(Minghui.org) Beijing has played a critical role in sustaining the Chinese civilization as a capital city since 1403 during the Ming Dynasty. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took power in 1949, however, it has become a place where countless policies and orders were issued to wipe out traditional values and suppress people.
This is especially the case with the persecution of Falun Gong, a meditation system based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. After former CCP leader Jiang Zemin decided to suppress Falun Gong in April 1999, he formed the extralegal agency, the 610 Office, on June 10 that year and openly launched a nationwide persecution months later, on July 20. The 610 Office has since directed law enforcement and judicial departments to arrest and prosecute Falun Gong practitioners.
During the past 21 years, a large number of innocent practitioners have been harassed, detained, imprisoned, and tortured for their belief. Many have also been subjected to psychiatric abuse and even organ harvesting. Based on information collected by the Minghui website, over 4,500 practitioners have lost their lives as a result of the persecution. Due to the Internet blockade and censorship in China, the real numbers are likely much higher.
Despite the tireless efforts on the part of the practitioners to explain what Falun Gong is and debunk the CCP’s lies against Falun Gong, some people, including police officers and government officials, still chose to act against their conscience and blindly follow the persecution order.
There is a Chinese proverb, “Good is rewarded with good, and evil meets evil,” which is similar to the Western belief that one shall be held accountable for their actions. It is unfortunate that many perpetrators involved in the persecution of Falun Gong have faced dire consequences. This article presents a collection of cases that happened in Beijing. We hope it serves as a kind reminder to those who are still following the CCP to persecute Falun Gong.
The collection of cases concerned 527 people, including 163 from the justice system (namely, police, Procuratorate, and court), 119 from high-level government agencies, 89 from state-owned and private entities, 89 from low-level government agencies, and 67 from the 610 Office and the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), an extrajudicial agency given power to work with the 610 Office to oversee the persecution of Falun Gong.
The following are some examples concerning those in the 610 Office and PLAC.
Luo Gan, former Secretary of Central PLAC (1998-2007), was sued for his involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong in numerous countries.
Liu Jing, former director of the Central 610 Office (2001-2009), was sued for his involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong in numerous countries.
Li Lanqing, founding member and head of Central 610 Leadership Team (1999-2002), was sued for his involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong in Paris, France.
Zhou Yongkang, former head of Central 610 Leadership Team (2007-2012), was convicted of bribery, abuse of power, and other crimes in 2015, and sentenced to a life sentence.
Li Dongsheng, former director of the Central 610 Office (2009-2013), was sentenced to a 15-year imprisonment in 2016.
Wang Maolin, former director of the Central 610 Office (1999-2001), was sued overseas for his involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong.
Jiang Chunwang, former deputy leader of the Central 610 Leadership, was sued overseas for his involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong.
Zhang Wenyi, former member of the 610 Office in National Radio and Television Administration, died of liver cancer.
Guo Chuanjie, former Deputy Director of the 610 Office at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was sued overseas for his involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong.
Ding Guangen, former head of the Central 610 Leadership Team, was sued overseas for his involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong and died in July 2012.
Furthermore, 20 top Chinese officials who participated in the suppression of Falun Gong also reportedly faced consequences. Here are some examples.
Jiang Zemin, former CCP top leader who launched the persecution in 1999, was sued in many countries for launching the persecution of Falun Gong. Several of his deputies were also sued overseas for their involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong, including Zeng Qinghong, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Wu Guanzheng, Zhang Dejiang, Liu Yunshan, Zhang Gaoli, and Wang Yusheng.
Xu Jie, former deputy director of China’s Appeal Center (also known as the State Bureau for Letters and Calls), was sentenced to a 13-year prison term in 2015.
Yi Junqing, former director of the Compilation and Translation Bureau of the Central Committee, was investigated in 2013 and dismissed from his positions.
Su Rong, a former vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was investigated in 2014 and sentenced to life in prison.
Numerous officers in the Chinese military and news media organizations also played crucial roles in implementing the persecution policy. Some of them have also been known to have faced consequences.
Xu Caihou, former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, was investigated in 2014 and died of bladder cancer in 2015.
Guo Boxiong, former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, was sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery in 2016.
Gu Junshan, former deputy director of the PLA General Logistics Department, was convicted in 2015 and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.
Chen Zhili, former Chinese Minister of Education, was sued when visiting Tanzania in 2004 and was summoned to appear in court.
Fang Jing, former news anchor of CCTV who repeatedly defamed Falun Gong through various programs, died in 2015.
Chen Hong, former deputy director of CCTV’s Social Topics Division, was one of the producers for the defamatory program on the staged Self-Immolation Incident. He died of cancer in 2008.
Luo Jing, a former news anchor on CCTV, was probably one of the worst figures in the agency who slandered Falun Gong after the suppression started in 1999. He died of lymphoma with oral ulcers in 2009.
Zhao Puchu, former president of the pro-CCP Buddhist Association of China, openly defamed Falun Gong on many occasions. He died in Beijing in May 2000.
Ye Xiaowen, director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, actively participated in the suppression of Falun Gong. He was sued overseas for his involvement in the persecution.
Liu Haiyang, the former deputy of Reconnaissance Command Center at the National Security Agency, followed the persecution policy closely after the persecution began in July 1999. He was rewarded for his active involvement in the persecution in March 2000. After being diagnosed with bone lymphoma in 2002, he suffered three years in pain and died in 2005 at age 50.
Liu Lijun, Party secretary of Dongshao Town in Miyun County, actively participated in the suppression of Falun Gong. Many practitioners were detained and sent to labor camps, prisons, or brainwashing centers under his directive. In early 2006, Liu was diagnosed with late-stage esophageal cancer. The one-year-long treatment failed and he died at age 45.
Sun Shuying was a resident in Mujiayu Town, Miyun County. One day in 2008 she went to the local police station and reported a practitioner in her village. On her way back home later that day, she was chased by a swarm of wasps. When rushing to dodge it, she bumped into a wall. Her face was bloodied, and she fainted.
After regaining consciousness, Sun said she knew the incident happened because she turned in an innocent practitioner to the police. “I will not do such bad things again,” she said.