Zeng Hongfu was arrested in January 2000, and his home was ransacked. After being tortured for one month in the Wu Jiawan Detention Center, his family was extorted out of 3,000 yuan in order to secure his release. After Zeng Hongfu returned home, the police came by his home many times to harass him. After he had been home for two days, Zeng Hongfu was arrested again, taken to the police station, and tortured. The police didn't release him until they extorted another 350 yuan from his family. On April 20, 2001, the police came to ransack his home again, so Zeng Hongfu left, becoming destitute and homeless in order to avoid further persecution.

The authorities inquired as to where Zeng Hongfu had gone. During the period that he was homeless, he developed diabetes and, in 2002, had to return home. The police found out and returned to his home to harass him again and try to force him to write the three statements, but Mr. Zeng rejected their attempts. A local official wrote the document and asked Mr. Zeng to sign and place his seal on it, but Zeng Hongfu refused. So that person took Mr. Zeng's stamp and sealed the document.

Later, Zeng Hongfu went blind, but the officials still kept him under 24-hour surveillance. Under such enormous pressure and stress, Mr. Zeng's health deteriorated and he died in July of 2004.