Guo Haisheng - 郭海生
Mr. Guo Haisheng was from Dayingzi Village, Qinglong County, Hebei Province. After he started practicing Falun Gong in 1997, his many chronic illnesses disappeared. He then established a practice site at his home. When the persecution of Falun Gong started on July 20, 1999, Guo Haisheng went to Beijing to appeal. On his way home, the police abducted him, took all his money, and illegally detained him at a brainwashing center for two weeks. In the spring of 2000, Mr. Guo was arrested again, and his home was ransacked. He was detained at the brainwashing center. After a joint hunger strike by more than 30 Falun Gong practitioners, they were released from the brainwashing center.
The third day after his release, Guo Haisheng went to the county government to clarify the truth about Falun Gong and was once again arrested. He was released shortly afterwards. In the fall of 2000, on his way to the farmers' market, the police stopped him and extorted all his money, which amounted to only 250 yuan. In the spring of 2001, Mr. Guo's house was ransacked and he was arrested once again. He was detained at the Qinglong Detention Center for four months, during which time he was beaten with a leather belt, tortured on a tiger bench, deprived of sleep for long periods of time, shocked with electric batons, and forced to half squat for long periods of time. Guo Haisheng passed out once from the torture, and twice vomited blood from intense beatings.
One night in the summer of 2002, the police broke into Mr. Guo's house in the middle of the night and tried to take him to a forced labor camp. Guo Haisheng was able to keep righteous thoughts and escape. In 2003, while he was posting truth-clarification materials, a village official reported him to the police. The police came to Mr. Guo's home but could not find him, so they arrested his brother, who was also a Falun Gong practitioner. His brother was detained at the Qinglong Detention Center for more than four months. Because of the persecution, Guo Haisheng's family was poverty-stricken. Even so, the police regularly broke into their house to harass them, regardless of the time of the day. Guo's Haisheng's physical and mental health deteriorated due to the intense harassment, and he passed away on March 6, 2005 at the age of 54.
