Seven Falun Gong Practitioners Die Due to the Persecution

Ms. Li Qiuju, 54, of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, recovered from many diseases after she started practising Falun Gong in 1996. However, around the Chinese lunar New Year of 2001, she was detained by the local police station for seven days and was forced to give up the practice. Later, she was taken back by a family member, but her diseases resurfaced and her health deteriorated day by day. She died on October 12, 2001.

Mr. Zhao Zhiyong, 78, lived in Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province. He quickly recovered from cerebral thrombus after he started practising Falun Gong. After July 20, 1999, when the persecution began, he was assaulted by the authorities, and his home was ransacked several times. He was frightened, especially since his elder daughter was arrested, jailed and brutally persecuted many times because she practises Falun Gong. Later Ms. Zhao was sentenced to four years in prison. Mr. Zhao suffered physically and mentally, and the cerebral thrombus reappeared. He died in March 2004.

Mr. Liu Jingyu, 68, was a practitioner from Songyuan City, Jilin Province. After July 20, 1999, his wife was imprisoned by local police several times, for up to six months, because she practises Falun Gong. His family was fined 2,000 yuan (1) and the family's corn harvest was confiscated as payment for cash fines. At that time, only Liu Jingyu's 80 year-old mother was at home. She knelt and begged the village officials for leniency, yet she was rejected. Liu Jingyu could not take this blow and his hypertension recurred. He died on February 14, 2005.

Mr. Li Shichen, 73, was a practitioner of Songyuan City, Jilin Province. He suffered hypertension, dizziness and other diseases for many years. He obtained Falun Gong in 1998, and he and his wife began practising. His health problems completely disappeared. His wife Zhao Shuxia went to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong and was arrested several times. During that time, Mr. Li was arrested and interrogated by police. They also ransacked his home repeatedly and extorted 4,000 yuan from him. His wife was forced to become homeless after she escaped from prison, to avoid further persecution. She was arrested, detained and brainwashed eight times. She was sentenced to one year in a forced labour camp and was brutally tortured there. Mr. Li suffered this heavy blow and his old diseases relapsed. He died on May 25, 2002.

Ms. Ning Suqing, 46, was an employee of the Songyuan City Aquaculture Company, Jilin Province. Previously, she had rheumatic heart disease and was in critical condition. She frequently took medicine and was often hospitalized. She regained her health after she started Falun Gong practice in 1996. After July 20, 1999, she was harassed and threatened many times by a policeman who forced her to write and sign a guarantee statement (2). In the workplace, she was intimidated by people appointed by the officials of her company. They threatened her, saying her that if she didn't turn in her Falun Gong books, she would be laid off. Ning Suqing turned in a book, and suffered enormously in mind and body. Her health deteriorated and her old diseases relapsed. She died on July 23, 2000.

Mr. Dou Senyu, 63, was an accountant at Dongshan Temple Village, Dahaituo Town, Chicheng County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. After the persecution started, the township government forced him to write the guarantee statement. From then on he was unceasingly harassed, and police often hounded him late at night. After July 20, 1999, the situation intensified. They confiscated his Falun Gong books, intimidated him, and forced him to write and sign a guarantee statement. As a result of the repeated police harassment, his health deteriorated, and he died on March 31, 2001.

Mr. Qiu Zhaosheng, 69, lived in Diaobingshan of Tieling City, Liaoning Province. He previously suffered from pulmonary abscess and skin disease. Due to pulmonary tuberculosis, he was frequently hospitalized. After beginning Falun Gong practice in 1996, he regained his health. On September 18, 2001, his son was illegally arrested and sent to a forced labour camp. Soon afterwards, his wife was also arrested and jailed in a detention centre for five months. He could not bear these heavy blows, and he died suddenly on July 24, 2002, about five weeks after his wife was released on bail for medical treatment.

Note:

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

(2) "Guarantee Statement": A statement to declare that one is remorseful for practising Falun Gong and guarantees not to practise Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/3/17/97502.html