According to Chinese State-Run media, the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party Jiang Zemin has died at the age of 96.
He passed away due to Leukemia and multiple organ failure in the city of Shanghai, where he was once mayor.
In 1989, Jiang rose to power due to his involvement in the Tiananmen Square Massacre, when the communist country’s military killed an estimated 10,000 unarmed pro-democracy protesters.
During Jiang’s time as the leader, a spiritual practice called Falun Dafa grew rapidly throughout the communist country.
It’s based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and many began the practice for its health benefits.
By the year 1999, an estimated 70 to 100 million people in China were practicing Falun Dafa.
Jiang saw the large movement as a threat to CCP’s power and control over the Chinese people and in 1999, he launched one of the most brutal persecutions against a faith group in modern times.
He claimed he would eliminate Falun Dafa in three months, but the persecution continues 23 years later.
During Jiang’s leadership, millions of practitioners were forced to choose between their faith or their lives.
According to Jiang’s guidance, practitioners who died from torture were to be declared victims of suicide and cremated immediately.
Thousands of practitioners were secretly killed for their organs to be sold as part of the CCP’s massive organ transplant industry.
The persecution of Falun Dafa, an other ethic groups in China, continues to this day under the regime’s current leader Xi Jinping.