(Clearwisdom.net) In 2001, among the Jiang faction's propaganda defaming Falun Gong were the reports of the death of "Golden Phoenix" Mr. Xie Hongyu. On September 22, 2001, the Yunnan Daily printed a story that claimed Mr. Xie Hongyu had become infatuated with Falun Gong and committed suicide. Then on September 24, the paper published another report entitled "The 'Golden Phoenix' Who Should Not Have Fallen from the Sky." Later, the CCTV (China Central Television) program Interview on Focal Points used the same story to create rumors to link Mr. Xie's death to Falun Gong. These were not independent reports; they were produced by government controlled media organizations.

Mr. Xie Hongyu was born in November 1978 and lived in Xintang Village, Xinfu Town, Mojiang Autonomous County of Hani National Minority, Simao District, Yunnan Province. In 1998, he was admitted into the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) located in Anhui Province, with excellent academic achievement..

Soon after he became a college student, Mr. Xie began to practice Falun Gong. He followed the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance" to set strict requirements for himself. He studied hard and diligently, cared about others, considered others first whenever he did things and always looked for his own problems when he met a conflict. He was an outstanding student in USTC, and was praised by teachers and classmates alike. Before the persecution of Falun Gong began, he lived and studied well.

Yet after Falun Gong was outlawed on July 20, 1999, Mr. Xie was one of tens of thousands to fall under immense pressure. In order to exercise his constitutional right of freedom of belief, he and some fellow practitioners went to Beijing to appeal three times. They were persecuted by the authorities of USTC, the local "610 Office" and the Public Security Department. The leaders of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee talked with him many times, trying to persuade him to stop practicing Falun Gong. Because Mr. Xie persisted in his belief, on December 23, 1999, USTC forced his father to take him back to his hometown in Yunnan Province.

At home, Mr. Xie was monitored and harassed by the provincial, district, county, township and village levels of the "610 Office" and the public security authorities. Mojiang County and Xinfu Town established a so-called "help and education group," and established a "responsibility system," whereby leaders were held personally accountable for the activities of Falun Gong practitioners in their area. Mr. Xie was approached many times by officials from the County Party Committee, the County Government, the County Politics and Law Committee, the County Party Committee Propaganda Department, the County Police Station, Xinfu Town Party Committee, and the Xinfu Town Government. They bombarded him with insults and lies in attempts to have him give up his belief. In May 2000, the National Security Brigade from Mojiang County confiscated all Falun Gong related books and materials from Mr. Xie's home. In December 2000, Mr. Xie was abducted and sent to Kunming (capital city of Yunnan Province) to participate in brainwashing sessions held by the provincial "610 Office."

Endless persecution from the "610 Office" and numerous authorities crushed Mr. Xie's spirit. After he went back to Mojiang from the brainwashing class in Kunming, because he resumed the practice, the "610 Office" said he was mentally disturbed and committed him to the Simao District Mental Hospital. He was subjected to abuse with the excuse that Falun Gong had "ensnared his spirit." In March 2001, during his time in the hospital, a so-called "speech group" from Yunnan Province arrived in Simao District. They made a special trip to the hospital to attempt to "transform" him to give up Falun Gong.

After Mr. Xie left the hospital on August 9, 2001, he was continuously pressured. His family members had been approached by local authorities and had seen the propaganda, so they vigorously opposed and obstructed him from persisting with Falun Gong. On August 23, 2001, Mr. Xie was hit by a vehicle and died.

Above are the facts obtained by Clearwisdom volunteers who investigated, interviewed, and discovered what really happened. The authorities and individuals at all levels who participated in persecuting Mr. Xie were arranged to give the same account of events. Mr. Xie's parents and relatives were also threatened, which made it difficult to uncover the whole story. We hope that people involved, including individuals and authorities, reporters who conducted interviews used in false media reports, and relatives and friends of Mr. Xie will help expose the persecution and expose the wrongs suffered by Mr. Xie.