Locals in Heilongjiang Province Remember a Deceased Falun Gong Practitioner on the Anniversary of His Arrest

On March 28th, 2002, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhang Yanchao was taken away by police from Wuchang City, Heilongjiang Province, and never returned. He was brutally beaten to death in police custody within just a few days. Police forced his uncle to sign off on his cremation.

Every year on March 28th, the locals commemorate Mr. Zhang. It's still difficult for them to accept the fact that he was killed just because he wanted to be a good man and follow the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance.

Mr. Zhang was a farmer in Xihuangqi Village, Lalin Township, Wuchang City. His neighbours often spoke of him fondly during these past 12 years, remembering what a nice person he was.

Mr. Zhang started practising Falun Gong in the winter of 1997 when he held a temporary job in Harbin. He met a colleague from South China who had read Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Gong, and recommended it to him.

Mr. Zhang finished the book within a day and his illness symptoms began to disappear in just a few days. His neighbours were impressed with his swift improvement. Since taking up the practice, he often offered help to others without seeking returns.

He went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in the winter of 2000, after the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999. He was detained in Xinghuashan No. 2 Detention Centre in Wuchang City. He was released after police extorted 1,000 yuan¹ from his father-in-law, who sold a cow to raise the money.

After his release, Mr. Zhang started to talk to people about how the government was slandering Falun Gong. He and another practitioner went to distribute Falun Gong informational materials in neighbouring villages and explain the facts to the local people.

Beaten to Death

Officer Jia Jiwei and others from the Hongqi Police Station arrested Mr. Zhang on the morning of March 28th, 2002, and took 2,800 yuan in cash (about $450) from his home. Mr. Zhang reprimanded them for their behaviour. Furious, Jia responded, “Do you dare to oppose us? You are a Falun Gong practitioner. Even if you were beaten to death, you would have nowhere to seek justice!”

Jia and other officers brutally beat Mr. Zhang at the Hongqi Police Station, leaving him bruised and injured. They later took him to the Xinghuashan No. 2 Detention Centre in Wuchang City.

Guard Liu and others at the detention centre brutally beat Mr. Zhang again and shocked him with electric batons. They stopped after more than an hour because they got tired.

Mr. Zhang was taken to Wuchang City Prison on the afternoon of March 28th. Officers Chen Shusen and Zhan Zhigang from the Wuchang City Police Station and Huang Zhanshan, Zhu Xianfu, and Fu Xiuchun from the Wuchang 610 Office beat him again.

As a result of being beaten three separate times, he had injuries all over his entire body, and his left leg was fractured. He was then pulled into a vehicle and taken to the Seventh Department of Harbin Police Station on March 31st, 2002.

Officers there tortured him on April 1st in an interrogation room with more than 40 different torture devices, including hanging, beating, electric shock batons and more. Within a day, Mr. Zhang was in critical condition.

His dead body was transferred to the autopsy room at the Detention Centre of the Harbin Police Station on April 6th.

His actual death date is still unknown. Fu Xiuchun from Wuchang 610 Office disclosed to others later: “Zhang Yanchao was beaten to death within two days in the Seventh Department of Harbin Police Station.”

Forceful Cremation

Mr. Zhang's whereabouts was unknown after he was taken to Harbin. His wife was taken away by police while inquiring about his whereabouts. She was sent to the Wanjia Labour Camp and imprisoned there for two years. She was forced to leave home and move frequently to avoid arrest after she was released in 2004.

Lalin Police Station notified Mr. Zhang's family on April 27th that he died as a result of a hunger strike and asked them to look at his remains before cremation. Mr. Zhang's two brothers, uncle, and aunt waited for two days at the Harbin Police Station and did not see his remains. They were asked again and again to sign off on his cremation.

The police finally agreed to let the family see his remains on April 30th, upon strong requests from family members and villagers. Viewing of the body came with the precondition that only family members were allowed and that the cremation would be signed off immediately afterwards.

Mr. Zhang's family was brought to the Detention Centre of the Harbin Police Station. His fellow villagers came later but were blocked from entering by more than 60 armed officers.

The family members saw dozens of corpses in a room. Mr. Zhang's remains were left on the floor with bruises and cuts over his entire body. One of his eyes was gone; his mouth was open and he had lost several teeth; his lower jaw was broken, and one leg was fractured. A man working on-site said his body was brought there 21 days ago.

Seeing the miserable unnatural death of Mr. Zhang, the family refused to sign off on his cremation. Officers threatened that they would be arrested unless they complied. One officer terrified the family when he took out bloody internal organs from his remains, which were under necropsy, to scare his family. The uncle then broke down and signed the agreement.

Funeral

Nearly 200 fellow villagers of Xihuangqi Village, including representatives of almost every family in the village, attended Mr. Zhang's funeral. Many burst into tears when his ash box was presented.

March 28th has become a special day for the villagers in Xihuangqi Village to commemorate Mr. Zhang. The villagers still cannot understand why the police beat such a good man to death.

The perpetrators are still at large because there is no legal consequence for such people under the Communist regime's senseless persecution campaign against Falun Gong.

Note

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