Zhang Zhiyou - 张志友
Zhang Zhiyou, male, 45 years old, lived in Yuhe County, Weicheng District of Weifang City, Shandong Province. Both he and his wife are Falun Dafa practitioners. The couple has taken good care of their parents and was always happy to help others, which has earned them a good reputation in their village.
On July 21st, 1999, the couple was taken to the county government because they went to Beijing to appeal. They were brutally beaten up and were forced to pay 1,700 Yuan RMB (about $200) as an economic punishment. In October of 1999, while the wife of Zhang Zhiyou, Li Lingyun went to Beijing to appeal, the county government officials dragged Zhang to the judicial office, and then cruelly beat him. He was physically abused for an entire day. In April of 2000, Li Lingyun once again went to Beijing to appeal. After she was escorted back to Weifang, the county government officials beat her so cruelly that she lost consciousness. The thugs didn't want to bear the responsibility, so they asked a Falun Dafa practitioner to send her back home in a tricycle. Zhang Zhiyou hid himself away from his home for a month. However, he was still unable to escape the adversity after he returned. He was so brutally beaten by the county government officials that his whole body was bruised. He still felt burdened with pressure in the chest two months later and the suffering was so unbearable that he could hardly breathe. The couple was forced to pay 8,000 Yuan RMB as a fine. They borrowed money from all around, and thus their life became extremely difficult.
On Oct. 4th, 2000, in order to clarify the truth of Falun Gong and say a few just words for Dafa, they once again went to Beijing to appeal. On Oct 5th, they were deceived by a plainclothes policeman at a corner in Tiananmen Square, and then were transferred to Weifang agency in Beijing. On the early morning of Oct. 6th, on their way back, Zhang Zhiyou clearly knew that even if he were not beaten to death, he would be subjected to severe torture after being sent back to Yuhe County. Due to the new round of persecution from "the Chinese Central Government", the policy of persecuting Falun Gong has been well known by almost everyone. Under the new policy of persecution of Falun Gong, the action taken by the thugs against Falun Gong has become more rampant. Therefore, Zhang Zhiyou decided to return to Beijing to appeal for the innocence of Falun Gong. When the train reached Cangzhou, practitioner Zhang, along with another four practitioners, jumped out of the window of the train while the policemen were fast asleep. Zhang Zhiyou died. His body was forcibly cremated in Cangzhou on Oct 8th.
