Mass Arrests - The Chinese Communist Party Intensifies the Persecution of Falun Gong in the Name of Protecting the Olympics

Since the beginning of 2008, the Olympic world has focused its attention--and its concerns--on China. In particular, has the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) fulfilled the promise it made when it applied to host the games to improve human rights? From information collected from China, the Falun Gong related website, Clearwisdom.net, has revealed that the CCP has never ceased human rights violations, nor do they plan to fulfil its promise, but instead are using this "sensitive period" to further suppress human rights, being especially brutal toward Falun Gong practitioners. The Olympics has become an excuse the CCP is using to persecute Falun Gong. This crime should draw the focused attention of international society.

1. Large Numbers of Arrests Taking Place All Over China

According to incomplete statistics on the Clearwisdom website, from January 1st to March 11th, 2008-- only 71 days--there were 1,878 arrests in 29 provinces, cities (referring to the four provincial level cities), and autonomous regions. The specific distribution is as below:

Hebei Province 252, Shandong Province 221, Liaoning Province 218, Heilongjiang Province 194, Beijing City 156, Jilin Province 125, Henan Province 99, Sichuan Province 92, Guangdong Province 85, Tianjin City 58, Hubei Province 51, Shanghai City 45, Anhui Province 34, Jiangxi Province 30, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 30, Zhejiang Province 27, Shaanxi Province 23, Chongqing City 21, Gansu Province 20, Guizhou Province 17, Hunan Province 16, Jiangsu Province 15, Shanxi Province 13, Nixia Hui Autonomous Region 10, Yunnan Province 10, Xingjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 6, Fujian Province 5, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 4, Qinghai Province 1.

a. Large scale arrests in Liaoning Province

On February 25th, 2008, Liaoning Province Police Department planned mass arrests of practitioners in Lingyuan City, Jinzhou City, Huludao City, Chaoyang City, Xingcheng City, Suizhong City, Panjin City, and Jincheng City. Nearly one hundred practitioners were arrested (including family members who visited detained practitioners in Masanjia Labor Camp in Shenyang City); more than ten "truth-clarification" material centers were destroyed; more than 200,000 yuan in cash was confiscated; and printers, computers, and a large amount of printing materials, totaling around half a million yuan, was confiscated.

On February 27th, 2008, agents from the Dehui City 610 Office and Police Department teamed up with Changchun City (both in Jilin Province) Police Department to arrest more than a dozen practitioners in Dehui City. They detained the practitioners in Dehui City Detention Center and brutally tortured them.

b. More than 100 practitioners arrested in Shenzhou City, Hebei Province

Before the Chinese Communist Party 17th Congress, agents from Shenzhou City 610 Office and Police Department cooperated with town and township level police stations and justice bureaus to conduct mass arrests of Falun Gong practitioners, ransack their homes, extort money from them, confiscate their possessions, put them under surveillance, and harass them. They arrested 80 people, including practitioners, their spouses, and non-practitioner friends who were visiting. Some married couples were arrested, leaving their elderly parents and children to fend for themselves.

On the morning of January 3rd, 2008, police questioned people one by one at the Shenzhou City Market, and arrested about 30 practitioners.

2. The Olympics Becomes the CCP's Excuse to Persecute Practitioners

a. The policy of persecuting Falun Gong because of the Olympics goes back to 2005

In early 2005, Deputy Public Safety Minister Liu Jing (male) received orders to eliminate Falun Gong before the Olympics. He passed on this order/plan to public security personnel throughout the entire country. In March of 2007, former CCP Public Safety Minister Zhou Yongkang (male) again issued an order to severely suppress Falun Gong. Soon, large scale arrests took place in many regions all over the country, and the persecution intensified. Man practitioners were detained, sentenced to prison, went missing, or were tortured to death. A large number of them detained in forced labor camps or prisons were treated even more brutally due to this order.

b. Beijing and Qingdao City in Shandong Province - The Terror of "Olympics Security"

Multiple arrests have been taking place in Beijing since the beginning of 2008, and this phenomenon has spread widely to every district and county. According to internal sources, a meeting held in Beijing recently called for a survey of all Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing, and further close monitoring of them during the Olympics. Arrests have taken place in every district and county. From January 1 to March 1, 2008, 156 arrests have been recorded. These 156 practitioners include local residents and those from out of town. Some districts have been tapping practitioners' phones and following practitioners since August 2007 to prepare for the arrests in 2008. Their excuse is that they worry these Falun Gong practitioners will reveal the truth of the persecution during the Olympics.

Shunyi District, located in northeast suburban Beijing, has the biggest airport in China - the Capitol International Airport. The 2008 Beijing Olympic committee chose Shunyi District to hold the boat racing, kayaking, and equestrian competitions, among others. As a result, Shunyi District has quickly become very busy and world class. Under its glamorous appearance (paid for by the taxpayers' money), even worse human rights violations are going on. The district police began issuing orders to "strengthen the attack against Falun Gong" and "detain all Falun Gong practitioners before the Olympics" since the New Year began. Around August 2007, one year before the Olympics, more than 20 violent arrests of Falun Gong practitioners took place in Shunyi District, most in places near Olympic facilities such as Mapo Town, Mulin Town, Beixiaoying Town, Tianzhu Town, Houshayu Township, and the downtown area,.

An Olympic "Sister City," Qingdao in Shandong Province, will host the sailing competitions. The CCP intensified the persecution of Falun Gong in Qingdao, arresting several dozen practitioners.

c. Planning for close monitoring in other regions

At the end of February of 2008, Chang'an County Labor Therapy Center in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, held brainwashing session "to prepare for the Olympics!"

Recently, Gongzhuling City plainclothes police in Jilin Province have begun to monitor Falun Gong practitioners in every work unit and school, gathering data on them.

Shenyang City Railroad Bureau (covering Northeast China) established the CCP Political Judiciary Committee and plans to check Falun Gong practitioners employed by the seven branches to see if they still practice, declaring that they will apply "punishment" accordingly. These seven branches are Shenyang City Branch in Liaoning Province, Changchun City Branch in Jilin Province, Dalian City Branch in Liaoning Province, Jinzhou City Branch in Liaoning Province, Tongliao City in Inner-Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jilin City Branch in Jilin Province, and Tonghua City Branch in Jilin Province.

Police officers from Wulongbei Station in Dandong City, Liaoning Province, received upper level funds amounting to 50,000 yuan, for the purpose of paying rewards those who report on Falun Gong practitioners. Officers from Jiguanshan Police Station of Fengcheng City (county level city under Dandong City) revealed that their superiors passed down an "order to arrest Falun Gong practitioners."

Zibo City 610 Office agents in Shandong Province posted many announcements in each neighborhood administration office and the Zhangdian District CCP Committee office that whoever arrests one Falun Gong practitioner and takes him or her to the 610 Office will earn a 2,000-3,000-yuan reward, while reporting on a practitioner for clarifying the truth will earn 500 to 2,000 yuan.

Pingtang Town Social Safety Committee posted announcements of monetary rewards in Changsha County, Hunan Province, tempting people to report Falun Gong practitioners to the Town 610 Office and police station.

Based on the above facts and the brutal nature of the CCP, it is readily apparent that the CCP does not care about its promise to the international society about improving human rights and will not stop persecuting Falun Gong with the arrival of the Olympics. We hope the rest of the world will pay attention to the persecution going on in China, stop the persecution of innocent people who follow "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," and boycott the Beijing Olympics, which forsakes the Olympic spirit and human values.