(Minghui.org) Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been persecuting the practice since July 1999. Cao Yujiang, CCP secretary of Wuhan Political and Legal Affairs Committee in Hubei Province, has played a decisive role in ordering the persecution in Wuhan, Hubei Province.

Perpetrator Information

Full name of perpetrator: Cao (surname) Yujiang (first name) (曹裕江）Gender: MaleCountry: ChinaEthnicity: HanDate of birth: July 1962Place of Birth: Daye City, Hubei Province, China

Cao Yujiang

Title or Position

July 2006 – September 2011: Deputy Secretary, then Secretary of Hannan District CCP Committee; Chief of Hannan DistrictSeptember 2011 – January 2015: Secretary of Hanyang District CCP CommitteeJanuary 2015 – January 2017: Secretary of Xihu District CCP CommitteeNovember 2017 – present: Standing Committee Member of Wuhan Municipal CCP Committee; currently Party Secretary of Wuhan Political and Legal Affairs Committee.

Persecution Facts

Cao Yujiang has actively carried out the CCP’s persecution policy against Falun Gong since he was appointed Party Secretary of Wuhan Political and Legal Affairs Committee in November 2017. He personally led a new round of persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Wuhan, overseeing the implementation of the persecution in 13 administration districts and 2 economic development zones.

The Political and Legal Affairs Committee, an extra-judiciary agency given power to override the public security and judiciary branches, has been tasked with orchestrating the specific persecution policies.

According to Minghui.org, from January 2018 to December 2021, more than 982 practitioners in Wuhan were targeted for their faith. Among them, 8 practitioners passed away, 78 were sentenced, 122 were taken to brainwashing centers, 106 were detained, 387 were arrested and another 249 harassed. Six practitioners had a total of 400,000 yuan in cash confiscated by the police in the home-raid, another 14 had their pension suspended and one practitioner was sacked from employment.

Persecution in 2018

In May 2018, Cao instructed local 610 Office staff to make comprehensive progress to achieve “effective transformation” (forcing Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their faith), with strong attacks and innovative breakthroughs so as to make a name for Wuhan nationwide.

Under the directives from Cao, in 2018 alone, at least 30 Falun Gong practitioners in Wuhan were sentenced to prison and 11 were each fined 39,000 yuan. Ms. Zhu Ya from Huangpo District and Ms. Wang Qihua from Xinzhou District were each given eight years in prison. Ms. Zhu was also extorted 20,000 yuan.

Among the nearly 100 practitioners arrested, 25 had their arrests approved and later tried. Another 87 practitioners were taken to detention centers for coercive brainwashing. Many more suffered harassment.

In the same year, Wuhan Political and Legal Affairs Committee headed by Cao and the 610 Office also organized numerous brainwashing activities, ordering all staff members in Wuhan to log in to WeChat (a popular Chinese social media platform) to access slandering information against Falun Gong. They lured and instigated citizens to report Falun Gong practitioners with rewards from 100 to 5,000 yuan. They also deployed personnel in every corner of the city to monitor the practitioners.

Persecution in 2019

The CCP authorities in Wuhan intensified the persecution of Falun Gong prior to the 7th Military World Games in October 2019. At least 150 Falun Gong practitioners were targeted, including 90 arrested; 57 harassed; 20 had their homes ransacked; 57 held in detention centers; 2 put into Ankang Psychiatric Hospital; 30 taken to brainwashing centers and 16 sentenced to prison. Four practitioners passed away as a result of the persecution.

In the same year, the Wuhan Political and Legal Affairs Committee printed and distributed large quantities of propaganda materials, including paper fans and handbags, to further the demonizing campaign against Falun Gong. There were also brainwashing display windows and billboards in some neighborhoods. Some schools set up the “Campus Anti-cult Safety Knowledge” billboards to mislead the young minds.

Persecution in 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2020 and the virus infection quickly spread to the rest of the world. The Wuhan Political and Legal Affairs Committee continued their persecution of Falun Gong practitioners even during the lockdowns.

In 2020, 2 practitioners died as a result of persecution, 16 were sentenced to prison, 50 were arrested and 56 others experienced harassment.

Persecution in 2021

In 2021, the Political and Legal Affairs Committee in Wuhan and 610 Office carried out the “Zero-out” campaign (a coordinated effort to force every practitioner on the government’s blacklist to renounce their faith), leading to a new wave of arrests and brainwashing center detention.

In 2021, 460 Falun Gong practitioners in Wuhan suffered various forms of persecution. One practitioner died; 16 were sentenced; 92 taken to brainwashing centers; 47 detained; 160 arrested and their homes ransacked; and 136 harassed.

In the same year, the Wuhan Political and Legal Affairs Committee continued the brainwashing efforts of local citizens by hosting a number of activities. Large quantities of propaganda giveaways, such as aprons, were widely distributed in society.

Select Persecution Cases

Case 1. Ms. Wan Dajiu

Ms. Wan Dajiu was released on April 12, 2019 from serving a four-year term, only to be arrested again two weeks later on May 6 and taken to Yusunshan brainwashing center in Jianghan District. She was subjected to coercive brainwashing and torture. By the time she was released, she had fallen into a delirious state and lost the ability to take care of herself. Her family suspected that she was injected with toxic drugs. She passed away in October that year.

Case 2. Ms. Wei Youxiu

Ms. Wei Youxiu was arrested at Zhongshan Park on June 2, 2018. Her home was also ransacked. She was detained in Wuhan No. 1 Detention Center for over a year. It’s reported that the persecution turned her into a mere skeleton and she had to be helped when walking.

Her family received a notice on August 15, 2020, saying the 72-year-old woman had died from leukemia. While the authorities refused to provide further information about her, her family suspected that she was tortured to death.

Case 3. Ms. Zhu Ya

Ms. Zhu Ya, 54, was stopped by plainclothes police officers waiting outside her apartment building when she went out for grocery shopping on April 25, 2017. She was arrested and her home ransacked.

Ms. Zhu was tried by the Huangpo District Court on June 15, 2018. Her lawyer entered a not guilty plea for her and she also testified in her own defense. The judge sentenced her to eight years in prison and fined her 20,000 yuan on July 7.

Case 4. Ms. Wang Qihua

Ms. Wang Qihua, 66, was arrested and taken to Yusunshan brainwashing center on July 13, 2017. She was transferred to Wuhan No. 1 Detention Center a few days later. She was sentenced to eight years in prison by Xinzhou District Court on May 2, 2018.

Case 5. Mr. Wu Yuanchou

Mr. Wu Yuanchou, 82, was tried by Wuchang District Court on November 19, 2019 and sentenced to three years in prison on November 26 the same year, with a fine of 3,000 yuan.

Case 6. Ms. Xu Huiming

Ms. Xu Huiming was arrested near her home on April 18, 2019 and later sentenced to four years in prison. She appealed against the wrongful sentence, but the Wuhan Intermediate Court upheld the original sentence in March 2021.

The authorities kept Ms. Xu’s family in the dark of her whereabouts after the higher court’s ruling. Her husband searched everywhere and later heard that his wife was held in a prison on Jiangda Road (near Changqing Park) in the Jianghan Economic Development Zone in Wuhan. He has not been allowed to visit her yet.

Case 7. Ms. Liu Jianqun

Ms. Liu Jianqun was arrested on September 9, 2020 and held in the Wuhan No. 1 Detention Center. She was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison by Zhuankou Economic Development Zone Court in December 2021.