Ms. Zhao Jinhua, age 42, a resident of Zhaojia village, Zhangxing county, Zhaoyuan city of Shandong province.

On Sept. 27, 1999, Ms. Zhao was taken away by the Zhangxing County police when she was working in the farm fields. The police asked her if she would continue to practice Falun Gong. She said "yes", and they started to torture her. She lost consciousness on the morning of Oct. 7 and was sent to the county hospital emergency room. After she regained consciousness she was returned to the police and tortured again until 3 PM. She died enroute back to the hospital this time. She was tortured with at least police electric clubs and rubber clubs, and electrified with old-style rotary telephones. The police repeatedly asked her if she would continue to practice Falun Gong, and she always answered "yes". Her skin was broken all over her body except on her face. In the morning of Oct. 8, forensic doctors of Zhaoyuan City dissected her body. In the afternoon, forensic medical experts of Yantai City made another autopsy, reported as follows: Injuries and wounds on many parts of the body except the head. Deposited blood beneath the skin for a total area of 120 cm x 60 cm. Conclusion: death caused by beating with blunt objects. During the period from Sept. 27 when she was taken by the police to Oct. 7 when she died, Ms. Zhao's family had not been allowed to see her. She was taken away as a lively person, and sent home on Oct. 9 as a box of ashes after she was cremated. When her family buried her remains, the whole village attended the funeral and cried. Ms. Zhao was a Falun Gong practitioner for four years, and has been a well-known kind and benevolent person in the local community. She was tortured to death by the local government simply because she chose to practice Falun Gong. Such savage persecution has resulted in deep discontent among the people. NOTE: We heard about the death of Zhao Jinhua two days ago. To make sure the news was accurate, a practitioner called the county hospital. The hospital was very cautious but admitted that Ms. Zhao died. So another practitioner visited Ms. Zhao's family and neighbors in the Zhaojia village. Even though they provided the above information including the autopsy, they were under government pressure from telling the truth and feared persecution. The practitioner asked the family for their phone number and permission to take a picture of the autopsy report and of Ms. Zhao's photo, but were refused. In the Chinese countryside it is normal for people to have such fear. Please be considerate for their actual situation. News Reports: Ms. Zhao's death was reported by Associated Press (AP), Agence France-Presse (AFP), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and ABCNews. Posting date: 10/11/1999 Original article date: 10/11/1999 Category: Eye Witness Accounts  Yearly Archive  Printer Version