1999 年 7 月 20 日，時任中共總書記江澤民下令在全國範圍內全面取締法輪功，並專設「610 辦公室」協調鎮壓。在此之前法輪功是合法的氣功修煉團體，估計修煉者達 7,000 萬至 1 億人。一夜之間，這個強調「真、善、忍」的群體成為中共建政以來規模最大的宗教迫害對象。
4 月 25 日中南海上訪
1999 年 4 月 25 日，逾萬名法輪功學員自發聚集中南海西側信訪辦，要求釋放在天津被拘的學員。整場聚集秩序井然、無一口號標語，但江澤民視為對黨權威的「重大挑戰」。三個月後即頒布全面禁令。
勞教制度與「轉化」
禁令後，全國勞教所成為迫害主場。數十萬學員未經審判被判處 1-3 年勞教，被強迫「轉化」（簽署放棄信仰書）。倖存者證詞顯示，獄中存在電擊、凍傷、強灌食、性暴力等系統性酷刑。聯合國酷刑問題特別報告員多次點名要求中國說明。
2006 年活摘器官指控
2006 年加拿大前國會議員大衛·喬高（David Kilgour）與人權律師大衛·麥塔斯（David Matas）發表獨立調查報告，指控中共在被關押法輪功學員身上實施大規模活體摘取器官。2019 年倫敦「中國裁判所」（China Tribunal）由皇家檢察官 Geoffrey Nice QC 主持，獨立法庭裁定：「被拘留的法輪功學員一直是、且仍是器官供應庫的主要來源。」
2001 年天安門「自焚」疑案
2001 年 1 月 23 日除夕，天安門廣場發生五人自焚事件，中央電視台迅速大規模播放並歸咎法輪功，徹底扭轉民意。然而國際教育發展組織等多方分析發現，影像存在大量擺拍、警員提前準備滅火器、自焚者表現不符合燃燒物理常識等矛盾，至今疑點重重。
結語：一場被遺忘的長期迫害
對法輪功的鎮壓延續至今已逾 25 年。據明慧網不完全統計，已確認因迫害致死的學員逾 5,000 人（實際數字遠高於此）。這場以信仰為標的的鎮壓，至今仍是中國境內最隱形、卻最系統的人權災難之一。
On July 20, 1999, then-CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin ordered a nationwide ban on Falun Gong, establishing the special "Office 610" to coordinate the crackdown. Before the ban, Falun Gong was a legal qigong practice with an estimated 70 to 100 million practitioners. Overnight, this group emphasizing "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" became the largest target of religious persecution in the history of the People's Republic.
The April 25 Zhongnanhai Petition
On April 25, 1999, more than 10,000 Falun Gong adherents gathered peacefully outside the petitioning office near Zhongnanhai, asking for the release of detained colleagues in Tianjin. The gathering was orderly, with no slogans or banners. Jiang Zemin nonetheless saw it as a major challenge to the Party's authority. The full ban came three months later.
Re-education Through Labor and "Transformation"
After the ban, China's labor camps became the main site of persecution. Hundreds of thousands were sentenced without trial to one-to-three years of laojiao and forced into "transformation"—signing renunciations of faith. Survivor testimonies describe systematic electric shocks, frostbite, force-feeding, and sexual violence. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has repeatedly raised the issue with Beijing.
2006 Forced Organ Harvesting Allegations
In 2006, former Canadian MP David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas published an independent investigation alleging large-scale forced organ harvesting from detained Falun Gong practitioners. In 2019, the London-based China Tribunal—chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice QC—concluded: "Detained Falun Gong practitioners have been and continue to be a principal source of organs."
The 2001 Tiananmen "Self-Immolation" Incident
On Chinese New Year's Eve 2001, five people set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square. CCTV immediately broadcast saturation coverage blaming Falun Gong, decisively shifting public opinion. Yet international analysis (notably by the International Educational Development NGO) found numerous staged elements—pre-positioned fire extinguishers, physically impossible burn behavior—that have left the incident shrouded in serious doubt.
Conclusion: A Forgotten Long Persecution
The persecution of Falun Gong has now lasted over 25 years. According to the Minghui database, more than 5,000 deaths in custody have been individually documented (the real toll is certainly far higher). This faith-based crackdown remains one of the most invisible yet systematic human rights catastrophes inside China today.