Issued by Clearwisdom Net

On October 21, 2000, practitioner Mr. Cao Dong, 30, and Mr. Gao Feng, 31, were arrested by police in Beijing for producing Falun Gong truth-clarification materials, validating the Fa and clarifying the truth. They were sentenced to four and a half years and four years in prison respectively without any legal representation or process.

Prior to the sentencing, they were imprisoned at the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (AR) Drug Rehabilitation Center for brainwashing.

After their sentencing, the Beijing City Dispatching Office took them to the Dashaping Prison in Lanzhou City in Gansu Province to serve their sentence. Please read below the physical and mental torture they suffered at Lanzhou City Prison.

First Imprisoned Practitioners at Lanzhou City Prison

On May 22, 2001, Mr. Cao Dong and Mr. Gao Feng were taken to the Lanzhou City Prison and held in the Training Center. Mr. Gao was assigned to cell number one. The team leader for that cell was Liu Bingcheng and the criminal inmate in charge of the cell was nicknamed Su Douwa. The minute Mr. Gao stepped into the cell, he was told that everyone in the cell was "a big guy" and should not be offended. There were eighteen people in cell number one. Each was assigned a bunk bed.

Mr. Cao was assigned to cell number seven. The team leader for that cell was Yue and the criminal inmate in charge was Dang Zhanlong. Mr. Cao was assigned the upper bunk bed, the one above Dang Zhanlong's bed as he needed "special care." There were more than thirty people in the cell. But, most of them did not have their own bed, instead they shared one extremely wide bed.

The Education Section Chief was Yang Dong. The squadron leader was Su and the political instructor was Wang Changlin. Officers at the Education Section included Zhao and Yang Zhou. Team leaders were He Liqing, Liu Bingcheng, Yue and Qin. Later, An Jinglu became the squadron leader and others were promoted to team leaders.

Mr. Cao and Mr. Gao were the first practitioners imprisoned at the Lanzhou City Prison. Guards and inmates bullied them. They ordered them to admit "guilt," acknowledge that they were "criminal inmates," say "report" before entering offices and sign prison papers. But Mr. Cao and Mr. Gao refused to cooperate. Therefore, they were harassed, insulted, threatened and even beaten by guards and inmates. Guards and inmates said, "We have many ways to take care of you. We don't believe that we can't make you yield."

They were forced to clean the prison corridors, courtyard, guards' restrooms, fetch water, dig dirt, pick up melon seeds, take garbage to the dumpsters and much more. They were forced to attend a number of classes where they had to read the prison handbooks and CCP's newspapers. They also had to take military-style training and psychological tests. They were ordered to write reports about their thoughts. The two practitioners clarified the truth in all they wrote. The tormentors could not accept that, so they no longer allowed them to write and confiscated paper and pens.

Guards frequently checked them during sleeping hours and ordered several inmates to monitor them, record their daily activities, interrupt their Falun Gong exercises and prevent them from getting in touch with political prisoner Yue Tianxiang, who was sentenced to ten years in prison for organizing workers at the June Fourth event. One day Mr. Cao and Yue Tianxiang talked for a short time. The inmates reported him to He Liqing, the guard in charge of that section. He Liqing interrogated Yue Tianxiang for several hours. He suspected that they were plotting some activities.

The Hypocritical Education Section Chief Yang Dong

Section Chief Yang Dong of the Education Section had many discussions with Mr. Gao and Mr. Cao. He told them that if they behaved well, they would be transferred to the Education Section to teach inmates after three months. The Education Section had a library with books, television, VCDs and computers. The food was also better than in other sections. Criminal inmates had to pay to rent books, but Yang Dong let the practitioners borrow books for free. Hearing of their "privilege," inmates asked them to borrow books for them. They borrowed many books for inmates.

Yang Dong once asked Mr. Gao to his office. He forced him to squat in the hope that he would admit guilt and that he had broken the law. Mr. Gao clarified the truth to him, but he refused to listen. Instead, he slapped Mr. Gao's face cruelly. Guards Wang Changlin, He Liqing, and Zhao were present. Mr. Gao told him, "I will not hate you even though you beat me. But I must warn you that beating me does not bode well for you." A few days later, Yang Dong asked inmate He Congshan to bring Mr. Gao to his office. Half drunk, Yang Dong apologized to Mr. Gao for beating him that day. Then Yang Dong said, "There are three rules at the prison for you. First, you can't do any exercises. Secondly, you are forbidden to spread Falun Gong and thirdly you must stop practicing Falun Gong. The government has outlawed your belief. We are the executive branch, part of the government machine. You were sentenced by the Court and not us. But, since you are an inmate at our prison, we have responsibility over you. You must follow all the rules here, be transformed and try to get your prison term reduced so that you can go home earlier. This is our job." Mr. Gao said, "Practicing Falun Gong and being a good person is our freedom. This is my belief and I will not give it up." Yang Dong told inmate He Congshan, "Don't let him do the exercises. If he starts doing the exercise, tickle him, pull his hands down and drag his legs out."

Yang Dong is the worst section chief at the prison. He tortured practitioners the most at Lanzhou City Prison. Inmate He Congshan was the number one vicious criminal inmate who assisted the guards. Yang Dong also threatened Mr. Cao and Mr. Gao, "We have already made plans how to deal with you. Handcuffs, foot shackles, electric batons and solitary confinements are all ready. We are not afraid of a hunger strike either. We got the tubes and pliers from the medical clinic."

One day, He Congshan saw that Mr. Cao was sitting in double crossed leg position, reading the book "Romance of the Three Kingdom" he had checked out from the library. He jumped on Mr. Cao and tried to move his legs. But, he did not succeed. Then, he beat Mr. Gao's forehead, called criminal inmate on-duty Cao Feng in and also reported it to the main guard Liu Bingcheng. Liu Bingcheng handcuffed Mr. Gao and used foul language. He blamed Mr. Gao for always creating trouble.

One criminal inmate warned Mr. Gao, "Be careful. They are letting you read books, so you have no time to think about Falun Gong and shift your attentions to other things."

Some inmates who had been imprisoned for more than a dozen years told Mr. Gao and Mr. Cao, "Never trust the guards. They are trying to deceive you. You are new to this and you don't know much about a prison. Listen to us and you won't get into trouble. The criminal inmates here are very wicked. Don't tell them much. They are informants for the government, trying to report on others to get their prison term reduced. Each ward has many informants, reporting to different prison leaders. They monitor all inmates and guards."

After three months, Mr. Cao and Mr. Gao asked Su and Wang Changlin, "Didn't Section Chief Yang say that he would transfer us to the Education Section to teach criminal inmates after three months?" Warden Su smiled foxily, "You are too naive. Only the people with special relationships can go there. There are many college graduates holding Masters Degree, Ph.Ds and even diplomates. Who are you?"

Hung up in the Air for Doing the Exercises Openly

The Training Center counted the people twelve or more times daily. They frequently forced all inmates to study or participate military-style drills. One day, Mr. Gao refused to participate in the drill. Instead, he sat down in the meditating position on the big playground, in front of many guards and criminal inmates. Yue asked the criminal inmates Ma Ling and others to carry Mr. Gao to another place. The squadron leader Su and team leaders Wang Changlin, Liu Bingcheng and He Liqing were present. Su asked criminal inmates to handcuff Mr. Cao's and hang him from a high-beam bar, with his feet off the ground. The criminal inmates cheered on those torturing Mr. He, shouting loudly. Ma Ling felt like a big hero, and joked that he had seen practitioners flying on the playground like a bird with wings opened.

When Mr. Gao read Master Li's articles, he had written down from memory, to criminal inmates under the grape vines, Ma Ling saw it and grabbed the paper. Then he dragged Mr. Gao to the warden's office and handcuffed him. Several criminal inmates took part in the torture of Mr. Gao. They applied handcuff torture methods and used electric batons at will. They even dared to threaten or even torture others. Because Mr. Gao did the Falun Gong exercises in the cell, in front of the guards and on the playground, he was hung up from a high up beam by his handcuffed hands, or was handcuffed to an electric pole with both arms around it. He was handcuffed for several months with time off only during family visits (the prison was afraid that his family might see this). Criminal inmates Cao Feng and He Congshan beat him. When he was on a hunger strike, criminal inmate Yue cursed at him, called him the worst person in this world and asked why he had not died yet.

Once the Investigation Section searched inmate Wang Jung and found a piece of paper with the Falun Gong exercise formula on it. They ransacked the entire cell that Mr. Cao was in and took Mr. Cao for interrogation. Later they put Wang Jun in solitary confinement for seven days and frequently called Mr. Cao to their office for verbal abuse.

Forced-Brainwashing and Mental Torture

The inmates were required to form a group political study. Criminal inmate He Congshan threatened Mr. Gao that if he did not participate, they would tie him to a tree with a rope around his neck, just like a dog leash. Warden Wang Changlin came to check them several times a day.

Mr. Cao and Mr. Gao cleaned the courtyard well. But He Congshan was afraid that Wang Changlin would realize that he had not done a good job. Therefore, when he saw Wang Changlin coming towards them, he would blame Mr. Cao and Mr. Gao for not doing a good job loudly. Criminal inmates Yue Tianxiang and others would pick up brooms, pretending that they were cleaning for Mr. Cao and Mr. Gao. At that time, Mr. Gao was on hunger strike, had no water and was handcuffed. When Wang Changlin saw cigarette butts on the ground or dirt on the door, he would curse criminal inmates and deduct points. Once a criminal inmate used the warden's restroom after Mr. Gao cleaned it. When Wang Changlin saw the dirty restroom, he viciously yelled at Mr. Gao.

Wang Changlin did not allow Mr. Cao and Mr. Gao to appeal . He also said to Mr. Gao, "Haven't you said that we will be punished? Why do we still live the good life and get paid every month?"

Warden Liu Bingcheng often ridiculed Mr. Gao.

About three months into the practitioners' prison term, the guards stirred up hatred among the criminal inmates against Mr. Cao and Mr. Gao. They claimed that the criminal inmates had to pick melon seeds because of something Mr. Cao and Mr. Gao had done. The criminal inmates began to abuse the practitioners worse than before. Mr. Cao wrote a letter to the prison officials. Both practitioners signed it and gave it to the prison officials. They also went on a hunger strike. Then, they received many threats, and were harassed and tortured.

We suspect that prison staff took Mr. Cao Dong to the Pingliang Prison in Gansu Province five days later and kept Mr. Gao, because they felt that they stood up for each other.

Tortures

To protest the persecution, Mr. Gao repeatedly went on a hunger strike and water fast, or sometimes hunger strike without water fast, from August 2001 to the beginning of 2002.

During his hunger strike, the prison authorities frequently came to "have a discussion" with Mr. Gao. People from the Gansu Province Forced Labor Bureau and Judicial Bureau also came to discuss things with Mr. Gao. They brought a lot of food and snacks for him. They also tried to use emotions to touch him. Mr. Gao used these opportunities to clarify the truth of the persecution of Falun Gong to them.

When Mr. Gao was on hunger strike without water fasting, he was forced to work. On the nineteenth day of his hunger strike, Su and criminal inmate He Congshan forced Mr. Gao and Mr. Cao to dig dirt from the over six feet deep ditch in front of the gate, despite Mr. Gao being terribly weak from the fast. He broke out in cold sweats, felt dizzy and had no strength to walk.

During their hunger strike, the practitioners were given IV's that included unknown substances. They forced them to take many exams and blood tests. Guards beat them with electric batons and hung them up in the air. Criminal inmates beat them, forced them to sit on small iron stools and attend political study classes. They were not allowed to talk to criminal inmates. Their families were threatened and the family members and relatives who did not practice Falun Gong were coerced to come to the prison and be involved in "ideological re-education" with the practitioner or write to them. Guards from different sections were called upon to be involved in threatening practitioners. Several inmates were ordered to monitor them around the clock.

A guard screamed, "There are four thousand inmates and seven hundred guards in the prison. What impact can you two Falun Gong practitioners have? What does the dictatorship of the proletariat do? Don't use hunger strike to threaten us. If you die, you die. If a person dies in prison it's just like a dog dies or an ant dying. Nobody cares. Is it really worth it for you to give up your lives to safeguard Falun Gong?"

 Each time this guard lost his argument during reasoning with Mr. Gao he ended up leaving angrily. Team leader Liu Bingcheng said that Mr. Gao did not want to take care of his parents. Mr. Gao told him seriously, "You dare to tell me this lie about not taking care of my parents to my face? Now think about the media spreading lies about Falun Gong to the entire country. Was there ever a lie that the CCP dared not spread?"

Force-Feeding

The most brutal torture was the savage force-feeding. After Mr. Gao and Mr. Cao were separated during their joint hunger strike, Clinic Director Lu Chaohua and many guards and team leaders began to force-feed Mr. Gao. Several criminal inmates pressed him against a chair, holding his head, his shoulder and his arms and pushing down his legs. Lu Chaohua tried to insert the feeding tube into his stomach. But the tube was too thick, so he had to change to a thinner tube. They force-fed Mr. Gao with some corn paste. Since then, they force-fed him once or twice a day. Lu Chaohua threatened Mr. Gao that if he did not cooperate, they would use a pair of iron pliers to knock out his teeth. They also inserted a thick tube through his mouth, causing Mr. Gao to vomit continuously and almost lose consciousness.

After a few days of force-feeding, Mr. Gao suffered from nausea and vomiting. His nose was swollen and often bled. He had swelling, soreness and a feeling of a foreign body inside his throat. He felt chest tightness and back swelling. He frequently suffered from stomach spasms and spine pain as if his spine were burning. His throat was swollen and the force-fed food often came up. His trachea and esophagus felt burnt and his duodenum felt expanded. Once, a tube was inserted too deep in his stomach and passed through his pylorus, causing him extreme pain. Mr. Gao said that the tube went into his intestines. But the prison doctor said he was lying. They did not stop until Mr. Gao was sweating and shaking heavily and his face changed color. Then they took out the tube, admitting it was inserted too deep. During the force-feeding, Mr. Gao felt as if a cat was scratching, tearing, and biting inside his stomach. Even after the tube was taken out for a long time, he still felt as if his stomach was extremely itchy. The tube insertion also caused Mr. Gao great pain at his navel. It felt as if the tube would come out through his navel. He felt depressed and scared. He had a lot of headaches and he was living in great pain daily.

Then, Mr. Gao became so weak that the force-feeding had to be stopped. The prison switched to I.V. injections. They checked his blood pressure, temperature, heartbeat, his tongue, his eyes, his heart and gave him blood tests. After the thirtieth day, the doctor said that his pupils were dilated and he might not survive. Prison staff took him to the forced labor camp hospital, where he was injected with unknown substances. Mr. Gao later gave in to his family's persuasions and stopped the hunger strike.

Later, criminal inmates told Mr. Gao that the forced labor camp hospital had tortured many practitioners, including Mr. Wang Youjiang, Mr. Ma Lansheng, Mr. Guo Shoujun and Mr. Guan Ziping. There was also a practitioner who was sentenced to a three-year prison term. He never told his name to the police so the court just called him "number 1014" when sentencing him. That practitioner was taken away the forced labor hospital in early 2004. No one saw him afterwards. Some criminal inmates suspected that he was taken to the Hualinping Mental Hospital for further torture.

Shocked by Electric Batons

The first day when Mr. Gao stopped his hunger strike, he had diarrhea and went to the restroom more than thirty times. The following days he just was not hungry. Criminal inmate Ma Ling reported this to the team leader. Guards Zhao and Liu Bingcheng often scolded him for eating too much and they tried to force him to work. To protest this new torture, Mr. Gao went again on a hunger strike. A few days later he was taken back to cell number one. Liu Bingcheng and Wang Changlin ordered him to work. They threatened to take him to pick melon seeds if he held a hunger strike again, claiming that was the order from the "top." Mr. Gao just ignored them.

In the afternoon on December 24, 2001, guards Wang Changlin, Liu Bingcheng, Zhao and He Liqing brought electric batons to cell number one. They kicked out all criminal inmates except He Congshan and Ma Ling. They handcuffed Mr. Gao to an iron bed. Liu Bingcheng said, "You are still doing the exercise. You do not respect the leaders. A high-ranking official criticized us today. They said that if we could not handle one practitioner, what could we do when more practitioners were brought here?" Wang Changlin beat Mr. Gao with an electric baton. Mr. Gao clarified the truth to them. Liu Bingcheng was more irritated, "You still dare to tell the truth! I will burn you to pieces!" He grabbed the electric baton and shocked Mr. Gao's mouth. He repeatedly shocked his mouth, head, neck and face, cursing at Mr. Gao all the time. Zhao also kept cursing. They beat Mr. Gao with an electric baton and cursed at him for over an hour. Mr. Gao felt great pain in his nerves. There were many blisters on his body and it was very painful. His mouth, face, head and neck all were swollen.

Hung up in the Air

Before the guards left, Wang Changlin told the inmates, "It is too comfortable for him to sit. Hang him up in the air." The inmates hung Mr. Gao up on the upper bed for a night. A few days later, when Wang Changlin and Liu Bingcheng saw that Mr. Gao lay on the bed for an I.V. injection, they forced him to sit on a small stool. They ordered Mr. Gao to attend all classes, otherwise they would deduct points from the criminal inmate. For this, criminal inmate He Congshan dragged Mr. Gao from his bed to the ground. Mr. Gao's leg was hurt so badly that he could not walk for over half year. He Congshan also said that if Mr. Gao did not attend the class, they would hang him on the heating pipe in the classroom. They hung up Mr. Gao in the evening.

Ma Ling and some other inmates monitored Mr. Gao at all times. They did not allow him to talk to any of the other criminal inmates. One day when a new young inmate said a few words to Mr. Gao, Ma Ling ran to drag that criminal inmate away and scolded him, threatening to report to the guards. Later Mr. Gao talked to practitioner Mr. Guan Ziping in the restroom. Some criminal inmates saw it and reported to Ma Ling. Ma Ling dragged Mr. Gao back to cell number one. He and He Congshan threatened to report this to the team leader.

After a long period of I.V. injections, it was difficult to find a blood vessel. The guards switched back to force-feeding. The inmates said, "The 'top' said that it's OK as long as you did not die. We only need to forced-feed you once every three or four days. We don't need to take you to the clinic or the forced labor camp hospital."

Inmate Dong Shucheng, assigned to monitor I.V. injections, told a new inmate who was getting an I.V. injection, "Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Gao had so many I.V. injections that it was more than what you will have for your entire life."

During the two months between the Western New Year and the Chinese New Year, prison staff conducted security checks of the cells more than ten times. Mr. Gao's cell was checked more than twenty times. His socks and shoes were checked. His watch, small mirror, nail clipper and pencil were confiscated. Some criminal inmates gave Mr. Gao knives, asking him to commit suicide. They appeared very sincere. Mr. Gao told them that Master Li told us not to commit suicide and what you saw on the television was false.

This time, Mr. Gao's hunger strike lasted until the Chinese New Year's eve.

Enticing and Manipulating Inmates to Savagely Torture Practitioners

Criminal inmates are ordered or manipulated into torturing practitioners in all of China's prisons. The guards take advantage of the criminal inmates desire to be released early. This is a highly effective technique to have criminal inmates torture practitioners inhumanly.

In the middle of March 2002, the prisoners from the Supervisory Squadron were assigned to pick melon seeds. Mr. Gao was very weak from his hunger strike. But the inmates told him, "Guards An and Liu said that you must also work. Even if it means that we have to carry you or drag you to work on a cart." Mr. Gao was assigned to the darkest corner of the factory. He was threatened that he would not be allowed to sleep if he did not meet his quota. He was also frequently searched.

One day after watching a movie that glorified the evil CCP, all prisoners were asked to write a report about their thoughts. Mr. Gao did not write anything. Wang Changlin deducted points from every criminal inmate on his team. The inmates harassed Mr. Gao and He Congshan beat him and twisted his left ear. He Congshan went to Wang Changlin to ask for his points back, but Wang Changlin said, "No, you need to ask Gao Feng to give you your points."

He Congshan came back to pressure Mr. Gao, claiming that he would not stop until Mr. Gao did as he was told and he got his points reinstated. He forced Mr. Gao to sit on an iron stool and did not allow him to sleep. Mr. Gao went to reason with Wang Changlin. But Wang Changlin refused to listen, "I will deduct other inmates' points if you do not hand in your report."

A few weeks later, inmate Ma Ling appealed to Mr. Gao, "Please write something. It is o.k., even if you write about Falun Gong. I will turn in your report and then we will get our points reinstated." 

Shortly after this incident, the prison had its annual "One Hundred Days of Safety" event. All inmates were asked to give a written promise that they would not have any safety accidents during the one hundred days. Mr. Gao wrote that persecution of practitioners was the most unsafe thing. Ma Ling read it and shouted, "He is spreading Falun Gong again."

Inmates He Congshan, Ma Ling and Feng Shengcai kept shouting, "Don't let him sleep!" They dragged Mr. Gao from of his bed and threw his clothes away. Later Mr. Gao was forced by them to copy other inmates' reports to say something like getting up on time, clipping fingernails, washing hair and keeping the environment clean.

Forced Labor

In August 2002, Mr. Gao refused to comply with any order, including work orders. To force him to work, the guards asked criminal inmates to harass him. They forced Mr. Gao to recite prison regulations and sit on the small stool. They harassed him continuously. Some criminal inmates said, "You only eat, but do not work. What kind of good person are you?" The guards threatened to disallow family visits. Liu Bingcheng threatened to handcuff him. Officer Yang Zhou asked him to pick melon seeds and beat him with an electric baton. Once Liu Bingcheng asked several inmates to clean the factory floor, except a small dirty corner. Then he ordered four or five criminal inmates to force Mr. Gao to clean it. They dragged him there and ordered him to clean it. Liu Bingcheng awarded those inmates more points and documented it on the black board. Mr. Gao realized that this was a trick to get him to work. Therefore, he refused to cooperate with any of the criminal inmates requests. He even refused requests from those with whom he had good relationships. Later, He Congshan and Ma Ling shouted that they did not want Mr. Gao to live in their cell any longer. They asked Mr. Gao to request a transfer to another cell. Actually this was also setup by the guards.

Mr. Gao had many nightmares because of the years of torture he suffered. He often screamed loudly and woke up in the middle of the night from his nightmares. The inmates frequently complained that he frightened them and disturbed their sleep. Inmates Dong Shucheng and Feng Shengcai said many times that they needed to tie Mr. Gao to his bed by a chain, otherwise he might kill them during sleepwalking.

Mr. Gao had no choice, so he went to the guards in charge, An Jinglu and Wang Changlin. He asked to be released from the prison. They said that it was not for them to decide, but did not believe that the superiors would agree to release him. Then, Mr. Gao requested to be transferred to another cell. They turned him down. Then, he asked to be transferred out of the Training Center to a regular ward. They said that he had to work if he wanted to be transferred to a regular ward, otherwise no ward would accept him. At that time, many practitioners were taken to the prison and they were all forced to work, including those who were tortured and disabled from torture at detention centers.

Practitioners had to clean the toilet, door, bed frames, windows on weekends, the factory floor, mark several hundred sacks, record the time criminal inmates entered and left the factory, record new inmates names, create blackboard newspaper and much more. Practitioners were tortured daily. An Jinglu, the guard in charge of the Supervisory Squadron, was the most vicious criminal torturing practitioners in that squadron.

Whenever Wang Changlin came to the inmates' cells, the inmates said quietly, "The wolf is coming!"

Guards asked criminal inmates from the Supervisory Squadron to hold so-called struggle meetings during which they would denounce Mr. Gao at the end of the work day, for more than ten days. Several dozen criminal inmates were asked to attend the meeting. The inmate in charge, Cao Feng, hosted the meeting. Criminal inmates Feng Shengcai, Dong Shenglin, Ma Ling, He Congshan and Yang Bin were the most active during the meetings. They threatened and used other cruel methods, but still were unsuccessful.

Other Practitioners Tortured

More practitioners were imprisoned in the Lanzhou City Prison, including Mr. He Jianzhong, Mr. Wang Youjiang, Mr. Zhang Bo, Mr. Yang Faxiang, Mr. Zhang Zhilu, Mr. Zhu Dayi. There were several dozens of new practitioners. Practitioner Mr. Wang Xiaodong from Jinchang City in Gansu Province refused to comply with any order or request. He refused to wear the prisoner's uniform, report to the guards, squat, attend study class, do work, and so on. He was handcuffed to the headboard of his bed or the door-frame and tortured daily. To cut his hair, six or seven criminal inmates pressed down his head and there were a lot of wounds on his head after they finished. To please Wang Changlin, the criminal inmates pressured Mr. Wang Xiaodong into attending "study" classes and Cao Feng and Zhao Hui even beat him. Later Wang Changlin asked the criminal inmates to handcuff Mr. Wang Xiaodong to the door-frame of the political classroom. The guard in charge, He Liqing, also beat Mr. Wang Xiaodong. A few days later, Mr. Wang Xiaodong was locked up in a solitary confinement cell and Mr. Gao was taken to the Second Ward. The prison staff feared that Mr. Wang Xiaodong and Mr. Gao would join forces.

According to the criminal inmates who were also in solitary confinement, guards and prison inmates beat Mr. Wang Xiaodong brutally . Mr. Wang Xiaodong was transferred to the Jinchang Prison in Gansu Province. Practitioner Mr. He Jianzhong's leg was disabled but he still was handcuffed and had to wear foot shackles. He was also on hunger strike and his health was deteriorating. Even going to the restroom was a challenge for him. He had to be carried. One criminal inmate who also suffered solitary confinement for three months said, "This time I really saw how the CCP tortures you Falun Gong practitioners." One criminal inmate monitoring the solitary confinement prisoners saw a practitioner sitting in meditation. He stepped on the practitioner's legs and remained like this for a long while. A practitioner who was on hunger strike was dragged down the stairs, beaten, and then force-fed. Practitioners on hunger strike were tied on the Tiger Bench for force-feeding. They were also forced to do military-style drills, stand for a long time, and threatened to be hung up in the air. Inmate Xu Jun said to other inmates, "Take the tube out and insert it again. See if he dares not to eat any more." Some practitioner lost consciousness during the force-feeding.

Guard Liu Youren told others that when a practitioner did not listen to his command during the military-style drill he ordered him to be dragged to the office where they beat him. Several practitioners planned to reason with Liu Youren. He did not listen. Instead, they were all spread to regular wards that night.

Torture at the Second Ward

In December 2002, Mr. Gao Feng was transferred to the Third Squadron in the Second Ward.

Wang Mingzhong was the head of the Second Ward. Si Chaoyang, Wang Weihong and Liu Runyun were the Political Instructors. There were four squadrons in the Second Ward. The guard in charge of the Third Squadron was Liu Weipeng. Team leaders were Wu, Wang, and Wan. There was a guard named Li Shengyong.

At the Third Squadron of the Second Ward, the criminal inmates monitored Mr. Gao closely, disturbed him when he was exercising and frequently reported him to the guards. The team leader continued to discuss the situation with Mr. Gao. But he always lost his arguments when reasoning with Mr. Gao.

Guard Liu Yongsheng from the Investigation Section was very ruthless to all inmates. Once he forced Mr. Gao, who was extremely weak, to leave his bed and stand on the floor. He demanded to be shown respect. Liu Yongsheng also tried to stir up conflict between practitioners.

Shortly after Mr. Gao arrived at the Third Squadron, they decided to force him to work. Squadron leader Liu Weipeng, Political Instructor Si Chaoyang and guard Li Shengyong told him, "There is a lot of pressure from the top to get you to work. We are given the order to put practitioners in solitary confinement if they refuse to work."

Therefore, Mr. Gao was "guarded" by two personal monitors and had to pick up stones everyday for fifteen days. Then Li Shengyong increased the workload for him. Mr. Gao had no choice but go on a hunger strike again. 

One day a criminal inmate who believed in justice told Mr. Gao quietly, "There are eight inmates in your cell monitoring you openly. There are another two monitoring those eight criminal inmates secretly. Also there were inmates assigned to monitor you in each of the twenty some cells on the third and fourth floors. What you said, and to whom, and in which cell is all reported to the guards."

This long-term mental torture left a deep mental scar. It is most difficult to know that all your moves are monitored and that you are constantly followed, could be reported at any time, could not trust anyone and constantly worried that something might happen soon. Criminal inmate Dai Jianlong and another criminal inmate in cell number three had their prison term reduced for frequently reporting other people.

At the end of June 2003, some criminal inmates reported that Mr. Gao sat in meditation in the morning and at noon. Political Instructor Wang Weihong reprimanded Mr. Gao. Wang was a vicious person and had frequently threatened Mr. Gao in the past. Mr. Gao requested the freedom to do the exercises. Wang Weihong locked him into a solitary confinement cell. Wang Weihong also did not allow him to write appeal letters and took the notepad away.

Solitary Confinement

When Mr. Gao was put into solitary confinement, he was put in special military handcuffs that cuffed a person's hands in a straight line position and prohibited any hand movement. Criminal inmates said that this handcuff was recommended by inmate Xu Jun who was brought to the prison by the army. Mr. Gao went on a hunger strike and water fasting again. A team leader said viciously, "If you don't recite the prison regulations, we will put foot shackles on you." Another practitioner, Mr. Guan Ziping, refused to perform labor. He was pulled around by the head Yang Dong of the First Ward, who was promoted recently from the Education Section Chief of the Supervisory Squadron. Mr. Guan's clothes were torn and his skin broken. They put handcuffs and foot shackles, with a short chain linking the handcuff to the foot shackle. That forced him to lower his back when walking and he was not able to lay down. Mr. Guan had been hung up on the iron gate and not provided food or water, and beaten by the guards for more than two weeks at the First Ward. He is currently imprisoned at the Longjiawan Brainwashing Center in Lanzhou City.

While in solitary confinement, Liu Yongsheng said to Mr. Gao, "See? Finally I got you here!"

He was responsible for deciding on the torture methods. The criminal inmates, including Ma Jiadi and Li's monitoring of the solitary confinements was very ruthless. Xu Jun was the most ruthless. Guards guarding the solitary confinements were Shen, Gao and Zuo.

After Mr. Gao was released from the solitary confinement, he was transferred to the Eleventh Ward. There he was monitored more closely and the inmates took shifts in the middle of the night to monitor him. He was not allowed to see his family for half a year, forced to participate in "political study," watch "news" and sit in groups to watch video-tapes that slandered Falun Gong. He was also asked to watch the video-tapes by himself, but he refused. He was forced to take a "political exam."

Later Mr. Gao heard that there was a rule to award the guards three thousand yuan if they "transformed" a practitioner. So he wrote a long letter to the prison's managers, requesting them to stop torturing practitioners immediately and stop "transforming" practitioners. He also warned that the guards or criminal inmates who participated in torturing practitioners would be punished if they did not stop. To punish him, the guards prohibited Mr. Gao from going downstairs for two months, even getting water and food had to be done by his personal monitors. He was not allowed to write to his family and had no contact with the outside.

When Mr. Gao's prison term came to the end, because he refused to be "transformed" and held onto his belief, he was taken to the Longjiawan Brainwashing Center for further torture.

The guards participating in the tortures included Yang Dong, Su, Wang Changlin, Liu Bingcheng, Yue, Zhao, Yang Zhou, Lu Chaohua, Doctor Ma, Wang Mingzhong, Wang Weihong, Liu Runyun, Si Chaoyang, Wan, Wu, Kong Fanping, Li Shengyong, Zhang Wenjun, Liu Yongsheng, Duan, Hua , Zuo, Shen, Gao, Zhao Jun.

The inmates participating in the torture include He Congshan, Cao Feng, Ma Ling, Zhao Hui, Gong Jian, Feng Shengcai, Dong Shenglin, Dong Shucheng, Ma Jiao, Yang Bing, Wang Lei, Yan Xiaoping, Wei Aimin, Ma Suli, Ma Ni, Li Bing, Su Douwa, Dan Zhankui, Dai Jianlong, Ma Shanlin, Xi Guoqiang, Xu Jun, Ma Jiadi, Li , Liu Zonghu, La Congxiang, Wang Jianrong, Wang Qianglin and so on.

How Policewomen He Ling persecuted Falun Gong practitioners

From the end of November 2001 on, the 2nd Team of the 8th Group of Dabei Prison began to detain Falun Gong practitioners. Leader of the 2nd team He Ling (in her early 30's) was pretending to be a good person and cared very much for her reputation. She always listened to section chief Gu Yaxing's directions and tried to avoid visibly persecuting practitioners. In July 2003 she was transferred to the 4th Team of the 8th Group; in 2004, she was promoted to a senior staff member in the Prison Affairs Section.

How He Ling persecuted practitioners when she was leader of the 2nd team

1) When practitioner Ms. Wang Chunying was detained at the 2nd team in July 2002 she shouted loudly some words to defend Falun Gong on her way to a worksite. He Ling closed Wang Chunying's mouth with duct tape. Then she tied Ms. Wang up and forced her under a work bench. She also told criminal Li Jiang (who left the prison after serving four years for robbery) and Gui Lijiao (left prison in 2005 after serving seven years for drug trafficking) to watch Wang Chunying. Later she sent Ms. Wang to a hospital and performed force-feeding there.

2) Practitioner Ms. Lin Kun was detained in the 2nd team in September 2002. In December 2002 the prison began to force her to "reform." Policewoman He Ling electrically shocked her face with a baton, which badly burned her skin. She also tied Lin Kun to a wood board and did not let her sleep at night. Three other criminal inmates also participated in the torture. They were Wang Cuikun (robber serving a seven year term), Xiao Guiqin (swindler serving a six year sentence) and Zhang Dan (assault, serving a ten year term).

3) Practitioner Ms. Song Caihong was transferred from Masanjia Labor Camp to the prison in October 2002 and began to serve a five- year sentence. Criminal inmates Wang Jingzhi (hooliganism, five year sentence) and Qiu Xiaohong (serving a four year term for extortion) were assigned to beat and insult Ms. Song. Policewomen Zuo Xiaoyan (group head) and He Ling (team leader) used electric batons to torture her. When Jiao Lingling later took in charge of the 2nd team, she asked policewoman Wang Jingzhi, "How did you get Song Caihong to compromise?"

"We used torture," Wang replied.

Jiao Lingling added shamelessly, "You should say it is the result of education by the team leader."

Policewoman Jiao Lingling's crimes

1) Practitioner Ms. Dai Ruilian was sentenced to two years in prison and remained in the prison until April 2005. When she was sent to the prison in 2003, Jiao Lingling called practitioner Dai Ruilian into her office every day and tortured her with electric shocks. Eventually Dai was reformed to give up Falun Gong practice.

2) Practitioner Ms. Wang Hong received a four-year sentence in 2004. In the winter of 2004, Jiao Lingling stripped off all of Wang Hong's clothes except her underwear and forced her under a bed on the concrete floor to endure the cold. In the Spring of 2005 when her family visited her, they left some food for Ms. Wang, but policeman Gao (a group leader) refused to give her the food. To protest this unfair treatment Ms. Wang went on a hunger strike. Policewoman Zuo Xiaoyan took her to a tiny solitary cell for more than a month. The prison also frequently withheld fine grains (wheat and rice) in her meals and only supplied her with a piece of corn bread, leaving her in starvation. Several criminal inmates also helped to persecute her. They were Wei Zaichun (murderer), Li Hong and Xiao Guiqin.

3) Practitioner Ms. Liu Junlu received an 11-year sentence in January 2003. In the winter of 2004, the prison began a new campaign to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. One day after work several criminal inmates came to her cell and physically assaulted her, forcing her to "reform." In March 2005, the police forced practitioner Wang Hong to appear in front of a third floor workshop. They made her remain in a position with her upper body bent forward and a signboard hung around her neck, with words slandering Falun Gong and Master Li written on the board. After practitioner Ms. Liu Junlu saw this, she went to Jiao Lingling's office to protest. To punish Liu's open protest, Jiao ordered criminal inmates to handcuff her hands behind her back and made her stand all day in the workshop. In the evening they continued to torture her. For three nights they used a different torture technique. One night they stripped Liu Junlu of all her clothes and chained her hands and feet. They raised one of her legs with a chain and also wrote insulting words on her body. They even touched the private parts of her lower body. The torture took place in a bathroom. They opened all the windows and sprayed cold water on her. Several criminal inmates stepped on her hands, severely injuring her left arm. She could not raise her left arm for several months afterward. Although she eventually could move her arm, the scar on her wrist is still clearly visible. The following criminals participated in the persecution: Deng Xiujie (murderer, death sentence with two years grace period, released in October 2005), Li Xiujun (murderer, 15 year in prison), Zhang Min (swindler, six-year in prison), Jiang Xiuting (murderer, life in prison), Ren Xia (11 years sentence), Li Hong, Wang Jingzhi and Gui Lijiao.

4) Practitioners Liu Junlu, Zhang Huaping and Wang Hong refused to recite the prison rules. To punish them, the prison stopped their fine grain supply starting July 2004. They were only given corn bread, no more than 4 pieces at a time; sometimes they were given only one or two pieces, far from enough. In the six months period, they were close to starving during a six-month period. When the only food supply was fine grain (wheat and rice) for other prisoners. The practitioners would have no food to eat.

5) Practitioner Zhang Huaping was serving a four-year sentence. In March 2004, the prison forced her to read literature slandering Falun Gong as a way to brainwash her. Every day after the hard labor she was forced to read such literature together with four criminal inmates. After one month, criminal Li Guizhi (swindler serving life in prison) began to repeatedly slap Zhang Huaping on the face, directed by the police. Between every slap she would ask Zhang, "Do you agree to compromise?" Zhang refused to compromise. When the criminal was exhausted for slapping, Zhang Huaping asked policewoman Jiao Lingling whether or not she endorses physical punishment. Jiao could not answer. She later told the criminals to stop. This brain washing process lasted seven months.

6) Financial persecution. Jiao Lingling charged the imprisoned practitioners fines by accusing them to fail meeting production quotas; the fines could be several dozen yuan or a few hundred yuan. Jiao Lingling complained once while the practitioners made labor camp uniforms that they had failed to meet the quota for this low profit product and charged Zhang Huaping and Li Hongshu 300 Yuan each. She also charged everyone (including Zhang Huaping and Li Hongshu) 30 Yuan per day for low productivity; so, in nine days, each person paid 270 Yuan, while Zhang and Li paid 570 Yuan each.

The police also often took other people's money and personal belongings. When Li Hongshu's family brought her some items during the 2005 Chinese New Year, section chief Gu Yaxing told group leader Gao Nan to keep everything for themselves. On October 8, 2004, when Zhang Huaping's family visited her, the police refused to let them see her; Jiao Lingling even took 300 Yuan from the family and kept the money in her own pocket.

Note: The following is a shortened version of a longer and more detailed article that appeared on the minghui.ca website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net.

Authorities at Wanjia Labor Camp in Heilongjiang Province resort to extreme methods to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their belief and write guarantee statements.

In the evening of November 6, 2006, woman guard Liu Baibing at the 12th Group ordered Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Qi Jinling to say things against Falun Gong. Ms. Qi Jinling replied, "Everything that I said that doesn't conform to the requirements of Truth-Compassion- Tolerance is completely void. I will conduct myself according to Truth-Compassion-Tolerance."

Guard Liu Baibing was furious and said, "Fine! I'll make you write guarantee statements, even if I lose my job!" She took Qi Jinling to the surveillance room and savagely beat her, saying, "We have beaten lots of Falun Gong practitioners to death since 2001! You would be just one more statistic!" She hit Ms. Qi Jinling's head and face with police batons and punched her into the chest with her fists. the 12th Group head Guo Qiuli, a woman, shocked Ms. Qi Jinling's face with electric batons while guards Wang Na, Sha Yujin and two others beat and kicked Qi Jinling. Guard Sha Yujin attempted to coerce Qi Jinling to squat in a humiliating position, and Qi Jinling refused. Sha Yujin grabbed Qi Jinling's hair and yanked out several tufts of hair.

The guards tortured Qi Jinling until noon the next day when she wrote guarantee statements before letting her return to the workshop. During the whole time of the gross abuse they didn't let her use the restroom. Qi Jinling had no choice but to relieve herself in her pants. Furthermore, her face, nose and eyes were black and blue from the beating, and her face was swollen. The bruises and swelling lasted for more than 15 days. Qi Jinling's chest and legs hurt so much from the torture. Despite her condition, the guards still forced her to make 500 paper bags a day.

Note: The following is a shortened version of a longer and more detailed article that appeared on the minghui.ca website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net).

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Han Shanhe, around 40 years old, was illegally arrested and detained at the township police station in early 2000 for distributing truth clarification materials. He escaped with the power of his righteous thoughts. Mr. Han was later taken back to the county detention center where he was held for more than one year past his term and was sentenced to six years in prison. He was persecuted at the Qinduankou Prison in Wuhan City. Han Shanhe firmly persisted in his belief and refused to cooperate with the guards. He often clarified the truth about Falun Gong and refused to write guarantee statements. He told everyone, "Falun Dafa is good!"

Han Shanhe’s parents are in their 80s. He has a wife and child. Their family went through much mental trauma and persecution during the past few years. Han Shanhe’s sentence expired on January 1, 2007 after six years in prison. When he stepped out of the prison gate, county 610 Office agents and four police officers were waiting and took him to the Hanjiang District brainwashing "class" in Wuhan City.

Note: The following is a shortened version of a longer and more detailed article that appeared on the minghui.ca website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li Falun Gongn from Haidian District in Beijing is 57 years old and worked at the Property and Casualty Company Limited of the People's Insurance Company of China. Haidian District Police Department arrested her on February 20, 2006 and held her at Haidian Detention Center. She was sentenced to two years of forced labor on March 22, 2006 and on June 1, 2006, she was transferred to Beijing City Labor Reeducation Dispatch Division, and subsequently taken to the Women’s Labor Camp of Beijing on July 25, 2006.

Because she said she would continue to practice Falun Gong, that affirmation resulted in her being placed under strict control in the camp and thus prevented from having contact with other people. The officials imposed other restrictions on her, including those pertaining to restroom visits and drinking water. She had to get up at 5 a.m. each morning and go to bed after midnight. The persecutors bombard her with daily, endless brainwashing sessions and force her to watch slanderous TV programs.

When she met with her family on January 11, 2007, her family members noticed her swollen feet, as big as melons. When they asked her about her legs, she said, "I stood [for a long time]."