Latest Censorship News

CHINA

Updated: 31 October 2000

A delegation of leaders from China's officially recognised churches left China on 21 August to conduct a brief tour of the United States before attending the UN World Millennium Peace Conference in New York 28-31 August. On 16 August, prior to departing Beijing, Master Sheng Hui, vice-chairman of the China Buddhist Association and a member of the delegation, was quoted in the official China Daily describing Falun Gong as '[...] by nature against science, mankind, the government, society, world peace and the fortunes of human beings.'

Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan, head of the China Patriotic Catholic Association, said during a conference in Los Angeles on 22 August that while he was 'encouraged' by the growing number of religious adherents in China, 'it also poses as a major challenge for us when the educational background of the followers are considered.' Without specifically mentioning Falun Gong or other groups, the majority of believers are, he said, women, seniors and the ill-educated who cannot distinguish religion from 'heretical teachings.'

In reference to the growing numbers of China's faithful, Bishop Fu said on 24 August --- the day after a congregation of 130 worshippers from the evangelical Christian Feng Cheng sect were arrested in Henan Province that 'China has entered a golden age for religions.'

Ye Xiaowen, head of China's State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA) said in the official China Daily on 25 August that in the 13 month crackdown on Falun Gong, 151 'hardcore' leaders have been sentenced to prison terms of up to five years. The length of sentences served on the other 129 members was not detailed. The Hong Kong-based Information Centre of Human Rights and Democratic Movements in China claims 450 people have been sentenced through the courts, 600 summarily sent to mental asylums, 10,000 have bypassed the courts and been sent to labour camps for as long us 3 years under police administrative powers, and 20,000 have been held in temporary detention.

On 1 September, Gail Rachlin, spokeswoman at Falun Gong's New York offices, claimed the group had received information from a 'reliable source' in China that the government intends to 'mount a new attempt to wipe out Falun Gong.' The group claims the plan will focus on 'destroying the reputation of Falun Gong completely, exhausting Falun Gong practitioners financially, and eradicating Falun Gong in 3 months.'

During a nation-wide telephone conference between Public Security officials on 28 August, it is alleged officials discussed 'backbone figures' be 'heavily punished.' The group alleges officials discussed executing unrepentant practitioners.

Reports emerged on 6 September of the deaths of 3 more Falun Gong practitioners due to police brutality and mistreatment. Liu Yufeng, 64, from Shandong Province died on 23 July, hours after being released from 2 days temporary police detention. He was arrested on 20 July having taken part in a public demonstration with other Falun Gong members. Liu's family said his body was covered in scars, three ribs were broken as the result of police beatings with an electric baton. Agence France-Presse (AFP) contacted the police station where Liu was held and were told that according to a forensic report, Liu had died from a brain hemorrhage. AFP quoted an officer at the station as saying, 'As to the wounds on his body, his cellmates beat him because he annoyed them by constantly saying how good Falun Gong was. Nobody liked him.' Li Faming, 52, from Gansu Province died in hospital on 10 August after falling from the fourth-floor window of his home. Li was arrested earlier on the same day while handing out Falun Gong leaflets, and police were said to be searching his home and beating him when he fell. Officials from Li's place of work and the police claim he jumped. Ms. Zhang Tieyan, 29, from Heilongjiang Province, died in police cells on 11 August. She was arrested in April having refused to sign a document renouncing her belief in Falun Gong. Her cellmates said Zhang fainted several times in their hot and overcrowded cell, then was seen to be struggling to breathe and suffering convulsions.

New regulations governing the formation and management of qi gong groups such as Falun Gong, were published in the official China Sports Daily on 15 September. The 'Healthful Qi Gong Management Regulations' require all teachers to be registered and certified by sports officials, and to avoid using 'religious language' in their teachings. Groups must be small, dispersed and locally organised, with police permission needed for any activity of more than 200 participants. Groups are banned from using individual's names in their titles, and the words China, Asia, World or Universe.

Two US-based Chinese citizens, Dr. Shean Lin, 30, and his wife, Dr. Du Xiaohua, 29, were arrested at Fuzhou City airport on 5 September when customs officials found Falun Gong literature and CDs in their luggage. The couple had flown to China from Atlanta to visit Dr. Lin's terminally ill father.

The US State Department released its 'Annual Report on Religious Freedom' on 5 September. The report contained strong criticisms of the Chinese government's treatment of religious groups not authorised by the state. Concern was also voiced about the continued and increasing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. A spokesperson for the State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA) was quoted by Xinhua as saying 'Relying solely on rumours and lies to accuse other governments and interfere in internal affairs of other countries is a mistake repeatedly made by the U.S. State Department report. This bad habit should be addressed.'

Falun Gong's offices in New York sent a letter to President Jiang Zemin on 20 September threatening to intensify public demonstrations if more sect members were detained. Copies of the letter were sent to news agencies and posted on the group's website. 'All the Falun Gong followers will go to Tiananmen Square [on 1 October, National Day] to peacefully petition for an end to the crackdown.' The Information Centre of Human Rights and Democratic Movements in China estimates 600 people were detained around the country in the days leading up to 1 October, suspected of intending to travel to Beijing to disrupt official celebrations.

It was reported on 27 September that a further three Falun Gong supporters died as a result of police mistreatment. Ms. Shi Bei, 49, from Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, died on 10 September. Ms. Shi was forcibly admitted to a psychiatric hospital three months previously, after she refused to renounce her beliefs. It is reported she was regularly denied food and given daily injections of an unknown drug. Ms. Liu Hongfeng, 36, vice-principal of an elementary school in Ningxia Province, was found dead in her home on September 16 having hanged herself. Liu was forcibly admitted to a psychiatric hospital in June having refused to renounce her beliefs, but released in July. Tao Hongsheng, 44, an intelligence officer from the Hebei Provincial State Security Bureau, died in a labour camp on 20 September where he was serving a 3 year term. He was arrested in December 1999 when he unfurled a Falun Gong banner on Tiananmen Square. Tao died having been refused medical treatment for diarrhoea and oedema for several weeks. His wife, Yu Fengyun, said 'He couldn't get out of bed for 20 days [...] but the officials wouldn't do anything.'

China's official news agency, Xinhua, published a lengthy commentary on 28 September, accusing Falun Gong, the Vatican, Taiwanese and Tibetan 'splittists', prominent dissidents such as Wei Jingsheng and Harry Wu, and the US government of all conspiring to 'topple' the communist government. Falun Gong in particular came in for some heavy criticism: 'Falun Gong is not only ingratiating itself with Western anti-China forces, but is also ganging up with overseas and domestic pro-democracy groups [...] to form an anti-Communist Party united front which is plotting to overthrow the government.'

Around 350 Falun Gong protestors were arrested on Tiananmen Square during China's National Day celebrations on 1 October. Witnesses say small groups of protestors -- mainly middle-aged women -- started to appear on the square early in the morning. The groups started unfurling banners and chanting slogans, only to be pounced upon by the numerous plain-clothed and uniformed police patrolling the square. By all accounts, the police used excessive violence when arresting protestors. For example, Martin Fackler's report filed to the Associated Press recounts: 'One middle-aged woman, blood running from her mouth, escaped a clutch of officers who grabbed her again, slapping her head and pulling her into a van. As police cleared the square, a woman sprinted across the open space until police kicked her legs out from under her. Once on the paving stones, plainclothes police kicked her.' As soon as one group had been tackled by the police, another would make its presence known elsewhere. The square was cleared for an hour as police tried to restore order -- an embarrassment for the government on the day and in the place where Chairman Mao had declared the People's Republic of China in 1949. Sporadic protests were seen taking place into the evening. Unusually, Xinhua reported on the demonstrations: 'Some stubborn Falun Gong [...] supporters, who illegally disturbed the public order at Tiananmen Square Sunday morning, were taken away by the local police [...] The Square soon resumed its order and tourists continued to enjoy themselves there.'

On 3 October, US State Department spokesman Phillip Reeker said, 'we find very disturbing the reports of China's use of increasingly harsh tactics to repress the Falun Gong spiritual movement. To the best of our knowledge, those detained were engaging in internationally recognized rights to freedom of expression and freedom of conscience. So we will continue to call upon the Chinese government to uphold its obligations under international human rights instruments.'

Despite an unusually heavy police presence in Beijing and around Tiananmen on 5 October, groups of protestors managed to evade detection and proceed to the square. In the ensuing demonstrations, a witness estimated 20 people were arrested. Dana Chung, a spokeswoman in Falun Gong's New York offices, said the demonstrations were arranged for 10:00am by protestors still in Beijing since National Day.

In response to the demonstrations on National Day in particular, Xinhua published a vitriolic commentary condemning Falun Gong in terms heavily laden with political invective. The group was described as a 'politically reactionary force' which 'had to be destroyed', and whose aim was to 'overthrow the People's Republic of China and subvert the socialist system.' The demonstrations, it claimed, had given rise to 'great righteous indignation' among the Chinese people, who have now 'demanded the government and judiciary punish the trouble-makers [...] They cause trouble and they fail. They continue to cause trouble and they will continue to fail right until their destruction [...] They cannot escape the destiny of their inevitable fall [...] If we do not see the political nature of Falun Gong and do not resolutely and properly set about resolving it, this would be a historical error.' The commentary then harked back to the recent success of China's Olympic team in Sydney: 'The gaily coloured five-star red flag was raised on high again and again, and the magnificent national anthem moved people's hearts [...] But as Chinese athletes busted their guts in the arena, and Chinese hearts swelled with pride, Falun Gong organised some people to come and make trouble.'

News emerged on 10 October of the arrest of two men who served legal papers on President Jiang Zemin, seeking compensation and an official apology for the crackdown against Falun Gong. Chu O-ming, 43, a businessman from Hong Kong, and Wang Jie, 39, a cartographer from Beijing, were arrested on 7 September in Beijing, nine days after filing their case with the Supreme People's Procuratorate. It is the first time the group has sought redress in China's courts, accusing President Jiang of 'violating the Constitution and other civil and criminal laws,' and claiming the crackdown against Falun Gong is therefore 'groundless and illegal.' Both men were being held at a police station in Beijing.

Sources: Agence France-Presse. Associated Press. BBC. Cox News Agency.
Hong Kong iMail. Information Centre of Human Rights and Democratic
Movements in China. Reuters South China Morning Post.. Xinhua.