(Clearwisdom.net) On October 26, 2008, a couple was found drowned in a pool in Gaomiaobao Village, Gaomiaobao Town, Wanquan County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. After two days of work, a rescue team fished out the dead bodies. The male was about 50 years old and the female was 44 years old. Why had such a tragedy happened?

The deceased, Mr. Zhang Yuxing and Ms. Zhang Jirong, were from Gaomiaobao Village, Gaomiaobao Town. To cure the constant pains in her legs Ms. Zhang had started practicing Falun Gong. She benefited from the practice both mentally and physically, as she always kept the Falun Gong principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in mind. Seeing her improvement, her husband Yuxing was very supportive of her practice.

On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to persecute Falun Gong nationwide, but Ms. Zhang was not frightened by the horrible suppression. Because of her truth clarification about the persecution of Falun Gong, to people deceived by the CCP's lies, she was subjected to monetary extortion and forced labor, yet she remained steadfast in her belief in Falun Gong.

Mr. Zhang, however, frightened by the CCP's intimidation, monetary extortion and ransacking of their home, which worsened the family's already poor economic condition, started to oppose his wife's practice of Falun Gong. He tried to force her to give up Falun Gong by tying her up with a chain and beating her.

On July 25, 2008, the Zhang family home was ransacked and Ms. Zhang was beaten and abused by CCP officials. This persecution also impacted Falun Gong practitioners from other towns in Wanquan County. That same day she was sent to the Zhangjiakou Detention Center and was later transferred to the Wanquan Detention Center. Ms. Zhang, along with other detained Falun Gong practitioners, went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. While she was reciting Falun Gong articles in her mind, the head of the detention center, Wang, slapped her face dozens of times, causing her face to become swollen with the perpetrator's finger marks imprinted on her face. She was also shocked with an electric baton by female prison guard Xiuying. The police force-fed her with salt water, and as a result she developed edema all over her body and suffered acute pains in her head. After about twenty days, Ms. Zhang was in critical condition. Fearing that she might die in the detention center, the police ordered her husband to take her home.

The time of Ms. Zhang's detention overlapped the busy season for farming. Having to do all the farming by himself, Mr. Zhang was exhausted. His heart broke when he saw the condition of his wife. He loathed the CCP for its persecution of innocent people and he was ashamed of his inability to protect his wife. After many rounds of mental attacks he began to consider committing suicide. There was nothing wrong with his wife trying to be a good person and she would never give up her belief, but when would the CCP's persecution come to an end?

Before they went home the police had forced Mr. Zhang to sign for a trial of his wife, which meant that the persecution of his wife would continue. Due to the great anxiety, economic loss, and pressure from CCP officials, Mr. Zhang decided to commit suicide. Early one morning, as his wife continued to suffer from emaciation, he fastened his arm to his wife's arm with a metal wire and dragged her into a pool. The couple died, leaving behind a young daughter.

Editor's Note: The teachings of Falun Gong strictly forbid killing, including taking one's own life.