Crimes of Zhu Xianjun, Former Deputy Director of Hebei Province’s 610 Office

Title or Position

• May 2019 – Present: deputy director and current director of Government Office Administration in Hebei Province
• June 2009 – April 2019: deputy director of Hebei Province 610 Office, executive vice chairman of the Hebei Provincial Anti-Cult Association
• December 2007: deputy director of the Hebei Provincial Government Research Office
• Before 2002: member of the Handan Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League1990: member of the Youth League Committee of Yongnian County, Handan City

 

Main Crimes

Since the CCP (Chinese Communist Party)’s persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, officials in the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, 610 Office, and the public security in Hebei Province closely followed the persecution policy, making Hebei one of the top provinces where persecution is most severe. Among the total 4,904 death cases that have been confirmed as of January 12, 2023, Hebei ranked third with 551 (11.2%) deaths.

During the nearly 10-year period between June 2009 and April 2019 while Zhu Xianjun served as the deputy director of the Hebei Provincial 610 Office, under the command of Zhang Yue, then Secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC), Zhu spared no effort in implementing the persecution policy and is one of the main perpetrators in the persecution of Falun Gong in Hebei Province.

 

Slandering Falun Gong at Various Activities

During his tenure as the deputy director of the Hebei Provincial 610 Office and the executive vice chairman of the Hebei Provincial Anti-Cult Association, Zhu attended a variety of activities and gave speeches. In his speeches, he slandered and attacked Falun Gong, inciting hatred against the group.

On the morning of December 17, 2009, the “Inaugural Meeting of the Hengshui High School Anti-Cult Association and the First Meeting of the First Council” took place at the Qiuzhen Museum. Zhu attended the meeting and delivered a speech.

On October 21, 2014, Zhu gave a report at the “Anti-Cult Publicity Month” meeting held at Shijiazhuang Railway University and slandered Falun Gong.

On the afternoon of June 19, 2015, an event titled “Believe in Science, Oppose Cults” was held at the Hebei Medical University by the Hebei Provincial Communist Youth League, the Hebei Provincial 610 Office, and the Hebei Provincial Anti-Cult Association. Zhu attended the opening ceremony and gave a report on youth involvement in anti-cult activities. More than 400 people from the Provincial Anti-Cult Association, the Shijiazhuang Youth League Committee, Hebei Medical University, and Hebei University of Science and Technology attended the ceremony.

On October 25, 2018, a lecture series on the theme of “anti-cult” took place at Shijiazhuang Post and Telecommunication Technical College. Zhu gave a lecture on “The Situation of the Anti-Cult Struggle” to more than 2,000 freshmen students.

 

Directed Large Scale Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners

Persecution in 2012

On February 25, 2012, more than 100 Falun Gong practitioners from Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Baoding, Cangzhou, Botou, Xuanhua, and other places in Hebei Province were simultaneously arrested. It is reported that the mass arrests were directed by the provincial 610 Office before the “18th National Congress” of the CCP. Police at all levels in Hebei Province were involved.

In June 2012, over 700 local residents signed a petition, demanding the release of practitioner Mr. Li Lankui from Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang City. It drew attention from the international media and the U.S. Congress.

Agents from the provincial 610 Office, police department, and Domestic Security Office in Zhengding began to harass local Falun Gong practitioners. A total of sixteen practitioners and their family members were arrested. The police put black hoods over their heads and took them to a secret detention location in the Shijiazhuang Municipal Public Security Criminal Police Training Centre.

The practitioners were handcuffed to metal chairs for long periods of time, beaten, and shocked with electric batons. Ms. Gao Suzhen and Mr. Jia Zhijiang were later sentenced. Ms. Bai Shuqin, Ms. Wang Yuexia, and Mr. Yang Rongxia were given forced labor camp terms. Ms. Bai Shuqin’s husband, Mr. Liu Shulin, along with several family members were forced to live away from home to hide from the police. At least four female practitioners were raped by the police. Ms. Gao Suzhen developed a severe medical condition due to torture in the prison. She passed away on March 5, 2018, one year after she was released.

Persecution in 2013

In the early morning of November 15, 2013, after several months of surveillance, the police in Shijiazhuang City arrested more than 20 practitioners and ransacked their homes. In the following weeks, more than 40 practitioners were arrested and harassed. Seven of them, including Mr. Yang Huizhou and Mr. Zhang Yingtong, were wrongfully sentenced.

Persecution in 2014

On March 13, 2014, under the direct command of the Tangshan Public Security Bureau, thirteen practitioners were arrested. Among them, nine Falun Gong practitioners were arrested and seven were sentenced. In less than six months, another group arrest took place in the Fengnan District. Seven Falun Gong practitioners were arrested and their homes were ransacked on August 6.

On August 17, 2014, 42 practitioners were arrested in Cangzhou City at a private gathering, including Ms. Li Li, Ms. Kang Lanying, Ms. Tang Jianying, Mr. Xu Kai, and Ms. Cao Yanxiang. Police ransacked several practitioners’ homes. Ten practitioners were sentenced to prison and fined.

Persecution in 2015

According to Minghui, 32,826 Falun Gong practitioners from Hebei Province filed criminal complaints against former CCP leader Jiang Zemin in 2015 for his instrumental role in ordering the persecution. By the end of 2015, at least 1,251 practitioners were arrested or harassed, including at least 16 practitioners who were over 70 years old. Three practitioners, Mr. Yuan Shuchen, Mr. Xu Zengliang, and Ms. Yan Guoyan, died as a result of persecution.

Persecution in 2016

From March 31 to April 2, 2016, with the pretext of maintaining security during the “World Expo,” the Tangshan 610 Office and public security dispatched more than 100 officers to arrest Falun Gong practitioners based on a blacklist. On March 31 alone, 21 practitioners were arrested and their homes were ransacked. Mr. Lai Zhiqiang and Li Xiaoxian were tried and sentenced to 5 and 7 years, respectively.

 

Selected Persecution Cases

In 2018, practitioners from 11 regions of Hebei Province were persecuted to varying degrees. Among them, 326 people were arrested, 180 people were detained, 68 people were sentenced, 58 people were tried, and 41 had their arrests approved. In addition, 1,075 people were harassed and 41 lost a total of 382,700 yuan due to financial persecution. Two practitioners died as a result of the persecution.

Ms. Ma Guilan, 64, was arrested on July 4, 2018, and sent to Qinhuangdao City Detention Centre two weeks later. There, she was tortured for refusing to renounce her faith in Falun Gong. She went on a hunger strike on September 11. Four days later, the guards started to force-feed her. Her painful screams could be heard throughout the prison.

On September 17, Ms. Ma fell unconscious and was taken to the Qinhuangdao Police Hospital and died about one hour later. According to insiders, several government agents of unknown identity came to the hospital, cut open her abdomen, and removed her internal organs. It wasn’t clear what organs were removed and where they were taking her organs.

From January to June 2017, at least 306 practitioners from Hebei Province were harassed, at least 281 were arrested, 63 were tried in court, 43 were sentenced, and 4 were persecuted to death. At least 126 homes were ransacked, and some cash was confiscated.

Ms. Du Hexian was arrested on September 26, 2017, by officers from Xiong County Domestic Security Office. On December 8, Ms. Du, who had become very weak as a result of persecution, was locked in a metal cage and forced to stand trial. Not long after the hearing started, she began to vomit blood. The hearing was temporarily adjourned, and the cage was pushed out.

Several minutes later, Ms. Du was brought back to the courtroom and the session resumed. However, within around ten minutes, Ms. Du fell unconscious. The judge had to adjourn the case. The Xiong County Court held another hearing of her case on January 12, 2018, and sentenced her to 7 years on June 15.

In 2016, at least 1,226 practitioners from Hebei Province were harassed and arrested. Among them, 187 had their homes ransacked and at least 120 people faced prosecution. Eight people died due to the persecution.

In 2015, at least 1,685 practitioners from Hebei Province were harassed and arrested and another 56 were sentenced.

Mr. Li Kai was arrested on July 29, 2015, and secretly sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on September 21. The authorities took him to Jidong Prison in early December 2015 without informing his family. Only after he suffered a stroke (cerebral hemorrhage) in prison did his family receive notice on January 14, 2016, to take him home. He passed away two weeks later on January 29, 2016.

From January to August 2014, a total of 360 practitioners were arrested and harassed in Hebei Province, including 152 Falun Gong practitioners seized in group arrests. In one group arrest in the early morning of May 30, 2014, at least 18 people from Hejing County, Gucheng County, and Zaoqiang County were targeted, including three infants and an elderly man in his 70s. The police broke into the practitioners’ homes and beat anyone they saw, while an ambulance waited outside.

Ms. Chen Lingmei and her husband, Mr. Cao Zhaohui, both Falun Gong practitioners, were arrested in August 2014 and both sentenced by Guan County Court to three years in prison. The Langfang Intermediate Court upheld their original sentence after they appealed. Ms. Chen was blind and incapacitated by the time she was released on August 22, 2017. She passed away on December 7.