(Minghui.org)
Name: Xia ZhenglunChinese Name: 夏正伦Gender: MaleAge: 62City: LianyungangProvince: JiangsuOccupation: insurance agentDate of Death: early September 2023Date of Most Recent Arrest: February 2023Most Recent Place of Detention: Guangyun County Detention Center
A 62-year-old resident of Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, died in custody seven months after he was arrested for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Mr. Xia Zhenglun, an agent for Huakang Insurance (an insurance agency), was arrested in mid-February 2023 by officers from the Yishan Police Station in Guanyun County, which is under the administration of Lianyungang City.
While being held at the Guanyun County Detention Center, Mr. Xia developed whole body edema and was taken to the Lianyungang First People’s Hospital. All treatments were unsuccessful and he died in September 2023.
Mr. Xia had been healthy since he took up Falun Gong in early 2012, and it is unclear what abuse he suffered in detention that resulted in his sudden health decline and untimely passing.
Before he became a Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Xia had deep misunderstandings about the practice due to the communist regime’s persistent hate propaganda. After he came across Zhuan Falun, the book containing the main teachings of Falun Gong, by chance in 2012, he found answers to the many questions he had about life. After he tried the Falun Gong exercises for the first time, he reported that his body felt light and “wonderful beyond words.”
In prior rounds of persecution, the Dongxin Police Station arrested Mr. Xia on the night of June 26, 2014 and held him overnight with his hands cuffed behind his back. They took him to the Lianyungang City Lockup the next morning and had him detained there for 15 days. They also raided his home and confiscated a large amount of Falun Gong books and informational materials, as well as his computer, music player, and flash drives.
Officers from the same police station seized Mr. Xia again on February 2, 2015 and held him at the Lianyungang City Lockup for another 15 days.