Further Details on Practitioner Mr Zhao Mingxiang's Death in Shandong Province

Since July 20, 1999, when Jiang Zemin started the barbaric suppression and persecution of Falun Gong and its practitioners and ordered that "te death of Falun Gong practitioners from beatings shall be counted as suicides," the police and other officials have aggressively persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners with extremely cruel, brutal, and vicious means and have caused countless practitioners to become disabled or even to lose their lives.

Zhao Mingxiang, from a village near Pingdu City, is one of the practitioners who was tortured to death. He was 46 years old. The local people all knew he was a good person. Because of his belief in Falun Gong, Qingdao City Public Security Bureau issued a warrant for his arrest. In order to avoid arrest he had been homeless for four years. On December 30, 2003, he died next to a haystack in Wage Village, Jimo City. According to the villagers who saw his body, Zhao Mingxiang was wearing only one shoe and had no belt. (It is a police station rule to remove a detainee's belt). He was still breathing when he was found but died between 9 and 10 a.m.

On May 25, 2004, Zhao's family heard the news and went to the criminal division in Jimo City to claim the body. The public security officer said he had died from cold and hunger. Zhao's family requested his ashes. but the officer said they did not have them. Finally, after many attempts to trace Zhao's remains, his family recovered the ashes from Yingshang Crematory Field in Jimo. He had been cremated on December 30, 2003, the date of his death, even though an unknown body is normally not allowed to be cremated immediately. Fearing that the facts of the persecution would be exposed, the authorities quickly cremated the body to destroy any evidence and did not notify the family members. His family wanted to take the police photo of the deceased to show Zhao's father, who is more than 80 years old, but the police refused the request, saying they needed the photo for their records. From that photo his family could see that Zhao's beard had grown very long, and he was extremely emaciated.

Zhao Mingxiang left home with some Falun Gong materials on December 21, 2003, and there was no news of him until May 25, 2004. Duanbolan Police Station apparently arrested him on the night he left home. During the eight days after his arrest, Zhao suffered all kinds of brutal torture and was almost suffocated to death. Aware that Zhao had no chance of survival, the police threw him under a haystack on a road near Wage Village, in order to avoid taking responsibility. When the villagers discovered him and reported to the security authority, Duanbolan Police Station treated him as an "unknown corpse" instead of using his name.

Duanbolan Police Station also made careful arrangements after Zhao Mingxiang was cremated. They made Yu Fakui of Wage Village make a false statement to Zhao's family. He said he saw Zhao squatting next to the haystack on the morning of December 26 when he went to get hay for his cattle. He said he let Zhao have some water at his home, and that Zhao told him he practised Falun Gong and also mentioned his family members. According to Yu, on the night of December 29, Zhao came again and asked for water. He left after he got a drink. He said Zhao was wobbly and walked toward the north. Actually, Zhao Mingxiang never spoke to anyone about his real situation since learning he was wanted. What Yu Fakui said was information that came from the computer system of the local police station.

The owner of the shop closest to the scene of Zhao's death also made a false allegation. He said Zhao walked leisurely around the area for quite a few days. He refused the food that he was offered, saying he practised Falun Gong and was on a hunger strike. It's common knowledge that only illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners conduct hunger strikes to resist the persecution.

Zhao's family found out 'that his registered permanent residence had been cancelled for a long time, indicating that officials were well aware of Zhao's death.

Zhao Mingxiang's elderly father, who is over 80 years old, was grieving after he heard his son was tortured to death. He did not want to eat and could not sleep well. He was originally healthy but has gradually become emaciated. His son was forced to leave home for four years to avoid illegal arrest, suffering hunger and cold, so the old man was in a constant state of anxiety, looking forward day and night to the time when they could be reunited. Instead, all he got was his son's ashes.

Zhao Mingxiang's two young children still can't believe their father is dead, since they never saw his body, and they still think that one day he will come back again.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/9/18/84489.html