April 9, 2001

United Nations, Geneva

In the PRC today, there is nothing more dangerous a woman can do than to believe in Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance, and to practice a set of five meditative exercisesthat is, to practice Falun Gong. This alone means that you might be arrested, jailed, beaten, tortured, sexually abused, raped or even murdered. And this, at the hands of police and government officials, no less. It is hard to imagine that China's [party name omitted] leadership has come to this. Yet tens of millions of women are now subject to these punishments for their peaceful beliefs.

The case of Ms. Chen Zixiu, of Shandong, tells of the terror women practitioners of Falun Gong now face. Consider the following report in the Wall Street Journal last year:

The day before Chen Zixiu died, her captors again demanded that she renounce her faith in Falun Dafa. Barely conscious after repeated jolts from a cattle prod, the 58-year-old stubbornly shook her head. Enraged, the local officials ordered Ms. Chen to run barefoot in the snow. Two days of torture had left her legs bruised and her short black hair matted with pus and blood, said cellmates and other prisoners who witnessed the incident. She crawled outside, vomited, and collapsed. She never regained consciousness, and died on February 21. (Wall Street Journal, 04/20/00)

Amnesty International also reported Ms. Chen's case and many others. To this day, Chinese officials deny all wrongdoing, and claim that she died of a heart attack.

Ms. Chen was one of the tens of millions of women in China who have been denied their most basic rights since July of 1999. Any woman who dares to continue the practice of Falun Gong and refuses to renounce her beliefs becomes a target for abuse. Last year at this time, about 30 practitioners had been reported dead in police custody due to torture. One year later, the number has risen to over 180; among them, about 50% are women. That is a 500% increase in just a year.

Hundreds of first-hand reports document torture. Women are often beaten with various instruments; they are shocked with electric batons, often in the genital areas; they are burned in sensitive areas with cigarette butts; sometimes they are branded with irons. Many have been forced to stand outdoors in as little as their underwearsometimes nakedfor hours in freezing temperatures.

Many women practitioners have also become victims of rape and sexual abuse while detained. Twenty-five-year-old Li Juhua of Hunan Province was detained a few days after the crackdown began. She was taken away by local security forces. She was then brutally gang raped by the security officers themselves. A few days later she went insane from the trauma, and has yet to recover. In other cases, such as at Masanjia Labor camp, women have been stripped naked and thrown into prison cells full of the most violent male criminals, who are then encouraged to rape and abuse the women. The officers from this camp have been commended by officials for these acts, and were sent to other camps to train the staff there in their vicious tactics.

Alarmingly, mothers and pregnant women are not spared. Liu Qiuhong, also of Shandong province was arrested in her home for practicing Falun Gong. While in custody she was soon forced to undergo an abortion, even though she was over eight months pregnant. The aborted child was alive when removed, and could even cry; nobody ever saw the child again.

So what happens to the offenders who abuse these women? In the case of Ms. Chen's murderers, they actually got a promotion. Many officials and policemen are given financial rewards and promotions for treating practitioners extra harshly. President Jiang has ordered that police who beat practitioners to death not be held accountable. This explains why not one single abuse has been reprimanded by the government. This situation can only be called morally repulsive.

These and other incidents suggest that China's leadership, with Jiang Zemin at the helm, has no regard for the rule of law. Right and wrong have become a tangled mess. As Jiang seeks political gain and a lasting name for himself, millions suffer and lives are lost.

The PRC's claim that "human rights in China have never been better" is a mockery of human dignity. It is a chilling reminder that China's officials are deceiving themselves and attempting to deceive others.

Women who practice Falun Gong have persisted in standing up for the truth. This they have shown in the face of horrendous evil. Now, they need the world's help.

We call once again for an immediate end to the ban and persecution of Falun Gong, and demand the release of all practitioners from custody. We ask the United Nations, the media, governments, organizations and individuals to join us in this call.