In Memory of Hainan Art School Teacher Zhang Xiaotong

Zhang Xiaotong was from Siping City, Jilin Province and born in November 1958. She was a piano teacher in the Hainan Provincial Art School. She was kind and talented, especially in music composition.

Because she cultivated Falun Dafa, Zhang Xiaotong suffered severe persecution for a long time. She died at age 46, at 6 p.m. on March 10, 2005 in the Hainan People's Hospital.

Zhang Xiaotong's husband Song Yuesheng is a sculptor, and he also teaches at the Hainan Provincial Art School. Because he is a Dafa practitioner, he was illegally arrested and sentenced, and is currently still in prison.

In 1995, Zhang Xiaotong and her husband started practising Falun Dafa in Haikou City, and both benefited greatly from the cultivation practice. In early 1990, Song Yuesheng encountered robbers who tried to steal his motorcycle. Song was assaulted and suffered from 13 cuts and one of the bones in his heel was broken, which caused him to have difficulty walking. Especially when he needed to go upstairs, he had to move one foot up onto a step and hold the other leg with his hands to move it up the stairs. He would hold on to the rail and move slowly with much effort. However, after he practised Dafa, he could walk nimbly and with no problems. After other teachers and students witnessed this amazing change, many of them took up Falun Dafa cultivation practise themselves.

Zhang Xiaotong and Song Yuesheng actively participated in promoting Dafa. They bought books with their own money and gave them to people who could not afford them. They helped new practitioners study the Fa and learn the exercises.

On July 20, 1999, Jiang Zemin and the Chinese Communist Party mobilised the military, police, radio stations, TVs, newspapers and all government branches to brutally persecute Falun Dafa. The persecution aimed to "destroy them physically, defame their reputation, and bankrupt them financially." It was said that "death due to beating is regarded as a suicide." Suddenly, China was thrown into a state of chaos and darkness.

The couple and many other practitioners appealed to the provincial government with great compassion and forbearance. They stated that Falun Dafa has brought many benefits to the people and the country, without presenting any harm. On July 23, 1999, police arrested Zhang Xiaotong because she kept appealing. She was detained in the Haidian Detention Centre. At that time, many practitioners were being detained, and the detention centre was so crowded that the detainees had no place to lie down and sleep. Meanwhile, some local government leaders pointed out that it was illegal to arrest people just for being Falun Gong practitioners and on August 4, 1999, all the practitioners who were detained in the Haidian Detention Centre were released.

At the end of July and in the beginning of August 1999, Ms. Zhang's husband Song Yuesheng was interrogated non-stop for seven days and seven nights. When the police finally left him alone, Song calmly escaped. In retaliation, the police searched and ransacked several practitioners' homes in Haikou City.

Before July 20, 1999, Hainan practitioners would have group exercises at Wanlu Park of Haiko City at 6 a.m. on the second Sunday of each month, and people in charge of the park gave their permission for the practice. On August 8, 1999, more than 200 practitioners came to the park and did the regular early morning exercises. At around 7 a.m., a large contingent of fully armed riot police showed up. All of the practitioners were surrounded and arrested. Zhang Xiaotong was among them, but her husband was not there. After she filled out the form at the police station, her work unit picked her up. The group practice was later reported to the central committee of the CCP and brought to the attention of Jiang Zemin. He was furious, and his order to harshly punish the organisers was passed down from the provincial government to the lower branches. In mid-August of 1999, when Song Yuesheng, Chen Yuan and other practitioners were sharing experiences with local practitioners in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, they were arrested. The Hainan provincial government took this chance and labelled him as an organiser without any evidence. Mr. Song was then sentenced to a 12-year prison term, and he is still being detained in Shaoguansuo Prison of Hainan Province. This was known locally as the "August 8 Event." The fact is, Song Yuesheng was not even involved in the "August 8 Event." It was just a peaceful group practice.

In September and October of 1999, the Chinese Communist Party kept escalating the persecution of Falun Gong. Zhang Xiaotong went to Beijing many times to appeal for Dafa, and she was arrested and detained. The Beijing police didn't provide food or water for the practitioners. They were even deprived of sleep and the right to go to the restroom. Later, Ms. Zhang was sent back to Haikou City and abused in the No. 2 Detention Centre of Haikou City. Her home was searched and ransacked many times. The Dafa books and exercise music tapes were taken away. In early 2000, Ms. Zhang was released.

In March or April 2000, because Zhang Xiaotong refused to sign her name on the so-called "transformation statement," she was arrested again and detained in a community office near Bailongnan in Haikou City. She saw firsthand practitioner Yan Liyou being hung up for days by both hands from the window of the community office. Yan Liyou suffered from brutal torture because he refused to sign the "transformation statement" as well. One month later, Mr. Yan still refused to sign his name and was sent to the Hainan Forced Labour Camp. On April 12, 2004, Yan Liyou died due to the persecution. Because Zhang Xiaotong was Song Yuesheng's wife and Mr. Song had not been transformed, the police interrogated Ms. Zhang for a long period of time, but they didn't get what they wanted. Since the detention centrers inside Haikou City were full, Zhang Xiaotong was sent to a county detention centre indefinitely. She started a hunger strike to protest the persecution. The harsh environment and torture harmed her so much that she showed severe health problems and her life was in danger. The 610 Office informed the Hainan Provincial Art School to take her back. She was put in a student dormitory that was located just above the kitchen in the student cafeteria. She suffered from the smoke from the kitchen all day long, which weakened her health even worse. The school assigned people to watch over her and report every movement she made. Ms. Zhang was not allowed to contact other practitioners, and her freedom was restricted.

On New Year's Day of 2001, many banners with the words "Falun Dafa is good" and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good" appeared on the bridges in Haikou City. On January 4, 2001, Zhang Xiaotong was arrested and interrogated. Another practitioner, Xiao Liu, who was the wife of Yan Liyou mentioned previously, was also arrested at the same time. Ms. Zhang and Xiao Liu were detained in the No. 2 and No. 1 Detention Centre respectively. During the detention period, Zhang Xiaotong suffered from long hours of interrogation and was brutally beaten. The police still didn't get what they wanted to know. The three months detention wreaked havoc on Ms. Zhang's health. She suffered from oedema over her whole body. Her eyelids were so swollen that she was unable to open her eyes. Her stomach was badly swollen, as well. She had no strength at all and once again her life was in danger. On April 4, 2001, the police released her.

After returning from the detention centre, Zhang Xiaotong again had to stay in the student dormitory and with restricted freedom. Her situation became worse and worse. Her stomach was swollen grotesquely and she was later diagnosed with leukaemia.

Ms. Zhang went to the hospital many times and received radiation treatment. Her body was extremely weak and she was kept alive with medication. Her living condition was very difficult, as well. She didn't have any relatives in Hainan except for her jailed husband. Ms. Zhang requested several times that they allow him to look after her, but she was turned down each time. Many practitioners stopped by to help her, but most of them were questioned and threatened by school guards.

When Zhang Xiaotong was on the verge of death, her husband was finally allowed to visit her for a short time. A short time later, Zhang Xiaotong passed away.

March 28, 2005

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/3/27/98214.html