(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Zhang Shimin was a 74-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Liaoyang County, Liaoning Province. When he worked, he was an outstanding schoolteacher. Mr. Zhang started practicing Falun Gong in 1996 and became very healthy and enthusiastic in helping others. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began the suppression of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Mr. Zhang was unlawfully sentenced to a forced labor camp in 2001 for one and a half years, because he persevered in practicing Falun Gong. In the labor camp he was subjected to severe psychological and physical abuse. He died on October 20, 2008.

Mr. Zhang was illegally sentenced simply for telling people the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong. At that time, he was 67 years old. He was taken to Shizuizi Forced Labor Camp in Liaoyang County, Liaoning Province, where prison guards repeatedly beat him and force-fed him as a form of torture. When he was dying due to the torture, the prison guards, out of fear of potential legal repercussions, finally released him. Three months later, when Mr. Zhang's health had just started to improve, the Chinese Communist authorities put him back in the forced labor camp again.

When Mr. Zhang refused to cooperate with the prison guards' unlawful demands, he was again subjected to cruel torture. The guards used a metal device to pry his mouth open and knocked out two of his teeth in the process. Next, they poured crumbs from corn buns into his mouth, which then fell down into his windpipe. After that, he coughed constantly. Later he was locked in solitary confinement for 48 days.

When Mr. Zhang's had finally served his term, he was released. However, his cough continued due to the crumbs in his lungs. In 2008, Mr. Zhang was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died at the age of 74 on October 20, 2008.