Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhang Xingcai from Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province, was illegally sentenced to seven and a half years of imprisonment. On September 8, 2006, Mr. Zhang was illegally arrested by officials. He was then sent to Wumaping Prison, where he was tortured to death on March, 31, 2007.

Mr. Zhang Xingcai, 59 years old, was a former official at the Land Office of  Renhe District in Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province. Due to a health condition, he had retired from work. He lived in Changping Village, Yimin Township, Yanbian County, Sichuan Province. He regained his health after practicing Falun Gong in 1995. After the persecution started, he went to Beijing's City Hall in April 2000 to peacefully appeal for Falun Gong. As a result, he was detained twice and sent to a brainwashing center and persecuted.

In March 2004, Mr. Zhang was arrested by officers from the police station in Panzhihua City and detained at Yanbian County Detention Center. During that detention, he was tortured so seriously that he couldn't walk by himself. He was sent to the emergency room and kept in the hospital for some time. In October 2004, in order to attend his hearing at Yanbian County Court, he was carried on another prisoner's back. Even in this condition, the court still sentenced him to prison for seven and a half years. His family members later bailed him out for medical treatment.

On September 8, 2006, even though Mr. Zhang had not recovered completely, he was arrested again at his home by Li Faming and three other policemen from Hongge Police Substation and later sent to Wumaping Prison in Muchuan County, Sichuan Province. In November 2006, a member of his family went to the prison and requested his release. Another prisoner had to carry Mr. Zhang out, but the prison authorities refused his family member's request to set Mr. Zhang free.

On March 20, 2007, a prison administrator called Mr. Zhang's daughter and said that Mr. Zhang needed a woolen vest, shirts, trousers and shoes. At around 1:00 p.m. March 30, 2007, the prison authorities called his family again and said that Mr. Zhang was diagnosed with blood poisoning and some other diseases. That day his family hurried to catch a train, and between 1 and 2 the next afternoon (March 31), his family visited him at Quanwei County Hospital. He was on oxygen, but he was not conscious.

At 7 p.m. on March 31, the hospital notified his family that Zhang Xingcai had died. The death certificate indicated that he died from acute pancreatitis. His family was also asked if an autopsy was needed. The prison told his family that they had first sent Mr. Zhang to Qingxi Town Hospital, then transferred him to Quanwei County Hospital, and that they had invited a doctor from Huaxi Medical University to treat him.

Ever since Jiang's regime began to use the Communist Party to persecute Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, the Second Forced Labor Camp of Shandong Province located in Wangcun has turned into a wicked place that detains and tortures Falun Gong practitioners.

All practitioners sent to the camp are first subjected to forced brainwashing. The police guards force practitioners to watch videos slandering Falun Gong and Master, in an attempt to influence practitioners to give up their belief in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" and to write the so-called guarantee statements to renounce their belief. If practitioners refuse to cooperate, the police immediately exploit a variety of torture methods. They beat practitioners fiercely, force-feed them, hammer bamboo sticks under their fingernails, hang them in the "cross" position, put them on the death bed, deprive them of sleep, and pinch their flesh using metal clamps. The police invented the "metal clamp pinching" torture method on their own. I have personally witnessed how this cruel method caused practitioners excruciating pain. There were many incidents of persecution. Here I will give two examples.

Practitioner Mr. Zhuang Qi was a bus driver. He used to be arrogant and rude before he started to practice Falun Gong. Almost everyone who came into contact with him was afraid of him. After he became a practitioner, Mr. Zhuang respected Master very much and strictly followed Master's teachings. He became a good, friendly person who treated others kindly. People at his place of employment praised him. However, the police arrested him in 2002 for practicing Falun Gong and sent him to the Second Forced Labor Camp in Shandong Province. He knows in his heart that Falun Gong is wonderful; with firm belief in Falun Gong he refuses to be "reformed." Police and collaborators (former practitioners who went to the opposite side) beat him viciously. They shocked him with electric batons first and punched him in the head. During the beating, the police taped his mouth shut to prevent him from making any sound. In the end, they pinched his legs with metal clamps that twisted the flesh badly. They also refused to let him sleep. He suffered such torture for over two months. He once lost consciousness for two hours. When he came to, he found himself lying on the ice-cold concrete floor.

The prolonged inhumane torture severely damaged Mr. Zhang's lungs and legs. In addition, he developed a continual runny nose and leg pains, which he still has. When Mr. Zhuang left the labor camp he was lame and could not walk normally.

Mr. Kong Haitao is a practitioner from Heze City. He is an honest and kindhearted young man, very quiet in nature. The camp guards tortured him brutally simply because he persevered in his belief and refused to say any slanderous words against Falun Gong and Master. Once the guards shocked him with six electric batons at the same time. I happened to witness the tragic scene as I passed by the torture room under police escort. The electric batons sizzled, making a hissing sound. Mr. Kong moaned miserably from the unbearable pain of the intense electric shock. They beat him very hard. They were so relentless that they became exhausted from beating him. Guard Zheng Wanxin threatened me afterwards, "You cannot tell anyone what you have seen! Do you get it?"

The guards often yell at practitioners, "We will beat you to death if you refuse to be 'reformed.' It will be counted as suicide!"

The Chinese Communist regime has turned these people into unfeeling, unthinking automatons to carry out the persecution.

These are two persecution incidents I have personally witnessed at the Shandong Province Second Forced Labor Camp. They constitute only a tiny fraction of the malfeasance in this camp. As a matter of fact, every practitioner who has been held in this camp has witnessed the cruelty and viciousness of the guards in this dark den.

1) Practitioner Mr. Wang Xianghui, 36, worked as an accountant at the Guodan Station for the Li County Electric Power Bureau in Hebei Province. He started practicing Falun Gong in 1998. He went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on December 18, 1999, after Jiang Zemin started the persecution on July 20, 1999. Mr. Wang was taken back to Li County by county 610 Office agents and held at a detention center for 37 days. During this period, he refused to respond to roll call, and guard Yang Daxue beat him ruthlessly, slapped his face, and kicked him. Guard Li Guochang stripped off all of Mr. Wang's clothes and forced him to lie face down on the concrete floor while he kicked him. Mr. Wang was fined 13,000 yuan before he was released.

During the two Party Congresses held in 2001, officials detained Mr. Wang at his place of work for many days to prevent him from going to Beijing. He refused to cooperate so he lost his employment contract, was terminated from his job, and his salary was suspended. His former superiors forced him to work under their supervision in April 2001, even though his work contract was no longer valid. Han Xiaofa, head of the Electric Power Bureau, frequently attempted to force him into writing a guarantee statement, but he always refused. Officers from the Electric Power Police Station took him to the Power Bureau and asked him, "Do you still practice [Falun Gong]?" He answered, "Yes," and was then held in a detention center for 13 days.

Wang Yuqing and others from the Power Station Security Section arrested Mr. Wang Xianghui from his home in June 2001 and took him to the Balizhuang Brainwashing Center. Mr. Wang Xianghui defied the persecution, leaving the brainwashing center with the power of his righteous thoughts, and stayed away from home for more than a year.

He exposed the persecution and clarified the truth to the public through TV broadcasting on August 27, 2002. Xushui County National Security Group officers arrested and held him in the County Detention Center for more than a year, during which time he was severely persecuted. He defied the persecution and went on a hunger strike 11 times.

Xushui Court officials sentenced Mr. Wang to 11 years in prison in October 2003. He has been held in Baoding Prison. Political Instructor Zhang Jianxin at Ward 1, Political Instructor Yang Guanghui at Team 2 , and Team Leader Li Jun are among those responsible for persecuting Mr. Wang.

2) Ms. He Rongmiao, 45, started practicing Falun Gong in 1997. She used to suffer from insomnia and stomachaches, which were completely healed soon after she started practicing. Ms. He and several other practitioners went to Beijing to appeal in 1999. They were intercepted and taken to the local government liaison office and then to a school where Xinxing Town officials monitored them. The practitioners were forbidden to sleep. Local secretary of the Political and Judiciary Committee Li Hefang forced them to write a "guarantee statement" before they could go home. The officials also ransacked Ms. He's home and took a copy of Zhuan Falun and pictures of Master Li.

Ms. He and some other practitioners from the same village went to Beijing to clarify the truth on December 21, 1999. Beijing plainclothes police officers arrested them and took them to the local liaison office in Beijing. The county 610 Office agents handcuffed the practitioners together, facing a wall. The practitioners were taken to the County Detention Center later that night, where they were held for 47 days and fined a total of 13,000 yuan. Ms. He's husband was also taken to the town government office and fined 3,000 yuan before he was allowed to go home.

Li Hefang and other officials constantly monitored and harassed Ms. He in 2001. She was taken to the town government office and County Brainwashing Center in 2002. She was later taken to Zhuozhou Brainwashing Center where she was often made to watch slanderous videos and was brutally beaten. Once when she touched her face, official Gao Xuefei and others took her to a small room and brutally beat her with a stick. The stick had a nail-covered rubber ball on the top and a metal wire on the bottom. After the beating, the officials force-fed her. A month later, she was taken back to the County Brainwashing Center. She was prevented from using the restroom and was handcuffed to a tree in the courtyard. In the evening, she was handcuffed in an unheated room.

Official Hui also handcuffed Ms. He to a thorn bush in such a way she could neither stand up nor sit. This torture lasted until midnight. After six days of torture at the County Brainwashing Center, Ms He was fined 4,000 yuan before being released.

3) Ms. Song Yanshuang was born in 1974 and is a teacher at the Xingren Village Elementary School in Li County. She became healthy and her family relations improved after she started practicing cultivation. After the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, she and several other practitioners went to Beijing to clarify the truth. They arrived at the Office of Letters and Calls in Beijing. When the officials learned that they practiced Falun Gong, they produced a registration form and told the practitioners to fill it out. Then the officials called for a police vehicle. There were too many practitioners to fit in the vehicle, so Ms. Song and another practitioner were put in the trunk and driven to the local liaison office in Beijing. Each practitioner there was fined 100 yuan for food expenses. They were later taken to the Li County Detention Center, where many practitioners were already being held. Some practitioners had been on a hunger strike for many days and some practitioners had been verbally and physically abused and forced to kneel on the floor. One day, guard Huang Xilu attempted to force Ms. Song to give up cultivation, but she firmly refused. Huang Xilu was furious and said, "If you were not a young woman, I would beat you!" Her family members paid 1,000 yuan as "bail" before she could go home.

Officials from the Education Committee, the 610 Office, and the police department often harassed Ms. Song at home. Her family members lived in constant fear under the tremendous pressure.

Zhu Guoyu from the 610 Office led a group of people to barge into Ms. Song Yanshuang's home in the summer of 2001. They took her to the Balizhuang Brainwashing Center. She confronted the officials and asked, "What did I do? Why are you treating me this way?" Zhu Guoyu shouted, "Take her away. I'll take the responsibility if anything happens to her!" Ms. Song fell to the floor amid the chaos, and her legs were scraped. She was held at the brainwashing center for ten days and fined 5,000 yuan before being released.

4). Practitioner Ms. Chen Xiyan, 32, works at the Li County Middle School. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong, her home was ransacked because she printed Falun Gong materials at home. She was held in a detention center. Ms. Chen went on a hunger strike, and the guards handcuffed and shackled her. They tied her up and beat and kicked her. They also sexually harassed her. 610 Office officials also harassed her many times at her home, which frightened and traumatized her elderly father who passed away soon afterwards. The officials sent Ms. Chen to the Baoding Forced Labor Camp and later sentenced her to three years in prison. They took her to the No. 2 Prison in Shijiazhuang City. Her grandmother learned about the sentence and suffered a nervous breakdown. Three years later, Ms. Chen went to the Education Committee, the Li County Middle School, and the county government many times to appeal. The officials finally let her teach at Beinian Middle School. They deducted a large part of her salary and never paid it back.

5). Practitioner Ms. Chen Wenhui, 35, worked at the Li County Court before the persecution began. She wrote a letter to the Bureau of Letters and Calls in which she said, "The persecution is wrong." As a result, she was sentenced to three years of forced labor. She was taken to the Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp and later transferred to the Balizhuang Forced Labor Camp in Baoding City. The camp authorities forced her to stand, shocked her with electric batons, stretched her on the Death Bed, forced her to do heavy labor, refused to let her sleep, and forced her to watch slanderous videos in an attempt to "reform" her. She returned home after three years and went to the court, the 610 Office and the government. She even saw Party secretary Ning Hongmao, but everyone refused to let her resume her work. She had no choice but to leave home and work odd jobs. The 610 Office agents feared Ms. Chen would continue to practice Falun Gong, so they lied to her and promised her work in exchange for her return to town. When she got home, however, she realized she had been deceived, as the agents did not give her a job. Instead, they harassed her at her home repeatedly. She left home again and has been working odd jobs.

6) Ms. Liu Xiaoai was born in 1945 and lived in Xingren Village in Li County. She went to Beijing to appeal in April 2001, and was arrested and taken to Shunyi Detention Center where she was hung up and beaten by the guards. She was also forbidden to sleep. Ms. Liu was eventually transferred to the Li County Detention Center. She held a hunger strike for two weeks and developed symptoms of systemic failure, so she was allowed to go home. Within less than a month, however, officials from the Li County Political and Security Section deceived her into going to the police department and sentenced her to two years of forced labor. She was forced to stand and squat and was not allowed to sleep at the labor camp. The officials also played videos that slandered Falun Gong and forced her to work very long hours. They held her until October 2001.

7) Ms. Zhang Xia was born in October 1969 and worked at the Li County National Resource Bureau. She went to Beijing to appeal at the end of 2000. Ms. Zhang was arrested and taken to the liaison office in Beijing where the officials searched her and took 500 yuan from her. She clarified the truth and went home. She went to Beijing again in early 2001. She was arrested and taken to the Mancheng Detention Center where she was interrogated many times, and all of her money was taken away. She held a hunger strike to protest the persecution and was subsequently released. Superiors at her place of work watched her on sensitive dates and would not let her go home. They would not let her go out the front gate of the Resource Bureau and held her there for two weeks.

Ms. Zhang's superiors again refused to let her go home in April 2001. She managed to leave, however, and went to Beijing. She was arrested and taken to the Shunyi Detention Center. Her superiors later picked her up and sent her to the County Detention Center where she went on a two-week hunger strike. Police department head Wei Zhanliang ordered armed police officers to force-feed her. She then developed abnormal symptoms. The detention center authorities ordered her family members to pay 200 yuan without issuing a receipt before they let her go home. Yao Xiaosong, head of the Land Bureau, ordered section head Zhou Liangcai and other officials from the Land Section to watch Ms. Zhang at her home on a daily basis. Within a few days, county head Li Zhigang and Yao Xiaosong harassed her at her home, claiming they were afraid she would commit suicide. They took her to a county government hotel and held her there for two weeks. After she went home, Wang Junchang from the Political and Security Section and Zhou Liangcai, head of the Land Section, deceived her into going to the police department. They took her to the Balizhuang Forced Labor Camp in Baoding City in the afternoon and sentenced her to three years of forced labor.

At the labor camp, Ms. Zhang Xia was forced to stand and squat and was forbidden to sleep. She was forced to watch slanderous videos and do slave labor for extended periods of time. She was released in October 2001. She went to bureau head Yao Xiaosong many times and requested to return to work. The bureau did not let her return to work until the end of 2001. They had deducted eight months' salary that was never repaid.

8) Ms. Cai Guiju, 39, went to Beijing to appeal in December 1999 but was taken back and sent to a detention center where she was held for more than 40 days and fined 13,000 yuan.

Ms. Cai was again detained on January 1, 2001 and subsequently held in a forced labor camp for two years. She was forced to rub poisonous lead plates for more than 12 hours a day. She refused to be "reformed" and was forced to stand for long periods of time. She was often subjected to brainwashing tactics and her personal freedom was restricted. Her job at the land bureau has not yet been restored.

9) Liu Meijia, age 12, followed her mother, Ms. Cai Guiju, to Beijing to appeal on April 22, 2001. She was held overnight at the Shunyi Detention Center. Officers from Li County Police Department picked her up the next day and detained her at the local police department for four days.

10) Mr. Liu Xikun, 38, worked at the Electric Power Bureau. He went to Beijing to appeal in December 1999. He was taken back and sent to a detention center where he was held for more than 40 days and fined 13,000 yuan. During the two Party Congresses in 2000, Electric Power Bureau head Chen Dashui colluded with the police. Mr. Liu was sent to a detention center without any explanation and held there for 15 days. The Disciplinary Inspection Committee held him at a hotel for one month in the summer of 2000 and extorted 3,000 yuan from him. He appealed in Beijing again on April 25, 2001, was taken back and held for three months, followed by a two-year forced labor sentence. He was brutally tortured at the detention center, beaten, and forced to sleep naked on the concrete floor face-down in the winter while guard Yang Daxue stepped on him. (Yang Daxue died soon afterwards.) Mr. Liu Xikun was also forced to sit motionless on the concrete floor from early morning on until late at night.

Mr. Liu's salary was lowered by two levels at the electric power plant, and more than 10,000 yuan was deducted from his salary.

11) Ms. Li Chaoying, 65, used to suffer from numerous illnesses including severe uremia. She experienced frequent dizzy spells, hallucinations and disorganized speech. The first day she read a Falun Gong book, however, she felt very light and walked as though someone had removed all the illnesses from her head. She was able to live a joyous and disease-free life because of Falun Gong. In 1999 Ms. Li went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong but was taken back by the local government officials and held for two weeks. The officials deprived her of sleep during that time and tried to force her many times to write a guarantee statement. Ms. Li appealed in Beijing again in 2001. She was taken back and held at the County Detention Center where she was tortured. She was handcuffed, stretched on the Death Bed, and frequently beaten. A guard once violently rammed a practitioner's head into a wall. Ms. Li stood between the guard and the practitioner, and the guard slapped her to the ground. She refused to cooperate and was sentenced to three years of forced labor. She was tortured at the Baoding Forced Labor Camp, where the guards used the Death Bed torture method, forced standing, and electric shock, among other things. After she returned home from the labor camp in 2004, officers from the County Police Department still frequently harassed her.

12) Ms. Qi Yunxiao, 47, suffered the same persecution as Ms. Li Chaoying. She was sentenced to two years of forced labor.

13) Ms. Qi Xiaoxiao, 41, started practicing Falun Gong in 1997. She once had tuberculosis, tracheitis and many other illnesses, but she completely recovered soon after she started practicing Falun Gong. After the persecution began in 1999, Ms. Qi and several other practitioners left for Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. They were intercepted in Baoding City and held overnight at the government compound. They were taken to a local school the next day and held there for three days. Officials Liu Pingjiang, Liu Jianzhu, and several others at the county government did not let them sleep. When Ms. Qi and five other practitioners made a second trip to Beijing, plainclothes police officers took them to the local liaison office in Beijing and later to the local police station, where they were held overnight. They were detained at the county government the next day and handcuffed to a tree outside in the freezing cold. Liu Jianzhu and other officials shocked the practitioners with electric batons and extorted 5,000 yuan from each practitioner before letting them go ten days later.

Ms. Qi and another practitioner went to Beijing for the third time in January 2001. They did the Falun Gong exercises in Tiananmen Square, and the police arrested them. They were held at the Dongcheng District Detention Center, where they were verbally and physically abused. The practitioners were transferred to Chaoyang District 21 days later. Practitioners Liu Jianzhu, Qi Guangping, and several others were sent back to Baoxu County and were taken to a detention center after three days. Wang Xinzhai and other officials forbade the practitioners from practicing the exercises. After 15 days of persecution, the practitioners were sentenced to two years of forced labor. At the forced labor camp, guards Li Xiuqin and Yan Qingfen prevented the practitioners from sleeping. They handcuffed the practitioners on the Death Bed and forced them to stand and do heavy work, triggering a relapse of Ms. Qi Xiaoxiao's former illnesses.

14) Ms. Li Shuang, 60, started practicing Falun Gong in 1997. She had suffered from numerous illnesses that disappeared through Falun Gong practice. Ms. Li went to Beijing in 1999 to appeal for Falun Gong, but was intercepted in Gaobeidian City, taken back to the county government and held there for several days. When five practitioners, including Ms. Li, went to Beijing for the second time, plainclothes police officers took them to the local liaison office in Beijing and then to the local police station, where they were held overnight. The next day the officers took the practitioners to the county government and handcuffed them to trees. The officials tried to shock the practitioners with electric batons but they ended up shocking themselves. The officials released the practitioners two weeks later after extorting 5,000 yuan from each of them. Ms. Li Shuang and five other practitioners went to Beijing for the third time and shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" in Tiananmen Square. Plainclothes police officers took them to a detention center and held them there for a few days. They then sent the practitioners back to Baoxu County where police officers headed by Wang Xinzhai and Kang Xiaolu persecuted them. The officers handcuffed the practitioners and banged their heads against a wall. One month later, Ms. Li was sentenced to three years of forced labor. Guards Li Xiuqin, Yan Qingfen and others brutally tortured her.

15) Ms. Wang Congmin, 40, was arrested in Tiananmen Square on May 1, 2000, when appealing for Falun Gong. Niu Haifeng and other officials from the Baoxu Township 610 Office took her to a local police station where officers Chen Guixing, Liu Jianzhu and others from Baoxu Township threatened and ridiculed her. One official said she would not go home until she paid 20,000 yuan. Ms. Wang was detained at the County Detention Center and charged with "disrupting public security."

The police threatened her, "Do not practice Falun Gong here, or we'll whip you!"

One day, guard Guo Jun beat her for doing the Falun Gong exercises and handcuffed her to a door for half the day. One evening, Ms. Wang taught the exercises to an inmate sharing the same room with her, and Guo Jun again beat her. Guo Jun put handcuffs and shackles on her and connected the handcuffs and shackles with another pair of handcuffs, so that Ms. she could not stand up. This torture lasted two days. The handcuffs were removed only after Ms. Wang went on a hunger strike. The officials said they would not release her unless she wrote a guarantee statement. When she held a hunger strike after eight months of illegal detention to protest the persecution, the officials tried to force-feed her but did not succeed and eventually released her. Her family members had gone to various officials during that time and paid 8,000 yuan in hopes of securing her release.

Before the Sixteenth Party Congress in 2002, Liu Jianzhu, Jun Zheng, and other officials from Baoxu Township led a group of people to ransack Ms. Wang's home. They took her to the County Brainwashing Center the following day. Later on they sent her to another brainwashing class at the Zhuozhou Legal Education Center to further persecute her. Approximately 50 practitioners were held at this brainwashing center and were forbidden to speak. They went on a hunger strike to resist the persecution, and the officials handcuffed them to trees outside in the cold weather. A female practitioner was force-fed pepper powder. After 20 days, Ms. Wang Congmin and three other practitioners were taken back to the County Brainwashing Center. In the evening, an official from Wanan Township handcuffed Ms. Wang and another practitioner surnamed He to trees in the courtyard and said, "I'll freeze you to death if you practice Falun Gong!" The torture lasted until 3:30 a.m. The practitioners were each fined more than 1,000 yuan, and their families paid the officials another 700 yuan before they were released.

16) Mr. Li Guangyi, 63, was arrested at his home and taken to the Linbao Township government on July 21, 1999, by Qi Xiaole, the executive deputy township chief, and some other officials. He was held at a brainwashing center for 15 days during which time he was closely monitored, even when going to the restroom. He had to pay a 200-yuan deposit that was later returned. In late April 2001, Party secretary Li Li, the head of the police station, and some township government officials arrested Mr. Li Guangyi and his daughter on the street and took them to the township government. Li Li ordered some people to beat and kick the practitioners, slap their faces, and force them to stand. He also ordered that their hands be hit with sticks until their hands were swollen like balloons, and they could barely hold chopsticks while eating. A young man in his 20's kicked Mr. Li from behind. Mr. Li fell over and almost lost consciousness. Li Li and Qi Xiaole slapped his face until he bled from his eyes. After Mr. Li Guangyi was released, Li Li deducted 4,000 yuan from his salary.

During the two Party Congresses on November 8, 2002, Li Li deceived Mr. Li Guangyi into going to the township government and sent him to a brainwashing center, where he was forbidden to leave the room and was followed every time he went to the restroom. All of the county governments sent personnel to monitor practitioners held at the brainwashing center. Mr. Li was released one month later, after being fined 1,000 yuan. He still has the receipt for the 1,000 yuan. The officers also made him pay 500 yuan for food expenses, but did not issue a receipt for it.

17) Ms. Song Xinling, 63, went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. She was arrested and taken back to Linbao Township. She was sent to the township government on July 22. She was not allowed to leave the room, and her family members brought her food. She was followed during restroom visits. Once, township official Zhan Penghui took her to the office of Party secretary Li Li and interrogated and beat her there. She was released after ten days, and the 200 yuan deposit charged before the detention was returned to her.

18) Ms. Di Ruiqin, 42, was arrested by township officials Zhan Penghui and others along with village official Song Xiaoping. She was taken to a brainwashing center and was not allowed to leave the room she was in. She was also followed during restroom visits. Her family members brought her food and she was released after four days. Ms. Di paid a 200-yuan deposit that was later returned. Village officials Song Xiaoguo and Song Yinwei turned her over to deputy Party secretary Zhan Xinyue and organizational secretary Zhan Penghui. She was persecuted at the township government for seven days.

19) Ms. Li Hongxian, 38, was sent to a brainwashing center on July 22, 1999, while she was holding her two-month-old baby. One evening in December 1999, the officials took all practitioners in the village to the township government overnight. More than 100 practitioners were held in a conference room, including a two-month-old baby and practitioners in their 70s and 80s. One elderly male practitioner spread newspapers on the floor and tried to lie down and rest, but an official kicked him over and refused to let the practitioners sleep or talk. When the baby made a little noise, township chief Huang screamed at the practitioners. The practitioners were held for ten days and released after paying illegally-imposed fines. Ms. Li firmly refused to cooperate with the persecutors and was released without paying the fine.

Afterwards, Ms. Li Hongxian was repeatedly taken to the township government. The officials attempted to force her to slander Master and Falun Gong and demanded to know the names of other practitioners. She firmly refused to cooperate with them. She tore down slanderous posters at the township government. She and her father, Mr. Li Guangyi, were taken to the township government where Party secretary Li Li, Li Yinduo, Zhang Xinyue and many other officials interrogated and beat them. The officials withheld Mr. Li Guangyi's salary in the amount of 2,000 yuan. Officials from the township government and from the police station frequently harassed and threatened them. They said, "This is an order from Jiang Zemin. We will keep making trouble until Falun Gong practitioners give up their belief."

20) Ms. Li Caiping, 40, went to Beijing to appeal in October 1999. She was arrested and held at the Li County Detention Center for two months. Party secretary Li Li, deputy Party secretary Zhang Xinyue, and other officials interrogated her and beat her until some of her ribs were broken. She was released after she held a hunger strike. Two weeks later, Li Li, Zhang Xinyue, and police officer Chen Guixing arrested her at home and took her back to the detention center, where she was held for more than 50 days.

Zhang Xinyue and deputy township chief Huang led a group of people to take Ms. Li to the township government, where the officials beat and kicked her. They also hit her with wooden sticks until her entire body was black and blue, and her face was swollen. She was released after three days.

21) Ms. Li Xiaofang, 45, was held twice at the County Detention Center and the township government for a total of more than three months, in October 1999 and sometime in 2005. She was severely persecuted and fined 3,000 yuan. Officials at the detention center once twisted her arm(s) behind her back so violently that she lost consciousness.

22) Ms. Sun Yuxia, 66, was arrested on January 21, 2001. Participating in the arrest were Zhang Xinyue, deputy Party secretary of Linbao Township, and deputy township chief Huang. Ms. Sun was taken to the township government and held there for two days. Later on, police officer Chen Guixing and others sent her to the County Detention Center. She went on a hunger strike and was released after two weeks. Zhang Xinyue and Huang arrested her again on April 28, 2001. They took her to the township government and beat her with wooden sticks and tree branches until she was severely bruised all over her body. Her face remained swollen for about one month.

23) Ms. Li Xiaowei, 78, was taken to the township government on April 28, 2001. She was beaten and persecuted for three days.

24) Ms. Sun Lanmin, 50, was arrested on January 19, 2001, at the hands of Zhang Xinyue and Huang. Two days later they sent her to the County Detention Center and held her there for two weeks. She was taken to the township government on April 28, 2001, and subsequently beaten and persecuted for three days. Party secretary Li Li oversaw the other officials, including about 20 people from the township Land Bureau, the police station, and the township government.

25) Ms. Zhu Yanfang, 45 was reported when posting truth-clarifying banners in Wangxinzhuang Village at around 10:00 p.m. on June 12, 2005. Five officials from the Township Police Station and other government agencies arrested her and took her to the County Police Department. Once there, officers Liu Wenli, Wang Junchang, Li Shujuan, and several others interrogated her and transferred her to the City Police Department. She was later taken to the Gaoyang Detention Center where she was held for one month. Detention center head Hu San and Li tortured her on a Tiger Bench for one day and one night and also forced her to work for about 20 days.

26) Ms. Cui Xiaogai, 46, was reported on June 12, 2005, when posting truth-clarification materials. Officers from the Township Police Station arrested her and later ransacked her home, taking recorder(s), VCDs, audiocassettes, Falun Gong books and other things. Ms. Cui left home to avoid arrest. During this time, the officials frequently harassed her family members, which dealt a severe blow to the already broken family. The officials harassed and intimidated the family members again at 10:00 p.m. on January 27, 2006, traumatizing these innocent people.

27) Mr. Zhu Yanlong, 42, was arrested along with his wife, Ms. Hong Xia, by four officers from the Township Police Station on the evening of January 22, 2001. They were taken to the township government where Party secretary Li Li, deputy Party secretary Li Yinduo, and township head Liu Yanru interrogated them. Li Li and Li Yinduo slapped Mr. Zhu in the face for 30 minutes, forcibly removed his clothes, and beat him until he vomited blood. He was taken to a police station and then a detention center the next day. He was held for 13 days. After he returned home, 610 Office agents continued to harass and threaten him on a regular basis.

28) Practitioner Ms. Zhou Aizhen is 46 years old. Official Dong Genli, deputy village head Qi Xiaole, and others broke into her home at 2:00 a.m. on January 22, 2001. They then took her to the township government where Party secretary Li Li, deputy secretary Li Yinduo, township head Liu Yanru and deputy township chief Qi Xiaole interrogated her. These officials took turns beating her for three hours until her face and legs were severely bruised. Qi Xiaole also hit her legs with a broom. They told her family to take her home at 5:00 p.m.

29) Ms. Li Ximei, 67, was arrested on around January 14, 2001, and taken to the township government where she was interrogated and beaten. The officials refused to let her go home to spend the Chinese New Year with her family. Thus she could not take care of her sick family member(s). She cut a blood vessel in her wrist in protest and the officials eventually let her go home, fearing having to accept responsibility should she die. (Editor's Note: The Falun Gong teachings forbid self-mutilation; practitioners are supposed to keep righteous thoughts.)

30 - 31) Ms. Zhan Xinhuan and Ms. Xin Xinggai are both 64 years old. Village officials Zhang Dongjian, Huo Guozhong ,and others took the two practitioners to the township government on July 20, 1999, and interrogated them. They would not let the practitioners leave the building or use the restroom. Their families had to bring them food. The practitioners were persecuted for two weeks. The village officials took them to the township government again on November 12, 1999, for a brainwashing session. The practitioners were released a week later after they were each fined 500 yuan. Both practitioners were arrested again around January 14, 2001, and taken back to the township government. They were locked in a small dark room for four days.

32) Ms. Li Heluan once suffered from chronic hepatitis and did not respond to long-term treatment. She regained complete health, however, several months after she started practicing Falun Gong, in February 1996. Officers from Xinxing Town Police Station arrested Ms. Li and other practitioners when they were posting truth-clarification banners after the persecution began. The officers took the practitioners to the County Detention Center. The guards at the detention center tried to make Ms. Li slander Master and Falun Gong many times during her two-month term. They did not give her enough food and did not let her sleep or practice the exercises. Her family paid more than 2,000 yuan to official Chen Guixing for her release. Ms. Li was released only after being fined an additional 1,000 yuan. After she returned home, her family spent another 1,000 yuan on "gifts" for village officials Bo Dagui, Feng Chengzhang and others.

33) Ms. Liang Tongfang, 18, had been sickly ever since childhood. She recovered after she started practicing Falun Gong with her parents in 1997. Her parents were arrested on the evening of June 3, 2001. The teachers and officials at her school threatened her.

34) Ms. Wang Suxia, 57, suffered from high blood pressure, heart disease, chronic lumbar muscle strain, and edema, among other conditions. All of her illnesses disappeared, however, after she started practicing Falun Gong in March 1997. After the persecution began, she joined some other practitioners and went to Beijing to clarify the truth. They were arrested and taken back to Baoding City overnight. The practitioners were taken to a local school where officials from the Xinxing Town government monitored them. The officials forbade the practitioners from sleeping. Ms. Wang refused to write guarantee statements as demanded by Li Hefang, secretary of the Politics and Law Committee, so the officials ransacked her home.

Ms. Wang went to Beijing again on December 21, 1999, with some fellow practitioners. She was arrested in Tiananmen Square and taken to a police station. Three hours later, Liu, an official from the local liaison office in Beijing, interrogated her and made her stay standing. Police officers Zhang Yongjiang and Chen Guixing took her to the County Detention Center and held her there for more than two months, during which time they forbade family visits. Her family paid the officials and took them out for luxurious dinners. The liaison office in Beijing extorted a 3,000 yuan "detention transfer fee" and another 200 yuan in unexplained charges from her family. The officials later extorted an additional 10,000 yuan "education and reform fee" and 50 yuan "material fee" on February 23, 2000. Niu Haifeng processed the charges.

After Ms. Wang's return home, Li Hefang and other officials frequently harassed and watched her at home. She was placed under around-the-clock surveillance between April 25 and May 2, 2001. The officials arrested her and her husband on the evening of June 3, 2001, and extorted 2,000 yuan from them. They threatened, "Jiang Zemin has issued secret orders: there is no legal liability for beating a Falun Gong practitioner to death, as it shall be counted as suicide. You can't get out of it if you don't give us money!" Ms. Wang was detained for more than 20 days, during which time the officials attempted to force her to write guarantee statements and slander Master and Falun Gong. Ms. Wang refused. The officials extorted another 2,000 yuan from her and made her write an IOU slip for another 2,000 yuan before they released her.

The officials constantly monitored the outside of Ms. Wang's home, harassed her and took photographs of her at home. She was arrested again by a group of officials including Li Hefang when posting truth-clarification materials with other practitioner(s). She was then held in prison for more than four months where she did not follow the officials' commands. Guard Zhang Dawei whipped her with a triangular belt. She was subsequently sent to the Baoding Forced Labor Camp where she persisted in her belief and was brutally tortured. Ms. Wang was forbidden to sleep and was forced to squat with her arms around her knees, stand against a wall for extended periods of time, and work day and night until she suffered a relapse of her former illnesses. Her systolic blood pressure went up to 225 mmHg [normal systolic blood pressure is around 120 mmHg] and her heart rate reached 214 beats per minute [normal heart rate is around 60 beats per minute]. She was diagnosed with high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes and many other conditions, and was sent home on November 20, 2002. Labor camp officials went to her home a year later, on November 9, 2003, to find out her circumstances. Ms. Wang Suxia told them, "I've recovered through practicing Falun Gong."

35) Ms. Zhang, 38, used to suffer from poor health and had a bad temper. She started practicing Falun Gong in 1997, and all of her illnesses disappeared. Her temper also improved. After the persecution began, she went to Beijing to appeal along with some other practitioners. They were intercepted in Baoding City and taken back to Chengxi Elementary School in Li County the next day, where they were held for three days. They were later detained at the township government for five days. A group of officials headed by Liu Pingjiang and Liu Jianzhu refused to let the practitioners sleep and locked them in small rooms filled with mosquitoes and other bugs.

When she and five other practitioners made a second trip to Beijing to appeal, she was arrested by plainclothes police officers and taken to the local liaison office in Beijing. From there she was taken to a local detention center where she was held for more than a month. During this period, Detention Center head Wang Xinzhai, guard Chen Guixing and others handcuffed her, shocked her with electric batons, and physically and verbally abused her. Her family paid 20,000 yuan in "fines" before she was released.

Ms. Zhang and other practitioners appealed in Beijing again at the end of 2001. She was arrested and taken to the Dongcheng District Police Department where she was held for more than 20 days. She was transferred to a local detention center and sentenced to forced labor and sent to the Baoding Forced Labor Camp, where she was tied on a wooden board, with her arms and legs stretched to the limit, before being handcuffed and shackled. She was also tortured on the Death Bed.

36) Mr. Zhu Junmin, 39, was arrested in June 2000 for distributing truth-clarification materials and detained for one month. His car, cellphone, and 390 yuan in cash were taken away, but he was never given a receipt. Mr. Zhu was hung up by his handcuffed hands for a very long time. Four guards including Chen Guixing took turns shocking him with electric batons, yet the electric current reverted to the guards, who thought the batons were broken. Mr. Zhu was later sentenced to one year of forced labor.

37) Ms. Su Ruixian, 67, once suffered from an arthritic shoulder, gastritis, cholecystitis (inflammation of the gall bladder), neck problems, and severe, debilitating leg pain. All of the symptoms disappeared less than six months after she started practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Su was able to walk so fast that people much younger than she could not keep up with her. Local officials frequently harassed her after the persecution began. A group of officials from Xinxing Town, including Yang Yongqun, arrested Ms. Su and ransacked her home. They held her for one day but released her after extorting 3,000 yuan from her family. They extorted another 2,500 yuan three days later. The officials also confiscated 500 yuan that they squandered on food and drinks for themselves.

38) Ms. Shi Xiaohua is 63 years old. Village security chief Tian Laolu and township official Qi Haitao barged into her home one evening in the spring of 2001 and attempted to force her to slander Master. She firmly refused. One evening in summer 2001, Xinxing Town deputy head Li Hefang took her to the town government and held her there. Party secretary Zhang Yongjiang attempted to make her write a guarantee statement, but she refused. She was released nine days later after the officials had extorted 9,000 yuan from her family.

39) Ms. Wang Huifang, 38, started practicing Falun Gong in 1998. She went to Beijing to appeal on July 20, 1999, and was held in Chengguan Town for two weeks. She returned to Beijing on December 18, 1999, and was held at the County Detention Center for more than 40 days. Guards Li Shujuan, Chen Guixing, and others interrogated her numerous times and extorted 13,000 yuan from her. She appealed for a third time on April 25, 2001, and was held at a detention center. She commenced an 11-day hunger strike and was released only when her life was in danger. She was taken to a forced labor camp 20 days later. The guards extorted 5,000 yuan worth of cigarettes from her family during this time.

40) Ms. Liu Suhua, 70, was widowed as a young woman and was confronted with the deaths of two sons and two grandsons in middle age. She developed many illnesses from her grief but regained complete health through practicing Falun Gong. Falun Gong gave her a new life. One evening in 2002, officials Zhu Guoyu, Xie Donghai and others arrested Ms. Liu and took her to Balizhuang Brainwashing Center. They persecuted her until her systolic blood pressure rose to 222 mmHg (normal systolic blood pressure is around 120 mmHg), her entire body swelled up, and her life was hanging by a thread. She was taken to a county government-run hotel in the middle of the night in 2003, locked in a small room, and prevented from resting. The officials threatened and intimidated her around the clock. Official Zhu Guoyu ordered people to harass and threaten her and her family many times over the past several years.

41) Ms. Liu Guiling, 62, along with her grandson, was taken to the county 610 Office in September 2001. She was later sent to the Balizhuang Brainwashing Center. Her husband and son both left home to avoid persecution, and the officials followed Ms. Liu. They destroyed the front gate, the apartment door, and the courtyard wall of her home. Officers Chen Guixing, Wang Shen, Li Guanghui, and others from the county police department then broke into her home and took Falun Gong books, an incense burner, clothes, and other personal belongings. They also took 400 yuan in cash from her and detained her. Seven months later, they transferred her to a brainwashing center but released her after two weeks.

42) Ms. Liu Yanju works at a materials production company. She was arrested in October 1999 by a group of officials including Chen Guixing, who was the head of the Politics and Security Section at the police department. Ms. Liu was persecuted at a detention center for 18 days and fined 3,000 yuan. Her superiors sent her to the Balizhuang Brainwashing Center in 2000. She was arrested again by Chen Guixing on April 25, 2002 and detained for three months. Her husband was also detained for five days. The police arrested her once more on February 8, 2003 and persecuted her for three months. They also extorted another 3,000 yuan from her. She was sentenced to two years of forced labor on September 8, 2003.

43) Ms. Wang Xishun was born in 1951 and lived in Qiqi Village, Beinian Township. She was detained at the township government for two weeks after the persecution began on July 20, 1999. The authorities released her after failed attempts to extort money from her. She was eventually held at the Beinian Township Brainwashing Center for ten days in 2000 and was sent to the same center again in 2001 and fined 80 yuan. Ms. Wang was reported in March 2005 and arrested by officers from Raoyang County, Hengshui City. She was sentenced to one year of forced labor and persecuted at the Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp for six months before being transferred to the Baoding Forced Labor Camp, where she was held for eleven months. Ms. Wang was tortured in various ways at the camp, including being shocked with electric batons.

44) Ms. Yu Fenglan, 66, lived in Yuanzuo Village, Fuzuo Township, Suning City, Hebei Province. She left for Beijing on December 2, 1999, to appeal for Falun Gong but was intercepted and taken back to Suning County. The officials handcuffed her to prevent her escape. The handcuffs fell off by themselves during the trip, but she did not realize it was Master prompting her to leave. She ended up being taken to the Phoenix Hotel in Suning County. Officers from the Suning Police Department held her at the County Detention Center on December 4, 1999. The police conducted a body search and took her money and personal belongings. They put her in a metal cage and made her family and other people monitor her. The officials slapped her face with Falun Gong books. They reluctantly released her on January 4, 2000, due to pressure from various sources and extorted a 5,000 yuan "deposit" from her, later returning only 4,000 yuan. In the summer of 2000, Li Chenxiang, former 610 Office head, and Xu Qiuli from the police department ransacked Ms. Yu's home. They arrested her and extorted 8,000 yuan from her. She was released after 18 days.

45) Ms. Liu Shulan, 54, lived in Yuanzuo Village, Fuzuo Township, Suning City. She left for Beijing on December 2, 1999, to appeal for Falun Gong, but she was intercepted and taken back to Suning County. The officials handcuffed her to prevent her escape. The handcuffs fell off by themselves, but she did not realize it was Master prompting her to leave. She ended up being taken to the Phoenix Hotel in Suning County. Officers from the Suning Police Department held her at the County Detention Center on December 4, 1999. The police conducted a body search and took all of her money and personal belongings. They put her in a metal cage and made her family and other people monitor her. The authorities reluctantly released her on January 4, 2000 due to pressure from various sources. They extorted a 5,000 yuan "deposit" from her. The money was later returned. In the summer of 2000, Li Chenxiang, the former head of the 610 Office, and Xu Qiuli from the police department ransacked her home. They arrested her and extorted a 6,000 yuan "fine" from her. They handcuffed her and hung her up and did not let her eat, drink, or use the restroom. The village office bailed her out. Li Chenxiang harassed practitioners sexually as well as abusing them physically and verbally in other ways. He once threatened a female practitioner, "I'll get a couple of old men and have them gang-rape you."

Since Jiang Zemin's regime began its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners on July 20, 1999, Benxi Forced Labor Camp (also called Benxi Weining Forced Labor Camp) has persecuted 300 practitioners to varying degrees. The forced labor camp has developed a set of brutal measures to persecute practitioners. This article recounts part of what occurred between 2005 and 2006 in the camp.

The "Law and Order Education Center" (the team for persecuting Falun Gong) of Benxi Forced Labor Camp uses police guards and collaborators (former Falun Gong practitioners who have turned against Falun Gong) to guard Falun Gong practitioners but not other inmates. They hire collaborators as needed to brainwash steadfast practitioners. Their verbal abuses, attacks, insults and defamations of Master Li and Falun Gong are worse than the physical tortures the practitioners have to endure.

As soon as one walks into the "Law and Order Education Center" of Benxi Labor Camp, a large banner announces, "Educate, Rehabilitate, and Save." In reality it is the center for persecuting practitioners.

The first thing they did to a newly arrived practitioner was to assign two collaborators, one on each side, to guard and monitor him or her. From the time the practitioner woke up until the time he went to bed, including mealtimes and restroom visits, the two were there. Sometimes they had the person sit up all night on a little bench to listen to their slanders on Falun Gong, Master Li, and practitioners, or to their propaganda for the Chinese Communist Party. For steadfast practitioners, they at times rounded up seven to eight guards to hurl verbal abuse at them.

Mr. Li Guangwen was a 40-year-old unmarried college graduate. After they verbally abused and humiliated him, a female collaborator set a little bench in front of him, sat on it, and pushed her forehead up against Mr. Li's and said, while choking his neck, "Let's see whether you have lust or not."

Former Falun Gong assistant Jiang Husu has long been guarded by two collaborators and was prohibited from having any contact with other practitioners. He was not allowed to talk with other practitioners, even when he met them during restroom visits. If he did, they put him in solitary confinement or extended his sentence. He steadfastly believed in Falun Gong and would not cooperate. He was sent to solitary confinement several times. Later, he was isolated and moved into the general inmate population. He remains in Benxi Camp.

Mr. Sun Tiechun was hearing impaired. His hand was injured as a result of torture and he could not move it easily. They often laughed at him on account of his disability. He would not cooperate with the brainwashing. Within those two years, until the second quarter of 2006, he was sent to solitary confinement eleven times at the direction of the deputy director Guo Tieying. They were very tough on him during solitary confinement, not letting him wear heavy clothes in winter and not giving him blankets. He was so cold at night that he could not sleep.

He had to attend the brainwashing sessions three to four days a week. In the sessions, the guards attacked Falun Gong and promoted CCP propaganda. Everyone was required to attend. Uncooperative practitioners were restrained in a chair and compelled to listen. All practitioners brought here were brainwashed this way, and this is what they termed "education."

How did they "save" practitioners? Being "saved" was a euphemism for brutal treatment. When both "education" and "rehabilitation" with lies did not succeed in getting a practitioner to give up his or her belief in Falun Gong, they used the most viscious and deceptively harmless method to "save" the practitioner. The method was easy to implement, too. They put the practitioner on the death bed or "stretching bed." They put two twin beds side by side and lay the practitioner on them in the middle, along the steel bar. They handcuffed his legs and arms to the four corners and then pulled the beds apart. (Later they switched to ropes because the handcuffs left visible injuries on practitioner Wang Xuefe and they preferred not to leave marks that others could see.) They pulled the beds apart after a certain interval and filled the gap with bricks. Every pull could cause huge damage to the practitioner's body. It the past, this torture was called "separating the corpse by five horses." In ancient times it was called "separation by coaches."

The guards who applied the torture included the deputy manager of the training department, Dong Po; the staff person of the "Law and Order Education Center," Zheng Kai; the camp operation director, Chen Zhongwei (now transferred to Xihu Prison); "Law and Order Education Center" Director Liu Shaoshi; and deputy directors Zheng Tao, and Guo Tieying. As a former military doctor, Liu Shaoshi controlled the extent of the torture to avoid risking practitioners' lives. For example, he would let practitioners stay on hunger strikes for four days before force-feeding them.

The cruelest part was that once a practitioner was put on the bed, he or she would not be released either to use the restroom or for forced-feeding. Practitioners who were tortured this way included Yan Bo for 20 days, Jiao Fang for seven days, Wang Jinhai for 18 days, and Wang Xuefei for about 10 days. Also, Mr. Sun Tiechun was tortured this way three times, each time lasting 15-16 days, in November 2004 and June and July of 2006. Ono of these times he was forced-fed with an unknown drug. Afterwards, he was dazed and his hands became disabled. In addition, Li Qinghuan was tortured for seven days, Jia Jingwen for 13 days, Wang Jingwan for about 10 days, Zhao Wei for 13 days, and Mr. Li Guangwen for over 20 days. Li Guangwen lost consciousness at the end. They kicked him violently when he was pulled off the bed and unable to move. They kicked him until he collapsed and then they sent him away. Now his whereabouts are unknown. Jiang Hufang, Liang Yuncheng, and Zhang Shupeng were tortured for an unknown amount of time. Mr. Liu Chengguo was tied to a bed for three to four days after his hunger strike. The police tricked his wife into coming to the camp and coerced her into divorcing him, claiming to the outside world that she divorced him because he would not "convert."