Liaoning Man Passes Away After Suffering Long-Term Persecution

Mr. Du Xinggui was arrested on June 29, 2016, for his faith in Falun Gong. He was later sentenced to two and a half years with his prison term set to expire on December 28, 2018. Since he failed the required physical examination for prison admission, he was released on medical parole.

In May 2020, the police harassed him and attempted to take him back to the prison to serve his term. The harassment caused a quick decline in his health. He recently passed away at the age of 69. The exact date of his death remains to be investigated.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.

Life-Long Severe Asthma Cured
Mr. Du, born in 1951, was a resident of Fushun City, Liaoning Province. He began to suffer from severe asthma when he was two years old. Every time he had an asthma attack, he could not breathe and felt like he was dying. His symptoms became more and more severe as he grew older.

After more than 40 years of suffering, the turning point of his life finally came in 1995 when he began to practice Falun Gong. He regained his health after he took up the practice and sincerely thanked Falun Gong for giving him a second life.

Mr. Du continued to tell people the story of his miraculous recovery even after the brutal persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999. As a result, he was subjected to detention, forced labor terms, and brainwashing sessions during the past two decades.

Forced Labor, Brainwashing, and Detention
Mr. Du was arrested six times between 2001 and 2013, which happened respectively in January 2001, July 2002, October 2003, July 26, 2008, winter of 2010, and June 4, 2013.

After every arrest, the police attempted to send him to the labor camps, detention centers or brainwashing centers for longer detention but failed due to his poor health, which was induced by the repeated arrests and mental pressure.

During the 2008 arrest, the police bribed the officials of the local detention center to have him detained for 15 days and then bribed the labor camp officials to admit him into the local labor camp to serve a 1.5-year forced labor term, after both places had initially refused to accept him because of his health condition.

After a month in the labor camp, he became critically ill and was resuscitated in the hospital. The authorities had to release him afterwards.

Seven government officials came to his home in 2012 to harass him and attempted to force him to give up his faith. After Mr. Du told them how he regained his health through Falun Gong practice, they didn’t make further comment and left.

Sentenced to Prison
Mr. Du was reported to the police on June 28, 2016, while talking to people about the persecution of Falun Gong. He was arrested and then sent to the detention center. Again, he failed the physical examination and was released.

However, the police from Fushun City Domestic Security Division, Shuncheng Police Department, and Gebu Police Station came to his home a few times and tried to collect evidence to frame him. He was indicted by Shuncheng District Procuratorate in September 2016.

The Shuncheng District Court tried Mr. Du on November 10, 2016. He emphasized that no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong and that it was his constitutional right to practice his faith and spread information about it. The presiding judge quickly adjourned the hearing as the prosecutor could not refute him.

Mr. Kong Fangxiao, a Falun Gong practitioner, attended Mr. Du’s court hearing. He accompanied Mr. Du to Shencheng Police Department and Gebu Police Station after the hearing to deliver Mr. Du's defense statement to the police officers working on his case.

The police from Hedong Police Station came to Mr. Du's home on November 17, 2016, and questioned him about their visits to the police officers after the hearing. Both Mr. Du and Mr. Kong were later summoned to the police station and detained upon their arrival. Mr. Du was released a few hours later.

The Shuncheng District Court later sentenced Mr. Du to three years in prison. He appealed to the Fushun City Intermediate Court, which then ruled to reduce his term to two and a half years. However, due to his health, he was on medical parole during his entire term, which expired on December 28, 2018.

Mr. Kong was later sentenced to three years in prison too. The details of his ordeal were reported in the article Liaoning Man Jailed Three Years for Accompanying Friend to Deliver Statement of Defense to Police.

Passes Away after Harassment
The police from Gebu Police Station found Mr. Du in May 2020 and odered him to have a physical exam. They attempted to bring him back into custody to serve his term. The Shuncheng District Court also sent him a notice to serve time outside of prison, despite that his term had already expired.

The repeated harassment caused Mr. Du's health to deteriorate. He passed away recently at the age of 69.