Mr. Li Yequan, a 38-year-old practitioner from Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, has had his wages suspended for the last six years because of his belief in Falun Gong. He had been illegally arrested numerous times and forced to move from one place to another to avoid persecution. Mr. Li is now being brutally abused at Daqing City Detention Center. He has been on a hunger strike for 56 days to protest the illegal treatment. Every day, for 24 hours, he is handcuffed, shackled, and force-fed. A guard named Wang Yingzhou, along with inmates, forced a liter of hard liquor down his throat and spit on him. They also poured cold water on Li Yequan. Due to being force-fed three times a day, Mr. Li's esophagus has been badly injured. He shows symptoms of pneumonia and mental disorientation and his body temperature has dropped. He is extremely weak, with his white cell count as high as 20,000. Mr. Li has slipped into a coma many times and is now dying.
Mr. Li Yequan enjoying happy days with his family prior to being
persecuted
On November 16, 2005, Li Yequan's family went to visit him and also to talk to the authorities at the detention center. The associate director of the center, Wang Yongxiang, made excuses and refused to see them. One of Mr. Li's family members presented Wang an open letter addressed to the labor camp. On November 17, Mr. Li's father, who had suffered a stroke, his brother, and sisters traveled a long distance to see Li Yequan. In Wang Yongxiang's office, all of his family members were asked if they practiced Falun Gong. Mr. Li's wife asked, for verification, if Mr. Li had been force-fed hard liquor and spit on. The actions were denied. When his wife said she would ask Mr. Yi himself, the prison authorities got very angry and yelled, "From now on, you are not allowed to see him any more!"
Mr. Li's father asked, "Li Yequan is a good man. What law did he break? Why did you arrest him so many times?" They replied, "The government does not allow him to practice Falun Gong." "So which law did he break?" They said, "That's the business of the police department. Why don't you go ask them?"
Mr. Li's family went to the 1st Group, where his wife was refused entry. His brother confirmed from talking to Mr. Li that liquor was indeed forced down his throat and that he was spat upon. The head of the group, Lai Zhonghui, Wang Yingzhou, and other inmates stormed over and dragged Mr. Li's brother out of the room. His brother was forced to stay outside in freezing temperature for over two hours, which exacerbated his stomach problem.
When Mr. Li's father demanded his son's release, they passed the buck to the police department. Disappointed, Mr. Li's family had to leave.
Mr. Li Yequan worked for the Daqing City Bullet Factory. He started practicing Falun Gong in July 1996 and followed the teachings of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance in his daily life and was recognized as a good worker. His research project was so outstanding that he was going to be promoted from associate head of the workshop to the factory head responsible for technology. Since the persecution of Falun Gong first started in July 1999, the local police station and the staff in his company tried to coerce him to write a guarantee statement. He refused and remained true to his beliefs. The party secretary, Yao Dexi, worried that he might go to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Giong, so they arrested him and took him to the Chuangye Police Station, where he was detained for two months before being sent back to his company.
On July 14, 2000, Mr. Li went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong but he was escorted back to the Honggang Detention Center, where he was detained for one month and then another 15 days. After he was sent back to his company, Mr. Li was placed under house arrest. On September 25, CCP Secretary Yao Dexi extorted 3,600 yuan from him before they released him. In addition, they took his two-month wages, one month's bonus for May, and other allowances totaling 100 yuan. They also took the 329 yuan in cash that he had on him. After they extorted the funds from Mr. Li, they told him that he could resume work after the National Day holidays. Unfortunately, as soon as Mr Li returned to work, he was sent to Bei'an, Daqing's 610 Office brainwashing center, for one month. From the brainwashing center, the local 610 Office sent Mr Li to one year in the Daqing Forced Labor Camp for removing slogans slandering Falun Gong from the wall. He was released on October 28, 2001.
Receipt for the fines extorted by Party Secretary Yao Dexi
After returning to work, Mr. Li was demoted to the janitorial staff. He had his pay cut by 300 yuan. From an administrative position he was relegated to a support position. Li Yechuan had barely worked for a year before he was again sent to the brainwashing center at the Hong Weixing Center between June and July, 2003 simply because they found a piece of paper in his pocket with information on a website operated outside of China. That same night, Mr. Li was sent to the Chuangye Police Station. The police station was going to send him to the forced labor camp. Handcuffed and brutally beaten, Mr. Li was sent to Honggang Detention Center three days later. As a result of the beatings and the long-term hunger strike, Mr. Li became quite weak. Only then did the detention center release him. However, he was still subject to harassment. Li Yequan was forced to leave home to avoid further persecution.
On December 13, 2004, in the Yinlang neighborhood, Mr. Li and other three practitioners were arrested by officers from the Ranghu Road Police Substation. Mr. Li shouted, "Falun Dafa is good," even as he was being gagged and blindfolded by the police and dragged into a vehicle. He continued to shout, "Falun Dafa is good" on the way to the station, and clarified the truth to the public.
Mr. Li also shouted, "Falun Dafa is good" day and night at the detention center. They punished him by making him sit on an iron chair and he was tortured in order to try to make him reveal information about Falun Gong activities and other practitioners. At some point, they sent him to the company's hospital for emergency treatment and later to a hospital at the No. 4 Refinery of Daqing Oilfield. Later on, Mr. Li was forced to become homeless.
At 5 a.m. on September 23, 2005, Li Yequan was again illegally arrested by police from Daqing City. On the night of September 27, Daqing City Police Department, 610 Office, Judiciary Bureau, and Daqing Forced Labor Camp had a meeting and sent Mr. Li to the Daqing Forced Labor Camp. When Mr. Li's white blood cell count was found to be as high as 20,000, the labor camp refused to admit him. However, Daqing Public Security Bureau Chief Cao called them to say that Ruan Dianlong, the associate party secretary for the municipal government and the legal and political commission, had approved the admission, so they had to admit Mr. Li. As a result, Li Yechuan was sentenced to forced labor for two years without any legal procedures. He is being held in the 1st Group at Daqing Forced Labor Camp.
Mr. Li has been on hunger strike to protest the persecution, and demands to be released. Ordered by the 1st Group's leader Lai Zhonghui and policeman Wang Yingzhou, several inmates shackled Mr. Li's hands and ankles. He is force-fed three times a day, sometimes for more than four hours. Mr. Li's esophagus has sustained severe injuries and he has slipped into coma many times. The guards or inmates even put the portrait of Master Li on the chair and force him to sit on it and put the book, Zhuan Falun on the seat. Wang Yingzhou, who calls himself a policeman reincarnated from a devil in hell, along with several inmates, forced more than a liter of hard liquor down Mr. Li's throat. They even spat into his throat.
Mr. Li has has had his wages suspended since July 2003. His wife is struggling to support their seven-year-old son with her meager income from her cleaning job. Their life is very miserable. Their son often stares at his father's picture and weeps in private so his mother does not see him crying.
 The front of Daqing Detention Center |
 Daqing Forced Labor Camp office |
 The 1st Group where Mr. Li is being jailed |
Falun Gong practitioners Mr. Liu Jianjun and Mr. Miao Chuanzeng were among the 26 practitioners "sold" to the Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp to perform slave labor. In November of 2000, the Kaiping Forced Labor Camp in Tangshan City sold the practitioners for 800 yuan per person. The practitioners were all treated inhumanely.
Guard Yang Zeming used a 10 cm (about 4 inches) long nail to threaten Liu Jianjun, "If you do not accept our terms, I will put this nail into your leg and you will be permanently crippled." In another incident, ten guards locked Miao Chuanzeng in a pigsty and threatened him with 12 nails.
On October 7, 2000, Miao Chuanzeng from Zhangjiakou City went to Tiananmen Square to appeal for Falun Gong by opening a banner. For that, he was viciously beaten and illegally arrested by three plainclothes police. Mr. Miao was sent back to Zhangjiakou City and detained at the Gongyie Street Police Station. Two days later, he was transferred to the Xuanhua Detention Center and detained for one month.
Mr. Liu Jianjun went to Beijing on October 6, 2000, to appeal for Falun Gong. He was surrounded and beaten by five or six policemen on Tiananmen Square. As a result of the beating, he suffered a broken nose and bleeding from his left eye. When he was sent to Haidian Hospital for an exam, Mr. Liu was in critical condition. Besides the broken nose and bloody left eye, he sustained several broken ribs, and impaired vision in his left eye.
At the hospital, the director of the police station attempted to get Mr. Liu's name and address multiple times while being videotaped. Eighteen days later, Liu Jianjun was sent back to Haidian Detention Center. Four inmates were assigned to monitor him. They used all sorts of methods to force him to reveal his identity. Two days later, they tricked him into telling them his address. That same day, the chief of Huayuan Street Police Station sent people to take Mr. Liu back to the area in which he lived. From there, he was sent to Ciershan Forced Labor Camp. However, the labor camp refused to accept Mr. Liu because he failed their physical examination. Mr. Liu was instead sent to Shisanli Detention Center. At the time he was on a hunger strike to protest the illegal detention. Later, Mr. Liu was still sent to a forced labor camp.
Around November 10, practitioners Miao Chuanzeng, Liu Jianjun, Ms. Yu Junling, Cao Jianling and Ms. Wang Zhixian were sent to Kaiping Forced Labor Camp in Tangshan City for further persecution. The perpetrators included Ma Fuwei, chief of Qiaodong District Police Department, officer Xu from Gongyie Street Police Station, officer Liu from Huayuan Street Police Station, Sheng Xuewu and others. The day after the practitioners arrived at Kaiping Forced Labor Camp, they were sold to Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp in Baoding City as laborers. Each person was sold for 800 yuan.
When Liu Jianjun was sent to the Kaiping Labor Camp, he had been on a hunger strike for 33 days and was seriously injured. The prison guards, however, forged Mr. Liu's physical examination documents and forced Kaiping Forced Labor Camp to accept him.
When the practitioners arrived at Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp, prison guards Ji and Fang Bao, and driver Wang, pushed Liu Jianjun to the ground and beat him. They used electric batons to shock him for two and a half hours continuously, causing Mr. Liu excruciating pain. Then guards Hu Chengtang and Yang Zeming from Group 5 incited others to torture Mr. Liu in an effort to force him to give up practicing Falun Gong. Yang Zeming held a 10 cm long nail in front of Liu and said, "If you do not accept our terms, I will put this nail in your leg and you will be permanently crippled."
On November 18, 2000, Mr. Liu was sent to Baoding Labor Center where he was forced to do hard labor. He needed to manually move dye materials (weighing several dozen pounds) each day for 12 hours per day. The prison guards used any excuse to beat him. He was given only cabbage boiled in salt water to eat. There was always a layer of sand at the bottom of the bowl. Nine inmates slept in a room designated for only four, so everyone could only lie on his side to sleep. If one person got up to use the restroom in the middle of the night, his space would be taken by the time he got back. Due to the hard labor and not being able to sleep, on February 20, 2001, Mr. Liu had an accident and his left middle figure was crushed by a machine. At the hospital, his injured finger required 15 stitches.
In March of 2001, Liu Jianjun was sent back to the labor camp and forced to listen to propaganda that defamed Falun Gong and its founder.
On April 2, Mr. Liu's mother visited him. After she left, the guards handcuffed him to a basketball stand and forced him to listen to the propaganda again. Mr. Liu told them that the propaganda was all lies. The guards then handcuffed him to the rings on the ground, so that he had to squat down. They used all sorts of methods to torment him. When Mr. Liu refused to cooperate with them, guard Liang Baoke slapped him on the face twenty to thirty times. Mr. Liu then went on a hunger strike to protest the inhumane persecution he suffered.
The practitioners in Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp are forced to get up at 5 a.m. to start work. They are required to work nonstop until night. They do not get enough food to eat, but have to work over 10 hours a day. They are subjected to brainwashing and ordered to write a guarantee statement.
In May 2001, most of the Falun Gong practitioners went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. The guards summoned Mr. Miao Chuanzeng to the office and asked him to reveal the names of the practitioners who started the hunger strike. Several guards pinned Mr. Miao to the floor and used three electric batons to shock him. Then they handcuffed him and several other practitioners to the rings on the ground. The practitioners were not given food and water. Four guards used three electric batons on each practitioner that was on hunger strike and forced them to work. As a result, the practitioners' backs were burned and some lost consciousness.
On May 16, 2001, five practitioners were transferred to Group 5 because they refused to be "transformed." They were ordered to write guarantee statements. If they refused, they were handcuffed to the rings on the ground, so that they could neither stand nor squat down. They were exposed to the scorching sun during the day and to mosquitoes at night. Due to the tortures and repeated brainwashing, Mr. Miao Chuanzeng wrote the guarantee statements against his will at a time when his mind was unclear. Once he was clearheaded again, he deeply regretted what he did and immediately declared that the statements he wrote under pressure were void. As a result, the guards intensified their persecution toward him. Ten guards locked him in a pigsty and threatened him with 12 nails. They gave him one hour to make a decision.
The practitioners in Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp are humiliated and tormented every day. They are also forced to perform hard labor such as digging trenches. In 2002, Mr. Miao Chuanzeng had an accident while working. Afterwards, he was not able to work anymore. On February 24 the same year, he was released. However the police continued to harass and intimidate him at home. Mr. Miao was forced to leave home to avoid further persecution.
On May 26, 2002, guards Wang Zhitai and Wang Guoyou from Group 5 handcuffed Mr. Liu Jianjun and two other practitioners to the rings on the ground for one day and one night. Then they were transferred to the Douwa Forced Labor Camp, forced to work 12 hours a day and frequently beaten by the inmates. On June 5, Mr. Liu passed out from exhaustion while he was working. Squadron leader Tang Guangjun had Liu Jianjun dragged outside and beaten. He also used an electric baton to shock Mr. Liu's body, head and face. After three rounds of beatings, Mr. Liu was bleeding from his mouth and nose, and his head and face were deformed. After the beatings, Tang ordered Mr. Liu to continue working, but Mr. Liu refused. Mr. Liu pointed out that Tang's behavior was illegal. Later, guards Duan and Li came over and told Mr. Liu to wash off the blood on his face. After they left, Tang started beating him again.
The next day, group leader Yang Zeming, Fang Bao and Liang Baoke brought Liu Jianjun and two other practitioners back to the labor camp. Fang took off his shoe and slapped Mr. Liu's face a dozen times with the sole of the shoe. Then, they handcuffed Mr. Liu to the rings on the ground in an old storage room for 49 consecutive days. He was not allowed to sleep. The guards would beat him or shock him if he fell asleep. They also tried to force him to say things that slandered Falun Gong and its founder. The collaborators tried brainwashing him with their twisted understandings. Mr. Liu, however, did not yield to the evil.
On August 9, Mr. Liu was sent to Jianchang Labor Center in Anxin. His job was to melt five tons of copper every day. At certain times, his workload would double every third day. The work environment was hot and the workload was excessive. There was only cold water for showering. On October 20, 2002, when Mr. Liu went to use the restroom, Wang Heyu followed him to the restroom yelling and beat him.
In 2003, an inmate escaped from the labor camp. The guards were anxious. At around midnight on June 3, guard Qiao Xiong woke Mr. Liu up. Before he could say anything, Qiao slapped Mr. Liu on the face because "he slept facing the wall." Mr. Liu told Qiao that his behavior was illegal. Qiao ignored Mr. Liu's words and instead punched him on the chest where he had been previously injured. As a result, Mr. Liu could not get out of bed at all. He was released on August 27. In addition to the more than 600 yuan they extorted, the labor camp kept the remaining 250 yuan that was left on Mr. Liu's prison account.
Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp has always publicized itself as a civilized place; however, it is an evil den for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. The newly arrived practitioners are body searched. Then, they are subjected to brainwashing and tortured in attempts to "transform" them. There is no personal freedom and practitioners endure inhuman treatments. In 2005, while practitioner Chen Aihong from Zhangjiakou was sitting on the bed, group leader Li Xuejun beat him. Mr. Chen went on a hunger strike and requested to see the director. Another practitioner, named Zhao Shuying, also went on a hunger strike with Chen Aihong. Li Xuejun, however, did not allow them to see the director, but instead took both practitioners to a hospital in Gaoyang County for force-feeding on September 16. While at the hospital, unit leader Zhao Yuanmeng slapped Mr. Chen's face. His face swelled for several days. In the afternoon of September 30, Chen Aihong and Zhao Shuying were put into solitary confinement. They were handcuffed to wooden boards for torture.
Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Jin Minghua has been illegally sentenced to forced labor camp twice for her belief in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" and for her steadfast insistence on being a good person. Because of the enormous pressure put on the family by the persecution, Ms. Jin's young daughter suffered a mental collapse and was sent to a mental hospital. The family was originally told that the hospitalization would be free of charge. In March 2005, after being released from the forced labor camp, Ms. Jin Minghua went to visit her daughter in the hospital. Her daughter's medical bill was more than 20,000 yuan. To apply for free treatment, Ms. Jin was told to go to the city's People's Business Bureau. When she got there, she was told that she needed to obtain permission from the county People's Business Bureau.
Such a lovely young girl was persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party simply because her mother wanted to be a good person. She suffered a huge amount of mental pressure when they persecuted her mother, so much so that it caused her to suffer a mental collapse. In addition, while Ms. Jin Minghua was illegally imprisoned, the city government confiscated all of her pension to pay for her daughter's medical bills. They said that if she cannot pay the medical bill, her daughter will not be able to receive any more medical treatment.
Ms. Jin Minghua raised her 11-year-old daughter all by herself. They fully depended on her small pension for their livelihood. In February 2000, after the police illegally arrested Ms. Jin, she was sentenced to one year in the Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp of Changchun City. Yanji City officials then arranged for many police patrols from the Neighborhood Association to monitor Ms. Jin's home, intending to arrest those Falun Gong practitioners trying to help her family. Jin Minghua's 11-year-old daughter suddenly lost her mother's love and the warmth of her family. She had to live at home all by herself. The smallest incident frightened her terribly.
In this lonely and fearful situation, her daughter gradually became mentally disordered. After Ms. Jin was released at the end of 2000, she found her daughter behaving strangely. She took her daughter to a hospital for an exam. She was diagnosed with mental illness. After many medical treatments, no clear improvement has been made.
At the beginning of March 2004, four Henan Police Station officials intruded into and ransacked Ms. Jin's home. When they found Falun Gong books, they took Ms. Jin away immediately. Her daughter had to watch all of this. The mentally disordered girl could no longer handle the intense stress. As she watched the authorities take her mother away, she started to laugh uncontrollably and became manic. Because no one else could take care of her, the Neighborhood Association finally sent the child to a mental hospital, which they said was free of charge.
Because Ms. Jin persisted in believing in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" and in being a good person, she was sentenced to two years in a forced labor camp. In Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp, she was brutally tortured by the camp guards for her persistence in Falun Gong practice and for resisting "transformation." In March 2005, after Ms. Jin was released from the camp and went to the hospital to visit her daughter, she was told to pay the 20,000-yuan medical bill, or otherwise her daughter could not stay at the hospital any more. When Ms. Jin went to the city People's Business Bureau to apply for permission to get free hospitalization, she was told to go to the county People's Business Bureau. In this brutal persecution against Falun Gong, unprecedented in history, not only do practitioners suffer from brutal persecution, but their family members also experience pain beyond imagination.
Zhao Shuang is head of Division No. 5 at the Changlinzi Labor Camp in Harbin City. He is extremely cruel when persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. He follows the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Jiang's regime's policies and frequently said, "Killing a Falun Gong practitioner is just a matter of filling out a form saying it was a normal death. The labor camp has a large enough death quota." The following is a partial description of his crimes.
1. Zhao always inhumanly tortures new prisoners. On February 2, 2004, three Falun Gong practitioners were transferred to Division No. 5 from other divisions. They are Zhang Xiangfu (who was since tortured to death), Yang Wenjie and another practitioner whose name is unknown. Zhao Shuang capriciously slapped one practitioner on his face. When the practitioner asked Zhao why he did that, Zhao and more than 20 other guards and inmates brutally tortured the three practitioners together until they were covered with blood. Later, he locked the three practitioners in a solitary confinement cell and handcuffed them to metal chairs. Zhao Shuang shocked them with electric batons at will, day or night. Sometimes Zhao became tired from shocking them. He would then instruct an inmate named Li Chunlong to continue. The torture continued for about half a month. The three practitioners were covered with bruises and wounds; they were not released from the solitary confinement cell until they were in critical condition. Immediately after that, despite their health, the three practitioners were forced to do high-intensity labor. On top of that, Zhao Shuang often shocked Yang Wenjie with an electric baton.
In mid March, former professor and Falun Gong practitioner Li Yougang from Harbin Industrial University was sent to Division No. 5. Zhao Shuang slapped him on the face and shocked him with an electric baton as soon as he arrived. Another practitioner, Hao Yunshu, was also shocked.
2. The guards at the camp are required to obey five rules, but Zhao Shuang never follows any of them. He drinks alcohol at every lunch and dinner at the labor camp. On several occasions, he was so drunk that he could not even stand stably. During the 2004 Dragon Boat Festival, he started drinking at lunch and continued until 8:00 p.m. At 8:30 p.m. he called all the practitioners for a meeting. At the meeting he verbally abused them while slapping them on the face and shocking them. Some practitioners were burned from the shocking. The meeting continued until 11:40 p.m. when Zhao felt he had enough "enjoyment."
3. Zhao Shuang's favorite ways to torturing practitioners were "rowing" and "splitting." "Rowing" means he sat on the practitioner's back and used the practitioner's arms as oars, like rowing a boat. He would push the arms to the extreme so that the bones started popping. "Splitting" means he pulled practitioners legs apart as far as possible. Practitioners Gao Ke and Li Shoutian suffered such tortures and were still limping one year after the torture. Zhao Shuang often finds excuses to torture the practitioners by "rowing," "splitting" or shocking them with electric batons.
4. Forcing Falun Gong practitioners to write the three statements. Zhao Shuang instructed inmates Qi Kunlei, Yang Lei, Li Chunlong and Wang Dejun to torture Falun Gong practitioners cruelly to force them to write the three statements. Practitioner Zhang Siyuan was beaten so badly that he lost control of his bowels and bladder. Zhao Shuang and guards Wang Kai and Jiang Guosheng handcuffed practitioner Zhou Peihong to a metal chair and shocked him to force him to write the three statements. Zhao Shuang also instructed inmates to continuously abuse practitioner Zhou Peihong 24 hours a day, beating his head or wounds with a broom as soon as he fell asleep.
5. Falun Gong practitioners were treated as slaves at this camp in order to make money for the camp. They were forced to perform high-intensity labor for long hours. Usually practitioners were forced to start work at 5:00 a.m. and had to continue until late at night. It was considered early for them to stop working at 9:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m. More often than not they worked until 11:00 p.m. or midnight, sometimes even until the early morning hours. While working, practitioners were often beaten or shocked as a form of punishment. When Zhao Shuang was on duty and in a bad mood, he made practitioners work much longer. Even the leaders of the inmates were given the authority to increase the work quotas for practitioners and could also beat practitioners at will. Zhao Shuang often said, "It is all right to beat practitioners to death. All I have to do is fill out a form declaring it was a normal death; the labor camp has a large enough death quota to cover these deaths."
6. During Easter of 2005, Falun Gong practitioners Sun Peichen, Li Qingrong, Zhang Fengtian and Xu Guoxiang called out, "Falun Dafa is good!" in the dining hall. Zhao Shuang called Sun Peichen out and stripped him naked. Zhao Shuang grabbed Mr. Sun's penis and pulled it very hard. Later he sat on Sun Peichen to "row" and split" him. Another guard shocked Mr. Sun with an electric baton on his genitals. They continued to abuse Sun Peichen until they were too tired; then they forced him to go to work naked. Another Falun Gong practitioner, Song Guohua could not stand it any more. He stood up to stop them but was dragged away before he could even say a word. Practitioner Song was also stripped naked, shocked, "rowed" and split." One of his legs was broken after the "splitting." Practitioner Zhang Fengtian suffered similar tortures. Practitioner Li Qingrong was transferred to Division No. 1.
7. Zhao Shuang often told Falun Gong practitioners, "Torturing you is entertainment for me! Don't tell me about humanity! I do not have any humanity! If you make me upset, I might torture you to death." Zhao Shuang also told other inmates in front of practitioners, "If you find that any practitioner is not good, let me know and I will torture him to death."
Zhao Shuang set a rule that practitioners in Division No. 5 are not allowed to talk at all. They must be silent at all times. Once inmate Sun Ye suspected that practitioner Chu Jinyuan had talked to Gao Ke. He immediately hit Mr. Chu on his head. When Sun Ye verbally abused other practitioners, practitioner Xu Changfa said to him, "We are good people, following the principles of 'Truth, Compassion, Forbearance." Sun Ye hit Xu Changfa on his face before he could finish the sentence. Mr. Xu's face swelled immediately.
Zhao Shuang heard that practitioner Tang Shaoyong was paid half a million yuan per year before being imprisoned. He often hinted that Mr. Tang should give him money or presents. Tang Shaoyong ignored him. As a result, Zhao Shuang often found an excuse to torture Mr. Tang, shocking him with electric batons and slapping his face so hard that he broke one of Mr. Tang's eardrums.
8. Extending Falun Gong practitioners' sentences: According to the labor camp rules, all prisoners should benefit from reduced terms according to their behavior, and most inmates' terms were reduced six to eight days per month. Some sentences were reduced four to six days, and a few two to four days. All prisoners who served two thirds of their sentence term could benefit from six to eight days reduction each month. However, more than 95% of Falun Gong practitioners in Division No. 5 did not have the advantage of a term reduction, no matter how long they were imprisoned. The most practitioners could get was a two to four-day term reduction each month. Essentially, however, all practitioners' sentence terms were extended. Zhao Shuang said, "We are relying on you practitioners to make money for us."
9. As of April 1, 2005, prior to their release, all practitioners were forced to answer ten multiple-choice questions that slandered Falun Gong and Master. The terms of practitioners who refused to answer these questions were extended.
1. Several Falun Gong Practitioners Were Arrested Recently in Panjin City
Three Falun Gong practitioners from Panjin, Ms. Su Yan, Ms. Xie Dong, and Ms. Liu Shaoman were illegally arrested at Su Yan's house by police officers at about 10:30 p.m. on November 22, 2005. They were immediately imprisoned at the local Detention Center. The police searched Su Yan's house and confiscated her property. Further details are under investigation.
Su Yan, Xie Dong and Liu Shaoman all lived in the Scientific Research Community. Xie Dong works at the Zhanjing Junior High School. Liu Shaoman is a retired elementary school teacher. Additionally, three other practitioners, Ms. Zhang Guorong, Ms. Wu Xuehui and Ms. Zhou Yanhong, were also arrested at their homes, individually. Zhang Guorong is disabled and lives in the Yingbin Community. Wu Xuehui is a school teacher who teaches in a Liaohe Youtian School for the deaf. She lives in the Scientific Research Community and was arrested at 8 o'clock on the evening of November 22. Zhou Yanhong is a worker in the Liaohe Youtian Lujing Company. She lives in the Scientific Research Community and was arrested at 7 o'clock on the evening of November 23. The police also confiscated items that belonged to her, including a computer.
2. Latest Development in the Appeal for the Married Couple, Xin Minyi and Bao Juncen
Xuhao and other policemen from the Panjin Xinglongtai District National Security Bureau illegally arrested Falun Gong practitioners Xin Minyi and Bao Juncen, a married couple. The police colluded with the Xinglongtai District Court to counterfeit so-called "crime evidence." When the couple's family received the news, they appealed to the Panjin City Intermediate Court. Initially, they were rejected, but after persevering, the Panjin City Intermediate Court finally agreed to process this case. The attorney vigorously pleaded for the couple, however, the Panjin City Intermediate Court turned this case down using the excuse that the evidence was not sufficient, and then sent it back to the Xinglongtai District Court. The Xinglongtai District Court returned this case to the Panjin Xinglongtai District National Security. Xin Minyi's family is now trying to negotiate with the Xinglongtai District National Security office for the release of the couple. Further details are under investigation.
3. More Information about Falun Gong Practitioner Hu Zhehui in Panjin City
After Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Hu Zhehui was illegally sentenced to a 15-year jail term by the Xinglongtai District Court, he was rejected by the Shenyang Prison because he was extremely weak and he was unable to take care of himself. The officers sent him back to the Panjin City Detention Center to be persecuted further. In October 2005, Hu Zhehui was secretly sent to the Shenyang Public Security Hospital for further persecution. According to an investigation, a Panjin City Political and Legal Committee secretary, and head of the 610 Office, Li Desheng, directly colluded with the Shenyang Public Security Hospital and sent Hu Zhehui to Shenyang Public Security to be put in prison and persecuted.
4. Yang Lixin Lost Part of His Memory after Persecution
It has been reported that Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Yang Lixin from Panjin has been subjected to persecution in Shenyang. He recently showed symptoms of partial memory loss. The prison warden stated that they were not concerned about him. Yang Lixin was arrested in Panjin City and sent to the First Prison in Shenyang on August 3. Thereafter, he started a hunger strike to protest the illegal detention, which lasted two months. During this time, Mr. Yang never showed any signs of losing his memory. Strangely, he developed symptoms of losing his memory only after he started eating again.
The violent conduct of guards who torture practitioners by injecting them with drugs that damage the central nervous system has been exposed internally and abroad several times already. We are very worried about Yang Lixin's condition.
For the last few years, innumerable crimes have been committed behind the doors of Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. A large number of Falun Gong practitioners have been illegally confined, humiliated, ill-treated, tortured and even murdered for refusing to renounce their belief in Falun Gong, a peaceful cultivation practice that the Chinese government illegally banned in 1999.
A. The following are some of the methods and abuse used by the camp officers on the practitioners:1. Lies and enticement
Normally the officers employ a "sympathetic" approach towards a newcomer to the camp. First, they display their concern and interest in the practitioner's everyday life in order to gain their trust. Then, they start to exploit the practitioner's weaknesses, telling them lies and fabricating stories about their belief, and finally they entice them with the promise of immediate release if they cooperate and give up their practice.
2. Intimidation and VictimizationIf the above technique does not work, then the officers start to intimidate the practitioner with threats, direct or veiled. First, they tell him that many people who refused to give up their belief were jailed or exiled, and that they will never see their families again. Then they also tell him that if the practitioner does not cooperate, he will be punished, and his family will also suffer as a consequence of his foolishness. To put more pressure on the practitioner, the officers start to threaten his family members, who normally beg the practitioner to give up their practice. If the practitioner still does not give in, then they will subject him to corporal punishment, confined isolation, or prolong his sentence in the labor camp.
3. Mental and Physical TortureNormally, Falun Gong practitioners who refuse to submit are confined to long-term isolation. They will be humiliated, abused and attacked, verbally and physically, by one or more people. Physical torture is more commonly applied - the practitioners could be hung from the ceiling by their arms, forced to squat, stand or sit with legs bound, for hours at a time, during which time other inmates kick or punch them, or officers use electric batons on them. Such an ordeal could last for an entire night. Some of the practitioners went through such torture for as long as twelve days.
Every year the camp launches a campaign called "Fighting the Adamant." This year, the campaign was introduced during the three months just before the 2004 Chinese New Year, when the camp stepped up the severity of its "disciplinary action" on all of the Falun Gong practitioners who had refused to follow commands and give up their belief. One method employed in this campaign was to force practitioners every day, from 4:50 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., to sit still on tiny stools and not allow them to move outside the half a meter square of floor space on which the stools were placed. Some were made to stay even longer. Furthermore, practitioners were made to do exercises afterwards. Failure to comply again led to harsh punishment, or their terms of sentence were extended.
Later, Masanjia Forced Labor Camp established a set of regulations to punish all Falun Gong practitioners who failed to comply with their unreasonable orders. For practitioners who were considered to have committed a Level One order of severity, their sentence was extended by one month for every three months of their original sentence. For a Level Two order of severity, for every six months of their original sentence, their stay was extended by a month. As for the meals, practitioners were given salted vegetables and half-cooked corn flour dumplings. Drinking water was restricted, and toilet visits were allowed only twice per day.
4. Slave LaborPrior to 2005, the camp assigned Falun Gong practitioners to handle poisonous materials without protective gloves. After a period of time, their hands were deformed from the chemicals. Every day, the camp supervisors exerted pressure on them by hurrying them to get the work done. Very often practitioners were compelled to work overtime until 9:00 p.m., even when they were ill.
Digging trenches for trees in the spring, and harvesting corn in the field in the autumn was part of the heavy manual labor. Apart from the short breaks over lunch, the supervisors constantly pressured the Falun Gong practitioners. By the end of the day, everyone was completely exhausted from the intense labor. Some of them were unable to eat or sleep afterwards and fell ill. One person collapsed in the field one day in 2003. During August 2004, the practitioners were bagging onions under the blazing sun. Many of them suffered heat stroke afterwards from the intense heat.
Masanjia Forced Labor Camp does not let the Falun Gong practitioners off lightly. Many of them had their terms extended. When it was pointed out to the officers that extension of a term was illegal according to the law, they simply replied, "I have the authority to extend your terms. You can report me if you like. Falun Gong practitioners are under prosecution at present. No one will take notice of you. Don't waste your time."
As more and more practitioners who previously submitted under pressure have now come forward to bear witness to the crimes committed by officers at the Masanjia camp, the camp management is now beginning to worry about its hidden activities. In April 2005, to prevent the public from knowing what goes on in the camp, activities were restructured. Falun Gong practitioners who refused to obey orders were categorized according to the severity of the "offence." Practitioners considered Level One "offenders" were not allowed to leave their rooms. They were given low-grade meals, not allowed to hang their clothes to dry in the courtyard, and were not allowed to have visitors. All their room windows were sealed to isolate them completely from the outside. Practitioners who went on hunger strikes to protest were force-fed and injected with unknown drugs to keep them silent, or were locked up in "small-cells" if they call out, "Falun Dafa is good."
B. Cases of Persecution of Falun Gong PractitionersFor the last several years, the cruelty of Masanjia officers towards Falun Gong practitioners is beyond description. The crimes committed by the officers have piled up like a mountain. The following are just a few cases of their atrocities.
1. The Persecution of Ms. Zhong Shujuan
Ms. Zhong Shujuan from Dalian was a very determined practitioner. Because of her strong faith, she was put through all sorts of suffering. During the time she was undergoing brainwashing, she was physically abused. She was humiliated, brutally beaten, and forced to listen to lies and propaganda written to slander Falun Gong. Very often, she was deprived of sleep from four to seven days at a time. One time Ms. Zhong was locked up in a room where several people attacked her. After that, she was tied up on a long bench, and humiliated in front of the other inmates with strips of paper with negative slogans stuck all over her body.
During the 2003 autumn harvest season, Ms. Zhong was assigned to work in the cornfield. By the end of the day, she was so exhausted that she could not sleep. To revive her energy, she decided to do some meditation. However, duty officer Yang Xiaofeng saw her and locked her up in a dark and cold storeroom, with both of her arms tied up outstretched. They freed only one of her hands to let her eat during meal time. She was then deprived of sleep for seven days. When the medical examination had revealed that she was suffering from an irregular heartbeat, abnormal blood pressure and urine abnormalities, Zhong Shujuan was sent to the hospital for treatment. Seizing the opportunity to make some money, Officer Yang Xiaofeng lied to the other practitioners saying that Ms. Zhong needed money for treatment and collected money from them. The money was never returned.
On New Year's day of 2005, Falun Gong practitioners went on a mass hunger strike, demanding to see the head officer for an unconditional release. Ms. Zhong was singled out and held down on the ground while being force-fed. She was locked up for seven days in a small cell afterwards. Despite protests from others, one male officer said, "If we don't do that, we will lose our jobs."
During the spring festival, Zhong Shujuan went on a hunger strike to protest for the second time. Again she was locked up in a small cell. When she was due to be released in April, her sentence was extended as punishment.
2. Exposure to Cold for Seven Days
During the winter of 2002, Falun Gong practitioner Cui Yaning of Jinzhou was locked up in a small cell. The window and door of the cell were purposely kept open to catch the chilling winter wind and snow. Seven days afterwards, Mr. Cui's feet were frozen and she suffered from severe frostbite. When she was due to be released in March 2005, her sentence was extended. Previously, Cui Yaning had sent out many letters of appeal for the injustice done to Falun Gong practitioners, and these letters were kept by the authorities as reasons for extending the term of her prison sentence.
3. Forced Feeding
Unlike the proper practice in a hospital, forced feeding in the labor camp is used more as a punishment than treatment to the victim, and is one of the most unbearable forms of torture ever applied. A tube is inserted through the practitioner's nose and liquid food is forced through the tube until it overflows from the mouth. Zhou Yuzhi, a Falun Gong practitioner from Fushun was sent to Masanjia, where camp medical officer Chen Bing and Li Shujuan put her through four days of forced-feeding just for staging a hunger strike protest in December 2002.
Some time in June 2003, because Ms. Zhou had refused to sing songs glorifying the communist party, she was locked up in isolation, and tortured with electric needles on the face. She was beaten while suspended head down. It was under these circumstances that she was driven to a state of mental trauma.
4. Sleep Deprivation
During her stay in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Xin Suhua was brutally attacked by the two team leaders, Zhang Xiurong and Tong Yan. Together with several other officers, they surrounded her and punched and kicked her. When they finally stopped, officer Wang Zhengli continued kicking her until Ms. Xin went completely quiet. She was locked up several times in the small cell, the longest time being for twenty days, during which she was handcuffed to a chair, and blasted with a trumpet to stop her from sleeping. As she was not allowed to use the bathroom and given only limited time to use the toilet, she had to limit her food intake. If she refused to eat, they would force-feed her. So symbolically, she took a couple of spoonfuls of food and very little water to avoid having to soil her pants. After her release from the small cell confinement, Ms. Xin's central nervous system was badly damaged - her limbs went numb and she had lost the sense of touch. She has still not recovered fully.
The above cases are but a small number of the persecution cases of
Falun Gong
practitioners at Masanjia.
1. [Changchun City, Jilin Province] Supplemental Information of the Torture Deaths of Falun Gong Practitioners Wang Shouhui and Her Son Liu Boyang
Within two weeks, on November 9 and October 28, respectively, Changchun City police tortured Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Wang Shouhui and her son Liu Boyang to death.
Practitioner Wang Shouhui died miserably, with her eyes and mouth wide open. Her family received her death notice on November 15, six days after she was tortured to death. Her family requested an autopsy but the police said it should be done by doctors they appointed. They were attempting to cover up their crime.
Practitioner Dr. Liu Boyang, Ms. Wang's son, was arrested on October 28 and tortured to death that night. Dr. Liu died miserably, too. His body was nude. His family requested to look at his clothing but police denied their request.
2. [Lianyuan City, Hunan Province] Practitioner Zeng Liangyu Tortured to the Point of a Mental Collapse
Practitioner Ms. Zeng Liangyu, 33, Zeng Zhizhong's younger sister, is a teacher in Lianyuan City. She was arrested in August 2005 when she clarified the truth of Falun Gong. She has now been tortured to the point of mental collapse.
3. [Tianjin] Practitioner Liu Jian Sentenced to Two Years and Three Months of Forced Labor
Practitioner Mr. Liu Jian lives in Jiayuan Nanli, the Hongqiao District, Tianjin City. At around 9:00 p.m. on September 25, 2005, more than twenty plainclothes police officers arrested him under force and ransacked his house. They confiscated his personal computer, a copier and over 10,000 yuan in cash. His family demanded to visit him but the police denied their request. During their most recent contact, police told them that Mr. Liu had been sentenced to two years and three months of forced labor at the Banqiao Farm Forced Labor Camp.
Qushuanghuan Village Police Station, Hongqiao District, Tianjin City: 86-22-26653088
4. [Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province] Li Changxin Arrested for Clarifying the Truth of Falun Dafa on a Bus
At the beginning of May 2005, practitioner Li Changxin from Shuangcheng City was arrested only because he clarified the truth of Falun Gong to people on a bus. He is now being held at the No. 4 Division in Qiqihar City's Shuanghe Forced Labor Camp.
Telephone number for the Shuanghe Forced Labor Camp: 86-452-2451196
5. [Yushu City, Jilin Province] Sun Lianrong Held at the Yushu City Detention Center for Posting Truth-Clarifying Flyers
In mid November 2005, police from Baoshou Township arrested practitioner Sun Lianrong from Yushu City only because he posted some truth-clarifying flyers. At around 10:30 p.m. that same day, the police forced Sun Lianrong to take them to his home and then they ransacked the place. Even though they didn't find anything, they arrested Sun Lianrong and put him in Yushu City Detention Center.
6. [Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province] Yang Jie Sentenced to Six Years of Imprisonment for Distributing Truth-clarifying Materials
Two weeks ago, in November 2005, personnel from Xihu District Police Department sentenced practitioner Ms. Yang Jie from Hangzhou City to six years of imprisonment only because she distributed some Falun Dafa truth-clarifying materials. At first, the court overruled the sentence due to insufficient evidence. Deng Jiming and other personnel from Xihu District Police Department insisted on a sentence and in the end, Yang Jie was sentenced to six years of imprisonment.
7. [Tianjin] Liang Miexi Becomes Ill Due to Torture at the Tianjin City Women's Prison
In the beginning of 2002, 55-year-old practitioner Ms. Liang Meixi, an employee of Bohai Oil Corporation's Staff Hospital in the Tanggu District, Tianjin, was sentenced to three and a half years of imprisonment only because she clarified the truth of Falun Gong to people. She suffered tremendously in the Tianjin City Women's Prison, both physically and mentally. Her former diabetes recurred. In August 2005 Ms. Liang was released but her health was very poor. She couldn't see clearly, was extremely weak and was unable to take care of herself. Their employers fired her and her daughter. They have neither labor insurance nor medical insurance.
On November 26, 2005 Liang Meixi suddenly fainted. Her daughter sent her to a hospital for emergency treatment. She was diagnosed with diabetic ketosis poisoning and is still in a coma in the emergency department.
8. [Tonghua City, Jilin Province] Yu Zhen and Li Guifeng Arrested for Distributing Truth-clarifying Materials
During the morning of November 25, 2005, practitioners Ms. Yu Zhen and Ms. Li Guifeng from Yayuan in Tonghua City distributed Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials. At around 9:00 a.m., officers Gao Tao, Sun Zhenmin, Yu Changjiang, Guo Hai and others from the City Yayuan Police Station arrested them and ransacked their homes. The two practitioners are being held at the city's Changliu Detention Center.
Tonghua City Yanyuan Police Station: 86-435-3721573
9. [Lianyuan City, Hunan Province] Zeng Zhizhong Sentenced and Family Harassed and Persecuted
Practitioner Mr. Zeng Zhizhong is a teacher at the Lianyuan City Jinshi Middle School, Hunan Province. Because he instructed his classroom students in the theories of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," a teacher at the same school framed and reported him to the City Education Administration Bureau, to the Political and Legal Committee, and to the Police Department. At the end of 2004, personnel from the City Police Department broke into Zeng Zhizhong's home and injured Mr. Zeng's parents who opposed the illegal arrest. They arrested and put Zeng Zhizhong into a police car.
Zeng Zhizhong has been held at the city detention center. His wife Zeng Xuefeng, an English teacher at the Jinshi Middle School, went to request his release many times. She also hired a lawyer and filed the case with a court, and has so far spent over 30,000 yuan. However, police and the CCP Political and Judiciary Committee not only refused to release Zeng Zhizhong, but also sentenced him to a lengthy prison term.
In addition, the police often harass and monitor Zeng Zhizhong's wife and son. They even ordered his wife to pay a monthly "fine" of 1,000 yuan, and said they would arrest her unless she did so. In order to take care of her son, Mr. Zeng's wife has to borrow money and pay the fine, making their life very difficult.
10. [Xichang City, Sichuan Province] Zhang Youfang Arrested For Clarifying the Truth of Falun Gong
On November 10, 2005, personnel from the Xichang City National Security Team arrested practitioner Ms. Zhang Youfang for clarifying the truth. She is currently being held at the City Detention Center.
11. [Yi County, Liaoning Province] Zhang Lijun Held at the County Detention Center
At around 10:00 a.m. on November 27, 2005, personnel from Yi County Police Department and Chengguan Township Police Station arrested practitioner Mr. Zhang Lijun and put him into the county detention center.
Ever Since Zhang Lijun began Falun Dafa practice he has conducted himself according to "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" at all times. Zhang Lijun didn't give up his belief in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" and as a result, personnel from the County Police Department and the Chenguan Township Police Station illegally arrested him, fined him, and ransacked his home several times. In April 2004, Wang Zhanlin, a National Security Group officer in the county police department, put him into the notorious Jinzhou City Forced Labor Camp for one year without any reason or legal documentation. Zhang Lijun suffered all kinds of tortures at that camp. His family has amassed huge debts because of the persecution.
Phone number of related responsible units:
Chengguan Police Station: 86-416-7731452
National Security Group of Yi County Police Department: 86-416-7722412,
86-416-7721648
Yi County Detention Center: 86-416-7721341
12. [Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province] Xie Chunmei Arrested for Clarifying the Truth to Students and Teachers.
Practitioner Ms. Xie Chunmei from Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, born in 1964, is an English teacher at the City's No. 20 Middle School. She often clarified the truth to students and teachers. One day, someone requested that she step out and "have a talk" during her class time. Ms. Xie disappeared afterwards.
Exposure of Cruel Torture of Dafa Practitioners at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp
Because she persisted in practicing Falun Gong and conducting herself according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, Falun Gong practitioner Dai Di was illegally detained at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in late 2002. She was brutally tortured physically and she was mentally tormented. Ms. Dai was forced to stand in a room filled with toxic air for five days and five nights. Afterwards she was hardly recognizable. Her face was severely swollen and was covered with a red rash. She could only open her eyes a crack.
In April 2005 the guards deprived Dai Di of sleep for more than ten days, during which time she was forbidden to use the restroom, drink water, eat or wash herself.