(Clearwisdom.net)

Ms. Tong Yuxia Dies as a Result of Persecution in Heilongjiang Province

Ms. Tong Yuxia, 43, lived in Tieli City, Heilongjiang Province. During the 1990s, her family suffered a multitude of illnesses, and most of the family's income was spent on treating these illnesses. After Ms. Tong started practicing Falun Gong in 1997, her family benefited through her cultivation and regained their health.

After the persecution began in 1999, the local community administration officials reported her to the police, and the city 610 Office arrested and detained her. She went on hunger strike to protest the illegal detention. She was then sentenced to two years of forced labor in Harbin Women's Forced Labor Camp. Her health was ruined in the camp, and she developed high blood pressure.

After being released from her forced labor term, she was arrested again on September 28, 2005, while she was sharing experiences with other practitioners. She was detained in the Tieli City First Detention Center, where she was forced to apply glue to four thousand matchboxes daily. Her health declined drastically because she had not recovered from the previous forced labor sentence, and she was doing this without proper nutrition.

In spite of her precarious health, she was still sentenced to two years in prison. When she was released in September 2007, she was very weak. She never recovered and died in August 2008.

Mr. Yao Jingming Dies in Shaanxi Province after Forced Labor

Mr. Yao Jingming, in his 70s, was a retired worker of the Ninth Construction Company of the Metallurgy Ministry in Mian County, Shaanxi Province. In February 2003, Mian County 610 office personnel Hu Junjian, Gao Xiaobo, Jiang Baosheng, and Wang Xuecheng arrested him and five other practitioners, and took them to the Zaozihe Men's Forced Labor Camp in Fengxiang County.

Because Mr. Yao refused to give up his faith, the guards detained him in a small, dark cell with several drug addicts in the Zaozihe labor camp. He was subjected to sleep deprivation and forced to squat with only one foot touching the floor. His whole body became swollen, and his toenails all turned black. Only three months after entering the camp, his health deteriorated so badly that he was carried home on a stretcher. He died soon after.