Mr. Wang Wenzhang from Liaoning Province Passed Away as a Result of Persecution

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Wang Wenzhang from Xifeng County, Liaoning Province, was persecuted repeatedly for upholding his practice of Falun Gong. Most recently he was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison in March 2009. He was brutally tortured in Dongling Prison and suffered a stroke. He was released on bail for medical treatment in early 2013. It was too late however, and within the next six months Mr. Wang became paralyzed. On March 28th, 2014, at the age of 65, he lost his life.

Events Leading up to His Death

When handing out materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong on March 2nd, 2009, at an open market in Pinggang Town, Xifeng County, Mr. Wang was reported to the police. The police covered his head with a black cloth, handcuffed his hands behind his back, and forced him into a police vehicle. They also took all the money he had on him as well as his ID card and business license.

Early that afternoon, police vehicles with over 20 officers from the Pinggang Town Police Station surrounded Mr. Wang's home for two hours. Then they brought him home, forced the door open, and proceeded to ransack it. The police took a laptop, a colour ink printer, a 25-inch TV, a DVD player, Falun Gong books, Shen Yun Performance Arts DVD [a world-class traditional Chinese cultural show], 400 yuan¹, and materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. The convenience store Mr. Wang had been running for over 30 years was forced to close.

The police took Mr. Wang to the Xifeng County Detention Centre and did not allow any of his family to visit him. His family had to send over 300 yuan worth of cigarettes to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) personnel involved before they finally were allowed to see him. By then it was March and it was still very cold. The detention centre made Mr. Wang sleep on a hard wooden bed with no bedding, and he was handcuffed and shackled.

The Xifeng County Court held a secret trial against Mr. Wang on July 9th, 2009, without notifying his family. The court sentenced him to four years in prison and placed him in Dongling Prison in Shenyang City.

In prison, Mr. Wang was tortured, and his health deteriorated quickly. He had an appendicitis attack in June 2010 and had to have surgery. The surgery cost 2,300 yuan, which the prison personnel forced his family to pay.

Mr. Wang had a stroke in December 2012. The prison totally ignored his symptoms. When his family came to visit, Mr. Wang was in a wheelchair. Although the prison eventually agreed to release him on bail for medical treatment, they delayed his release for two months. During the delay, the prison extorted 8,000 yuan from his family. The final release date ended up being just one month earlier than when his prison term was to end.

After returning home from prison, Mr. Wang's health did not improve. He was too weak to take care of himself. Within the next six months he became completely paralyzed and died on March 28th, 2014.

Persecuted Since 1999

After the CCP began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, Mr. Wang was brutally persecuted by the Xifeng government several times, seriously interfering with his happy family life.

Mr. Wang was harassed and threatened by local domestic security police because he appealed for justice for Falun Gong. For a while after that, in order to avoid the police, he lived away from home, leading a very difficult life. He eventually returned home and then was fined 10,000 yuan by the township government. After that, the local police frequently went to his home to harass him and his family.

One morning just after Mr. Wang's wife woke up, officer Liu Zhenqing from the local police station and others broke in and ransacked their home. Although the police did not find anything they were looking for, they still arrested his wife and detained her for 15 days.

Mr. Wang was followed by the police while distributing Falun Gong materials in July 2000. The Xifeng County police later broke into his home, pushed him down, and ransacked his home. They took his TV, recorder, and other personal belongings. CCP personnel involved in the ransacking were Li Chengjie and chief Li Xiaobo from the county Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the township police station. The CCP sentenced Mr. Wang to one year of forced labor at the Tieling Forced Labour Camp.

Background on Mr. Wang

Mr. Wang started to cultivate Falun Gong in 1996 and benefited physically and mentally. He was able to give up drinking and smoking, his health improved, and he no longer had any illnesses.

Even better, he became much more optimistic and open minded, able to look lightly at issues of personal gain and loss. His family life was much happier and peaceful. He ran a small convenience store, where he treated all of his customers with honesty and kindness.

Note

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