Practitioner, Liu Xu-guo, Was Persecuted to Death

Mr. Liu Xu-guo, 29, with a bachelor degree, was a technician in Zhoucheng Chemical Fertilizer Plant in Shandong Province. Liu went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in last October and was removed from his post after he came back from Beijing. Later, he was detained in the Zhoucheng detention center and suffered maltreatments both mentally and physically. He had been detained there beyond the legal time limit. Before the Chinese New Year, he and another two practitioners were transferred to Ji-ning City detention center and given a sentence of three years of forced labor "education". Liu Xu-guo and other practitioners started hunger strike. During their hunger strike, the authorities still forced them to do hard labor such as carrying sand bags. A practitioner lost consciousness on the fourth day of hunger strike and later the authorities sent him to the hospital affiliated with the Ji-ning medical school to receive forced-feed. After 6 days of hunger strike, Mr. Liu was also force-fed. In the process of force-feeding, Liu's respiratory tract was injured, which made his lung getting severely infected. On February 11, 2000, he died in that hospital. The authorities had tried to cover his death.

In addition, more and more practitioners from Ji-ning City are going to Beijing to appeal. About 60 practitioners are being detained because of exercising their constitutional right of appeal. Some of them might be sentenced.

The Ji-ning police are intensely interrogating practitioners to find out who posted a practitioner's sufferings in the Ji-ning mental hospital on Minghui Net.