"Model Worker" Dies as a Result of Persecution

Mr. Ding Guowang lived in Xinqiao Town, Xiangcheng City, Henan Province. He was a nationally recognized "Model Worker." He joined the army in 1965, and he was employed in the Xiangcheng Fertilizer Factory. He suffered from hardening of the blood vessels in his brain and high blood pressure. Half of his body was numb due to his ailments. Six months after starting to practise Falun Gong in October 1997, all of his ailments were gone. His complexion became rosy, and he walked lightly, like a young man.

Mr. Ding Guowang

After July 20th, 1999, the persecution against Falun Gong began. Mr. Ding decided to go to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong. At around 10:00 a.m. on September 11th, 2001, Mr. Ding Guowang raised a banner that said "Falun Gong is good" on the Golden Water Bridge of Tiananmen Square. The police then arrested him. They detained him and put handcuffs and shackles on him throughout the detention. He was cruelly beaten every day. A District Court sentenced him to 18 months of forced labour at the First Ward of Tuanhe Forced Labour Camp in Beijing.

First Warden Xu (male, given name unknown) knew that Mr. Ding would not give up Falun Gong. He forbade the guards, wardens, or prisoners from talking to him. Warden Xu tried to wear down Mr. Ding's spirit by isolating him and subjecting him to brainwashing. Mr. Ding went on protest hunger strikes intermittently for eight months. The guards forced Mr. Ding to watch videos and listen to radio programmes slandering Falun Gong. They denied him winter clothing and bedding. Mr. Ding spent two winters wearing only a layer of long underwear, and he slept without any blanket in between two other prisoners. He contracted scabies in the camp, so Warden Xu ordered prisoners to hold Mr. Ding down every day for injections of unknown drugs.

When Mr. Ding was released in 2003, the Tuanhe Camp Administration took him directly to the Lianhua MSG Corp, and they tried to collect a fine of 10,000 yuan¹ from the company. The Lianhua MSG Corp. immediately fired him and left him without any way to make a living.

On the morning of March 13th, 2003, Mr. Ding returned to his home in Xinqiao Town. He appeared to suffer a nervous breakdown. He would often cry or laugh without reason and spoke gibberish. He could not take care of himself, and his condition worsened in 2004. In 2005, half of his body was paralysed and he could no longer speak. He became incontinent and had to fully rely on his family to take care of him. He died on April 20th, 2008, at the age of 65.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/5/10/178151.html