Clearwisdom Weekly Persecution News

The Facts of the Persecution of Falun Gong -- June 16, 2009

Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Content

Mr. Zhou Xiangyang Near Death--Jail Claims He Must Renounce Falun Gong for Medical Parole

Mr. Zhou Xiangyang has been jailed since August 9, 2004 and has been on a hunger strike for over 300 days to protest the persecution.

The "Stretching Torture" at Weining Forced Labor Camp (Photo)

This torture used to be called "dismembering the limbs with five horses," and in ancient times was called "splitting by cart."

Mr. Zhou Xiangyang Near Death--Jail Claims He Must Renounce Falun Gong for Medical Parole

Mr. Zhou Xiangyang, from Tianjin City, was an engineer at the 3rd Design Institute of the Ministry of Railroad. Mr. Zhou has been on a hunger strike for over 300 days, since June 2008, to resist the persecution. Mr. Zhou was previously a strong and positive man, but due to being persecuted he is emaciated and his life is in danger. Gangbei Prison claims that to be released for medical parole, he must sign a paper renouncing Falun Gong.

Mr. Zhou Xiangyang

Mr. Zhou Xiangyang, 32, has been jailed at Gangbei Prison since August 9, 2004. He has been verbally and physically abused and detained in isolation countless times. He has also been on the verge of death numerous times. Because his family members all practice Falun Gong, the prison has kept an especially close watch on him. The few times when his family was allowed to visit, the prison kept audio and video recordings for analysis. Once they felt that there was "obstruction to the transformation" or "influence on the overall situation," they immediately ended the visit.

In February 2009, the guard captain at Gangbei Prison disclosed that Mr. Zhou was force-fed five times per day and that he could die at any moment. During the previous visits by Mr. Zhou's parents, the captain, surnamed Song, thought that Mr. Zhou and his parents used "code words over the phone," so his parents were denied further visits. Two months later, when other family members went to visit, Mr. Zhou was carried out by four prisoners indicted on criminal charges. He was very weak, small and thin, and his face was deathly white. His voice was stilted when he spoke. Even under these conditions, the other prisoners monitored his speech. If they thought he was starting to disclose the persecution experienced in prison, they kicked his legs or feet to warn him to change the topic.

During the most recent visit by family members, Mr. Zhou suddenly dropped the phone while talking. He picked up the phone again after a long period and told his family members that he had just taken a shower so his hand was a little numb. This is a tactic used by Gangbei Prison to prevent any persecution marks being left on the body. Every time before visits, the guards arranged to have Mr. Zhou bathed. They also threatened him about what was allowed to be said and what couldn't be said.

In early April 2009, Mr. Zhou was taken to the Police Hospital for emergency intravenous injections for fifteen days. In mid-May, 2009, he was again taken to the Police Hospital. These emergency measures had to be taken each time he was on the verge of death.

Gangbei Prison recently tried to shift responsibility for the persecution. They notified Mr. Zhou's family that they could apply for his "release on medical parole," but stipulated that all conditions had to be met. The conditions included his renouncing Falun Gong and transferring Mr. Zhou's permanent registered address from Tianjin City to a village with no ties to his hometown. The prison threatened the family, ordering them not to expose this secret. The prison claimed that this was "special treatment" for Mr. Zhou. When Mr. Zhou's family began organizing this matter, they were suddenly notified that, "Mr. Zhou Xiangyang does not meet the conditions for release on bail. His situation is known across numerous provinces, and it is more complicated. Return home and wait for the announcement."

This result was very surprising and disappointing to Mr. Zhou's family, but it completely followed Gangbei Prison's persecution policy of refusing to release Falun Gong practitioners if they don't write a guarantee statement. This common tactic and persecution method has been used by Gangbei Prison over the past ten years. The premise for release is a signed "guarantee statement." Not only does the practitioner have to sign, the family members also have to sign, even those who do not practice.

The "stretching torture" or the "stretching bed" used at Weining Forced Labor Camp in Benxi City, Liaoning Province was implemented by placing a Falun Gong practitioner in the middle of two beds with the arms and legs handcuffed to the four outer corners of the beds. It was later that they began using rope instead of handcuffs, since when the guards subjected practitioner Ms. Wang Xuefei to this torture, the handcuffs bore into her flesh and left marks, which the guards didn't want others to see. After a period of time, the two beds are forced apart and bricks are squeezed into the space between the beds. Every time a brick is squeezed in, extreme harm to the body results. This torture used to be called "dismembering the limbs with five horses," and in ancient times was called "splitting by cart."

At Weining Forced Labor Camp, Chen Zhongwei and Liu Shaoshi led the other Chinese Communist Party (CCP) personnel in this brutal persecution of practitioners. They attempted to deceive Yingkou City practitioners Mr. Li Qinghuan and Mr. Zhang Shupeng by torturing them mentally, and when that failed, they turned to violent physical torture. Under orders from guard Ding Huibo, they put the legs of the two practitioners into the double lotus position and bound them with rope. Their hands were tied behind their backs with rope. They had people sit on Mr. Li and Mr. Zhang's backs to force them to quit the practice. Under this brutal torture, Mr. Li Qinghuan's body and mind suffered serious injuries.

Fifty year-old Mr. Li Qinghuan started practicing Falun Gong in 1996. After the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong in 1999, Mr. Li was continuously harassed and was arrested on September 18, 2004. He was tortured using the "stretching torture" at Weining Forced Labor Camp for seven days and nights. He never recovered from the torture. After he was released in 2006, he continue to be monitored. Mr. Li passed away on April 5, 2009 (see /emh/articles/2009/4/29/106913.html).

Fengcheng City practitioner Mr. Liang Yuncheng was arrested by the local police while clarifying the truth to people in Kuandian County on January 3, 2006. He was taken to the Benxi City Forced Labor Camp and persecuted severely. In order to force him to renounce his belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the labor camp ordered ten people to take turns torturing him for over ten days. He wasn't allowed to sleep and the guards beat him with police batons. When he didn't give up, he was tortured in the "stretching room." Mr. Liang was once placed on the "stretching bed" for 21 days.

Around April 13, 2009, Panjin City practitioner Mr. Gao Dong was found by people who knew him, curled up and shivering in a corner of a grocery market in the Xinglongtai District, Panjin City. His body was very weak and his lower body couldn't move. It appeared to be caused by thin ropes that bound the wrists and ankle with the limbs pulled in four different directions until the body was hanging in the air, which would be the "stretching bed" torture. Mr. Gao could only crawl, and he had a very foul smell. When someone told the surrounding crowd that Mr. Gao was a practitioner, and the truth of the torture, the crowd condemned the CCP. Later Mr. Gao disappeared and it was said that some kind person took him away. A witness said that a car in Benxi City had dropped off Mr. Gao and driven away.

According to incomplete data, from 2000 to 2006, the practitioners who were subjected to this torture at the Benxi Forced Labor Camp include: Mr. Li Guangwen (Fushun City), Mr. Wang Xuezheng (Panjin City), Mr. Zhang Suming and Mr. Wang Jingshi (Yingkou City), Mr. Jia Jingwen (Jinzhou City), Mr. Zhao Wei and Mr. Liu Bo (Dandong City), Mr. Jiao Lin (Fengcheng City), and the rest are all from Beixi City: Mr. Song Yuegang, Mr. Sun Tiechun, Mr. Wang Jicai, Mr. Zhao Chenglin, Mr. Qiu Zhiyan, Mr. Yan Bai, Mr. Jiao Fang, Mr. Wang Jinhai, Mr. Wang Xuefei, Mr. Fu Xiaodong, Mr. Liang Yuncheng, Mr. Wang Jingwan, Mr. Li Guangwen, Mr. Zhang Shupeng, Mr. Jiang Hulin, and Mr. Zhang Yunsheng.

The practitioners who were tortured using this method in 2007 include: Mr. Yang Manzhi (Benxi City), Ms. Wang Yuzhu (Haiyang City, Shandong Province), Mr. Liu Guangqing (Panjin City), Mr. Zhang Yawei (Panjin City), Mr. Cheng Guanghui (Zhaoyang City), and others. In 2008, the practitioners include: Mr. Song Jiwei (Dandong City), Mr. Zhang Guoyu (Dalian City), Mr. Zhang Zhigang (Tieling City), Mr. Gao Dong (Panjin City), Mr. Wang Zhongming (Benxi City), and others. After late September 2008, seven Falun Gong practitioners were transferred from Beijing to Weining Forced Labor Camp. Already, two have been tortured using the "stretching bed."