26 Years Later, the Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners Continues

Falun Gong practitioners take part in a parade to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day while calling for an end of the persecution in China, in New York City, on May 10, 2024. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Commentary

This month marks the 26th anniversary of the Chinese communist regime’s brutal persecution of the spiritual practice Falun Gong.

Human rights group Safeguard Defenders recently released data on the detention and sentencing of Falun Gong practitioners between 2008 and 2022. This information starkly illustrates the ongoing persecution of the practice, more than two decades after it was first criminalized under Article 300 “anti-cult” law to discredit the group.

Article 300 of the Criminal Code has been the primary tool for targeting Falun Gong practitioners. This law criminalizes “organizing or exploiting mystic sects or cult organizations, or using superstition to undermine the implementation of the nation’s laws and administrative provisions.” Convictions under this article can result in a maximum sentence of seven years, with no cap for “serious” cases.

The Safeguard Defenders study found that the average jail sentence for an individual convicted under Article 300 was more than five years, more than double the average of 2.3 years for the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, a charge frequently used to persecute dissidents and human rights defenders in China.

The background to the persecution is rooted in the events of July 22, 1999, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officially banned Falun Gong and declared it “a threat to social and political stability” following a peaceful protest in Beijing. The large number of followers, estimated to be in the tens of millions at the time, and their ability to organize large demonstrations, alarmed the Party, prompting the ban. The CCP used Article 300 to target Falun Gong practitioners, leading to their arrest, detention, and lengthy sentencing.

The data collected by Safeguard Defenders reveal a grim picture. Many practitioners died in custody, and others were harvested for their organs, persecuted outside the judicial system, and subjected to detention in labor camps or psychiatric centers. The 610 Office, a secret Party organization established in June 1999 to oversee the eradication of Falun Gong, likely played a role in determining sentence lengths for those accused of Article 300 crimes. Although the 610 Office appears to have been disbanded in 2018, the persecution of Falun Gong continues.

Recently, Safeguard Defenders collected data on some 1,400 cases of Falun Gong prosecutions, documenting the names, gender, location, alleged crimes for which they were accused, and length of sentence. The findings highlight the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and facilitate comparisons with other human rights-related cases.

The data was divided into three political eras based on the CCP leader at the time: Hu Jintao’s second term (2008–2012), Xi Jinping’s first term (2013–2016), and second term (2017–2022). More than half of the cases were for Article 300, underscoring the CCP’s determination to punish Falun Gong practitioners.

The data also show that Article 300 has been used to criminalize dozens of other banned sects, such as the Church of the Almighty God. In fact, China’s Christian believers, particularly those part of underground house churches, are increasingly being targeted under the article, in a relatively new development, which further showcases how the CCP views spirituality as a potential existential threat to its grip on power.

Geographically, most cases were recorded in China’s northeast, with Heilongjiang having the highest number of cases. The data also reveal a gender disparity, with 50 percent more women than men convicted of Article 300 crimes between 2008 and 2022.

Comparing Article 300 cases with those of other human rights-related crimes, such as Article 293 (picking quarrels and provoking trouble) and Article 105 (state subversion and incitement to subvert the state), highlights the severity of the penalties faced by Falun Gong practitioners. The average sentence length for Article 300 convictions was 5.2 years, significantly longer than the average 2.3 years for Article 293 convictions.

In short, Falun Gong practitioners can still to this day expect to be punished far more harshly than almost any group in China, and often simply because of their beliefs, not because of any specific actions.

Despite changes in political leadership and the passage of time, the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong remains unwavering. The data serve as a stark reminder of the ongoing human rights abuses in China and the urgent need for international attention and action to address these injustices.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.