(Clearwisdom.net)

Mr. Zhang Xiaodong was from Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province. After graduating from college, he joined the Gansu Aluminum Company. He started to practice Falun Dafa in December 1998. He loved reading Zhuan Falun and read it over and over again. He spent a lot of time studying the Fa and he had many profound understandings of the Fa.

Since July 20 1999, the media controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started its propaganda campaign against Falun Gong. Even in this environment filled with lies, slander and stress, Mr. Zhang didn't get lost at all. He immediately decided to go to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. During the National Day holiday in 1999, he went to Tiananmen Square. He shouted, "Falun Dafa is great!" Several police officers illegally arrested him and detained him in Beijing for seven days. After that, he was taken back to Lanzhou and detained for a few more days.

Mr. Zhang then went back to work. He continued to clarify the truth to people. Initially he distributed truth-clarification materials and hung banners that read "Falun Dafa is great" in the suburbs. He often left for the suburbs at night and came back in the morning. Meanwhile, he explained the facts of Falun Gong to each and every one of his coworkers.

In 2000, Zhang Xiaodong submitted a statement of his intention to quit the CCP to his company's Standing CCP Committee. Many people couldn't understand his action. He said, "I am a Falun Gong practitioner. I have to quit the CCP because the CCP is brutally persecuting Falun Gong. Therefore, I can't allow myself to be a member of the CCP."

His employer refused to pay him his full salary because he went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. He only got 200 yuan as his monthly income. Mr. Zhang still tried to minimize his living expenses so he could buy Dafa books for others to promote the Fa.

Someone snuck into the local practitioners' group, claiming he was interested in learning how to practice Falun Gong. Mr. Zhang introduced Dafa to him. A few days later, this person led police to Mr. Zhang's home and they took Mr. Zhang away. Mr. Zhang kept sending forth strong righteous thoughts and quietly recited "Falun Dafa is good" and "Eliminate the evil" on the way to the police substation. When a policeman tried to kick Mr. Zhang, he always ended up kicking the floor even though he aimed at Mr. Zhang's leg! That night, two officers were assigned to stay with Mr. Zhang to monitor him. The room next door was an interrogation room with modern equipment. On one side there was a locked door to get outside the building and another locked door to get out of the yard. There was a reception room beside the yard door. It should have been very difficult to escape.

Zhang Xiaodong kept sending forth righteous thoughts. When the two officers went to sleep, he took the chance to leave the room. He quickly went out of the building. When he reached the yard door, he simply asked the person in the reception room to open the door for him. The receptionist opened the door for him without asking questions. He then left. The police couldn't figure out how he was able to escape.

After that, Mr. Zhang traveled between a few townships to clarify the truth and help people know the wonderfulness of Dafa even though he barely had enough money to feed himself. Meanwhile, the police were looking for him. They deceived and tricked Zhang Xiaodong's family, who don't practice Dafa. His family helped the police find Mr. Zhang, and the police took him away.

His family eagerly waited for Mr. Zhang Xiaodong to return. However, Mr. Zhang was illegally sentenced to six years of imprisonment. During his last two years in prison, Mr. Zhang suffered all kinds of torture and abuse. On October 24, 2003, Mr. Zhang died in the No. 1 Detention Center (the Xiguoyuan Detention Center) at Lanzhou. He was extremely thin and looked like a skeleton.

September 6, 2005

Posting date: 9/17/2005
Original article date: 9/17/2005
Category: Eyewitness Accounts
Translated on 9/10/2005
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/9/6/109882.html

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