Persecution Methods Used at the Jixi City Brainwashing Centre in Heilongjiang Province

The Jixi City Brainwashing Centre is one of the many locations in China where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecutes Falun Gong practitioners. A number of methods have been adopted that attempt to force practitioners to renounce their beliefs.

Coercing Practitioners' Family Members to Participate in the Persecution

Communist regime agents attempt to stir up hatred and turn practitioners' families against them. They threaten family members by saying that the only way to “avoid trouble” is to get practitioners to give up the practice, otherwise the consequences may be legal prosecution or death. Some families who don't understand Falun Gong and the persecution are thus frightened and deceived, and comply with the agents.

Fan Yanmin, a female practitioner from Jixi was taken to the Jixi Brainwashing Centre by her parents and husband in October 2011. Wang Wenlian, also from Jixi, was taken away on May 16th, 2011 by six people whom her sister had brought to her house. Zhang Cuiqing helped 610 Office agents(an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) take away her husband. Practitioner Xie Guizhen's husband went to the brainwashing centre where she was detained to reprimand her.

Using Hypocrisy to “Transform” Practitioners

610 Office agents use former Falun Gong practitioners who have given up their beliefs under pressure to befriend targeted practitioners. These accomplices chat about domestic trivia, comb practitioners' hair, give them massages, etc., to gain their trust. When practitioners let down their guard, these collaborators tell them that they have the practitioners' best interest at heart, and actively participate in the brainwashing programme.

The brainwashing centre staff isolates practitioners in solitary confinement. The walls in the room are covered with slogans and pictures slandering Falun Gong. Every practitioner is closely monitored by two staff members around the clock. They are not allowed to leave the room and are followed by these two guards even when going to the toilet or taking a bath. They are forbidden from practising the Falun Gong exercises.

When a person is suddenly locked up alone in a completely closed-off environment and treated as a criminal, cut off from all contact with the outside world and from normal dealings with people, they feel a tremendous mental pressure. People in this situation often develop feelings of inexplicable fear, loneliness and despair. The entire environment that Falun Gong practitioners are placed in is designed to make them feel that once they enter the brainwashing centre, there is no way out other than to be “tranformed” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong].

Step by Step Brainwashing

When they see that the time is ripe, instructors at the brainwashing centre begin the next step in thought inducement. They play videos praising the accomplishments of heroes eulogized by the Communist regime and use these “role models” to defame Falun Gong. Continually bombarded by lies and slander, some practitioners have become confused and lose their belief. The instructors then start to slander Falun Gong, play taped programmes slandering Falun Gong and the founder Teacher Li Hongzhi, and force practitioners to discuss their thoughts after watching these programmes.

Further tactics are employed as part of the brainwashing programme:

(a) Pretending to reduce the pressure, such as reducing the time spent on “studying” the regime's doctrines and even giving practitioners a bit of freedom to go outside.

(b) Singing songs that influence one's thoughts and allowing outside activities so that one's attention is diverted.

(c) Forcing practitioners to watch shows propagating lies, such as reports by well-known people and “experts” in China defaming Falun Gong. At the same time, one is forced to write reports avowing hatred and regret for practising Falun Gong, and “thanking” the instructors for “transforming” them.

(d) After a “transformation statement” is written, to stop the practitioners from rethinking and regretting their actions, the instructors force practitioners to continue writing statements repenting of their practising Falun Gong. These statements are reviewed by instructors at each level.

Physical Torture

Around ten days later, a practitioner is then told to write guarantee statements promising not to practise Falun Gong. If he or she refuses, the instructors start to censure and punish them through beatings or making them stand or squat all day and night.

Extreme Intimidation Until One Breaks Down Mentally

Wang Huixue and Yang Baisheng are manipulators behind the scenes at the Jixi City Brainwashing Centre. Whenever they observed a lack of progress, they exerted pressure on Li Lijun, one of the staff members. Besides conducting physical abuse, Li Lijun would intimidate practitioners, asking them if they wanted to donate their organs or their corneas. Li also threatened to inject practitioners with nerve-damaging drugs and send them to mental institutions.

Coerced Into Writing Guarantee Statements Giving Up Falun Gong

If a practitioner succumbs to coercion, they are then ordered to write statements promising to give up the practice. They are required to write three statements every day. To see if they've truly given up the practice, practitioners are taken to a small district in a car and told to post their statements in public places. Before they are allowed to go home, the instructors warn them not to tell others what happened in the brainwashing centre. They are also told that the brainwashing centre staff will visit them to see how they are doing.

Forcing Practitioners to Betray Others

After practitioners are forced to write guarantee statements, they are also required to write materials slandering Falun Gong. They are forced to write about things they did in the past to validate Falun Gong and thus betray fellow practitioners, revealing the source of Falun Gong materials and the addresses of materials production sites. If the instructors are not satisfied with what is written, practitioners are forced to re-write the statements again until they are satisfied. These materials are subsequently faxed to the Domestic Security Division, and checked against information they have on hand. The results are reported back to the brainwashing centre as evidence that the brainwashing method was effective.

Cases of Practitioners Persecuted in Brainwashing Centres

Beginning in October 2010, perpetrators connected to the Jixi City Brainwashing Centre arrested practitioners Wang Wenying, Mu Rongmin, Wang Wenlian, Jiang Yabin, Xie Guizhen, Fan Yanmin, and Yuan Liqin.

Ms. Wang Wenying - On the morning of October 28th, 2010, Yang Baisheng, head of the Jixi City 610 Office, brought many agents from the Jiguan District 610 Office to Wang Wenying's workplace under the pretext of running a forum. Ms. Wang was thus deceived into going to the brainwashing centre. When her mother went to the 610 Office to ask for her release, she was arrested and brought to the Jixi City Police Department. When the police department saw that her mother was elderly, they released her after threatening her. Wang Wenying broke down from the pressure and was “reformed. She previously had been “transformed” under pressure but had resumed Falun Gong practice after being released. This time after her “transformation,” she assisted the brainwashing centre in “transforming” other practitioners.

Ms. Mu Rongmin - On November 4th, 2010, Ms. Mu Rongmin from Jidong County was deceived by personnel from her workplace and taken to Jixi City Brainwashing Centre by officials from the Legal and Political Committee, 610 Office, and police department.

Ms. Wang Wenlian – Ms. Wang Wenlian from Jixi is Wang Wenying's younger sister. On May 16th, 2011, her “reformed” sister Wang Wenying led six people to her house, who took her to the brainwashing centre against her will.

Mr. Jiang Yabin - Mr. Jiang Yabin, 52, lives in Liumao Village, Hengshan District, Jixi City. On May 26th, 2008, officers from the village police station and the Lishu Police Station arrested Mr. Jiang. He was tortured and interrogated, then sentenced to a three-year prison term by the Hengshan District Court. Upon his release on May 25th, 2011, he was seized by agents from the local 610 Office and taken to the Jixi Brainwashing Centre. Jiang resisted the persecution and was released three days later. On August 25th, in the afternoon, police from the Jixi 610 Office and the Liumao Police Station arrested Mr. Jiang again and took him to the brainwashing centre, just three months after he was released from prison.

Ms. Xie Guizhen - Ms. Xie is a practitioner from Jidong County. On the morning of August 4th, 2011, Zhang Shuihai, the Yonghe Town deputy party secretary, and An Liwei, deputy head of the Yonghe Town Police Station, went to Ms. Xie's house. They knew that she was at home and called six or seven officials including He Wenming and Han Hengchang from the County Domestic Security Division. They arrested Ms. Xie and took her to the brainwashing centre.

Ms. Fan Yanmin - In October 2011, Ms. Fan Yanmin from Jixi was taken to the brainwashing centre by her mother who had been “reformed,” her father and husband.

Ms. Yuan Liqin – Ms. Yuan Liqin, a practitioner from Jidong County, was taken to the brainwashing centre by Pingyang Police Station personnel on the night of October 20th.

Main perpetrators of the persecution in Jixi City:

Xu Hexiang, head of Jixi City Political Legal Committee
Yang Baisheng, head of Jixi City 610 Office
Wang Huixue, deputy head of 610 Office
Li Lijun, section head of 610 Office

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/11/21/249661.html