(Clearwisdom.net) Dong Wei, 19-years-old, is the orphan of Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Zuo Shuchun from Changsha City, Hunan Province. He is presently living at 75 Sanxing Street in the Tianxin District of Changsha City.

Dong's father passed away a long time ago, so he depended on his mother. In March 2001 his mother, Ms. Zuo Shuchun, died as a result of the persecution. Since that time his grandmother has taken care of him. Dong's grandmother is retired. Her monthly income consists of 440 yuan from her pension and 180 yuan from a low-income subsidy. She is responsible for bringing up both Dong Wei and his cousin on this meager income. Life is very difficult for them. Dong Wei does not yet have the tuition necessary for the second year of his college education.

Dong Wei's mother, Zuo Shuchun, was a Falun Dafa practitioner from Changsha City, Hunan province. She was 42 years old when she died. She formerly worked for the Changsha Public Transportation Company. In March 2001, she was subjected to force-feeding while being held at the Baimalong Women's Forced Labor Camp in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, which caused her death by suffocation.

Ms. Zuo Shuchun started practicing Falun Gong in 1997. After the persecution started on July 20, 1999, she distributed materials to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. In April 2000, the authorities illegally abducted and sentenced her to the forced labor camp for distributing these truth-clarifying materials.

Because she was resolute in her practice of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance, which are the guiding principles of Falun Dafa, she peacefully protested the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by means of a hunger strike. For this reason, she was confined to an isolation cell. Later, the guards cruelly force-fed her and suffocated her. In order to conceal their guilt in this crime, the guards covered her body with a white cloth and attempted to stealthily remove it. Another practitioner being held there discovered the murder and began to question officials, who refused to even acknowledge her death. Not only that, they persecuted the practitioner who discovered their crime. To this day Ms. Zuo Shuchun's family members are still not in full possession of the facts regarding her death.