Mr. Zhang Shimin was a 74-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Liaoyang County, Liaoning Province. When he worked, he was an outstanding schoolteacher. Mr. Zhang started practicing Falun Gong in 1996 and became very healthy and enthusiastic in helping others. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began the suppression of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Mr. Zhang was unlawfully sentenced to a forced labor camp in 2001 for one and a half years, because he persevered in practicing Falun Gong. In the labor camp he was subjected to severe psychological and physical abuse. He died on October 20, 2008.