July 5, 2001

China and a human rights group said yesterday that followers of the outlawed Falun Gong [group] hanged themselves in a mass suicide at a prison camp. But followers of the [group], banned in China, said the inmates were tortured to death.

Reports of the number of dead ranged from three to 16, with the number differing even among Chinese government officials.

[...]

But Falun Gong followers denied it was suicide, saying at least 15 followers were beaten to death at Wanjia on or around June 20.

Yesterday, about 30 Falun Gong members protested outside the Chinese government office in Hong Kong, calling on the United Nations to investigate the deaths. Small groups also mounted a demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in Stockholm and the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. In Canada, practitioners gathered outside Chinese consulates across the country on Tuesday to protest against the deaths.

Sharon Xu, a Falun Gong spokeswoman in Hong Kong, cast doubt on the official report of suicide, saying prisoners are watched around the clock in labour camps. "There's no way they could be allowed to have the opportunity to even find anything to hang themselves."

[...]

The State Council spokesman identified the three dead as Zhao Yayun, 53; Zhang Yulan, 54; and Li Xiuqin, 60. All three women were from Heilongjiang, he said.

Falun Gong identified Ms. Zhao, Ms. Zhang and Ms. Li as among the dead. The group said Ms. Zhang's family saw her body on June 23 and observed deep marks on her neck. Ms. Zhao's body had strangulation marks on the neck, bruises on the back and shoulders, and finger marks on the face, it said.

During China's two-year crackdown on the spiritual movement, thousands of followers have been sent to labour camps where, China says, they are counseled to break ties with Falun Gong.

[...]

Falun Gong says that its teachings forbid all forms of killings, including suicide, and that Beijing is running a smear campaign against it. The group says 250 followers have died in the crackdown since July of 1999, more than half of them in the past six months. The Information Center for Human Rights says it has confirmed 153 deaths.