Crimes of Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce, in Persecuting Falun Gong

Title or Position

June 2007 – April 2011: secretary of the Huangpu District Committee of Shanghai
April 2011– March 2015: member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Nanchang Municipal Party Committee
March 2015 – March 2017: member of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Ji’nan Municipal Party Committee
March 2017 – March 2018: deputy secretary of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Ji’nan Municipal Party Committee
March 2018 – May 2018: deputy secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, acting governor, and secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Provincial Government
May 2018 – November 2020: deputy secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, governor, and secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Provincial Government
November 2020 – Present: secretary of the Party Leadership Group and minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China, member of the 20th CCP Central Committee

 

Main Crimes

Wang Wentao started his political career in 1998 in Shanghai. He later assumed several other positions in Jiangxi, Shandong, and Heilongjiang Provinces. Throughout his career, he has made every effort to implement the CCP’s persecution policy against Falun Gong.

 

Part 1. Persecution Between March 2018 and November 2020 as Deputy Secretary of Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, Governor, and Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Provincial Government

 

1.1) Persecution in 2018

According to available statistics from Minghui.org, 61 practitioners were sentenced in 2018 in Heilongjiang, ranking fourth in the country. In particular, the city of Harbin alone had 29 sentencing cases, the highest of the country. In addition, Heilongjiang also ranked third with 475 arrests and 169 harassment cases in 2018.

A group arrest of 17 Falun Gong practitioners took place in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province on April 19, 2018. The practitioners’ Falun Gong books, informational materials, and computers were confiscated. After taking the practitioners to the Chengjiao Police Station, the police tore up their Falun Gong books and ordered them to verbally abuse the founder of Falun Gong and sign statements to renounce Falun Gong. Those who refused to comply were beaten and taken to the detention centre.

One police officer told the practitioners that they were arrested because the anniversary of the “April 25 Appeal” was approaching, and the newly appointed governor Wang Wentao ordered their arrests in order to prevent them from appealing to the government.

On November 9, 2018, the police in various districts and counties in Harbin City and Daqing City arrested 119 practitioners with a name list. The arrests were ordered by the Heilongjiang Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee, the 610 Office, and the Heilongjiang Domestic Security Division. Yang Bo of the Heilongjiang Domestic Security Division, and Feng Haibo of the Daqing Domestic Security Division tortured and interrogated the practitioners.

1.2) Persecution in 2019

In 2019, 118 Falun Gong practitioners in Heilongjiang Province were sentenced to prison, ranking second in the country. Harbin was the top city again with the most sentencing cases of 60.

Starting in June 2019, the Heilongjiang Provincial Domestic Security Division ordered police sweeps for practitioners across the province. More than 40 practitioners were arrested in Jiamusi City between late July and early August. Hundreds more were harassed and had their homes ransacked. Mr. Yang Shengjun, who was arrested on August 2, died nine days later due to the torture in custody.

1.3) Persecution in 2020

In 2020, the CCP carried out the “zero-out” campaign involving local authorities pressuring Falun Gong practitioners to sign statements renouncing the practice. In this campaign, a large number of practitioners were arrested or harassed at their homes and workplaces.

On July 17th, 2020, the Heilongjiang Political and Legal Affairs Committee held their seventh study meeting, which ordered the committee members to “carry out special actions to prevent and combat cult organisations.”

On September 22-23, 2020, in a coordinated police sweep in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, 27 practitioners and three of their family members were arrested. The Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the Domestic Security Division were involved in this mass arrest. Practitioners were arrested according to names on a blacklist, and police would get a bonus for catching each practitioner.

At least 27 practitioners were sentenced in 2020 in Heilongjiang.

1.4) Select Death Cases During Wang’s Tenure

During Wang’s tenure in Heilongjiang, 19 Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted to death, including Ms. Wang Fang, Ms. Sun Ning, Mr. Wang Dejin, Ms. Li Jingxia, Ms. Wu Guirong, Mr. Wang Fengchen, Ms. Wang Shukun, Mr. Wan Yunlong, Ms. Suo Junying, Ms. Li Huifeng, Ms. Sun Fenghua, Ms. Li Yanjie, Ms. Zhan Jie, Ms. Shi Zhenhua, Mr. Yang Shengjun, Ms. Hou Lifeng, Mr. Wang Xinchun, Ms. Liu Jinghua, and Mr. Liu Hongxin.

Below are select death cases.

1.4.1) Dr. Wang Shukun Dies Days After Being Beaten by the Police

Dr. Wang Shukun, a 66-year-old physician in Haining City, Heilongjiang Province, was ordered to renounce Falun Gong in late June 2020. As she refused, the police beat her for hours. She suffered sharp pain in her leg, and begged the officers to let her go. They agreed, but threatened that they would come for her again a few days later.

Dr. Wang crawled up the stairs to get back to her apartment unit. Her husband noted that she had bruises on her body. Her kneecaps were broken, and she was soaked in sweat. She suffered a stroke on the afternoon of July 1. She was extremely dizzy and felt like throwing up. She passed away at around 4:25 a.m. on July 2.

1.4.2) Mr. Lyu Guanru Died from Abuse in Tailai Prison

Mr. Lyu Guanru, a resident of Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on November 9, 2018, in a police sweep of more than 60 Falun Gong practitioners in both Daqing and Harbin City, the capital of Heilongjiang Province. While he was held at the Daqing City Detention Centre, the police interrogated him, forced him to stand for long hours, and had him wear shackles. His arrest was approved by the Ranghulu District Procuratorate on December 15, 2018.

When Mr. Lyu went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution, the guards force-fed him, which caused him to vomit blood and suffer heart failure. On the verge of death, he was resuscitated at the hospital several times.

Mr. Lyu was indicted by the Ranghulu District Procuratorate on March 30, 2019, and he appeared in the Ranghulu District Court on June 6, 2019. His two lawyers entered a not guilty plea for him, and he also testified in his own defense. The judge sentenced Mr. Lyu to seven years in prison with a 40,000-yuan fine on July 1, 2019. He appealed the verdict, but the Daqing City Intermediate Court upheld his sentence without a hearing on July 23.

Mr. Lyu was taken to Hulan Prison straight from the hospital on July 30, 2019. He was later transferred to Tailai Prison in November 2019. Despite his poor health, Tailai Prison continued to torture him and kept him in a small cell for more than a month. He suffered a stroke and died in prison on April 4, 2021, at the age of 69.

1.4.3) Mr. Yang Shengjun Dies Nine Days Following His Arrest

Mr. Yang Shengjun, 61, from Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, and his 81-year-old mother were arrested at home on August 2, 2019. His mother was released that night, but Mr. Yang was held at a detention centre. On the morning of August 11, the police informed his mother that he vomited blood in the detention centre in the morning and had been taken to a hospital for treatment. Mr. Yang passed away at 9 p.m. that night. The hospital charged his family 30,000 yuan for his treatment.

1.4.4) Heilongjiang Woman Dies of Uterine Cancer Ten Months Following Her Arrest

Ms. Hou Lifeng, a resident of Fangzheng County, Heilongjiang Province, and mother of two Japanese residents, was arrested on June 12, 2018, while distributing information about Falun Gong.

The police interrogated and beat Ms. Hou before taking her to the Harbin No. 2 Detention Center, where she developed uterine cancer. She fainted several times due to acute pain in her lower abdomen, but was denied proper medical care.

Ms. Hou appeared in court on September 26 and was sentenced to prison on November 27, 2018. The judge said she wasn’t allowed to appeal her verdict.

Ms. Hou was extremely weak and unable to walk when she was transferred to Harbin Women’s Prison in December 2018. She was diagnosed with advanced uterine cancer, but the prison hospital officials said they couldn’t provide medical treatment.

Fearing her possible death in prison, the authorities approved Ms. Hou’s medical parole. By the time she returned home on March 1, she had completely lost the ability to take care of herself, and yet the police still threatened to send her back to prison if she continued to practice Falun Gong.

The police and residential committee members continued to harass and monitor Ms. Hou in her final days. In late March, they returned again and demanded that she write “thought reports” renouncing Falun Gong.

Ms. Hou passed away at around 1:00 a.m. on April 29, 2019. She was 67 years old.

The day after Ms. Hou died, her husband received a bill from the local court demanding that he pay the 10,000-yuan fine. They threatened to arrest and detain him if he refused to pay.

1.4.5) Heilongjiang Teacher Dies Two Months After Prison Release

Ms. Wang Fang, an elementary school teacher from Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested on October 3, 2018. She was tortured at the Lanxi Detention Centre for refusing to give the police her name. After she was transferred to Anda City Detention Centre, she was forced to wear heavy shackles around the clock for over a month.

Ms. Wang was later sentenced to two years and taken to the Heilongjiang Women’s Prison. There, she was subjected to physical and mental abuse. She suffered from headaches, numbness in her hands, dementia, fainting, and high blood pressure as a result.

Ms. Wang returned home in early October 2020, only to find that she had been fired by the Shangzhi Elementary School, after having taught there for 30 years. Only two weeks after she started tutoring at a private agency to resolve her financial hardships, she passed out at home on December 30 and was taken to a hospital. She was diagnosed with brain stem hemorrhage and passed away the next day. She was 54 years old.

 

Part 2. Persecution March 2015 to March 2018 as Member of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Ji’nan Municipal Party Committee

 

2.1) Persecution in 2015

During Wang’s tenure as the member of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and secretary of the Ji’nan Municipal Party Committee in 2015, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners filed lawsuits with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Supreme People’s Court, suing Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party, for ordering the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999.

Ordered by the Ji’nan Municipal Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the 610 Office, many practitioners were arrested, harassed, detained, and tortured.

Ms. Chen Xiumei was arrested and her home was ransacked on June 24, 2015. The police confiscated her personal belongings, including computers, printers, Falun Gong books, and mobile phones. After eight months of detention, she died from the torture on February 28, 2016. She was 59 years old.

Mr. Sun Mingqiang talked to students outside the Jinan Army Academy about the persecution of Falun Gong on November 9, 2015 and was arrested. The school security officers beat him, leaving a hole in his head. He died that month at the age of 35.

2.2) Persecution in 2016

At least seven practitioners were sentenced to prison in Ji’nan City between January and August 2016 alone. Another 79 practitioners were arrested and 46 were harassed.

From March to June 2016, under the instruction of the Shandong Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the 610 Office, a police sweep for practitioners was planned in Ji’nan. Each arrested practitioner was ordered to sign four documents to renounce and denounce Falun Gong. From March 22 to June 30, as many as 112 practitioners were harassed and detained in Ji’nan, at least 82 being female.

In August 2016, Ms. Li Jianmei from Huaiyin District, Ji’nan City was sentenced to nine years in prison, and Mr. Wang Bin to seven years.

2.3) Persecution in 2017

In 2017, ten practitioners were sentenced and eleven were tried in Ji’nan.

Mr. Lu Shoulu, then 66, was arrested by police who broke into his home on the afternoon of May 10, 2017. His satellite dish, Falun Gong books, printer, laptop computer, and other personal belongings were confiscated. Mr. Lu was taken to the Zhangqiu District Detention Centre at 10 p.m. His arrest was approved on May 19. The Zhangqiu District Court sentenced him to four years in early January 2018. He was transferred to the Shandong Province Prison around January 11.