(Minghui.org) A 62-year-old man in Dalian City, Liaoning Province is on hunger strike while facing prosecution for his faith in Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Mr. Zou Benxu was arrested on August 3, 2026 by officers from the Zhongshan District Domestic Security Office. The police claimed that a local resident’s security camera recorded him distributing Falun Gong informational materials in her apartment building. They followed him for days before making the arrest.
Mr. Zou was first given 10 days of administrative detention, and then transferred to the Dalian City Detention Center on August 13 on criminal detention. He held a hunger strike in protest and was force fed. He is now facing prosecution after the Zhongshan District Procuratorate issued a formal arrest warrant for him.
Before he took up Falun Gong in July 1996, Mr. Zou often fought with people, and the locals avoided him when possible. However, practicing Falun Gong completely changed him. He said, “From now on, others may hurt me, but I will never hurt anyone else under any circumstances.”
After the persecution began in 1999, Mr. Zou remains firm in his faith and was repeatedly targeted.
Two Years of Forced Labor
He went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong in November 1999. He was arrested and given two years of forced labor.
In April 2001, while serving time at the Dalian City Forced Labor Camp, he was beaten by guards Qiao Wei and Wang Jun. He was sweating profusely, and his face and mouth were bleeding. His legs and buttocks turned black and blue, and his thigh muscles were severely injured. He was bedridden for over a month as a result.
Sentenced to Four Years in Prison
Mr. Zou was arrested again on the evening of August 14, 2005, after being reported for distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. His home was ransacked, and he was held at the Pulandian Detention Center. The Pulandian Court sentenced him to four years on December 12, 2005.
Mr. Zou was first taken to the Wafangdian Prison and then transferred to the Yingkou Prison on May 20, 2006. There, he was shocked with electric batons, deprived of sleep, and force-fed.
Mr. Zou was transferred to the Benxi Prison on December 19, 2007. Upon admission, he was deprived of sleep for three days. The inmates took turns watching him. They beat him and poured cold water over him. He fainted several times. While being beaten by inmates Du Xin, Wang Zhuo, and Fu Cai, he hit his head on the corner of the granite window sill. His head bled heavily, and he received eight stitches. After he was taken back from the hospital, he was held in the shower room and forced to sit on the cold concrete ground overnight.
During his term, his wife struggled to raise their elementary school-aged daughter by herself.