[June 26th Falun Dafa Information Center ] According to the latest news, Falun Gong practitioner Kong Qinghuang, a former deputy mayor of Lin'an Town in Yunnan Province, died while in police custody last year. Everyday, one or two tubes of his blood (up to 10 CC each tube) were drawn by the hospital for no reason even after he had already been on a hunger strike for 60 days and was physically weak. At about 9pm on Sept. 3, 2000, he passed away. On December 1, 2000, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Information Center reported Kong Qinghuang's death.

According to Kong Qinghuang's family, Kong was still able to easily walk around after 60 days of being on a hunger strike; he only felt a little weak. However, after he was taken to the hospital for treatment, a large amount of blood was drawn every day and his health deteriorated quickly, eventually leading to his death. After Kong Qinghuang passed away, Kunming City officials sent medical specialists to do group examination on his body, and they discovered that his skin had become sallow [due to lack of blood in his body].

It was reported that the 33-year old Kong Qinghuang went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on June 9, 2000. He was arrested when he returned home on June 28. In the detention center, Kong Qinghuang went on a hunger strike. He was force fed and forced to take injections every 5 or 6 days. His family requested the county officers to release Kong Qinghuang, so that he could start eating again, but their request was rejected.

According to the news source, Kong Qinghuang had been the deputy mayor of Lin'an for 5 years. In April 2000, he was dismissed from his position as deputy mayor, expelled from the XX Party and was detained for one month because he talked to others, after a city meeting on population control, about his experiences practicing Falun Gong. The charges were given as "attempting to instigate the people and being a bad influence." Upon learning of his detention, his father passed away on the same day. Currently, Kong Qinghuang's wife is in a labor camp because she also practices Falun Gong.