(Minghui.org) A world record-breaking athlete in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, is currently being held at the Fanjiatai Prison for his faith in Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999. According to insiders, Mr. Zhang Qingyuan has been subjected to various forms of abuse.
Mr. Zhang, a native of Jianghan District, Wuhan City, was arrested at his rental place in Xinzhou District of the same city on March 29, 2023. He was taken to Xinhualu Police Station in Jianghan District. It is unclear when he was admitted to prison.
Mr. Zhang’s family has never been given any updates about his case status, but they suspect that he’s likely serving a four-year prison term given to him in 2006. After his wrongful conviction back then, he lived away from home for the next 17 years to avoid being jailed.
In 2008, the authorities pressured his employer to fire him and also stopped his model worker stipend and disability benefits (totaling 10,000 yuan per year).
Mr. Zhang, around 56 years old, had his left forearm amputated after an accident when he was a young boy. His disability didn’t stop him from being athletic, however, and he won numerous national competitions.
In 1994, he broke the world record for triple jump, and won the championship in the 4th Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled. In 1995, he became a member of the national team scheduled to attend the 1996 Special Olympics in Atlanta, U.S.A., though he ended up not making the trip for some unexpected reasons.
After the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, Mr. Zhang was repeatedly arrested for upholding his faith. The following is an excerpt from his personal account of his sufferings over the years.
“On November 5, 2001, I was arrested by officers from the Wuhan City Police Department Domestic Security Office for mailing letters about Falun Gong to people. They held me at the Wuhan City No. 2 Detention Centre before transferring me to the Erdaopeng Brainwashing Centre in Jianghan District on December 3. I was deprived of sleep and forced to stand facing a wall all day long. I refused to renounce my faith as ordered and they transferred me to Huangjiadawan Detention Centre in Jianghan District six months later. I went on a hunger strike in protest and was released on the eighteenth day of my hunger strike.
I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in January 2003, and was arrested. I was interrogated and tortured while being held at Dongfeng Police Station in Fangshan District, Beijing. I refused to reveal my name and address. They restrained me on a tiger bench and beat me until after midnight. After the torture sessions, they had people watch me to prevent me from closing my eyes.
The next morning I was teken to the Fangshan District Police Department Second Detention Centre. During the required physical examination, even the detention centre guards condemned the police for beating me so badly. I went on a hunger strike at the detention centre and was force-fed many times. The feeding tube was often stained with my blood. The detention centre notified Dongfeng Police Station 37 days later to pick me up, and the latter dropped me off at a bus station instead of taking me home, despite my weak physical condition.
I was again arrested on July 19, 2005, by officers from the Wuhan City Police Department Domestic Security Office. They confiscated my valuables worth nearly 10,000 yuan, including my computer and printer, and took me to the Wuhan City No. 2 Detention Centre. I went on a hunger strike and was force-fed. The feeding tube was about the size of a finger, and when it was pulled out from my nostril, it was covered with blood.
As I refused to give in after several force-feeding sessions, the guards tied me onto a wooden bed in a spread-eagle position with my four limbs secured to the four shackles on the four corners. They left the feeding tube in my stomach at all times. During each force-feeding session, they poured liquid through the tube. This cruelty continued until my release on August 9, 2005.
I was arrested at a checkpoint on April 5, 2006, while taking a bus to my hometown in the countryside during the Qingming Festival (also known as Tomb Sweeping Day to pay respect to one’s ancestors). The police again took me to the Wuhan City No. 2 Detention Centre. I was put on trial the very next day. I went on a hunger strike and was released on bail three weeks later.
On June 1, 2006, the presiding judge and the police came to my home and announced that I was sentenced to four years in prison. They said I had ten days to file an appeal if I wanted to.
In order to avoid being jailed, I left home and moved from place to place for the next 17 years.”
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