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Report: Atrocities in China (I): Victims Died from Torture in the Persecution of Falun Gong in China [Clearwisdom Editor's note: This report was submitted to the 60th
United Nations Human Rights Commission in April, 2004. For the full report,
please see http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/AtrocitiesInChina1.pdf] Compiled By World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of
Falun Gong April 2004 Preface We have compiled this collection of cases of victims who died from torture
for their belief to commemorate them and to appeal to the people of the world. We particularly appeal to the international communities and request
investigation of this systematic, ongoing, egregious violation of human rights
committed by the Government of the People's Republic of China against Falun
Gong. Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a traditional Chinese spiritual
practice that includes exercise and meditation. Its principles are based on the
values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. The practice began in China
in 1992 and quickly spread throughout China and then beyond. By the end of 1998,
by the Chinese government's own estimate, there were 70 - 100 million people in
China who had taken up the practice, outnumbering Communist Party member.
Despite the fact that it was good for the people and for the stability of the
country, former President JIANG Zemin launched in July 1999 an unprecedented
persecution of Faun Gong out of fears of losing control. Today the persecution of Falun Gong still continues in China. As of the end
of March 2004, 918 Falun Gong practitioners have been confirmed to die from
persecution. More than 100,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been detained and
imprisoned. Those who openly express and practice their belief are met with
torture, arbitrary arrests and detention. Forced Labor camps, mental hospitals,
state-owned media and the law have been misused as tools of severe human rights
violations. Forced labor and selling organs of executed prisoners are still
common. These violations have been extensively documented in numerous reports of the
United Nations and international human rights organizations. Such reports
include those issued by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention,
United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, by
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Questions of Torture, by the United
Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions,
just to name a few. The cases documented in this collection are violations of some deeply held
and universally acknowledged human rights that include the right to not be
arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned and deprived of life; the right to not be
subjected to torture and genocide; the right to hold and exercise views and
beliefs freely and without interference; the right to liberty and security of
the person; and the right to associate with others and to practice religious and
spiritual beliefs without restriction. These rights are enshrined in a number of widely ratified international
treaties. Among the specific human rights treaty standards violated by the
Chinese Government are the Convention Against Torture, the Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the Genocide Convention, and the United Nations Charter. Many
of these same standards are embodied in customary international law and in jus
cogens, as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The exercise by the victims of these internationally recognized human rights,
enshrined in both treaty and customary international law, and universally
recognized as part of the law of nations, has been seriously and maliciously
abridged by the policies and actions of the Chinese Government under JIANG Zemin
and his cohorts acting under color of law and in their official and
quasi-official capacities, clearly outside the scope of their lawful and
legitimate authority. This submission represents tireless and heroic efforts by numerous
individuals and human rights organizations during the past four years. The
details of violations contained herein, particularly the circumstances of
deaths, are based primarily on accounts of eyewitnesses who are victims
themselves, relatives and friends of victims, neighbors, co-workers,
journalists, and Chinese Government officials including policemen who wanted to
put an end to the persecution. Our sources in China have taken tremendous risks
in collecting and passing to us information to be included in this submission. We are ready to provide detailed information to assist investigations by
international organizations, information that includes names, telephone numbers,
addresses and other information identifying and locating the perpetrators. World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong is a
U.S.-based non-profit organization with the mission to bring human rights
violators to justice. It is focused on investigating and publishing human rights
violations against Falun Gong. www.upholdjustice.org TABLE OF CONTENTS I. FACTS OF PERSECUTION
II. DETAILED CASES OF TORTURE RELATED DEATHS BEIJING HEBEI PROVINCE HEILONGJIANG PROVINCE GUANGDONG PROVINCE JILIN PROVINCE LIAONING PROVINCE SHANDONG PROVINCE III. LIST OF 918 VICTIMS WHO DIED FROM TORTURE
AS OF MARCH 2004 ANHUI PROVINCE (13) Posting date: 4/17/2004 |