User:TheBlueCanoe/sandbox

Things that may be of use (taken from Persecution of Falun Gong)

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In response to the suppression, from late 1999 into early 2001, Falun Gong adherents traveled daily to Tiananmen Square by the hundreds, where they practiced meditation in silent protest or unfurled banners requesting the rehabilitation of the group and an end to the ban. These protests were quickly and sometimes violently broken up by waiting security agents, and the practitioners involved were typically sent to their home cities to be punished. By 25 April 2000, a total of more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested on Tiananmen Square. Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001. Officials grew impatient with the constant flow of protesters into Beijing, and decided to implement a cascading responsibility system to push the responsibility for meeting central orders down onto those enforcing them: central authorities would hold local officials personally responsible for stemming the flow of protesters. The provincial government would fine mayors for each Falun Gong practitioner from their district who made it to Beijing; the mayors would in turn fine the heads of the Political and Legal commissions, who would in turn fine village chiefs, who fined police officers who administered the punishment. According to Johnson, police in turn extorted money illegally from Falun Gong practitioners, and the order was only relayed orally at meetings, "because they didn't want it made public." A chief feature in the testimony of Falun Gong torture victims was that they were "constantly being asked for money to compensate for the fines."

Human Rights Watch reported that some work units would summarily fire people identified as practitioners, meaning they would lose housing, schooling, pensions, and be reported to the police. Local officials would detain active practitioners and those unwilling to recant, and were expected to "make certain" that families and employers keep them isolated.

Recent campaigns

Although not as high-profile as it once was, the suppression of Falun Gong in China has continued largely unabated in recent years, with new strike-hard campaigns launched periodically against the group, particularly around sensitive events and anniversaries.

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China reported that "the central government intensified its nine-year campaign of persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in the months leading up to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games." The 6–10 Office issued an internal directive mandating that local governments take steps to prevent Falun Gong from ‘‘interfering with or harming’’ the Games. Public Security Bureaus in Beijing and Shanghai issued directives providing rewards for informants who report Falun Gong activities to the police.

In the months leading up to the Olympics, the Falun Dafa Information Center reported that over 8,000 Falun Gong adherents were abducted from homes and workplaces by security agents. The Center reported that many of these practitioners were later sentenced to lengthy prison terms—some in excess of 15 years—and that several were tortured to death in custody. Amnesty International observed that Falun Gong was among the groups most harshly persecuted in 2008, and reported that during the year over 100 Falun Gong practitioners died as a result of torture and ill-treatment in custody.

In 2009, Falun Gong practitioners were among those targeted as part of an initiative dubbed the 6521 Project, a campaign headed by Xi Jinping intended to crack down on potential dissidents during politically sensitive anniversaries. The project's name refers to the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising, the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests, and the 10th anniversary of the suppression of Falun Gong.

In parallel to the 6521 Project, a top-level coordinating body was created under the direction of Zhou Yongkang, called the "Central Committee for Comprehensive Management of Social Order." Falun Gong was among the groups targeted for increased monitoring and suppression. The Committee revived a network of volunteer informants in schools and neighborhoods, and established a joint responsibility system that holds heads of households, work units, and local governments accountable in the event of protests or other destabilizing events.

Human Rights groups have charged that the 2010 World Expo served as pretext for the suppression of dissidents and religious believers, including Falun Gong adherents. The Congressional Executive Commission on China reported that Chinese authorities seized upon the Expo as an opportunity to conduct propaganda campaigns deriding Falun Gong, and detained and imprisoned over 100 Shanghai practitioners. Shanghai authorities offered monetary incentives to citizens who reported on Falun Gong adherents. The Commission also noted that some who refused to disavow Falun Gong were subjected to torture and sent to reeducation through labor facilities. Amnesty International issued an urgent action notice in connection with the disappearance of Shanghai practitioner Jiang Feng, who was reportedly abducted at the Shanghai airport on 18 February 2010 while en route to the United States. Jiang disappeared into police custody, and was said to be at risk of torture.

In 2010, the Communist Party launched a 3-year campaign that requires local governments, Party organizations, and businesses to step up efforts to "transform" large portions of known Falun Gong adherents. "Transformation" refers to the often coercive process of pressuring Falun Gong adherents to renounce the practice. Several documents posted on Party and local government websites refer to concrete transformation targets to be achieved, and also set limits on acceptable rates of recidivism. The campaign is carried out through enlisting known Falun Gong adherents in mandatory reeducation classes, or sentencing in prisons or reeducation-through-labor camps.

Practitioners Guo Xiaojun, Wang Xiaodong, and Wang Junling were arrested and imprisoned for their involvement with Falun Gong and named prisoners of conscience at risk of torture by Amnesty International.