(Minghui.org)
Name: Wu GuangchengChinese Name: 吴广成Gender: MaleAge: 63City: KunmingProvince: YunnanOccupation: Real estate company executiveDate of Death: July 27, 2022Date of Most Recent Arrest: April 7, 2017Most Recent Place of Detention: Yunnan Province No. 1 Prison
Mr. Wu Guangcheng was very weak when he was released on April 6, 2022, after serving five years for practicing Falun Gong. The Kunming City, Yunnan Province resident slipped and fell on July 27 while using the restroom. He lost consciousness and died hours later. He was 63 years old.
Mr. Wu Guangcheng
Mr. Wu’s passing capped his two decades of suffering for upholding his faith, which has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999. In addition to his latest 5-year term, he served two labor camp terms totaling 3 years and a prison term of 6.5 years.
In addition to his own ordeal, his wife, Ms. Wang Deping, was also given two labor camp terms totaling 5 years, for practicing Falun Gong. Their son was traumatized by the persecution and developed a mental disorder. He is unable to work and stays at home all the time.
Mr. Wu’s latest arrest took place on April 7, 2017, for talking to people about Falun Gong. The Xishan District Court sentenced him on November 27, 2017.
Mr. Wu was subjected to strict management and constant torture at the Yunnan Province No. 1 Prison, as he refused to do the unpaid labor. He was very weak and emaciated upon his release on April 6, 2022. His condition continued to deteriorate for the next few months, which eventually resulted in his tragic death.
Life Renewed by Practicing Falun Gong
After being demobilized from the military, Mr. Wu began to work for a real estate company in Kaifeng City, Henan Province. He was later promoted as the Party secretary of the company. For years, he suffered Hepatitis B, and his condition was so severe that he became bedridden and had to take long-term sick leave around 1995. Meanwhile, his wife also developed double kidney stones, which tormented her for years.
Both of the couple began to practice Falun Gong in September 1997. Months later, their conditions significantly improved and later fully recovered. Living by Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, Mr. Wu stopped taking bribes at work and he also worked to stop corruption throughout the organization.
Persecuted for Upholding His Faith
When the communist regime ordered the persecution in July 1999, the Wu family’s peaceful life was shattered. The couple faced constant harassment, arrests, and incarceration for upholding their faith.
Arrested for Appealing for the Right to Practice Falun Gong
Mr. Wu went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong in January 2001 and was arrested at Tiananmen Square. The police beat him and took him to the Dongcheng District Detention Center.
Instigated by the detention center director and guards, the detainees clipped his fingers and toes in the gap of a metal door and the frame, as well as stomped on his fingers and toes, until they were smashed. They also hit his nose and calf with a shoe, causing severe bleeding. After rounds of beatings, Mr. Wu had injuries on his face, hands, and legs. He had severe back pain and couldn’t sleep on his back or stand up.
After Mr. Wu was taken back to Kaifeng on January 9, 2001, the authorities held him at the Beishudian Police Station. Police chief Sun Xuejiang ordered an officer to confine him to a metal bed and handcuff him to the frame. When he was taken to the detention center the next day, the guard specifically asked him to write a letter, clarifying that he sustained the injuries somewhere else, not in the detention center.
Two Labor Camp Terms
After a month of detention, Mr. Wu was given two months of forced labor. While he was serving time at the Kaifeng City Forced Labor Camp, its political instructor ordered the inmates to line up and spit phlegm into his mouth. In the winter, the inmates stripped his clothes and poured cold water over him. During the summer time, the inmates wrapped Mr. Wu with a thick comforter and blew a fan at him. The guards also crushed some left-over steamed buns with their feet and forced Mr. Wu to eat them. In addition to the physical torture, Mr. Wu also bore constant brainwashing and verbal abuse.
Only two months after he was released, Mr. Wu was arrested again in March 2003 and given another year at the Kaifeng City Forced Labor Camp. Guard Zhang Yong slapped him in the face so hard that his right eardrum ruptured. He was once tied up in a constraint chair for more than ten hours. When the end of his term was imminent, the guards threatened to detain him indefinitely if he didn’t renounce Falun Gong. Mr. Wu remained firm in his faith. The guards relented and released him on time.
6.5-year Prison Term
Mr. Wu was arrested again on July 9, 2005. The police intimidated his supervisor at work and attempted to extort money from them. A few days later, Mr. Wu was taken to a brainwashing center. He held a hunger strike for one day and then escaped. After wandering about for a few days, he was captured again and held at the Kaifeng City Detention Center for 15 months. His family wasn’t allowed to visit him during that time.
Mr. Wu was secretly sentenced to 6.5 years in Xinmi Prison in Zhengzhou City in October 2006. His family was allowed to visit him once in 2008 and they were saddened to see that he was extremely emaciated. After that, the prison never allowed them to visit him again.
After Mr. Wu was released in 2012, his family moved to Kunming City, Yunnan Province. As he continued to raise awareness about the persecution, he was arrested again in 2017 and given a second prison term.
Related reports:
Wu Guangcheng Arrested in His Adopted Province of Yunnan
Henan Province: Mr. Wu Guangcheng of Kaifeng City Persecuted for Ten Years
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