(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Zhu Xiangguo from Shuangcheng Town, Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province, was arrested four times and tortured to the brink of death. He often vomited blood until he died on March 25, 2005, as a direct result of the abuse he suffered during the persecution.

Zhu Xiangguo, 39 years old, strictly conducted himself according to Truth-Compassion- Forbearance ever since he started to practice Falun Dafa in March 1999. He did the Falun Gong exercises on a daily basis and was cured of chronic arthritis and stomach disease. The practice benefited him both physically and mentally. After Jiang's regime banned Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Mr. Zhu decided to tell the government about the wonders of Falun Gong. He hoped the government would learn the truth and end the persecution.

On July 22, 1999, Mr. Zhu went to the provincial government to appeal for Falun Gong. The police shoved him into a bus and took him to the Dongli District Stadium in Harbin City. They later transferred him to the Public Security Department in Heilongjiang Province, where many practitioners were held. When the police officers asked for his name, Mr. Zhu said, "I didn't commit any crimes! I have the right to not give my name!" The police locked him in solitary confinement, where four police officers beat and kicked him for a very long time. His head was severely swollen and his eyes were bloodshot. He had difficulty breathing, and his whole body was covered in bruises. He could barely stand up. The police saw that Mr. Zhu was at the brink of death, so they hurriedly sent him to the Shuangcheng Police Department to avoid being held responsible. They released him around 10:00 p.m. that night.

Instead of investigating the brutal beating of Mr. Zhu Xiangguo, officials from the Street Committee and the Shuangcheng City Police Department went to his home the next day and ransacked it. They did not show any warrant. They tried to take the Falun Dafa books, but Mr. Zhu's family put up righteous resistance. Mr. Zhu recovered after being bedridden for nearly 10 days.

On January 15, 2001, Mr. Zhu Xiangguo went to Beijing to appeal for Dafa and was arrested in Tiananmen Square. The police savagely beat him with batons and then dragged him into a car. They locked him in a basement at the Tiananmen Police Department, where about 300 practitioners were being held. The practitioners refused to give their names, and more than 20 police officers started hitting the practitioners with batons and tried to drag them outside for further persecution. The practitioners held onto each other. Five male practitioners formed a circle and Mr. Zhu stood in the middle. The police whacked the practitioners' heads with metal heating pipes that made popping sounds as they rebounded from the force of the blows. When the practitioners standing behind Mr. Zhu protected his head with their hands, the police smashed their hands with the pipes until they bled.

Mr. Zhu Xiangguo and the other practitioners' bodies and faces were covered in blood. Their heads were severely swollen, and Zhu Xiangguo's head was cut in several places. The practitioners were put in a big bus and detained at different places. Mr. Zhu was sent to the Huairou County Detention Center.

At the detention center, Mr. Zhu's money was taken away, and he was forced to squat in the snow until midnight before he was let into a cell. The criminal inmates beat him and didn't allow him to sleep. They forced him to squat for the rest of the night. The next morning, the inmates beat Mr. Zhu again and added new wounds to the old ones. He was nauseous and had terrible pains all over his body and in his throat and ringing in his ears. In the morning Mr. Zhu said, "I feel awful. I can't eat breakfast today." The inmates reported this to the guard.

The guard not only didn't inquire about his injuries, he told the inmates, "If he refuses to eat, you should 'help' him." Then he left. One inmate said to Mr. Zhu, "Do you know what 'help' means?" Mr. Zhu said, "I don't know." The inmate said, "He meant we should beat you up." The inmates ate breakfast and then beat and kicked Mr. Zhu. They also took away his clothes and shoes.

In the afternoon, Ran Lingcai from the Shuangcheng City Liaison Office in Beijing picked Mr. Zhu up and verbally abused him. The next day, Ran Lingcai and a security head met with Mr. Zhu and two other practitioners and took them back to Shuangcheng City. They ignored Mr. Zhu's injuries and sent him to the No. 2 Detention Center in Shuangcheng City. Mr. Zhu and another practitioner were held in Cell 8 with 18 other practitioners. The guards encouraged the criminal inmates to beat and verbally abuse the practitioners, and forced them to stand barefoot on the concrete floor.

After being held at the No. 2 Detention Center for one month, Mr. Zhu was sent to a brainwashing class in Shuangcheng City. More than 600 practitioners were confined to this brainwashing class. Male and female practitioners were locked in together, so they were forced to eat and relieve themselves in the same room. Authorities turned the heat off several days before the Chinese New Year and forced the practitioners to stand on the concrete floor at night without sleep. They dragged some of the practitioners outside and beat them.

The town government officials made the practitioners watch TV programs that slandered Falun Dafa and forced their families to try to "reform" them. They insulted female practitioners with vulgar language and even urinated outside the metal fence. They lit firecrackers to celebrate the New Year after another round of beatings.

After subjecting Mr. Zhu Xiangguo to 97 days of physical torture and mental torment, Ran Lingcai, who has since suffered Karmic retribution for his crimes and died, extorted 1,900 yuan from Mr. Zhu's family and then released him on April 27, 2001. Ran Lingcai also extorted money from other practitioners.

On August 17, 2001, Mr. Zhu sent a written account of his cultivation experience and facts about Falun Dafa in letters to his friends and relatives living in other cities. The post office workers opened his letters and held them. The post office notified personnel at the Hongqi Police Station in Shuangcheng City. Police officers Li Hui and Zhang Hongwei went to Mr. Zhu's home and took him away. They held him at the No. 2 Detention Center in Shuangcheng City, where the guards and inmates beat and insulted him. They didn't give him enough food, didn't allow him to sleep, and didn't allow him to do the Falun Gong exercises. The inmates robbed him of the clothes his family had sent, and they beat any practitioner they saw doing the exercises.

Mr. Zhu Xiangguo was held at the detention center for over 80 days. His family paid the officials money in order to have him released. His family didn't tell him how much money they paid.

On March 8, 2002, Mr. Zhu Xiangguo was arrested by the military police for posting truth clarification materials. He was taken to the Shuangcheng City Patrol Division and was held in No. 8 Cell of the No. 2 Detention Center. The next day, Shuangcheng City 610 Office personnel took Mr. Zhu to the Patrol Division. They handcuffed and shackled him to a metal chair so that he could not move. Zhang Guofu, head of the 610 Office and deputy head of the Shuangcheng City Police Department, beat him and punched his eyes.

Mr. Zhu's eyes were filled with blood and so swollen that he couldn't open them. His face, head, chest and back were covered in blood. He confronted Zhang Guofu, saying, "I didn't commit any crimes doing the exercises and being a good person. Why are you beating me? It's a crime to beat people, and even more so for you, as the head of a police department. You should not use torture or beat people, because you'll be punished by law sooner or later!"

Zhang Guofu yelled, "The Party isn't reasonable. So what if we beat you to death?" He shouted as he beat Zhu Xiangguo. When he grew tired he called over two police officers and ordered them to continue the beating. The torture was nonstop. One police officer even proposed throwing Mr. Zhu Xiangguo outside in the snow and letting freeze him to death.

On the third day, the police ransacked Mr. Zhu's home and found an article published on the Minghui website and articles by Teacher [minghui.ca is the Chinese version of the Clearwisdom website]. Zhang Guofu questioned Mr. Zhu about the source of the articles, but Mr. Zhu refused to tell. Zhang Guofu again violently beat him. Jin Wanzhi, head of the National Security Bureau, pounded on the table and shouted, "If you don't tell us right here and right now, you'll have 'a good taste' later at the Criminal Police Division."

Mr. Zhu Xiangguo remained determined. He thought, "I won't tell. I can't betray Dafa and fellow practitioners, even if the guards kill me." With righteous faith in Teacher, he endured four days and four nights of savage torture while being handcuffed in the metal chair. His tormentors could not get what they wanted, even after exhausting all their tactics. They held him in the No. 1 Detention Center.

The guards told the inmates to use Mr. Zhu as a punching bag. They forced him to wash clothes and clean the bedpans, and they took the things his family sent him. He was allowed to brush his teeth only twice a week, using an old toothbrush. A dozen people shared a towel and a basin of water to wash their faces. Toilet paper wasn't provided, and the practitioners and inmates were forced to tear off a piece of their clothing and use it repeatedly.

After more than 40 days of torture, the perpetrators sent Mr. Zhu to three years of forced labor. They sent him to the Group Drill Division at the Wanjia Forced Labor Camp. Nine practitioners were in the labor camp at the time. Because of the terribly substandard hygienic conditions, Mr. Zhu developed scabies that oozed pus all over his body. The labor camp sent him back to the No. 1 Detention Center, but the detention center authorities refused to take him. They sent him to the No. 2 Detention Center.

The No. 2 Detention Center took him, even though it is against the law to accept someone in such poor condition. They held him for over 40 days, during which time his scabies worsened and he was at the brink of death. The detention center was afraid of being held responsible, but they still extorted money and other items from his family. They released him on a medical parole on July 9, 2002. Mr. Zhu asked his family how much money and what else the police had taken from them, but they didn't tell him, fearing he would expose the police's wrongdoing and bring retaliation upon himself.

Mr. Zhu Xiangguo's body and mind were severely devastated from the persecution. He often coughed and vomited blood after his release. He died on March 25, 2005.