province is one of the provinces where the CCP has persecuted Falun Gong practitioners most severely. Chen served as Deputy Secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee and director of the Provincial Comprehensive Management Committee from April 2013 to March 2016. At least 30 Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted to death in Heilongjiang Province during this period.

Case 7: Ms. Xiang Xiaobo Dies from Torture and Drug Administration

Ms. Xiang Xiaobo was arrested on September 10, 2012, and given two years of forced labor. At the Heilongjiang Provincial Drug Rehabilitation Labor Camp, she was held in solitary confinement, handcuffed behind her back, forced to sit on a small bench motionless for hours, and deprived of sleep. She also became mentally disoriented after toxic drugs were administered to her. The authorities didn’t release her until her family repeatedly demanded it. She died in extreme pain on February 20, 2014. She was only 55.

Case 8: Mr. Zhu Jinrui Tortured to Death in Beian Prison

Mr. Zhu Jinrui, then 44, was arrested in January 2013. He was later sentenced to four years in Beian Prison. He was still in good health when he called his wife on April 23, 2014. Thirteen days later, on the evening of May 6, the prison informed his family that Mr. Zhu died of a sudden myocardial infarction. When his family changed his clothes, they found blood oozing in his mouth and suspected that he was beaten to death.

Case 9: Mr. Feng Xue Dies After Being Denied Medical Parole by the Prison

Mr. Feng Xue and his wife, Ms. Guan Shuli were arrested on December 6, 2013. They were sentenced to 9 and 11 years in prison respectively. Mr. Feng suffered from severe intracranial infarction and heart disease before his arrest, yet the Hulan Prison still admitted him. He received some medical treatment while he was imprisoned, but his condition kept deteriorating.

His family applied for medical parole for him in February 2015, but their request was rejected by the prison, with the excuse that he didn’t meet the requirements. His condition became critical on the afternoon of August 10, 2015. He was already dead by the time the prison took him to the hospital. He was only 47 years old.

Death Cases in Henan Province

When Chen was governor of Henan Province and Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, he called for “severe crackdowns on cult organizations” in his work reports. At least 17 Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted to death in Henan Province during this period.

Case 10: Mr. Yang Zhongsheng Tortured to Death

Mr. Yang Zhongsheng, then 38, was arrested on April 10, 2016, and held in the Zhengzhou City No. 3 Detention Center. He was tortured to death several days later. According to his family who saw his body, the top of his head was swollen. His ears and nose were plugged with cotton to prevent the blood from oozing out. Because his body had been frozen, his mouth could not be opened. Only his four front teeth could be seen and they were clearly fake and had been installed recently. His nails on both hands were black and blue, and his genitals were burned.

Case 11: Ms. Chai Yulan Dies from Cancer Developed While in Custody

Ms. Chai Yulan was arrested on April 19, 2016, by Mengzhou City Domestic Security Office officers. She was tortured in the detention center until her spine was fractured and one of her ribs was broken. She was in so much pain that she could not eat. She was soon reduced to skin and bones. She developed bone cancer, which metastasized throughout her body. When she was dying she was taken to the hospital, still in handcuffs and shackles. She died on March 23, 2017. She was 62.

Case 12: Mr. Zheng Xianjin Develops Throat Cancer While Imprisoned for His Faith, Dies Months After Release on Medical Parole

Because he refused to give up his faith, Mr. Zheng Xianjin, a former businessman in Huaiyang City, Henan Province, was repeatedly arrested and spent nearly 13 years behind bars, including one labor camp term and two prison terms. He and his wife, Ms. Wang Haomei, were last arrested in July 2016 and both were sentenced to five years in prison.

While serving time at Xinmi Prison, Mr. Zheng’s health declined quickly and he developed throat cancer. He was released on medical parole towards the end of 2018. As most of his savings and personal assets were confiscated during numerous police raids, he couldn’t afford medical treatment and struggled to care for himself at home alone. He passed away on August 11, 2019, while his wife was still incarcerated in the Xinxiang Women’s Prison.

Death Cases in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

Chen served as Secretary of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Party Committee from October 2019 to March 2022. During his tenure, at least five practitioners, Mr. Song Laiping, Ms. Zhang Lanfang, Mr. Huang Yunlong, Ms. Wang Xiaohui, and Mr. Xie Nanfang, were persecuted to death.

Case 13: Mr. Song Laiping Subjected to Involuntary Medication in Custody, Dies Eighteen Months After Prison Release

Mr. Song Laiping of Wuzhong City, Ningxia Province, was arrested in April 2018 and was soon released on bail. After he was taken back into custody four months later, his family was only allowed to see him once in March 2019 before he was transferred from the local detention center to the prison, until he was released.

Before he was arrested, Mr. Song was energetic and strong. He moved quickly and his mind was sharp. When he was released on February 10, 2020, he was emaciated and moved slowly. He also could not think clearly. He often staggered and was very irritable. When he had an attack of rage, he smashed things and was incontinent. At first, the attacks of rage happened once every ten days. But as his condition worsened, he sometimes suffered an episode once every two days or even daily. According to his very limited recollection, Mr. Song was administered unknown drugs throughout his term. They also verbally abused him and starved him.

Mr. Song eventually succumbed to the damage caused to his body. He passed away on July 31, 2021. He was 69.