Name: Zhao Guoxin
Gender: Male
Age: 37
Address: Gongnong District, Hegang City
Occupation: Employee of Xinhua Paper Factory at Hegang City
Date of Death: July 28, 2001
Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 28, 2001
Most Recent Place of Detention: Jiamusi Railroad Police Station, Heilongjiang Province

City: Hegang
Province: Heilongjiang
Persecution Suffered: Arrest, beating, interrogation, death due to persecution

(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Zhao Guoxin, a resident of Hegang City in Heilongjiang Province, was {illegally arrested}} by officers from the Jiamusi Railroad Police Station on July 28, 2001, for carrying Falun Gong truth clarification materials, and died in a matter of a few hours. Below are some recollections of his life.

Zhao Recovered from Serious Injuries after Practicing Falun Gong

When I met Mr. Zhao, he was less than 40 years old and in good physical condition. He was an employee of the Xinhua Paper Factory in Hegang City of Heilongjiang Province.

Mr. Zhao was born in 1964 and suffered from a serious spinal column disk dislocation. On some occasions, he had to visit his physical therapist more than once per day. After also suffering work-related injuries, he could no longer work, since he was in tremendous pain. After he started practicing Falun Gong however, his symptoms disappeared.

Killed Within a Few Hours of Being Arrested

Not long after I got to know him, Mr. Zhao was arrested at a train station by officers from the Jiamusi Railroad Police Station. The officers asked him for the source of his truth-clarification materials, but he didn't tell them. His daughter, who was with him at the time, was escorted by a policewoman to the restroom. When she returned twenty minutes later, she found her father on the floor. He was sent to a hospital emergency room and was found to be severely bleeding from his brain. Mr. Zhao was pronounced dead a few hours later.

Zhao's family consulted an attorney, who provided evidence in court that Mr. Zhao died from a severe blow to his head by a heavy object. The Jiamusi Police Station, however, denied responsibility. They also sent plainclothes officers to monitor Mr. Zhao's funeral, and positioned patrol agents around the neighborhood to conduct surveillance on his family.

Zhao's Family Subjected to Persecution

Wang Ying, Mr. Zhao's wife, was also an employee at Xinhua Paper Factory in Hegang City. On November 23, 2001, officers from the Hegang City Police broke into and ransacked her house. They arrested and detained her at the Hegang Second Detention Center.

Mr. Zhao and Ms. Wang's 14 year-old daughter Zhao Qian was left without anyone to care for her and no income. The police didn't allow her to see her mother, which caused her extreme emotional angst.

Ms. Wang was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2002. She was further persecuted at the Heilongjiang Women's Prison in Harbin.