(Clearwisdom.net) On the evening of August 28, 2004 Falun Dafa practitioner Niu Xigong from Shiqiaozi Town, Zhucheng City, Shandong Province, who had benefited greatly from cultivating Falun Dafa, died after undergoing unbearable suffering from being persecuted numerous times.

Mr. Niu Xigong, 38, was an employee of the Economic Committee in Shiqiaozi Town, Zhucheng City, Shandong Province. He lived in Shiqiaozi Village, Shiqiaozi Town. His hometown was Guhe Village in Linwu Town, Anqiu City.

Mr. Niu Xigong started practicing Falun Gong in July 1998. Previously he had allergic asthma, and every April when the wheat started to bloom he would have asthma attacks, and he needed to be hospitalized almost every year. His longest hospitalization lasted two months. These attacks caused his whole body to be terrifyingly swollen, and one could hardly recognize him. His legs were so badly swollen that the skin became tight and shiny, and he could barely bend his knees or move his ankles. His face became round-shaped from swelling, and he could not even open his eyes in the morning because the eyelids were so swollen. His face turned a dark bluish color. He could only sit in bed without making any motion, because every time he made a movement, he would struggle to breathe. He could not lie down even in the evening, and if he did lie down he would not be able to breathe. He later heard about Falun Gong, and with a hope in his heart, he took up the practice. Soon after, his illnesses miraculously disappeared, and he no long needed to have injections or take medications. He experienced what it was like to live without illness. Seeing the miraculous effect of Falun Gong, his wife also took up the practice.

Because there are so many people practicing Falun Gong, Jiang Zemin, out of jealousy, ordered the suppression of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. All of a sudden, the society turned into an abyss of darkness, with government at all levels forcing Falun Gong practitioners to write the so-called "guarantee statement", promising to give up Falun Gong. How could people like Mr. Niu Xigong, who had benefited so much from Falun Gong, honor such a ridiculous demand? What has happened to the government? Why is it that people are not allowed to practice such wonderful exercises? They could not understand why. With their trust in the government and the belief that if the government knew the facts they would withdraw their wrong decision, Falun Gong practitioners went to Beijing, wave upon wave, to clarify the facts to the central government.

On October 8, 2000, Mr. Niu and his wife also went to the Appeals Bureau in Beijing, to tell the government the facts about Falun Gong. To their surprise, the Appeals Bureau had turned into a police bureau for arresting Falun Gong practitioners. Anyone who was identified to be a Falun Gong practitioner was arrested immediately and taken back to their hometown for persecution by personnel from their local police station. Mr. Niu Xigong was no exception. The guards took him from the adult education building to the police station and subjected him to severe torture. They also searched his body. Dong Deliang, deputy chief of the police station, took over 100 Yuan from him. The 200 Yuan his wife had carried with her was also taken. The police then detained the couple, forcing them to pay a "fine" of 10,000 Yuan.

The couple had an eleven-year-old child at home who was in no position to find money for the fine payment, and after detaining them for over two weeks, the police released them. Nevertheless, just several days later, more than 20 perpetrators prepared to ransack the couple's home. This included Zhang Hongxin, Yu Hongmei, Sun Youli, Shi Shunmin, Chen Hongzhen, Lu Hongwei, as well as Li Bingzhang, Ma Zhiliang, Zhu Chengliang from Shiqiaozi Village, and other lawless persons whose names are unknown. They entered the home by removing the door. After Mr. Niu clarified the truth and explained the law, they gave up their attempt.

Failing to get money from them, the police thought of other schemes. In November 2000, while Mr. Niu and his wife were working at a relative's place in Anqiu City, they were forcibly put in a vehicle by Shi Shunmin, Lu Hongwei, and Chen Hongzhen, and taken back to their hometown, where they were detained in the adult education building for about two weeks. Later, the police from Zhucheng City's Police Department, including officers Cao Jinhui, Ding Bofeng, Yin Ruiwen, Sun Youli, and others ransacked their home, confiscating a tape recorder and their Falun Gong materials.

They also took Mr. Niu to the town's police station. Policemen Cao Jinhui and Yuan Wei took him to a room and beat him for an entire morning. As a result, Mr. Niu's face and nose were swollen and became black and blue. They totally ignored the fact that Niu Xigong used to be a very sick person, and that Falun Gong saved his life and enabled him to live a healthy life. They tried to force him to write a Guarantee Statement, promising to give up Falun Gong practice. Wasn't it true that they were trying to push him back on path of death? It was impossible for Mr. Niu Xigong to betray Falun Gong, from which he had benefited so much, as he knew that Falun Gong had given him a second life. In the afternoon he was taken to the Zhucheng City Detention Center, where he was detained for one month and fined 10,000 Yuan.

This torture caused Mr. Niu enormous physical and mental suffering, and since then he had always been in a state of extreme nervousness. How he wished that the situation would turn back to what it was like before July 20, 1999, when they could freely study the Fa, practice the exercises and live a healthy and happy life without worries.

On July 8, 2003, when Mr. Niu was at work, officers Mao Yulong, Zhou Zhong, and others from Zhucheng City's Police Department arrived suddenly and took him by force to the town's police station. He was detained there for one morning. Furthermore, Shi Shunmin also led people to ransack his home. Although they did not find anything they wanted, they still took Mr. Niu to the Zhucheng City Detention Center, where he was detained. His family members were forced to pay 5,000 Yuan for his release.

Mr. Niu Xigong, a conscientious citizen and a person who used to suffer from severe illnesses and who had benefited greatly from practicing Falun Gong, could not bear the pressure any longer after many instances of persecution. The long-time physical torture and mental torment had pushed Mr. Niu's endurance to the limit, and in the evening of August 28, 2004 he passed away, leaving behind his loved ones.