Merely half a year following the incident, it was officially confirmed that Xia Zhenglun had passed away in Guanyun County in September 2023.

In contemporary China, the confirmation of information can often be a protracted process. Such was the case with the tragic account of Xia Zhenglun, an insurance salesman who endured fatal torture in Guanyun County, situated under the jurisdiction of Lianyungang prefecture-level city in Jiangsu province.

Born in 1961 in Guanyun County, Xia initially shared the prevailing negative view of Falun Gong held by many Chinese citizens influenced by government-controlled media. However, in 2012, his perspective changed after he encountered practitioners and delved into the movement’s literature.

Xia came to the attention of the police in 2014 during a raid on his home, resulting in the confiscation of spiritual literature and a 15-day detention. A similar incident occurred in 2015, leading to another 15-day detention.

Maintaining a discreet profile and practising Falun Gong privately helped Xia avoid imprisonment for several years. According to his relatives, as he neared retirement, he became more outspoken, leading to his arrest by the police in February 2023. Subsequently, he was held at the Guanyun County Detention Center.

In September 2023, he was urgently transferred to Lianyungang First People’s Hospital and succumbed shortly thereafter. It took several months for his family and fellow practitioners to investigate and compile multiple reports revealing that Xia arrived at the hospital with a severely bruised and edematous body. They assert that Xia was in good health at the time of his arrest.

They contend that Xia has tragically joined the ranks of Falun Gong practitioners and members of other prohibited religious movements who have been persecuted to death in detention.

This post is based on the information of the magazine “Bitter Winter”.

https://bitterwinter.org/death-of-an-insurance-salesman-falun-gong-practitioner-tortured-to-death-in-jiangsu