Gender: Male

Perpetrator: China

Ethnic Group: Han

Religion or Belief: Falun Gong

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Appeal: Rejected

Sentence: 3 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: September/19/2017

Date of Sentencing: June/28/2018

Date of Release: September/19/2020

Current Status: Released

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity

Nature of Charges: Cult

Ma Zhenyu

Extra Bio Info:

Ma Zhenyu was imprisoned for his religious activity. 

On September 19, 2017, authorities arrested Ma after he sent mail to government leaders about Falun Gong persecution.

On June 28, 2018, the Xuanwu District Court sentenced Ma to three years in prison for "organizing or using a cult to undermine implementation of the law" (Art. 300 CCL) and fined him 30,000 yuan.

On August 30, 2018, the Nanjing Intermediate People's Court rejected Ma's appeal. There are reports that Ma was denied adequate legal representation.

On July 17, 2019, Zhang Yuhua, Ma's wife and a U.S. resident, met with President Donald Trump at the White House.

On July 20, 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Ma in a press release commemorating China's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. 

On September 19, 2020, Ma was released from prison after completing his sentence. 

Ma is married with one child. 

Ma has been previously arrested on multiple occasions for his Falun Gong activities, including in 1999, 2000, and 2011. He served seven years in prison between 2000 and 2007. During these arrests and imprisonments, Ma was reportedly tortured.

Sources:

Additional Name(s): 邓翠苹

Gender: Female

Current Location: Second Women's Prison, Yunnan Province

Perpetrator: China

Ethnic Group: Han

Religion or Belief: Falun Gong

Health Concerns: Cysts on her thigh

Reports of Torture: Yes

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 6 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: July/24/2016

Date of Sentencing: February/24/2017

Current Status: Unknown

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Distributing Religious Materials Religious Activity

Nature of Charges: Cult

Deng Cuiping

Extra Bio Info:

Deng Cuiping was imprisoned for her religious activity.

On July 24, 2016, officers from the Public Security Bureau in Chengjiang County detained Deng and four others for distributing Falun Gong materials. Later that day, officers from Eshan County and Hongta District raided Deng’s home and seized her computer, printer, books, and CDs. Deng was formally arrested on September 1, 2016 and charged with "organizing or using a cult to undermine implementation of the law" (Art. 300 CCL)

On February 24, 2017, Eshan County People’s Court sentenced Deng to six years in prison and fined her 10,000 yuan.

On March 6, 2017, Deng's request for bail was denied.

On May 18, 2017, Deng was transferred to the Second Women's Prison in Yunnan Province.

Deng reportedly suffers from cysts on her thigh. Similarly, her health has reportedly deteriorated during her imprisonment.

Deng's sentence should have ended in July 2022.

Prior to her most recent arrest, Deng has been harassed and detained several times related to her practice of Falun Gong. Her home was raided both August 1999 and October 2000. In late 2004, she was prohibited from teaching. On April 8, 2006, Deng was reportedly sentenced to a three-year prison term at Second Women’s Prison in Yunnan Province. During this time, she was reportedly tortured. 

Sources:

May 14, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2020

USCIRF Welcomes Decision to Prevent Federal Retirement Savings from Being Invested in Chinese Corporations

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today welcomed the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board’s decision to prevent funds from the federal government employee retirement savings programs from being invested in Chinese corporations. The board had proposed to allow investments in an international fund that included several Chinese companies, including Hikvision, credibly implicated in serious religious freedom violations. In requesting the change, the U.S. National Security Advisor cited religious freedom concerns in addition to the national security and economic factors.

“The board’s decision should reassure federal employees that their hard-earned retirement savings won’t fund religious freedom violations in China,” noted USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “We should never sacrifice our values for profit.”

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF called upon the administration to use its authority under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and the International Religious Freedom Act to impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for severe religious freedom violations, especially Chen Quanguo, the current Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang. In September 2019, USCIRF released a report documenting the Chinese government uses surveillance technology provided by companies like Hikvision to monitor religious communities.

“The Chinese government has created a dystopian surveillance state and uses advanced camera systems to monitor Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and other religious groups,” USCIRF Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee added. “Religious freedom is an illusion without the right to pray in privacy.”

In February 2020, USCIRF released a factsheet explaining how the Chinese government’s new Regulation for Religious Groups could further restrict religious freedom.

###

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].

 

 

Subscribe to