The Tragic Death of 66-Year-Old Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Zhang Zhiyun

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About a year ago, I watched the following news report on New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV): "Shanghai resident, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Zhiyun, was called in for a meeting with the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) of Hongkou District Police Department in Shanghai. During the meeting the office personnel offered her a cup of tea, and she drank it. After she returned home, she started vomiting blood, which continued for a week. Her condition improved in a few days after being hospitalised. However, the 610 Office personnel came to the hospital, and talked with the hospital head and the principal doctor. Ms. Zhang suddenly died the next day."

The following is a personal account of Ms. Zhang's tragedy given by a member of her family in July 2009.

Vomiting Blood After Drinking Tea in 610 Office

Ms. Zhang Zhiyun was 66 years old in late April 2009. She had been very healthy. In order to attend her daughter's graduation ceremony abroad, she went to her local police station to apply for a passport. The person in charge of the 610 Office denied her application, stating that she was not a legal citizen. Ms. Zhang disputed this false notion, and the office personnel made her a cup of tea, which she drank. In the following days, they sent someone from the neighbourhood committee several times to check on Ms. Zhang.

Soon after her visit to the 610 Office, she started vomiting blood. Her hematemesis was very severe. During that week, her body from the chest down was purple, and her stomach was bloated. She would vomit blood at least twice a day, and each episode would last for an hour. She soon died under suspicious circumstances.

Mysterious Death, Despite Signs of Recovery

Ms. Zhang's family sent her to the Hongkou District Central Hospital. Her condition started to improve in two days, and she was then transferred to the standard ward to complete recovery. Right afterward, on May 13th, 2009, the section chief, a director, and another high-ranking official from the 610 Office came to the hospital and spoke to the hospital head and the principal doctor. Ms. Zhang died the next day, with her eyes and mouth open and blood coming out from the corner of her mouth. As soon as the doctor put the oxygen mask on her face in an attempt to save her, her tongue dropped out and she died. There was no hospital documentation of her being critically ill following transfer to the standard ward for recovery.

When Ms. Zhang's relative ran into the section chief of the 610 Office on the bus several days later, the chief asked, "What happened to Auntie Zhang?" Upon being questioned by the relative, however, he admitted that he already knew. The relative said, "You went to the hospital on the 13th, and she died on the 14th." He responded, "Are you implying that we murdered her?" The relative replied, "I'm stating the facts: you went to the hospital on the 13th, and she died on the 14th."

Subjected to Long-Term Surveillance Prior to Death

After Ms. Zhang started practising Falun Gong in 1994, her illnesses disappeared and she became very energetic. Having attended five of the founder of Falun Gong, Teacher Li Hongzhi's, lectures in person, she volunteered as a co-ordinator of the local Falun Gong group, helping to establish practice sites and introducing Falun Gong to many people.

Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong in 1999, she became a principal target of the 610 Office and lived under surveillance 24 hours a day. For 10 years, she categorically refused to write a guarantee statement to renounce her belief. She was highly regarded among practitioners in Shanghai and the surrounding areas. The 24-hour surveillance, conducted by eight police officers, was in place for at least 6 months in a year.

Family Members Also Suffer

Ms. Zhang's family also suffered from the persecution greatly. Her daughter, who had an outstanding academic record and wanted to study overseas, had her application for a passport rejected five times. Her son had planned to participate in NTDTV's International Chinese Culinary Competition. After boarding the airplane for the United States and checking in his luggage, the 610 Office removed him from the plane and didn't release him until the competition was over.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/4/22/221976.html


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