Mr. Zhou Ning, a Falun Gong practitioner from Jinan City, Shandong Province, was illegally arrested on September 12, 2007. Since then he has been detained and persecuted in the Jining City Detention Center. At present, he has been sent to the Affiliated Hospital to Jining Medical College for recovery. He is in critical condition.

Artist Mr. Zhou Ning in Critical Condition Due to Persecution

It was reported that Mr. Zhou Ning, a Falun Gong practitioner from Jinan City, Shandong Province, was illegally arrested on September 12, 2007. Since then he has been detained and persecuted in the Jining City Detention Center. At present, he has been sent to the Hospital affiliated to Jining Medical College for recovery. He is in critical condition.

Mr. Zhou, 38, works at the Special Education Polytechnic School and teaches hearing impaired students arts and crafts. He is also one of the founders of the school's arts and crafts program, and used to be the dean of the school. He successfully held Woodcarving Exhibits many times in China, America, and Denmark, and drew widespread attention from academic and artistic circles. His works were collected by the Chinese Art Museum, Shenzhen City Art Museum, and by many celebrities, both domestic and overseas.

Mr. Zhou suffered persecution again and again for persisting in his belief in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He was arrested several times, dismissed by his workplace, his residence was confiscated, and he was forced to be destitute and homeless. On September 12, 2007, he was again arrested in Jining City. On October 18, 2007, his arrest was approved by authorities. Later he was detained in the Jining City Detention Center, where he suffered brutal abuse.

Mr. Zhou held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. As a result, he was force-fed by the guards in the detention center. He was severely wounded both mentally and physically. It was learned that he was taken to the hospital for an injury to his lumbar vertebra, and he is in critical condition.