In China, there are 60 million persons with disabilities due to hearing, speech, visual, physical, mental, or other impairments. The Law of People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Disabled Persons was enacted in 1990 to ensure persons with disabilities equal rights including rights to rehabilitation, education, employment, cultural life, and welfare benefits. This law guarantees protection against discrimination, insult and injury, ill-treatment, and abandonment. The Chinese Constitution also grants civil rights to persons with disabilities. These efforts have made significant strides in advancing the overall human rights of persons with disabilities.

Yet, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) violates its country’s laws including those protecting people with disabilities when it shamelessly ignores them to enforce a “policy of implication.” This term means that a group in society is seen as ‘good’ one day and ‘bad or evil’ the next, and subsequently targeted for destruction by terror and violence. Some 70 million civilians have met this fate and died due to the implication policies implemented by the CCP in its 80-year history. These civilians include farmers, intellectuals, citizens following traditional culture or religion, and pro-democracy students. The latest segment of Chinese society to be victimized by this warped form of ruling is Falun Dafa practitioners. As of July 20, 1999 citizens refusing to give up their beliefs in Falun Dafa, a peaceful mediation and exercise self-healing practice, have been and continue to be subject to a country-wide persecution campaign.

The samples in this report illustrate the horrifying impact the persecution is having on persons with disabilities who are Falun Dafa practitioners. They must contend with one or more disabilities in constantly changing, hostile, violent, cruel, non-accessible, and unsanitary environments. They persevere without the aid of established support systems, adaptive devices, care-takers and medications. Persons with disabilities have been illegally imprison in facilities that by law should not have admitted them since they require care for daily activities and unable to do manual labor. Being blind, deaf, mentally or physically disabled, or relying on a wheelchair for mobility does not prevent them from being tortured, humiliated, harassed, and killed. The laws meant to protect persons with disabilities are often ignored because of the implication policy. So, practitioners with disabilities face discrimination by courts, employers, housing programs, government programs, etc. Because of this persecution campaign, they often are insulted, injured, ill-treated, subject to extortion, abandonment, and much more. Not surprisingly, their physical and mental health is often compromised by their disabilities; therefore, added stress from the persecution can lead to life threatening illness and death.

This report contains just a sampling of cases of persecution against persons with disabilities who are Falun Dafa practitioners in China. These cases reflect the uncompromising courage, strength, resilience, and determination of these practitioners in holding strong to their beliefs. Due to space limitations, we are only able to present a small number of these tragic stories.

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