[Newly Translated Older Death Case] 73-Year-Old Hebei Man Dies in 2018

(Minghui.org) Editor’s note: This is part of a series of death cases newly translated by the English version of Minghui.org. These cases have long been published on Chinese Minghui.org but have not been translated until now.

Name: Tian Fuzhong Chinese Name: 田福忠Gender: MaleAge: 73City: BaodingProvince: HebeiOccupation: Retired employee of the Power Supply BureauDate of Death: 9/24/2018Date of Most Recent Arrest:Most Recent Place of Detention:

Mr. Tian Fuzhong, a retired employee of the Baoding City Power Supply Bureau in Hebei Province, passed away on September 24, 2018, after enduring years of persecution for practicing Falun Gong. He was 73. 

Mr. Tian and other Falun Gong practitioners who worked for the Baoding City Power Supply Bureau were arrested days after the onset of the persecution on July 20, 1999. They were held in a guesthouse and isolated from the outside world. Officials from the bureau came every day, ordering them to renounce Falun Gong and promise not to go to Beijing to appeal. They weren’t allowed to go home until five days later. Mr. Tian was later demoted and assigned to work in a lower-level department. 

Mr. Tian travelled to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong on January 30, 2000. He was arrested at Tiananmen Square, taken to the Qianmen Police Station and held in metal cage. The police didn’t provide him with any food before he was taken back to Baoding the next day. 

The police directly drove Mr. Tian to the Gaokai District Police Station and restrained him in a chair overnight. Because he refused to renounce Falun Gong, the police took him to the Baoding Detention Center. He shared a room with 12 other people. He was forced to make apple packaging bags every day. Meanwhile, the police continued to order him to renounce Falun Gong. When he refused, the police ordered his son to persuade him, who knelt in front of him, begging him to give up Falun Gong. Mr. Tian was under tremendous pressure due to the persecution. The detention center extorted 30,000 yuan from his daughter when they released him three months later. 

Only a few days after Mr. Tian’s release, he was arrested again and taken to a brainwashing center. The staffers continued to press him every day to renounce Falun Gong and to not go to Beijing to appeal. He was detained for six days and extorted for over 2,000 yuan. 

Following his release, the police kept harassing Mr. Tian and monitoring his daily life. His neighborhood committee also cut off his telephone line, to prevent him from contacting other Falun Gong practitioners. 

After the Tiananmen Square self-immolation hoax was broadcast on January 23, 2001, the authorities in Baoding gathered local practitioners to watch the news together and forced them to write statements to renounce Falun Gong. Mr. Tian was detained for six days because of his history of going to Beijing to appeal.

Prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the security personnel from the Power Supply Bureau forced Mr. Tian to turn in his ID and arranged for people to follow him when he went out. Mr. Tian’s two daughters and son, all of whom were employees of the Power Supply Bureau, were also ordered by their managers to monitor Mr. Tian and prevent him from going out to appeal for Falun Gong. 

Mr. Tian was once forced to live away from home to avoid the persecution. In retaliation, the Power Supply Bureau suspended his son’s salary for eight months. 

The persecution took a toll on Mr. Tian’s health. He fell seriously ill in March 2018. Yet the police still harassed him and took his photo against his will. He died on September 24, 2018.