Death toll: Over 700 confirmed, over 2,500 actual
In October 2001, government sources inside China reported that
the actual death toll was well over 1,600. On October 14, 2001,
the confirmed death toll was 323. If the actual death toll shows
the same increase as the confirmed death toll has, then we would
expect the true death toll today to be well over 2,500. Due
to extreme difficulty in discovering and verifying information
in China related to wrongful deaths, this higher figure also
likely understates the true death toll.
Over 100,000 sent to forced labor camps
On July 4, 2001, the Australian Broadcasting Company reported
"close to half" of those held in the labor camps were
Falun Gong. In 1997, two years before the persecution of Falun
Gong began, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
estimated 235,000 people were held in China's labor camps. The
Laogai Research Foundation, however, estimates that today there
are between two and four million held in the laogai. The true
number of Falun Gong practitioners held in labor camps, then,
would seem to be somewhere between 117,000 and 1-2 million.
Reliable sources from China, however, have said for some time
that the actual number is "over 100,000." Given the
reliability of these sources in the past, the Falun Dafa Information
Center has decided to use this more conservative figure.
Hundreds of Thousands Detained
There is really no clear way to determine this figure. What
is known is that there were 70-100 million people practicing
Falun Gong in China prior to the crackdown in July of 1999 (see
next section). Thus, it is quite feasible that millions or even
tens of millions have been detained at some point during the
last three and a half years of the persecution.
By the end of the first four months since the persecution started
in China, the world's media was reporting 35,000 had been detained.
As the persecution enters its fourth year, most China experts
estimate the figure to be between "hundreds of thousands"
to "millions." Thus, the Falun Dafa Information Center
has adopted the most conservative of estimates, "hundreds
of thousands."
Number of practitioners in China in 1999: 70 to 100 million
These numbers are based upon Chinese government statistics openly
acknowledged prior to the crackdown in July, 1999 as a result
of a survey conducted by the Chinese government in that latter
part of 1998. Other sources picked up the numbers that were
widely circulated at the time (see news excerpts below). After
crackdown in July 1999, however, the Chinese regime began spreading
a much lower number -- 1 or 2 million -- in an apparent attempt
to downplay Falun Gong's presence in Chinese society.
4/27/99, The New York Times
In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors, by Seth Faison
"...the Government's estimate of 70 million adherents represents
a large group in a nation of 1.2 billion"
4/27/99, The New York Times
Notoriety Now for Movement's Leader, by Joseph Kahn
"Despite that elusiveness, or maybe because of it, Mr.
Li has become a guru of a movement that even by Chinese Government
estimates has more members that the Communist Party. Beijing
puts the tally of his followers at 70 million. Practitioners
say they do not dispute those numbers, but they say they have
no way of knowing for sure, in part because they have no central
membership lists."
4/26/99, The Associated Press
Growing group poses a dilemma for China, by Renee Schoof
"But with more members than the Communist Party -- at least
70 million, according to the State Sports Administration --
Falun is also a formidable social network..."
Falun Gong is practiced in over 50 countries around the world
The practice of Falun Gong has no organization nor membership.
To practice Falun Gong, one simply needs to learn the exercises
and read the Falun Gong books, both of which can be done by
downloading video instructions and books for free over the Internet.
Thus, it is impossible to gauge the exact number of people who
practice Falun Gong around the world (unless a formal survey
is conducted, such as the one done by Chinese authorities in
China in 1998). However, as the practice has spread throughout
the world, volunteer practice sites have appeared in almost
every major city. These sites are organized by volunteers so
that people can practice Falun Gong together in their local
parks and people can come to learn the practice. As of August
1999, there were over 40 countries listing volunteer Falun Dafa
practice sites on the main website of Falun Dafa, www.falundafa.org.
As of August 2002, the number had risen to over 50.
What is the reliability of Falun Dafa Information Center
sources in China?
As indicated above, there were 70-100 million people practicing
Falun Gong in China when Jiang Zemin launched the crackdown
in July 1999. These people came from all walks of life, including
high-ranking military and government officials. Many in China
have used public means, such as demonstrating in Tiananmen Square,
to call for an end to the persecution. Others have quietly worked
in the background to supply timely and reliable information
on the inner workings of the persecution in China and on those
who are carrying it out. The following is a just a few samples
of the information we received in the past that proved accurate...
A
History of Forewarnings from Reliable Sources in China
"6-10" Office Plants Seeds for Using Child Murder
Story Against Falun Gong
In April, multiple sources in Changchun reported that local
"6-10" Office officials were spreading rumors among
the schools of the city that Falun Gong practitioners were planning
on murdering children. Sources say this was an attempt to set
the stage for pinning related crimes on Falun Gong. The Falun
Dafa Information Center (Chinese) issued a news
release based on this information on April 9.
On May 13, state-run media widely reported a story of a woman
who killed her daughter in front of 40 other people, all of
which the state-run media claimed were Falun Gong practitioners.
Associated Press, however, issued a report later that day noting
that "State media have issued numerous similar reports,
none of which have been independently confirmed." Additionally,
the killing reportedly happened on April 22, but was not reported
by the state-run media until May 13 - the day celebrated around
the world as World Falun Dafa Day. "There was no indication
why the government waited three weeks to report [the] death,"
the AP report said.
Thousands Arrested, Dozens Dead Revealed by Sources Early
On
Following a March 5, evening broadcast of programs supportive
of Falun Gong in northeastern China, sources in China indicated
that an unprecedented sweep through the city of Changchun was
underway. On March 26, the Falun Dafa Information Center issued
a news
release stating that sources revealed over 5,000 people
believed to be practitioners of Falun Gong had been detained
in the vast and unprecedented police sweep through Changchun.
Sources also reported that dozens or more might be dead already
as a result of police brutality.
Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action in the weeks that
followed the broadcast, but because of the tight control over
information about the rampage, it would be another seven weeks
before an independent party could verify the arrest of at least
2,000. On April 25, Associated Press reported on the independent
party verification:
"Suicide" Plot to Frame Falun Gong Revealed
On December 16, 2001 the Falun Dafa Information Center issued
a news
release stating a reliable source inside China had revealed
that Chinese officials will begin a propaganda initiative starting
Monday, Dec. 17, that frames up Falun Gong by way of a suicide
case.
"We received this information late last night," said
Falun Dafa Information Center spokesperson Dr. Shiyu Zhou at
the time of the news release. "Chinese officials have used
this tactic many times before - they take cases of suicide,
murder, and other horrible acts, and use the state-run media
to pin them on practitioners of Falun Gong so as to incite hatred
towards Falun Gong among the Chinese people." Dr. Zhou
added, "Of course, China's officials heavily guard any
information about these cases, so it's both difficult and dangerous
for us to get further details about this new initiative, but
we can say this came from a reliable source and must be taken
seriously. We need to follow this closely."
The next day, the top story on China's state-run CCTV reported
on a man who allegedly killed his father and wife, and injured
his own mother on Nov. 25 in Beijing. China's state-run media
did not release the news, however, until 20 days later (December
17).
The reported labeled the man a Falun Gong practitioner, and
included interviews with him in which he spoke in unfamiliar
terms about Falun Gong. Dr. Zhou noted that the story was deceptive:
"What [the murderer] said does not make any sense but could
be very deceiving as he uses some strange terminologies that
will cause people to believe he actually practices Falun Gong."
4 Days Before Anthrax Scare, Sources Reveal Jiang Will Capitalize
on Terrorist Fears
On October 14, 2001, the Falun Dafa Information Center (Chinese)
reported
that Jiang Zemin had internally labeled Falun Gong a "terrorist
organization," and ordered that "terrorist incidents"
be created and attributed to Falun Gong. The creation of such
incidents would undoubtedly further the regime's efforts to
criminalize and demonize Falun Gong, breeding public hatred
and fear.
On October 18, 2001, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), the Associated
Press and other media issued reports, citing Chinese foreign
ministry sources, that an alleged "Falun Gong book"
suspected of anthrax bacteria contamination was received in
the mail by an undisclosed American company in Beijing. No details
were given about the package, including where it originated.
On the October 18, the Falun Dafa Information Center issued
a news
release in which spokesperson Adam Montanaro stated, "If
the Chinese regime is using the anthrax scare to frame-up and
attack Falun Gong, which it clearly looks like, then this is
very disturbing. Would someone who sends a package like this
include literature that identifies him?-that's absurd. But on
the other hand, that's exactly how someone might choose to frame
Falun Gong. It's highly suspicious." "The timing of
this incident," Mr. Montanaro continued, "seems suspicious
as well." The incident occurred as many of the world's
leaders were visiting Shanghai during the APEC meetings.
Sources Forewarn of Labor Camp Show Tours
On April 26, 2001, the Falun Dafa Information Center reported
that sources said the Masanjia Labor Camp in Liaoning Province
was among a few facilities being readied to receive foreign
and Chinese media to 'interview' selected Falun Gong Practitioners.
Almost a month later reporters were invited to the Masanjia
Labor Camp to witness freshly painted walls, prisoners decked
out in new jump suits complete with their names written on the
back in Chinese and English (it was not clear why prisoners
needed their names written in English inside a Chinese labor
camp), enjoying an apparently clean and healthy environment.
What the visiting media were shown on this tour lies in stark
contrast to numerous first-hand reports from former prisoners
at Masanjia who attest to violent beatings, horrific torture
and numerous deaths that have occurred from persecution at the
labor camp. Regarding this tour, Falun Dafa Information Center
spokeswoman Gail Rachlin said, "This whole exercise smacks
of Nazi show tours of a Czech Concentration camp in 1944 which
was turned into a movie set to mislead the world. We fear the
same thing may be happening again."
What is the Full Story?
Last December while the number of deaths confirmed by the Falun
Dafa Information Center topped 300, government sources inside
China revealed that the actual number was well over 1,600. More
recently, other sources in China say the number could be 4,000
or even far greater. The control of information in and out of
Mainland China about human rights abuses remains strong, proving
difficult and dangerous to circumnavigate. Thus, despite the
access to reliable sources, evidence suggests that news agencies
and human rights organizations have only barely scratched the
surface of what's really happening in China.
The true extent of the tragedy remains largely unknown.
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Source:
FalunInfo.Net
