(Minghui.org) The CCP has continued to abuse the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners since it started its persecution of the spiritual discipline 19 years ago.

The number of prison sentences continues to increase, and the prison terms have gotten longer. The number of practitioners who have died from torture is still high.

Several recent cases highlight this trend.

Mr. Yang Baosen from Songyuan City was sentenced to ten years and incarcerated in Gongzhuling Prison in Jilin Province in 2009. After nine years of horrific torture, Mr. Yang was rushed to a hospital on February 27, 2018, to be resuscitated. He was shortly transferred back to the prison. When he was released on medical bail on March 7, he was on the verge of death and unable to speak or walk on his own. He died a month later on April 7 at the age of 61.

Mr. Yang Baosen Tortured in Prison with Electric Batons and Tied to “Stretch Bed”

Ms. Cheng Haiyan from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, was once an associate professor at the China Pharmaceutical University. Since the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, Ms. Cheng has been imprisoned for ten years, tortured in a mental hospital for two and a half months, detained three times, and repeatedly subjected to brainwashing sessions.

The authorities ransacked her home five times. Her husband, who was in the military and unable to shoulder the pressure of the persecution, divorced her. With all the physical torture and mental pressure, Ms. Cheng died on March 28, 2018, at the age of 63.

Former Academic and Business Executive Dies after Repeated Arrests and Lengthy Imprisonment

Mr. Liu Ruping and his wife, Ms. Zhang Chenglan, from Jinan, Shandong Province, are both Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Liu was recently sentenced to four and a half years for his faith, and his wife received three and a half years.

Mr. Liu, 57, was formerly an attorney. He was previously incarcerated in a forced labor camp for a year and tortured for seven years in Shandong Prison. Ms. Zhang, 54, used to be an engineer before she was put in a forced labor camp for a year and a half.

The Persecution of Married Couple Mr. Liu Ruping and Ms. Zhang Chenglan

Mr. Wang Chunjing, 66, from Weifang City, Shandong Province, was secretly tried in Shouguang City Court in January 2018. He was later sentenced to five years in prison and has filed an appeal. The officers arrested Ms. Wang and his wife on September 11, 2017, and ransacked their home.

Mr. Wang Chunjing from Shouguang City Sentenced to Prison for His Faithhttp://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2018/4/16/169387.html

Mr. Zhou Xiqiong and his wife from Linquan County, Anhui Province, were arrested on August 21, 2016. Mr. Zhou was sentenced to five years and is held in Suzhou Prison. Another practitioner from Linquan County, Ms. Ma Junping, was sentenced to five years in prison for filing a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese Communist Party chief who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong.

Mr. Zhou Xiqiong from Linquan County Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for His FaithTwice Given Forced Labor, Anhui Woman Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison – All for Her Faith in Falun Gong

Three Falun Gong practitioners from Yueyang County, Hunan Province, were arrested on January 24, 2018, while they were studying Falun Gong books. The practitioners were tried in March and on April 4. Mr. Wang Yuelai was sentenced to five years, Ms. Chen Quanxiu to four years, and Mr. He Genliang to one year.

Three Falun Gong Practitioners from Hunan Province Sentenced for Their Faith

Six practitioners from Xiangtan, Hunan Province, were given prison terms in 2018. They are Mr. Peng Shiqing, Mr. Zeng Gu, Mr. Wang Qingsheng, Mr. Lin Jia, Ms. Suo Jiyan, and Ms. Liu Manyan. They were arrested on August 14, 2017, and later tried without their families' knowledge. Mr. Peng was sentenced to nine years in prison. The prosecution offered him a lesser sentence if he agreed to renounce his belief. He turned down the offer. Before this, Mr. Peng was once sentenced to eight years in prison for his faith.

Three practitioners from Huidong County, Guangdong Province, were recently sentenced to prison. Ms. Zhou Yuqin was sentenced to ten years with a fine of 50,000 yuan. Ms. Shi Xuemei received nine years and a fine of 30,000 yuan. Mr. Liu Qingqiang was sentenced to four years and fined 10,000 yuan.

Chinese authorities sentenced 1,097 known Falun Gong practitioners to prison in 2017 alone. In the first three months of 2018, 194 practitioners were sentenced to prison—93 in January, 43 in February, and 58 in March.

In March alone, the court collected 173,000 yuan in fines from the practitioners tried. Among those who were sentenced, nine were given 7 to 10 years, and the oldest was 81 years old. The authorities arrested 478 practitioners during the New Year holiday.

The preface of The Ultimate Goal of Communism states: “The essence of communism is that it is a specter. It is made up of hatred and degenerate elements of the universe. It has a deep hatred for human beings and wants to destroy them. It is not satisfied with killing a man’s flesh body alone; after all, life does not terminate with the death of the physical body—people’s souls reincarnate. But when a person has absolutely abandoned his sense of morality, his soul will be completely eliminated. That is the ultimate, most terrifying death. Dragging humanity toward the abyss of eternal damnation is what this communist specter wants to achieve.”

The persecution of Falun Gong is an important step before communism reaches its goal of destroying humanity. Nonetheless, the persecution of any righteous practice has never succeeded in the face of history. The persecution of Falun Gong would only expedite the collapse of the Chinese communist regime.