Railroad Engineer, Blinded While Displaced Hiding from Police, Dies of a Heart Attack

(Minghui.org)

Name: Zhang ChaobinChinese Name: 张朝彬Gender: MaleAge: 70City: TonghuaProvince: JilinOccupation: Railroad engineerDate of Death: Mid-April 2023Date of Most Recent Arrest: June 2019Most Recent Place of Detention: A detention center

Ten years after his wife died in the persecution of Falun Gong, a 70-year-old railroad engineer in Tonghua City, Jilin Province, passed away after having a heart attack in mid-April 2023. The elderly man, also a Falun Gong practitioner, lived the last few years in his life with extreme difficulty, after he became blinded while living on his own.

Mr. Zhang Chaobin and his wife, Ms. Song Yuhua, both took up Falun Gong in May 1995. Mr. Zhang credited the practice for curing his heart condition, severe insomnia, and bursa inflammation in his left elbow. Ms. Song, who became paralyzed after a stroke, regained mobility. With the onset of the persecution in 1999, they were targeted by the authorities for not giving up their faith.

Wife’s Passing

Ms. Song was arrested in April 2007. The police took turns interrogating her and deprived her of sleep. They also starved her and threatened to order her workplace to fire her if she didn’t renounce Falun Gong. After four months of abuse at the detention center, Ms. Song developed a severe heart condition. She lost all of her teeth, and her hair turned gray. Her body weight dropped from 160 pounds to 105 pounds.

Ms. Song was later sentenced to a three-year prison term with five years of probation. The police frequently harassed her during her probation and ordered her to submit a “thought report” every month. She was under tremendous mental pressure and her health kept declining in her final years. She passed away on February 26, 2013.

Husband’s Passing

While stilling mourning Ms. Song’s passing, Mr. Zhang was arrested on his way to work on September 2, 2014, along with 30 other practitioners and their family members. The police raided his home and confiscated his over 40 Falun Gong books, 9,400 yuan in cash, two computers, a printer, four cellphones, a staple, two cameras, some copy paper, and his bank deposit notes.

Torture reenactment: Metal chair

The police took off Mr. Zhang’s jacket and restrained him in a metal chair for ten hours. They then interrogated him for four hours, while keeping him handcuffed. The cuffs were very tight and his wrists became swollen. As he was found to have a severe heart condition, the detention center refused to admit him. Pressured by the police director, the detention center eventually agreed to take him, but only detained him for nine days, before releasing him on bail.

To avoid further persecution, Mr. Zhang was forced to live away from home. The mental agony and physical hardship took a toll on his health.

Mr. Zhang was arrested again in June 2019. He appeared in Liuhe Court on June 30, 2019. The judge sentenced him to a three-year term with five years of probation on December 2, 2019.

During Mr. Zhang’s probation, the police ordered him to call them every day. They also constantly checked whether he was at home, and threatened him to give up Falun Gong.

Unable to live a normal life, Mr. Zhang was forced to live away from home again. Only a year later, he became blinded. Life was extremely hard when he struggled to cook for himself and do the laundry. Yet the police still found him and harassed him. In mid-April 2023, Mr. Zhang suddenly suffered a heart attack and died.

Related report:

Man Loses Wife to Persecution of Falun Gong, Gets Prison for Upholding Same Faith