US reports large-scale arrests of Falun Gong before Beijing Olympics

Chinese security agencies have been conducting large-scale arrests of Falun Gong
adherents throughout China in recent months as authorities step up efforts to
"stamp out" the practice in advance of the Olympic Games in August,
the New York Falun Dafa Information Centre (FDI) reported yesterday.

Rewards of 500-3,000 yuan (about AU$30-$330) for identifying Falun Gong adherents
to the authorities
In many cities a reward system has been put in place offering 500-3,000 yuan
(roughly AU$30-$330) for identifying Falun Gong adherents to the authorities.
While such reward mechanisms are not new, their use in connection with the Olympics
is. The following PSB site for Liaoning Province is one example: http://www.liaoyang.gov.cn/zfbm/gaj/showart.asp?art_id=68
(Chinese authorities usually take down websites such as these once they have
been publicised in the West. If the link does not work, please refer to an Internet
archive).

Melbourne based former Public Security Officer says Tianjin city database had
30,000 Falun Gong practitioners’ names
In recent weeks, the Centre has been receiving regular reports from inside China
of door-to-door searches and arrests, listing 1878 arrests across 29 provinces,
major cities, and autonomous regions since January 1 of this year. In Beijing
alone, 156 arrests are known to have taken place. The systematic nature of the
arrests suggests that authorities are using a previously compiled list of local
adherents. According to former Public Security Bureau and 610 Office agent Hao
Fengjun, who currently resides in Australia, authorities in the city of Tianjin,
where Hao formerly worked, had a database of 30,000 Falun Gong practitioners’
names.

The FDI Centre released yesterday a list of names and details of 67 representative
cases of individuals detained in Beijing since December 2007. Out of this group,
16 adherents were arrested from Chaoyang District, which is set to host the
beach volleyball and tennis events, and 10 from Shunyi district, the site of
the Olympic rowing and kayaking venues. According to reports, officers from
the local police station or PSB branch come to the adherent’s home or workplace,
conduct a search for any Falun Gong-related materials, and take the individual
into custody at the district detention centre. In some cases, family members
or co-workers who do not practice Falun Gong have been taken into custody as
well. Chinese law allows for sentences of up to three years without so much
as a court hearing.

Beijing regime uses Olympics as incentive to increase human rights violations
Since 2001, various sources, including Reuters, Australian Broadcasting Corporation,
Intelligence Online and Amnesty International have reported the Chinese communist
regime’s perception of the Olympics as a further justification for increased
violence against, and repression of Falun Gong. "The International community
had hoped that awarding the Olympics to China would spur an improvement in human
rights," said Information Centre representative Mr. Erping Zhang. "But
the ..Olympics seem to have given the Beijing regime a new incentive, and excuse,
to hasten its abuses of citizen’s rights…It is now imperative that the
international community speak up, leverage real pressure, and stop these deplorable
actions."

The Falun Dafa Information Centre is demanding the immediate release of all
Falun Gong adherents, and calling upon foreign media stationed in and around
Beijing to investigate these arrests.
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Posting date: 15/Mar/2008
Original article date: 14/Mar/2008
Category: Media Release

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