The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) has released a lengthy report alleging that 361 still-unidentified Falun Gong practitioners were secretly killed at Beijing’s Shougang Steel Plant in late 1999, months after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched its nationwide persecution campaign against the spiritual practice.
According to the report, the practitioners had traveled to Beijing to peacefully appeal on behalf of Falun Gong but refused to reveal their identities after being detained. WOIPFG alleges they were transported by bus to the Shougang steel complex in Beijing’s Shijingshan District, where members of an armed police unit forced them, at gunpoint, into molten steel exceeding 1,500 degrees Celsius, leaving no physical remains.
The organization states that the claim is based primarily on testimony from a former People’s Armed Police soldier identified as Cui, whose identity has been partially withheld for their protection.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice rooted in the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Despite being peaceful in nature, the CCP launched a brutal campaign to eradicate the practice after seeing its rapid rise in popularity as a threat to its authoritarian regime. Since then, thousands of practitioners have perished at the hands of Chinese police, with many today still undergoing routine monitoring, arbitrary travel bans, and arrests.
Whistleblower testimony
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According to WOIPFG, Cui served with the 4th Company of the 341st Regiment, 114th Mobile Division of the People’s Armed Police and participated in a secret operation at the steel plant.
The report alleges Cui and another soldier were ordered to force Falun Gong practitioners into the molten steel. Cui reportedly said he initially resisted carrying out the order but was himself threatened at gunpoint and told he had no choice but to fulfill the order.
WOIPFG says Cui suffered severe psychological trauma following the incident and experienced persistent vomiting and emotional distress for days afterward. The report states that in 2016, he finally disclosed the alleged events while dining with several friends, becoming what WOIPFG describes as the first known participant to publicly recount the operation.
Evidence cited
WOIPFG argues that the operation would have required extensive coordination between military, security, and industrial authorities. The report notes that senior commanders of the 114th Mobile Division, including then-Division Commander Niu Zhizhong and Political Commissar Ma Bingtai, received rapid promotions shortly after the alleged incident. While acknowledging that promotions alone do not establish wrongdoing, WOIPFG argues the timing raises questions warranting further investigation.
The report also contends that Beijing’s Shougang Steel Plant possessed characteristics that could have made it suitable for a covert operation, including restricted access, high-security industrial facilities, and blast furnaces capable of destroying physical evidence.
WOIPFG places the alleged incident within the broader context of the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong, which officially began on July 20, 1999. The report recounts how Falun Gong grew rapidly throughout China during the 1990s and cites the peaceful appeal by thousands of practitioners near Zhongnanhai on April 25, 1999, as a pivotal moment preceding the nationwide crackdown ordered by then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin.
WOIPFG further argues that the establishment of the 610 Office, an extralegal security body created to direct the persecution of Falun Gong, enabled authorities to bypass ordinary legal procedures and coordinate repression across multiple government agencies.
The organization also links the alleged Shougang incident to broader allegations of torture, arbitrary detention, and forced organ harvesting documented by various human rights organizations over the past two decades, while acknowledging that the steel plant allegations themselves have not been independently verified.
Call for additional witnesses
WOIPFG emphasizes that the report relies on the testimony of the former armed police soldier and says many questions remain unanswered, including the identities of the alleged victims and whether additional witnesses or documentary evidence exist.
The organization is calling on former members of the People’s Armed Police, retired military personnel, former Shougang employees, and anyone with relevant knowledge to come forward confidentially. It also encourages individuals with documents, photographs, oral testimony, or other information related to the alleged incident to assist in what it describes as an ongoing investigation.
According to WOIPFG, establishing the full truth will require additional eyewitness testimony and documentary evidence beyond the information currently available.
For more information, please reach out to:
World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG)
Reporting Mailbox: http://www.zhuichaguoji.org/node/3387
Tel: 347-448-5790 | Fax: 347-402-1444
Address: P.O. Box 84, New York, NY, 10116 U.S.
Websites: http://www.zhuichaguoji.org | http://www.upholdjustice.org
