Mr. Cao Zhirong, 71, is a retired employee of Linshui County Cotton and Linen Company, Sichuan Province. On July 10, 2000, Mr. Cao went to Beijing to appeal to the government to stop persecuting Falun Gong. He was detained for 15 days. On March 23, 2001, he was arrested again in Changshou County of Chongqing City. He fainted when the local police beat him severely and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was badly tortured and became so weak that the prison had to send him back home. He left home to avoid further persecution, and has since been wandering about.

Five other members of Mr. Cao’s family were arrested and sentenced because they are Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Tang Sulan, Mr. Cao Zhirong’s wife, was sentenced to three years of forced labor. Mr. Cao Ping, Cao Zhirong’s oldest son, was arrested by the policemen of Linshui County Police Bureau. The brutal beatings broke his hands and feet. He was sentenced to four years in prison. Mr. Cao Jiguang, Cao Zhirong’s youngest son, was sentenced to five years in prison after being badly beaten. Ms. Cao Xueqin, Cao Zhirong’s daughter, was severely tortured and sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Mr. Zhang Ji’an, Ms. Cao Xueqin’s husband, was sentenced to three years of forced labor in Xishanping Labor Camp, Chongqing City.