Man Arrested Seven Times for His Belief Dies Weeks After Being Released

Falun Gong practitioners take part in a parade commemorating the anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong in China, in Washington on July 18, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

A man from Northeast China died in August as a result of the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for refusing to renounce his faith.

Quande Jiang, a dedicated husband and father, passed away on Aug. 26, 2020, six weeks after he was released from police custody. He was 66 years old.

Mr. Quande Jiang from Jilin Province, China. (minghui.org)

He and his wife were arrested at home in July for their belief in truth, compassion, and forbearance, the core tenets of Falun Gong: an ancient Chinese spiritual practice known to relieve stress and increase energy, according to a report by Minghui.org, a website that documents the CCP’s campaign of persecution against the practice.

Jiang was already emaciated and in poor health at the time of his arrest due to years of continuous torture suffered during previous detentions. After he was released, his health deteriorated and he required daily IV drips until he passed away. His wife is still detained and CCP authorities refused to allow her to attend his funeral.

History of Persecution

Jiang, a former employee at a grain storage bureau was a heavy smoker and drinker before he took up Falun Gong in 1997. He “quit his bad habits,” his relationship with his family improved, and his heart condition and a skin disease disappeared after practicing.

Jiang would soon become a target for imprisonment, torture, and forced labor in the CCP’s campaign to eradicate the practice in 1999 after Falun Gong grew in popularity in the 1990s for its health benefits and focus on spirituality and morality.

He was arrested for the first time in September 1999. During his 60 days of detention, he was forced to sit still on a small stool for long periods of time or do hard labor “carrying bags of beans that weighed over 200 pounds.”

He was soon arrested for the second and third time in early 2000 for appealing in Beijing for the right to practice Falun Gong and detained for a total of about a year and eight months.

He was brutally beaten, put in solitary confinement for a month, and forced to sit on a wooden board with his legs crossed in a small, humid room with 20 other Falun Gong adherents, and deprived of sleep because he refused to renounce his belief.

Jiang was arrested for the fourth time on Nov. 8, 2002, for making informational materials about the practice, and detained for over a year before he was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2004 for holding onto his faith.

Some of the tortures he suffered during this time include: being forced to sit on a bench with his legs tied, having his head covered with a plastic bag, and having his fingers and nipples poked with sharpened bamboo sticks.

Torture re-enactment - piercing fingers with bamboo sticks painting (Minghui.org)

They also broke his right arm, causing it to be permanently disabled when they handcuffed and violently shook his wrists, and pulled his handcuffed hands from his back to the front of his body ten times.

In prison, Jiang was repeatedly beaten, losing most of his teeth; held in solitary confinement for several months; shocked with electric batons; and had his four limbs tied up in a spread-eagle position.

Less than two years after his release, Jiang was arrested for the fifth time on Sept. 3, 2015, for talking to people on the bus about his faith. He was fined $147 and held for 15 days.

He was arrested for the sixth time along with his wife on Jan. 25, 2016.