(Minghui.org) On the 25th anniversary since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress Falun Gong in July 1999, practitioners from 44 countries submitted a new list of perpetrators to their respective governments, asking them to bar the perpetrators and their family members from entry and freeze their overseas assets according to the law.
Among the perpetrators listed was Chen Wenqing, secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), member of the Political Bureau of the CCP’s Central Committee, and secretary of the CCP Central Secretariat.
Perpetrator Information
Full Name of Perpetrator: Chen (last name) Wenqing (first name)Chinese Name: 陈文清Gender: MaleDate/Year of Birth: January 1960Place of Birth: Renshou County, Sichuan Province
Title or Position
January 1998 – April 2002: director and Party secretary of Sichuan Provincial State Security Department, deputy secretary-general of the Provincial Government (September 1998)
April 2002 – August 2006: prosecutor general of Sichuan Provincial People’s Procuratorate
August 2006 – May 2011: member of the Standing Committee of Fujian Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection
May 2011 – September 2011: deputy secretary of Fujian Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection
September 2011 – November 2012: deputy secretary of Fujian Provincial Party Committee
November 2012 – April 2015: deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
April 2015 – November 2016: secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of State Security
November 2016 – May 2018: secretary of the Party Committee and Minister of the Ministry of National Security, member of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee
May 2018 – October 2022: deputy director of the Office of the Central National Security Commission, secretary of the Party Committee and minister of the Ministry of National Security, member of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee
October 2022 – Present: secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee
Main Crimes
Persecution of Falun Gong in Sichuan Province
On January 15, 2003, as the chief prosecutor and Party secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Procuratorate, Chen presented a work report at the first session of the 10th Sichuan Provincial People’s Congress and declared the goal to crack down on Falun Gong “without mercy.” On February 14, 2004, at the second session of the 10th Sichuan Provincial People’s Congress, he reported the “achievement” of approving the arrests of 150 Falun Gong practitioners and indicting 184 practitioners.
Mr. Zhao Yong, of Bazhong City, Sichuan Province, was arrested in April 2002 in Chengdu City and detained in the Pi County Detention Center. He was sentenced to ten years in prison in March 2003, by the Jinjiang District Court. He suffered brutal torture in the detention center and was released on the verge of death on August 6, 2003. He died weeks later on August 31, 2003. He was 32 years old.
Persecution of Falun Gong During Chen’s Tenure in the Central PLAC
The Central PLAC that oversees the public security and judicial systems has been the main command system for the persecution of Falun Gong since 1999.
Since Chen became the secretary of the Central PLAC in October 2022, he continues to implement the persecution policy against Falun Gong, which is to “ruin their reputations, destroy them physically, and bankrupt them financially.” The practitioners who were beaten to death were to be counted as having committed suicide.
In the short period between October 2022 and June 2024, at least 295 death cases of Falun Gong practitioners were reported, including 17 cases in 2022, 209 cases in 2023, and 69 cases in the first half of 2024. The deceased practitioners ranged in age between 23 and 93. At least 23 of them died while still in custody.
In addition, another 1,742 sentencing cases were reported, including 107 cases from October to December 2022, 1,188 in 2023, and 447 in the first half of 2024. Mr. Wang Liqun of Qingyang City, Gansu Province, was sentenced to twelve years around November 2023. In the same month, Ms. Ma Yun, a 59-year-old Heilongjiang Province, resident, was handed down an eight-year term with a 20,000-yuan fine.
Also between October and December 2022, 669 arrest cases and 1,221 harassment incidents were reported. In 2023, 3,629 arrests and 2,885 harassment cases were reported, and in the first half of 2024, 1,470 practitioners were arrested and 1,244 harassed.
The persecution cases took place across China. Among the targeted practitioners, some were taken to brainwashing centers, some had their homes ransacked, some were forced to live away from home, and some reported having their biometrics collected against their will, including blood and urine samples, fingerprints, footprints, and voice and facial features.
Selected Death Cases
Case 1: 30-year-old Former Radio Host Beaten to Death in Prison
A 30-year-old former host of the Sichuan People’s Radio Station was beaten to death on December 2, 2022, while serving a five-year term in Jiazhou Prison, Sichuan Province.
Mr. Pang Xun’s body was covered with bruises from the beating, as well as with marks from electric shocks and being tied up tightly with rope. He had also become incontinent due to the torture. The prison denied having tortured Mr. Pang, claiming that he died of hyperthyroidism.
Mr. Pang was arrested on July 27, 2020, for distributing Falun Gong materials, and later sentenced to five years in Jiazhou Prison.
Late Mr. Pang Xun
Case 2: Sichuan Woman Dies While Serving Five Years
Six months after Ms. Qing Liju was sentenced to five years for her faith in Falun Gong, the once healthy 51-year-old Pengzhou City, Sichuan Province resident died.
Ms. Qing was arrested on March 9, 2021, while distributing Falun Gong informational materials. The arrest came only two years after Ms. Qing was released from serving ten years for her faith.
After Ms. Qing’s arrest, the authorities prohibited her family from visiting her. They were only allowed to deliver clothing to her twice. Later, the detention center also forbade them from delivering any clothes, citing the pandemic as an excuse. The Pengzhou Court sentenced Ms. Qing to five years in the Qionglai Prison on June 21, 2022.
Ms. Qing’s family received a call from the prison on October 1, telling them that she was in serious condition. The family went to the prison that same day and was allowed to have a video chat with her. But when they applied for medical parole for her, the prison refused their application.
Two weeks later, on October 14, the prison called and said that Ms. Qing had been hospitalized. The family went to the prison hospital on October 16 and had another video chat with her. By then, she had become extremely weak and her legs had become severely swollen. The family demanded medical parole for her again, but the prison still refused.
The family had another video chat with Ms. Qing weeks later, and her condition was even worse. When the family made one more request to see her in mid-November, the prison refused again, citing the pandemic lockdown as an excuse.
The last call the family received from the prison was on December 11, when they were told that Ms. Qing was undergoing emergency treatment in the hospital. When they rushed to the hospital, Ms. Qing had already passed away. The doctor told them that when Ms. Qing was transferred from the Zhengcheng Hospital in the morning, she had already stopped breathing.
Case 3: Hubei Woman Dies Days After Being Released from Brainwashing Center
Ms. Zong Ming was arrested on April 18, 2022, near a supermarket, and held at a local brainwashing center. When the brainwashing center staff members ordered her family to pick her up eight months later on December 26, 2022, she was already on the verge of death. She was merely skin and bones. Her hair had turned gray, and she had difficulty talking. Her family took her to the hospital on January 1, 2023, but the doctor refused to treat her. She died in the hospital hours later.
Case 4: 31-year-old Man Dies while Serving 8.5 Years for Practicing Falun Gong
Mr. Jiang Yong, a Changchun City, Jilin Province resident, was arrested on June 28, 2021, and sentenced to 8.5 years in Gongzhuling Prison on the trumped-up charge of “subverting state power.” Even though he was in critical condition from staging a prolonged hunger strike to protest the persecution, the authorities refused to release him on medical parole, citing his refusal to renounce his faith. He died on January 23, 2023, the second day of the Chinese New Year. He was 31 years old.
Case 5: Family Suspects Foul Play in 72-year-old Man’s Sudden Death in Jidong Prison
Mr. Wang Jian, a resident of Zunhua City, Hebei Province, was arrested at home on July 6, 2019, and later sentenced to seven years in prison with a 5,000-yuan fine. He appeared to be fine and in good spirits when his family visited him on March 19, 2023. However, the family received a surprise phone call from the prison on April 3, 2023 with the news of his death. He was 72 years old.
Mr. Wang had large areas of deep bruises around his ears and on his back, as well as some bruises on the back of his right hand. There was a circular mark on his chest and some scratches on his back. When the coroner turned his body over, fluid came out of his left ear.
The prison claimed that Mr. Wang had died suddenly of a disease, but without specifying the disease. To the family, the bruises on Mr. Wang’s head and back seemed unusual, and not caused by a normal disease. They asked if they were caused by torture or other mistreatment that the prison was trying to hide.
Case 6: 69-Year-Old Gansu Woman Dies Weeks After Being Released from Prison on Verge of Death
Ms. Li Fenglan, a Baiyin City, Gansu Province resident, was repeatedly denied medical parole despite her metastatic breast cancer. By the time she was finally released in December 2023, it was too late to treat her condition. She died weeks later, on January 10, 2024, at the age of 69.
Ms. Li was already cancer-stricken when she was admitted to the Gansu Province Women’s Prison on February 27, 2023, to serve a term of one year and eight months. The prison guards took her to a hospital for chemotherapy, but her cancer still metastasized. The guards also tortured her, including by forcing her to stand for extended periods and depriving her of sleep.
Ms. Li’s husband and the prison both requested that she be released on medical parole, but the police in charge of her case rejected the requests on the grounds that she had already been granted parole once back in 2019. They insisted that no more paroles would be allowed for her.
Selected Arrested and Sentencing Cases
Group Arrest in Rizhao City, Shandong Province
On March 3, 2023, the Rizhao City Police Department and the Domestic Security Division launched the “303 Special Project.” About 50 practitioners were arrested on May 12 and 13 as part of the operation. Most were later sentenced to prison. In particular, 21 practitioners, including Ms. Hong Meishuang, Ms. Guo Xin, and Mr. Jiang Haibo, were tried by the Wulian County Court on December 4-6. They were sentenced to one to five and a half years on December 25.
Mr. Ding Yuande and his wife, Ms. Ma Ruimei, were among the practitioners arrested on May 12, 2023. Upon learning of their arrests, their son, who currently resides in Germany, worked tirelessly to secure their release. While Ms. Ma was released in less than two weeks, Mr. Ding remained in custody and was later sentenced to three years.
Group Arrests in Changchun City, Jilin Province
Two group arrests were reported in Jilin Province, with at least 46 practitioners arrested in Changchun City between April and May 2024, and another 35 practitioners arrested in Shulan City on June 5. The arrests in Changchun were orchestrated by the Jilin Province PLAC and its subordinate Changchun City PLAC and 610 Office.
Cancer-stricken Woman, 61, Suffers Continued Health Decline While Serving Second Prison Term for Practicing Falun Gong
Ms. Chen Cuizhu, a 61-year-old Leizhou City, Guangdong Province resident, was sentenced to five years and fined 5,000 yuan in June 2023. She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer soon after she was arrested in September 2022, but the authorities did not offer her any medical treatment until after her trial on May 4, 2023. She was taken back to the Zhanjiang City Detention Center five days after her surgery.
Ms. Chen was transferred to the Guangdong Province Women’s Prison at an unknown date following her sentencing. According to insiders, her hair has now all fallen out. It’s unclear whether this was due to her cancer or chemotherapy (if any). She is also thin and extremely weak. Despite her condition, the prison authorities refused to release her on parole.
Prior to her latest sentencing, Ms. Chen was previously given four years following her arrest in January 2002, also for practicing Falun Gong.
Three Guangdong Residents Sentenced to Prison—One Given Lengthy Term and Fined 500K Yuan
Three Huizhou City, Guangdong Province residents were sentenced on October 27, 2022. Mr. Zhao Tianhua was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 500,000 yuan. Mr. Chen Hualiang and Mr. Lian Yueguang were each given four years with 20,000-yuan fines.
The practitioners were arrested at Mr. Zhao’s home-based private school on May 11, 2021. The police initially charged them with engaging in “illegal business.” As they couldn’t find enough evidence to support the charge, they changed it to “undermining law enforcement with a cult organization,” the standard pretext used to criminalize Falun Gong practitioners. The Falun Gong books confiscated from the practitioners were then used as prosecution evidence against them.
Married Couple Given Heavy Sentences for Their Faith
Ms. Cai Xiuying and her husband, Mr. Zhu Mingdi, of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, were seized during a group arrest of local Falun Gong practitioners in April 2020. They were tried by the Daqing City Court in late December 2022 and soon convicted. Ms. Cai was sentenced to ten years and fined 70,000 yuan. Ms. Zhu was sentenced to nine years and eight months with a 60,000 yuan fine.
The couple appealed but were denied. Ms. Cai was transferred to the Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison on May 15, 2023, and Mr. Zhu is still being held in the Daqing City Detention Center.
45-Year-Old Jilin Woman Secretly Sentenced to 3.5 Years, Family Not Notified of Her Conviction Until After Prison Admission
Ms. Zhao Guokun, a 45-year-old resident of Jilin City, Jilin Province, was sentenced to three and a half years on April 15, 2024. Her family, however, was not notified of her wrongful conviction until after she was admitted to the Jilin Province Women’s Prison. They still do not know which procuratorate indicted her or which court sentenced her, as the police and the judicial system gave them no updates on her case status. The prison was instructed to only inform them of her jail term.
Ms. Zhao is not the only one in her family who was targeted for practicing Falun Gong. Her brother, Mr. Zhao Guoxing, around 52, was previously held in a labor camp for three years and jailed for ten years. Their mother, Ms. Li Yan, passed away at the age of 61 on February 5, 2012, after succumbing to the fear and mental distress stemming from the persecution.
The Zhao siblings were most recently arrested together with their father, Mr. Zhao Xudong, on May 4, 2023, and released on bail soon after. Mr. Zhao Xudong died on August 10, 2023, ten days after being harassed at home by the police. He was 77 years old. Ms. Zhao was taken back into custody on December 6, 2023, and later secretly sentenced to prison.
Involvement in Spreading Propaganda Campaign Against Falun Gong
In addition to his involvement in arresting and sentencing the practitioners, Chen also participated in spreading the propaganda campaign against Falun Gong.
In April 2023, under the guidance of the Central PLAC and the Fourth Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, a series of “Anti-Cult Awareness Education” events were held in the rural areas across China. The events involved pamphlet distribution and display of poster boards and banners with content smearing Falun Gong.
On April 14, 2023, the so-called “National Security Education Day” with the theme of “Anti-Cult Education” took place in Beijing. Leaders from the Central PLAC, the Ministry of Public Security, the Beijing Municipal PLAC, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, and the Beijing Anti-Cult Association, attended the event.
Moreover, the Central PLAC also funded multiple online propaganda campaigns. For example, the Guangdong Provincial PLAC spent 1.9 million yuan to establish the “Guangdong Provincial Anti-Cult Warning Education Online Base” in collaboration with the Southern News Network, aimed at disseminating false information against Falun Gong.
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