Ms. Zhang Xiuchun, 60, Dies as a Result of Persecution at Qiqihar Forced Labour Camp

Name: Zhang Xiuchun
Gender: Female
Age: 60
Address: Tuqiang District, Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Death: December 26th, 2009
Date of Most Recent Arrest: August 4th, 2006
Most recent place of detention: Qiqihar Forced Labour Camp
City: Qiqihar
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Imprisonment, home ransacked, denial of toilet use, forced labour

Ms. Zhang Xiuchun, who had been ill for many years, became healthy again after practising Falun Gong. On the morning of August 4th, 2006, she was seized from her home by people from the Tuqiang Police Department and 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong). Her home was ransacked during the process. Those who participated in the arrest and ransacking included Zhao Min from the 610 Office, deputy police chief Dong Guisen, and policemen Guo Sihong, Sun Linfeng, Hu Ruimin, and Gao Guoyou.

Ms. Zhang was sentenced to two years of forced labour at the Qiqihar Forced Labour Camp. Other practitioners who were detained and sentenced to forced labour include Meng Fanguang, Zhang Huimin, and Bo Zhijuan.

Ms. Zhang was not allowed to use the toilet at the forced labour camp, and she was left sitting in her own excrement because she refused to give up her belief. The long-term, high-pressure forced labour led to diabetes, loss of bladder control, and bad eyesight.

When the forced labour camp authorities asked the local police to arrange for Ms. Zhang's hospitalisation, the local police refused, citing security for the Olympics as an excuse. They even added a month to her detention term. At the time, Ms. Zhang was dangerously emaciated and taken home by her family. Her health deteriorated, and she was treated in the hospital for a month. She remained in a coma during the hospitalisation. Ms. Zhang died at noon on December 26th, 2009.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/12/29/215254.html