(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong is an ancient practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Since first being made public in China by Mr. Li Hongzhi in May 1992, it quickly spread to more than 100 countries around the world and brought physical and mental health to over 100 million people. The practice has received over 1500 awards and proclamations worldwide.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Jiang's regime began persecuting Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. During the past 12 years of persecution, the CCP has employed many methods of inhuman and brutal torture. Over 3,428 deaths of Falun Gong practitioners have been documented. The actual death toll well exceeds this, as getting such information out of China is extremely difficult and dangerous for those who report such cases. Other organizations (NGOs, Matas and Kilgour, etc.) estimate that the deaths of Falun Gong practitioners number in the tens of thousands. In addition, hundreds of thousands of practitioners have been sent to jails and forced labor camps. Several thousand have been forced into mental hospitals and given injections that destroy the central nervous system, and countless practitioners have been sent to brainwashing centers. Many were forced to become homeless in order to avoid persecution. Countless numbers of practitioners are harassed and monitored, and their families restricted to varying degrees. The CCP pushes the persecution to a fanatical extreme.

This article provides a few statistics on the 3,428 documented death cases that the Minghui website received from July 1999 to March 2011. The average number of deaths is 24 per month. Behind the numbers, one can see that the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners that is being carried out by the Chinese Communist regime is systematic, brutal, and secretive.

Graph 1: Total number of deaths of Falun Gong practitioners each year from July 1999 to March 2011 (incomplete statistics)

Death Cases Spread Out All Over the Country

These death cases of Falun Gong practitioners are spread out over 31 provinces and autonomous regions in China. The provinces with the highest number of deaths in decreasing order are Heilongjiang, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin, Shandong, Sichuan, and Hubei.

Graph 2: Distribution of deaths of Falun Gong practitioners by province from July 1999 to March 2011 (incomplete statistics)

The CCP fabricates rumors and falsifies facts to defame Falun Gong and deceive the world's people. It tries hard to cover up the brutality of the persecution. From central to local government, the persecution is carried out in a systematic way. The 610 Office is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

Jiang Zemin, the previous CCP leader, issued many secret orders, including, "Deaths of Falun Gong practitioners from beatings is nothing and shall be counted as suicide," "The body shall be directly cremated without investigating the person's identity," "Defame their reputations, bankrupt them financially, destroy them physically." The 610 Office enforces these policies. In some of the death cases, the perpetrators who participated in the persecution frequently mentioned the policy of “Death of Falun Gong practitioners from beatings is nothing.”

Du Jie, head of the Political Security Office of Gongyi City Police Department, instructed police to mercilessly beat Mr. Chang Baoli. Du Jie shouted, "Beating one to death won't matter, since it will be counted as a suicide." Twenty-year-old Mr. Chang was beaten to death on the very first day. (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/3/31/46600.html)

Mr. Lu Xingguo, 45, was a Falun Gong practitioner from Shanghai. On October 15, 2003, he was beaten to death in No. 3 Forced Labor Camp in the Qingpu District, Shanghai. Xiang Jianzhong, head of the ward, said, "I have orders from above (to torture and “transform” Falun Gong practitioners). A 5% mortality rate is normal for the prison, so the death of a practitioner is nothing. We don't care." (http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/11/22/121550.html)

Women and the Elderly Rank High in Proportion Among the Deaths

Of these deaths, 53 percent or 1,841 of the victims were women (Graph 3), and 62 percent or 1,932 of the victims were over 50 years of age (Graph 4). The average age of death is 53. There were even teenagers among the victims.

Graph 3: Deaths of Falun Gong practitioners from July 1999 to March 2011 broken down by sex (incomplete statistics)

Picture 4: Distribution of deaths of Falun Gong practitioners by age from July 1999 to March 2011 (incomplete statistics)

Ms. Song Yaqin from Yanji City, Jilin Province, was 77 years old. In 2009, Ms. Song visited the Helong City Police Department to request the release of her injured son. The police pushed her down, dragged her down the stairs, and violently beat her. After that and up until her death, Ms. Song suffered from incontinence and her health diminished day by day. She passed away on the morning of July 18, 2010. Ms. Song had been subjected to mistreatment many times. In the summer of 2002, she was arrested while handing out leaflets about Falun Gong in the Wenmiao Market. Officers handcuffed her hands, brutally beat her, and hung her up by her handcuffs, causing the metal to cut deeply into her flesh, leaving permanent scars on her wrists. (http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/8/11/119184.html)

Re-enactment photo: Hung up by handcuffs

Torture – The Major Cause of Death of Falun Gong Practitioners

Among the 3,428 death cases, most of the victims were subjected to brutal physical torture. Some were killed in a short time or even on the same day. Some were detained and tortured several times, and died after long-term suffering.

The persecution was carried out at police stations, detention centers, labor camps, and prisons. More than 40 torture methods are used to brutalize Falun Gong practitioners. These include: Deprivation of sleep for many days; shocking with multiple high-voltage electric batons at the same time (the body parts shocked include mouth, head, face, chest, breasts, other private parts, and others); various kinds of handcuffs and shackles and being hung up; different kinds of sticks, clubs and whips including rubber clubs, spiked sticks, leather whips, copper wire whips, steel bars, etc.; hammering bamboo sticks and metal nails into the practitioners' fingers so deeply that they touch bone; pinching the practitioners' flesh with pliers; force-feeding pepper water, concentrated salt water, and feces through a large-diameter plastic tube; pouring cold water all over the practitioners during the winter; stripping the practitioners of their clothes and throwing them outside; forcing them to stand under the sun in the heat of summer; burn them with hot iron rods; denial of restroom use; injection of various drugs to attack the nervous system; etc. Among the death cases, more than 20 victims were cremated while they were still breathing.

Examples:

1. Mr. Huang Cheng from Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, was brutally tortured by officials from Panjin Prison and the Taihe Public Security Bureau in Jinzhou. Police tortured him by using ten large medical needles to puncture his fingers between the nails and the flesh. They also wrapped electrical wire around him and used electric batons to shock and torture him for three hours non stop. He ended up in critical condition. On February 24, 2011, he died at the age of 56. (http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/3/26/124052.html)

Re-enactment photo: Puncturing fingers with large needles

2. Mr. Li Guang was a TV program host employed by the Laizhou City TV Station in Shandong Province. On December 3, 2004, he was tortured to death in Huaibei Prison by guards Xu Haiming, Wang Xiyun, and others. They brutally tortured him, shocking him 40 times with electric batons. Each torture session lasted three to four hours, and up to seven batons were used, causing his neck to swell as thick as his head. Hot water was poured on his arms and over his neck, and he was covered with burns. Aluminum wire was twisted tightly around his penis so that he could not urinate. (http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/11/25/115213.html)

3. Mr. Wang Houge was a villager from Xiabao Village, Luqiao Town in Huanghua City, Hebei Province. He was subjected to many types of cruel torture during his three years of detention in Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp. He was tortured "tying the ropes" three times in the same day. Long-term torture reduced Mr. Wang to a very weak condition. He was diagnosed with high blood pressure and heart disease and was later diagnosed with tuberculosis. He lost three quarters of his lung capacity and also had other diseases. Mr. Wang died in May 2005 at the age of 39. (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/6/26/62282.html)

Re-enactment photo: Tying the ropes

The CCP Tries to Cover Up These Murders by Falsifying the Cause of Death as Suicide or Illness

The CCP consistently denies any responsibility or provides no explanations about the deaths of Falun Gong practitioners. Actually, in order to avoid responsibility, practitioners are usually released once their conditions become critical, bodies are quickly cremated to destroy evidence, families are threatened, news is concealed, and the murders are covered up by falsely reporting that the deaths were from suicide or illness. All these evildoings damage the reputations of deceased practitioners and have caused families great distress.

Examples:

1. Mr. Peng Guangjun, 55, was from Houqiaoxin Village, Qiaoxin Town, the Huairou District, Beijing. He suffered violent beatings, electric shock, and sleep deprivation. He was tortured to death in Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp on January 24, 2004. His dead body, including his face, was covered with black and bleeding bruises. His face had signs of burns from electric shock. Some of his bones had been broken. The labor camp authorities claimed that Mr. Peng died of a heart attack. Mr. Peng's family members requested an autopsy, but the officer in charge threatened them by telling them they would lose their jobs. Mr. Peng's family was forced to compromise under pressure. Mr. Peng's body was cremated afterwards. (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/9/24/52762.html)

2. Mr. Jiang Yiyun, 59, was a farmer from Taiping Town, Jiangyou City, Sichuan Province. Several police officers from Jiangyou State Security Bureau tortured him to death and discarded his body in the woods on May 17, 2005. The police then spread rumors that Mr. Jiang had committed suicide. There were severe injuries on his head and face, and his body was covered with wounds from torture, making it clear that he had been tortured to death. The police would not allow the family to take the body. Instead, they shipped the body to a crematory for cremation that same morning. (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/6/9/61669.html)

Re-enactment photo: Severe beating

3. Mr. Ding Gangzi, 47, was from Chengguan Township, Zanhuang County, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. He died in Zanhuang County Detention Center in June 2001. He was abused in many ways, including beatings, being handcuffed behind his back, wearing foot shackles, being shocked with electric batons, and not being provided enough food. The guards ignored him when he was in critical condition. On June 11, 2001, the guards took his corpse, still in handcuffs and foot shackles, to the county hospital, falsely claiming that he needed emergency treatment. Medical personnel at the hospital wanted to send the corpse straight to the morgue, since they determined that Mr. Ding had died days prior and that his corpse was decayed and attracting flies. However, the police forced the doctors to "treat" him and give him infusions. The doctors pretended to "treat" the patient and "diagnosed" the cause of death “no breath, no heartbeat, and no returned blood during the transfusion.” They then sent Mr. Ding to the morgue. The police also forced the doctors to provide false evidence by filling out a report claiming Mr. Ding "died after failed emergency treatment" in order to conceal the truth of their crimes. The police suppressed the news of Mr. Ding's death and did not even notify his family of his death. When Mr. his family learned about his sudden death and rushed to the hospital, they were not allowed to see Mr. Ding's body. (http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2001/6/19/12279.html)

Psychological Abuse--Another Cause of Death

Among the death cases, some practitioners died from psychological abuse. These practitioners usually had illnesses prior to practicing and became physically healthy after practicing Falun Gong. However, they were harassed and threatened to such a degree after the persecution began on July 20, 1999, that their illnesses reoccurred. People then think that they died from their illnesses. In fact, their deaths were caused by the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong. The CCP has incessantly stirred up the Chinese people's hatred of Falun Gong. This has also caused great pressure from society.

Examples:

1. Mr. Feng Min, 75, was from the Nankai District of Tianjin. He had previously undergone heart bypass surgery before practicing Falun Gong and was in poor health. In 1994, his health greatly improved when he began practicing Falun Gong. He was harassed and threatened by local police many times since July 20, 1999. He died in 2004. (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/12/29/56054.html)

2. Tang Shiyu was a student at Fucun Elementary School, Dandong City, Liaoning Province. In 1995, the hospital claimed he had only six months to live due to heart disease he had suffered since early childhood. After he started practicing Falun Gong in 1996, his health had improved, and he was able to go to school. After the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong, Tang's home was ransacked five times. He was detained once and his parents were imprisoned. He was under great pressure and suffered psychological pain, which caused his heart disease to recur. He died on April 25, 2005, at the age of 15. (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/5/17/60859.html)

Addendum:

Many other torture methods are used in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, including brainwashing, injection of poisonous drugs, and even organ harvesting. Some practitioners were killed in shockingly inhuman ways. The brutal persecution of Falun Gong continues today.