(Clearwisdom.net) Three elderly people from Fuzhi Village, Lequn Township, Shuangcheng City, have died as a result of the Chinese Communist Party's relentless persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Ms. Gao Xiulan started to practice Falun Gong in 1996. Prior to that she used to suffer from numerous illnesses, including a bacterial infection of the trachea and emphysema. At the end of 2000, officers from a police station in Lequn Township unlawfully arrested her because she practiced Falun Gong and held her in Shuangcheng City No. 1 Detention Center. Ms. Gao was later detained in a village factory for a month, where she was subjected to brainwashing to try to force her to renounce her belief. As a result of the incarceration and other forms of torture, Ms. Gao eventually passed away in April 2006, at the age of 66.

Mr. Zhang Youshan also began practicing Falun Gong in 1996. Due to a tumor growing on his neck, Mr. Zhang used to have difficulty using his upper body, including his arms. His health was restored completely shortly after he started practicing Falun Gong. He even looked younger than other men of his age. In February 2003, officers from Lequn Township ransacked his home, confiscated his collection of Falun Gong books and threatened him. This had a devastating effect on his health, and Mr. Zhang eventually died on October 29, 2009, at the age of 73.

Mr. Yuan Zhiji started practicing Falun Gong in 1998. He was soon free of illness and an old injury that had caused limited mobility in his legs was gone. When the Chinese Communist Party started to suppress Falun Gong, Mr. Yuan's daughter, who also practiced Falun Gong, was forced to leave home and went into hiding. The separation from his daughter was devastating to Mr. Yuan and he died on March 27, 2007, at the age of 82.