40-year-old teacher was arrested in March 2009 and she is now in critical condition.

A Falun Gong practitioner undergoing a long sentence and suffering torture has begun a hunger strike.

Ms. Lei Xiaoting in Critical Condition

On March 19, 2009, several policemen from Guilinlu Police Station in Changchun City raided the dormitory of Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Lei Xiaoting in the College of Arts and Humanities, Northeast Teacher's University. Lei Xiaoting was arrested and most of her personal belongings were confiscated. The police claimed they found her lost purse which contained Falun Gong materials and served as the excuse for the raid.

Ms. Lei, 40 years old, a MA from Beijing Unversity, used to teach at Beijing Industry and Business University. She now works at the College of Arts and Humanities. Students have voted her one of the best teachers on campus.

At Guilinlu Police Station she was threatened, cursed and physically beaten the night of her arrest. When her parents brought her some clothing, they noticed bruises on her face. She was transferred to Changchun Detention Center late that night. The guards handcuffed her hands behind her back to the chair, and violently beat her during her interrogation.

Ms. Lei began a hunger strike against the illegal detention and torture.

On March 23, 2009, the police called her parents to inform them that Ms. Lei was in critical condition. She was sent to the hospital after being on a hunger strike for five days. Her parents are extremely anxious for their daughter's safety. The police have continually threatened and harassed them.

Guilinlu Police Station: 86-431-856437565, 86-431-85679335, 86-431-85664814

Mr. Pan Xujun on Hunger Strike at Hongze Lake Prison in Jiangsu Province

Mr. Pan Xujun has been on a hunger strike since February 21, 2009 to protest his illegal detention at Hongze Lake Prison in Jiangsu Province. He is in critical condition.

Before the persecution began, Mr. Pan Xujun, 43, was an English teacher at the Middle School of Pei County in Jiangsu Province.

In December of 2000, the CCP Political and Judiciary Committee director Jiang Chaofu ordered the police to arrest all Falun Gong practitioners in the county. Mr. Pan was arrested and detained first at a detention center, then in a brainwashing camp for a year. He was forced to pay 35 yuan a day in fees. His employer was forced to pay a fee to the 610 Office and ordered to suspend Mr. Pan's salary.

On December 14, 2001, Mr. Pan and two other practitioners, Mr. Wang Xinchun and Mr. Cao Houcun, escaped from the brainwashing camp.

At the end of August 2002, the three practitioners were arrested by the police, led by the county 610 Office director Chen Yong. They were secretly sentenced. Mr. Pan was sentenced to nine years in prison, and imprisoned in Hongze Lake Prison in Jiangsu Province.

At the prison, the guards frequently ordered prisoners to beat and insult Falun Gong practitioners. The 1st Ward political instructor, Hu Juqiu, repeatedly ordered prisoners Bi Dongsheng and Jia Lianggui to beat and insult Mr. Pan. Mr. Pan endured tremendous mental and physical abuse. He went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution on February 21, 2009.