Falun Gong Practitioners to be Punished Under New Administration Punishment Law

May 2, 2006

A Ministry of Public Security (MPS) official asserted at a February 28 MPS press conference that Falun Gong practitioners are subject to punishment under the recently enacted Public Security Administration Punishment Law (PSAPL). Ke Liangdong, Director of the Department of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Public Security, said, "...Whoever violates the PSAPL by misusing the name of religion to harm the health of others or disturb social order will be punished according to the provisions of the PSAPL. Of course, Falun Gong is not an exception." The new law codifies administrative punishment of Falun Gong practitioners that has persisted since the 1999 crackdown.

A Ministry of Public Security (MPS) official asserted at a February 28 MPS press conference that Falun Gong practitioners are subject to punishment under the recently enacted Public Security Administration Punishment Law (PSAPL). Ke Liangdong, Director of the Department of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Public Security, said, "...Whoever violates the PSAPL by misusing the name of religion to harm the health of others or disturb social order will be punished according to the provisions of the PSAPL. Of course, Falun Gong is not an exception." The new law codifies administrative punishment of Falun Gong practitioners that has persisted since the 1999 crackdown.

Article 27 of the PSAPL, which went into effect March 1, stipulates punishment for those who organize heretical sects or secret societies or use superstitious cults or qigong activities to disrupt public order or harm the health of another. Those who violate this article are subject to 5-15 days of detention and a fine of up to 1,000 yuan (US $125). The government has typically used the Criminal Law as justification for repressing the Falun Gong spiritual movement. Article 300 outlaws forming or using a heretical sect to undermine implementation of the law, a charge that carries a penalty from three to seven years in prison or, in "serious" cases, over seven years.

The State Department's 2005 Country Report on Human Rights Practices for China, which was released on March 8, says that the government repression of Falun Gong practitioners that began in 1999 continues. According to the report, the majority of practitioners are subjected to administrative punishment, including reeducation through labor. A 1999 Human Rights Watch press release documented government repression of Falun Gong practitioners both under the Criminal Law and through administrative punishment. Such administrative punishments are controversial because police issue them without effective judicial review or even the minimal procedural protections that the Criminal Procedure Law provides to criminal defendants.

For additional information on administrative punishment, see the CECC's 2005 Annual Report section on Rights of Criminal Suspects and Defendants: Administrative Detention. For more information on government repression of Falun Gong practitioners, see the CECC's 2005 Annual Report section on Freedom of Religion: Government Persecution of Falun Gong.