Leading dissident writer Zhang spent two years in a labor camp in the late '90s. He was imprisoned again in September 2006 for his critical writings and was denied medical treatment until his release in June 2010. Zhang, a regular contributor to Boxun and The Epoch Times and founding editor of the Aiqinghai Net (Aegean Sea) website, passed away on December 31, 2010 from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, shortly after his release.