Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured in Guangdong Province “Legal Education Center”

(Minghui.org) “Guangdong Province Legal Education Center,” formerly known as “Guangdong Province Legal Education School,” is a black jail operated by the Guangdong Province's 610 Office, an extra-legal agency tasked with persecuting Falun Gong.

Located in the Sanshui District of Foshan City, the facility is also known as Sanshui Brainwashing Center.

The Guangdong Province Legal Education School was established in May 2001 to persecute Falun Gong practitioners working in provincial offices and higher education. The Guangdong Province Chinese Communist Party Committee, Administration for Industry and Commerce in Guangdong Province, South China University of Technology, Jinan University, and other work units have sent practitioners in their employ to the Guangdong Province Legal Education School to be persecuted.

The Guangdong Province Legal Education School expanded in April 2003 and became Guangdong Province Legal Education Center, affiliated with the Provincial Administration of Reeducation through Labor. The labor camp system was discontinued in 2013 and Guangdong Province Legal Education Center has since then operated directly under the Guangdong Province Justice Bureau and is affiliated with the Guangdong Province Drug Administration Center. All of the Center’s employees were police officers in the Guangzhou Justice Bureau and the director of the facility was appointed by the justice bureau.

The Center was built on an artificial lake and can be accessed only via a bridge.

View of Sanshui Brainwashing Center

Close-up view of Sanshui Brainwashing Center

Mafia-style Operation

Practitioners are usually arrested by the security departments where they work and their coworkers are assigned to monitor them. Practitioners who went to Beijing in the past to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong, were previously detained, or are thought to be steadfast in the practice are sent to the Sanshui Brainwashing Center to be persecuted. The shortest detention term is three months.

As the center expanded, assistants were hired to monitor the practitioners. If the authorities are unable to take legal action against the practitioners due to lack of evidence or if the practitioners refused to be “transformed” after their detention or prison terms end, the practitioners will continue to be sent to the center to be persecuted further.

According to statistics, at least 1,240 practitioners were persecuted in the Sanshui Brainwashing Center as of August 2012. The number of practitioners who were taken to the center increased after the labor camp system was discontinued in 2013. It is estimated that over 3,000 practitioners have been persecuted at the center during the past 20 years.

No legal procedures or proof is required to admit the practitioners to the brainwashing center, and the terms of detention are not fixed.

Violent Brainwashing

Below is the brainwashing process:

“Corrective Education” Stage

The center first creates a profile for each practitioner. The profile has a detailed analysis of the practitioner's reason for practicing Falun Gong and their personality type. It also lays out in detail the persecution history of the practitioner. Practitioners who remain steadfast in their practice and those who refuse to be “transformed” after their prison term ends are listed as “Difficult to ‘transform’” and are targeted specifically.

Assistants assigned to monitor the practitioners around the clock use a combination of deception and violence to try to force practitioners to renounce their faith. Each practitioner is held in isolation with two assistants assigned to monitor them. There is no privacy as every room is equipped with surveillance cameras. Practitioners cannot leave their rooms. Food is brought in by the assistant.

The length of the corrective education stage varies. It ends after the practitioners writes their learning experience and “Five Statements,” namely, a guarantee statement promising to stop practicing Falun Gong, a repentance statement to show regret for having practiced Falun Gong, a denunciation statement to sever ties with Falun Gong, a condemnation statement to criticize Falun Gong, and a confession statement.

“Strengthening” Stage

After the practitioner writes the “Five Statements,” the assistants submit a request to have the practitioner transferred to the “Strengthening Stage.” The practitioner enters the strengthening stage after the corrective team and the authorities at the brainwashing center give their approval.

At this stage, the practitioner has some freedom and is allowed to participate in culture and sports activities, but they still have to undergo brainwashing. The practitioner is forced to provide in-depth criticisms of Falun Gong, take tests, write a weekly experience on what he or she has studied and the process of being “transformed.” The practitioner is also forced to betray practitioners he or she is close to. The authorities then use this information to persecute more practitioners.

This stage ends when the brainwashing center thinks that the practitioner is qualified to go to the next stage.

“Assessment” Stage

The team has to put in a request for the practitioner to enter the “Assessment Stage.”

At this stage, the education department submits a request for “certification” to the director for approval. The brainwashing center then informs the local 610 Office where the practitioner lives to pick up the practitioner, who will be allowed to leave after passing the certification check.

Brutal Tactics

When practitioners first arrive at the brainwashing center, the police officers appear kind and understanding as they chat with the practitioners. The purpose is to numb the practitioners' minds and prevent them from resisting. A staff person then interacts with them while an assistant plays videos that slander Falun Gong.

The authorities then show their true colors and start using violence on the practitioners once they resist the brainwashing.

Rough Treatment

Mr. Wu Chaoqi of Maoming City was arrested by officers from the Tianyuan Police Station on January 16, 2017, for posting informational stickers about the persecution of Falun Gong. He was held in the Tianhe District Detention Center for a month before being taken directly to Sanshui Brainwashing Center. He was held in Room B104 where two assistants monitored him around the clock.

An assistant played a video that slandered Falun Gong’s founder and increased the volume. When Mr. Wu refused to watch, the two assistants dragged him to the chair and forced him to sit down. Once, they dragged him off the bed when he tried to meditate.

Torture re-enactment: Forced to watch videos slandering Falun Gong

Ms. Cao Liping of Lechang City was arrested on April 13, 2018, for seeking the release of her husband, Mr. Liang Jianjun, who had been arrested for practicing Falun Gong. After she was taken to the Sanshui Brainwashing Center, the authorities told her that there is no one in the brainwashing center who was not “transformed” and that someone had “transformed” after being held in the center for a year and a half. They threatened to send her to the detention center, prison, court, or to a psychiatric hospital if she refused to be “transformed” by June.

The police often swore at Ms. Cao and pushed her around, making her nervous. After returning home, Ms. Cao was in a poor mental and physical state. Her memory declined and it took her a long time to recall some past events.

Force-Feeding

The practitioner is force-fed as soon as he or she goes on a hunger strike. One end of the feeding tube is pointed on purpose in order to stab the throat or stomach. Sometimes, a piece of flesh is pulled out through the nose by the feeding tube.

Ms. Zou Xuemei of Zhanjiang City was arrested in February 2004 and taken to Qizhong Brainwashing Center. She was transferred to Sanshui Brainwashing Center when she resisted the persecution. When Ms. Zou went on a hunger strike, the pointed feeding tube was inserted into her nose, and she started to bleed. Ms. Zou cried out in pain when the tube was inserted into her stomach. The deputy director threatened to force-feed her once every day. If she refused to eat or be “transformed,” they said they would force-feed her two or three times a day.

Mr. Luo Dongsheng from Meizhou City was transferred from Meizhou Detention Center to the Sanshui Brainwashing Center on February 18, 2011. Over the next five months, he went on three hunger strikes totaling 70 days to protest the torture. The guards force-fed him every three to four days. They used force-feeding as a way of torturing him, roughly pulling the tube up and down through his nose, causing bleeding. He vomited each time. He was only 40 years old at that time and lost a significant amount of weight.

Torture re-enactment: Force-feeding

Touch of Death

Known to be a martial arts technique, the “touch of death” affects the body’s pressure points and can disable a person or even cause death. The brainwashing center uses the touch of death to torture practitioners who are steadfast in their practice.

Ms. Yang Zai of Zhanjian City was arrested in September 2003 and taken to Suixi Brainwashing Center. When she refused to give up on her faith, she was transferred to Sanshui Brainwashing Center at the end of 2003 and held for three months.

Ms. Yang recalled that she was often beaten by three assistants. While beating her, the assistants also pressed the pressure points on her head, heart, and hands, causing her to lose consciousness. She also felt dizzy. At that time, her hands, feet, head, and many parts of her body had black marks and her body was swollen. Her face became yellowish-black. She also had no appetite.

Poison

The authorities poison the practitioners' meals or inject them with unknown drugs to try to get them to “transform” while they are delirious. Some practitioners died from the chronic poisoning after they were released.

The police mixed toxic drugs into the meals of Ms. Liang Xiaoxia of Maoming City when she was in Sanshui Brainwashing Center. She didn't know it at the time. After returning home, she was mentally disordered and confused. She destroyed all the household necessities, pots, gas stove, rice cookers, and electric fans at home and threw away the food. In the end, the family borrowed money to get her treated.

Ms. Zheng Shaoqing, a schoolteacher in Jieyang City, was arrested and taken to the Sanshui Brainwashing Center in March 2003. To protest the torture, Ms. Zheng went on a hunger strike. The authorities force-fed her, forced her to watch propaganda videos all day, deprived her of sleep, and put unknown drugs into her food. She started to develop unbearable stomach pain and sweat profusely. She was released six months later.

On May 28, 2007, Mei County 610 Office agents and police officers broke into the home of Ms. Liu Dong'e of Meizhou City and arrested her. They held Ms. Liu down on the ground, handcuffed her, and took her to Sanshui Brainwashing Center.

At the center, Ms. Liu went on a hunger strike and was force-fed while being pinned down by nearly ten officers. An instructor hit Ms. Liu in the head, face, and body repeatedly with the heel of a shoe. Later, Ms. Liu was taken to a psychiatric hospital and injected with unknown drugs. Her head swelled up, her body turned black, and she couldn't see. The authorities released her three months later, after she’d been tortured to near death.

Death and Severe Injuries

Ms. Wu Baimei, a 48-year-old entrepreneur from Foshan City who owned several companies, was admitted to Sanshui Brainwashing Center on November 9, 2011. Her husband asked for her release but was told that she had connections with practitioners in several provinces. Therefore, her case was directly under the jurisdiction of the Central Government, and the local authorities could not make the decision to release her.

She was released on March 27, 2012, and died mysteriously two days later. Both her lips and fingernails were purple. She also had an extremely swollen abdomen.

When she was released, she looked pale. The next day, she had pain in her chest but didn't take it seriously. On March 29, she went to the supermarket with her husband. All of a sudden, she felt weak in her legs and couldn't lift them. She told her husband, “I cannot make it.” Then she passed out. Her husband took her to a hospital immediately, but she never regained consciousness.

Ms. Wu died a little past 9:00 p.m. that same night. Ms. Wu's mother was in her 80s and healthy. It was a great blow to see her daughter pass way before her, and she was grief-stricken.

Ms. Wu Yuyun, in her 60s, was a retired teacher from Jiangmen City First Middle School of Guangdong Province. On August 14, 2003, she was arrested and taken to Sanshui Brainwashing Center. When all the brainwashing tactics failed to “transform” her, the authorities added poison to her meals. When she became ill from the poison, the police didn't arrange for medical care. Instead, they had other practitioners brought to Ms. Wu's room so that they could witness her suffering. Afterward, she became seriously ill and was sent home. She passed away in September 2004.

Ms. Yang Xueqin, a 65-year-old retired official from Guangdong Province Transportation Department, was taken into custody at work in August 2002. She was often surrounded by a dozen officers who tried to brainwash her. She was also deprived of sleep and punished by standing. She died in September or October that year.

After Ms. Yang died, a Minghui correspondent contacted authorities at the transportation department and the 610 Office. The authorities at the transportation department said that Ms. Yang died of a cerebral hemorrhage while the 610 Office said that Ms. Yang died of a hunger strike while she was attending a law class. The officer didn't explain why Ms. Yang went on a hunger strike or why she was not treated in time.

Ms. Wen Fenhua of Jiexi County was arrested on June 24, 2004, and taken to the Sanshui Brainwashing Center. She had just given birth and needed to nurse the baby. After her husband and mother-in-law made repeated demands on her behalf [Chinese laws states that it is illegal to detain nursing mothers], she was released the following day.

On May 30, 2005, Ms. Wen was arrested by vice-secretary of the Jiexi Political Committee Chen Jihua, head of the first branch of the police department Lin Shaoxin, Mianhu Government Office agent Guo Lewei, and a dozen or so other policemen. The reason given was that Ms. Wen's child was already a year old. She was once again taken to Sanshui Brainwashing Center.

At about 10 p.m. on June 17, chief Huang of the Public Security Office went to Ms. Wen's home and told her husband to open the door, saying Ms. Wen was on her way. Her husband opened the door but did not see her. Huang said Ms. Wen was in a van. Her husband went to the van and saw a woman helping Ms. Wen to sit up. Ms. Wen was leaning against the side of the vehicle, unable to move. Her husband called her name several times and she could only answer once faintly. It took her husband, two other men, and another woman to carry her into the house.

Her husband asked what was wrong with her and Huang said it was because she went on a hunger strike. Ms. Wen then struggled to say, “I did eat.” They put Ms. Wen down, but she was too weak to support herself.

In the two days that followed, Ms. Wen needed help to eat and go to the bathroom. She needed help to turn over, and her eyes were closed all the time. When others called her name, she could only respond with a feeble hum. In addition, there were many bruises on Ms. Wen's legs, and some wounds were still weeping. Her wrists and the backs of her hands were covered with needle marks and dark blue scars. It is very likely that she was injected with unknown drugs.

Ms. Wen has four children (the youngest only a year old) and an over 70-year-old parent, all of whom she is no longer able to look after.

The bruises on Ms. Wen Fenhua when she was released

Ms. Chen Shaoqing, an elementary school teacher, was arrested on March 9, 2007, and locked in solitary confinement in a “Legal Affairs School” (brainwashing center) in Zhanjiang City. Ms. Chen was unable to walk after being tortured, but she refused to renounce her faith. She was transferred to Sanshui Brainwashing Center on April 22. Guards saw her worsen every day and took her to a hospital. She was diagnosed with liver cancer. The center did not want to be held responsible for her ill health and released her on April 30, 2007.

Personnel Involved

There are over 100 employees, including assistants and security personnel, at the Sanshui Brainwashing Center. About 60 to 70 of them are police officers from the justice bureau. The management team includes the political commissar, director and deputy directors, section chief and section deputy chief of the education department, head of the counseling center, etc. They usually work in the brainwashing center for a long time until their retirement. There are minor transfers, which happened within the Drug Administration Center.

Wang Tianling, former political commissar, was appointed as the political commissar of Sanshui Drug Rehabilitation Management Institute in 2016 by the Guangdong Province Justice Bureau. Chen Aizhong, former director of the brainwashing center, was later transferred to Guangdong No. 1 Compulsory Isolation Drug Rehabilitation Center (exactly when is unclear, but Chen was still the director in 2012). Ms. Wu Baimei was persecuted to death in March 2012 when Chen was still onboard.

Gu Yinggui, former deputy director, gave over 300 reports slandering Falun Gong at 100 schools in the province in his spare time during the holidays. He retired in 2017. After that, he was hired as a legal and general counselor for 63 schools in the province.

Li Meiying, former deputy director, was transferred to Guangdong Province Women's Compulsory Isolation Drug Rehabilitation Center as secretary of the Disciplinary Committee. Former education section chief Liu Guohui and police officer Lu Jinhu were transferred to Guangdong Province No. 4 Compulsory Isolation Drug Rehabilitation Center.

Tang Guangli, political commissar, was originally the deputy director of Guangdong Province Women's Forced Labor Camp and political commissar of Sanshui Drug Rehabilitation Management Institute. She was appointed as the political commissar of Sanshui Brainwashing Center in 2016 by the Guangdong Province Justice Bureau.

Chen Ruixiong, the police officer in charge of the second team, was a former guard at the Sanshui Forced Labor Camp. He was directly involved in persecuting practitioner Mr. Wang Shubin to death when Mr. Wang was detained at Sanshui Forced Labor Camp. Mr. Wang passed away in 2005 at the age of 28. After Chen was transferred to Sanshui Brainwashing Center, he held positions as captain of the second team and section chief.

Liao Yuping, former director, was previously the head of the political department at the Guangdong Province Women's Forced Labor Camp. Liao often played videos showing police officers violently arresting practitioners and told practitioners they would “transform” after watching the videos.

Zheng Weike is captain of the second team. On the surface, he mixes with the practitioners but is responsible for telling assistants to “transform” practitioners. Assistants who have worked in the brainwashing center a long time are Liang Gang, and Liu Yu and his wife.

Ke Junfei, deputy captain of the second team, uses the Tiananmen Square Immolation hoax to slander Falun Gong.

On June 22, 2016, Xue Wenqi, Xing Hui and Liang Chunqiong attended a three-day training class jointly organized by Huizhou Party School and Huidong County Political and Legal Affairs Committee. As the keynote speakers, they defamed Falun Gong during the training class.

Zhang Minqing of the first team used the Tiananmen Square Immolation hoax to slander Falun Gong during a school event on June 21, 2018, organized by the Guangzhou Institute of Technology and the Sanshui District Political and Legal Affairs Committee.

A brainwashing event was held at a school in Dongguan City on November 1, 2018. Deputy director Xiao Yongqiang, captain of the first team Zheng Kewei, section head of the second team Li Bujun, and discipline center deputy head Huang Xuelian went to direct the event, which was attended by over 3,700 teachers and students.

Peng Fuming, a policeman, is currently the captain of the first team and director of Sanshui District Writers Association. Peng often made short videos that slandered Falun Gong for kindergartens and elementary students.

Zhou Chonggao is a policeman who calls practitioners his “brothers.” He uses hypocrisy to try to “transform” practitioners.

Parties Involved in Persecution in Guangdong Province Legal Education Center:

Tang Guangli (唐广莉), political commissar: [phone]Liao Yuping (廖毓平), deputy director: [phone]Wang Tianling (王天灵), former political commissar: [phone]Gu Yinggui (古英桂), former deputy director: [phone], [phone], [phone]

(Contact information for more participants in the persecution is available in the original Chinese article.)

Related reports:

Brainwashing Tactics Used at Guangzhou Legal Education Center

Guangzhou Judicial Bureau Leads Persecution of Local Falun Gong Practitioners

Inside a Black Jail Named Guangzhou Legal Education Center: Falun Gong Practitioners Targeted for Their Faith