Eight Falun Gong Practitioners from Guzhi District, Tangshan City Die Due to Persecution

Since the persecution began on July 20th, 1999, in Tangshan City of Hebei Province, Falun Dafa practitioners have been ruthlessly persecuted by the local Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee, the local government, the district Political and Judiciary Committee, the 610 Office¹, the district police bureau, every police station, as well as various CCP sub-committees. Based on incomplete statistics, in the small district of Guzhi, there are reported to be as many as eight Dafa practitioners who have been persecuted to death. These practitioners were either directly tortured to death, died in grievance caused by the persecution, or died from resurgence of their illnesses after being forced to give up cultivation.

Mr. Ma Changbin, 57, is a retired worker. Mr. Ma left the work force at age 28 due to hepatitis and stomach illness. He was on medication for a long time and later had to go back to work despite his chronic illnesses in order to support his family. After he began cultivating Falun Dafa in 1998, not only did all his illnesses disappear, he also quit smoking and drinking alcohol. He was able to do heavy labour work, such as moving bricks and building houses. He became very diligent and was able to do a lot of labour by himself. On or around October 25th, 2000, Mr. Ma was arrested by the Nanfan Police Station. Policeman Li Heping viscously beat Mr. Ma. The head of the police station, Xie Changfu, slapped him on the face, instantly causing bleeding at the corner of his mouth. Mr. Ma's family was impoverished, but that did not stop the policemen from extorting 2,500 yuan² from them as a deposit for bail and charging Mr. Ma 2,000 yuan as a penalty. Mr. Ma was detained in the police station for over three months and was released in February 2001. He suffered great mental and physical torture and was not able to practise the exercises under such persecution. As a result, his old illnesses recurred and he was not able to be cured by any medical treatment. Mr. Ma passed away in May 2001.
(Earlier article at http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200409/21860.html.)

Mr. Peng Shikai was 83 years old. For many years he suffered from indigestion. He also had aching legs for over twelve years and was not able to stretch them straight out. After he began cultivation, all his illnesses disappeared. He could walk faster than an average young man, and was able to fold both of his legs in sitting meditation. After July 20th, 1999, the village cadres pressured him to do other kinds of qigong exercises instead of Falun Gong. Mr. Peng said to them, "I will never give up practising even if you give me a thousand dollars per month." Mr. Peng's daughter went to Beijing in 2000 to appeal for Falun Gong. She was then detained and sent to a forced labour camp. Mr. Peng's son-in-law bailed her out with a large sum of money. After her return, she was put under surveillance. In July 2001, Mr. Peng's daughter was again arrested, humiliated, detained and sent to forced labour. Mr. Peng, who was previously healthy, suffered greatly both physically and emotionally. His family forbade him from studying the Falun Dafa teachings and practising the exercises, lest he would also be persecuted. He passed away on June 15th, 2002.

Mr. Han Shijiang was 57 years old. After beginning to practise Falun Dafa in 1998, Mr. Han achieved excellent physical and mental health. During the persecution of Falun Gong initiated by the Jiang Zemin regime in 1999, the vicious officials from his work unit constantly persecuted him. Threatened by the officials, Mr. Han was forced to sign the three statements denouncing Falun Dafa. Since 2000, Mr. Han suffered from many different illnesses. He died on October 4th, 2002.
(Earlier article at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/5/23/61100.html)

Mr. Wei Laihe was 37 years old. On November 6th, 2002, policeman Wang Zhenhai of the local police station asked Mr. Wei to go to the station. When he arrived, the police falsely claimed that someone had witnessed Mr. Wei distributing Falun Gong leaflets exposing the persecution. They thus detained Mr. Wei and ransacked his home, but they did not find any evidence. On November 10th, Mr. Wei went on a hunger strike to protest the detention. On November 15th, under strong protests by his family, Mr. Wei was released. He died on November 16th, 2002.
(Earlier article at http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200306/13011.html)

Mr. Zhao Yinqi was 59 years old. On November 20th, 2002, Mr. Zhao was detained at the Hehuakeng Forced Labour Camp of Tangshan City due to his perseverance in cultivating Falun Dafa. He was cruelly tortured to death on December 30th. The Hehuakeng Forced Labour Camp lied about the cause of his death and called it a "natural death." However people who viewed Mr. Zhao's body saw an indentation on his skull and a piece of flesh missing over his right rib. There were bruises from his hip all the way to his back and his neck. His eyes, hands and fingernails were all dark purple. His abdomen was slim but was injected with water so as to appear "plump." Previously, as a result of injuries at work and medical errors in the hospital, he incurred a disability--his left leg was shorter than his right leg by five centimetres. He was ruled as Level 4 disabled. Before practising Falun Dafa, Mr. Zhao suffered from severe sinus problems and hemorrhoids. All these problems disappeared after he started cultivation. He was able to gradually walk without his cane and wheelchair and started to ride a bike and a tricycle. Although he was close to 60 years of age, he was as strong as a young man. It was known to all that he was very healthy. However, his death certificate said that he died of internal bleeding from hypertension. Mr. Zhao had never had high blood pressure. In addition, if Mr. Zhao really had hypertension, along with his Level 4 disability status, according to the law he would not have been accepted by the labour camp. Mr. Zhao died on December 30th, 2002 on the way to the hospital. The doctor sent notices twice to send his body to the mortuary but was refused by Mr. Zhao's family members. In the end, the death certificate certified that Mr. Zhao died on January 2nd, 2003 at 8:02 a.m.
(Earlier article at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/1/18/56678.html)

Ms. Wu Guoyin was 69 years old. After Ms. Wu started practising Falun Dafa in 1998, her previous illnesses, including stroke, heart disease and diabetes, were all improved or cured. After July 20th, 1999, the local police station and street neighbourhood committee sent people to her home several times to threaten and intimidate her. They also confiscated her personal ID card to prevent her from travelling and ransacked her home. Ms. Wu suffered from great pains both mentally and physically. She died on November 22nd, 2003.
(Earlier article at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/2/4/57173.html)

Ms. Xu Deyun was 71 years old. Ms. Xu started practising in 1996 together with her husband, Zheng Zhaofu and her eldest daughter, Zheng Xiuzhi. After starting cultivation, the three practitioners recovered from all their previous illnesses and experienced excellent health. After the commencement of the persecution in 1999, Ms. Xu's eldest daughter went to Beijing twice to appeal for Falun Gong between July 1999 and the end of 2000. She was detained four times and twice sent to be tortured at a hospital for the mentally ill. Being a Level 8 disabled worker of the Tangshan Factory, Ms. Zheng Xiuzhi was fired by her work unit. The 610 Office of the factory also constantly harassed her at home. She was driven out of her home for two and a half years for making leaflets exposing the persecution. Ms. Xu's husband, Zhaofu, also went to Beijing to appeal He was detained and tortured for over five months between September 2000 and April 2001. After returning home, Mr. Zhaofu was constantly harassed by policemen from the local Chunlu Police Station. Under such mental persecution, Ms. Xu contracted an illness and died on November 18th, 2003 at 3:00 a.m.
(Earlier article at: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200512/30396.html)

Mr. Zhen Xuzhen, 61, was previously a worker at Linxi, Tangshang City of Hubei Province. Before starting Falun Dafa practice, Mr. Zheng had various illnesses which greatly affected his day-to-day life. After learning the practice in October 1995, after a while, all his illnesses disappeared and his life was restored back to a normal state. After the persecution began on July 20th, 1999, Mr. Zhen was persecuted for practising the exercises and telling the true facts about Falun Gong. Between July 20th, 1999 and March 2000, Mr. Zhen was arrested and detained by the Guzhi District Police Sub-Bureau, Linxi Police Station, and Linxi Police Sub-bureau several times, each time for over forty days. He was also constantly intimidated and threatened. His normal life was disrupted. Mr. Zhen died on November 25th, 2005.
(Earlier article at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2006/1/5/68688.html)

Note

1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

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

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/10/23/140806.html