After his recent arrest, Mr. Tian suffered a beating and other mistreatment that has left him in critical condition.

Mr. Tian Hongguang's Life in Danger from Repeated Persecution

Correspondent From Hebei Province 

On the morning of August 28, 2009, security officer Chen Baocheng from Dongguan Police Group, led a dozen people from Dingzhou City Police Department, the 610 Office and Beicheng District Police Station to break into and ransack Mr. Tian Hongguang's home. They took Mr. Tian's computer, printer, blank CDs and took Mr. Tian to a detention center.

Mr. Tian was brutally beaten by a criminal facing the death penalty who stayed in same cell with Mr. Tian. The criminal kicked Mr. Tian hard in the head which caused Mr. Tian's head to swell, and bruised him around his eyes. Mr. Tian felt dizzy and nauseous. His pulse reached 130 and he was unable to eat. Each day he only drank a little liquid food to keep himself going. His family members went to the detention center several times to visit him but they were refused by the guards. All that was known of Mr. Tian was that he had been sentenced to a year and six months of forced labor.

On September 14, a phone call came from Guaoyang City Force Labor Camp in Heibei Province to Mr. Tian's family home. The family was informed that Mr. Tian wasn't talking or eating so family members should come to see him. His family members had just learned of his whereabouts. Mr. Tian is now unable to take care of himself and even needs someone to help him brush his teeth. His is in a life-threatening situation.

Mr. Tian's wife was sentenced to a ten-year prison term in 2002 because she refused to give up her practice of Falun Gong and is now in Hebei Province Women's Prison. Mr. Tian's daughter who is in middle school has been left in the care of his elderly parents and their living situation is very difficult.

From 1999 to 2000, Mr. Tian was taken to a brainwashing center twice. In July 2000, he was detained more than a month. Dingzhou City Police Department extorted 4,000 yuan from his family on the trumped up excuse of "security deposit."

In February 2002 , Mr. Tian was illegally arrested by Dingzhou City Police Department and later he was sentenced to three years of re-education through forced labor. He was imprisoned in Baoding City Forced Labor Camp in Hebei Province. After being arrested in Dingzhou City, Mr. Tian had been interrogated through torture by police officers Bai Jianli, Lu Shujun and Ma Tiezhu. Ma Tiezhu handcuffed Mr. Tian's hands to a window frame and suspended him with only the tips of his toes touching the floor for approximately five hours. During Mr. Tian's imprisonment in the forced labor camp, because Mr. Tian he was tortured many times by the camp's personnel Li Dayong, Liu Qingyong, Wang Lei, Ru Jixiang, Song Yahe, Liu Yuesheng and others. The torture methods they used included beating, kicking, shocking with the electric-batons, sleep deprivation, locking in a solitary cell with windows and door sealed with newspapers. In the end, Mr. Tian was persecuted so badly that he was unable to eat and was very skinny--only then did forced labor camp officials release him to his family.

Mr. Tian Hongguang is 42 years old and used to be a clerk at the Developing Bank in the city. After the Chinese Community Party started to persecute Falun Gong Mr. Tian's company tried to force him to abandon his belief in Falun Gong many times but Mr. Tian refused to do so. By the end of 2001, he was forced to give up his job. Mr. Tian worked for a private company before he was arrested this time.

Before Mr. Tian practiced Falun Gong, his legs were often sore. After practicing Falun Gong, he was very healthy both physically and mentally. He conducted himself according to the Falun Gong's principle of "Truthfulness-compassion-Forbearance" to be a good person. While working for the bank, he refused to accept gifts from people who wanted favors from him. While people invited him to dinner, he simply didn't go. On occasions when he had to go, after dinner, he always left money for his meal with the host.