Cruel Stretching Tortures Employed by China's Communist Regime

“Big Hang Up” Used at Wanjia Forced Labour Camp in Harbin City

At the Wanjia Forced Labour Camp in Harbin City, Falun Gong practitioners were tortured by a cruel method that involves “hanging them up in the air.” In October 2002 guard Zhao Yuqing beat practitioner Ms. Lu Huiwen from Shuangsheng Village, Yilan County, until she lost consciousness.

Prisoner Bai Xuelian then dragged Ms. Lu to the “torture room.” She was required to stand on a stool placed between two beds and each wrist was handcuffed to the end of a bed. The beds were stretched apart and the stool was then kicked aside and Ms. Lu was left suspended in midair. Her wrists began bleeding immediately.

Practitioner Ms. Hao Peijie, a teacher from Heilongjiang Traditional Medicine University, was hung up in a different way in August 2002. Her limbs were tied to four bedposts of four different beds. The four beds were then pulled apart. Her entire body remained suspended in midair.

Each prison and forced labour camp in China uses this method of torture in different ways.

“Hang Up” Method Used at Sanshui Forced Labour Camp in Guangdong

In this labour camp, the guards first ordered the inmates to stuff cotton into a quilt. Then they handcuffed the practitioner to two separate quilts. The quilts were then stretched in opposite directions. The skin on practitioners' wrists was stripped away almost immediately, and sometimes the bones would be exposed. Almost all practitioners who were detained there were tortured this way.

In Sanshui Forced Labour Camp, a guard can get 20,000 yuan¹ for successfully brainwashing a practitioner, forcing them to renounce their belief. Guard Zhang Wujun used the hanging torture method on practitioner Ms. Huang Zhufeng, whose left arm was disabled after the torture.

“Hang up” Method Used in Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province

On April 11th, 2008, Ms. Zhang Hejun, an employee of Hetang Piston Pin Factory, was arrested and detained at the Hetang District Domestic Security Division in Zhuzhou. They forced her hands behind her back and handcuffed her to a chair. Four strong men stretched her feet backwards. After this, she was hung up on a window frame by her arms until the next morning.

Stretching in Chibi, Hebei Province

On December 6th, 2002, deputy head Deng Dingsheng and over a dozen guards and four inmates tortured 62-year-old practitioner Ms. Liu Xiaolian. The four inmates grabbed her limbs and pulled. Deng even grabbed her hair and pulled. When the five of them pulled hard at the same time, the skin between her legs ripped apart. Her bones cracked and dislocated. Later, other guards joined in. One after another they beat her with shackles. Many of her bones were broken and she lost consciousness. After she regained consciousness, they shoved her head down and she passed out again.

Hanging from Door Frames

Ms. Yan Jiehua from Yandu County, Jiangsu Province, was handcuffed to two doors that were then pulled open.

On November 29th, 2001, practitioner Ms. Huang Jiazhen was framed by bureau head Zhen Jianghhe, Party head Piao Binglong, and head Li Fuzhi of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee in Huichun Forestry Bureau. She was arrested as she left home. They put a handcuff on each hand and suspended her from two doors on either side of her. Officer Peng then kicked one door open. Ms. Huang's arms were stretched and her body was held in mid-air. She could only touch the floor with her toes because her arms were so tightly stretched.

In August 2004, practitioner Mr. Guo Yongbo from Guidong County, Hunan Province, was handcuffed to two doors. Several strong prisoners pulled the doors open, and his feet started to bleed.

Stretching Torture in Wangcun Forced Labor Camp, Shandong Province

During the 2002 Chinese New Year, practitioner Mr. Zhang Guangbao was handcuffed to two bedposts and the beds were pulled apart. Another person grabbed his arms and started swinging. When he was released, he could not hold anything in his hands.

“Pull Down the Waist” Torture Method

Mr. Cui Xunhua, a practitioner from Huangmei County, Hubei Province, was arrested on March 11th, 2002. One of his hands was handcuffed to the ceiling and two officers held his waist and pulled down.

Stretching the Body

Ms. Luo Hong, a 61-year-old practitioner from Hengyang City, Hunan Province, was sent to Baimalong Forced Labour Camp. While there, she was tortured by stretching. Some of the prisoners held her chest and pulled one way while others pulled her legs in the opposite direction. She was tortured like this six times a day. Her ribs were broken after being stretched so violently.

Cross Stand

Ms. Chen Hua, a 34-year-old teacher at the 27 th Middle School in Guangzhou City, was sent to a labour camp on two occasions. A torture method they used was called "cross stand." Her arms were stretched straight across and cuffed to either side of a metal bed and then they beat her legs, which swelled up. Ms. Chen was prohibited from using the toilet, so she ended up having to urinate in her pants.

Hanging a Big Steelyard

Officers from the Nanyang City Police Department used the following torture on 10 practitioners. They handcuffed one of the victim's hands to a ring on the ceiling and the other hand to a window on the wall. The practitioners were tortured like this after they staged a protest hunger strike for 10 days, refusing to eat or drink. Ms. Wang Huaiying, a 58-year-old practitioner from Shandong Province, was tortured to death by this cruel method.

Stretching

In Wangcun Forced Labour Camp, guards tried to "transform" [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] Ms. Yang Wenjie, a 45-year-old practitioner from Zhaoyuan, Shandong Province. One of her hands was tied to the bars of the window and the other to a gas pipe on the ground. In this position she couldn't stand straight or sit down. She was forced to remain in this position for 10 days. She was not allowed to use the toilet for the duration of the torture.

Handcuffed While Squatting

There is a brainwashing centre in Qinglongshan, Heilongjiang Province. On October 14th, 2011, Ms. Liu Rangying was handcuffed to two separate beds that were then pulled apart. The height of the bed made her stay in a very uncomfortable position where she could not stand up or sit down.

On September 5th, 2012, practitioner Ms. Meng Fanli from Jiamusi City was arrested and detained at the Qinglongshan Brainwashing Centre. She was handcuffed to two chairs and the chairs were pulled apart, forcing her into a very awkward and painful position.

Stretching on a Tiger Bench

Practitioner Ms. Hou Lihua was arrested in November 2001. She was tied to a tiger bench [Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time]. Her legs were stretched straight and tied to the bench. Six bricks were inserted under her legs. After she lost consciousness from the pain, they poured cold water on her and resumed the torture.

Stretching by Force

Practitioner Mr. Wang Xiaodong from Huadian City was arrested and detained at the police station. He was tied to an iron chair and a bottle of gasoline was poured into his nose. The officers then stretched his arms in opposite directions.

On January 5th, 2005, practitioner Mr. Hu Enkui, a physics teacher in Feixiyi City, was tortured in Suzhou Prison, Anhui Province. The guards opened the windows and turned a fan on him. The temperature outside was below freezing and he had little clothing on. He was then beaten. Afterward, one of his hands was cuffed to a window bar and several people stretched his other arm in the opposite direction until he was suspended in midair. Others that were present struck his chest and back. Later, he was forced to sit against the wall on the ground while his legs were pulled apart and he was beaten in his lower abdomen.

Practitioner Ms. Chen Zhenbo, an accountant in Shandong Province, was sent to Shandong No. 2 Women's Forced Labour Camp. On February 26th, 2009, she was stretched while handcuffed and then several prisoners covered her head with a quilt and snapped her head forward. The bones of her neck, back, chest, and waist were seriously damaged.

Some guards have handcuffed practitioners' hands and feet and then hung the handcuffs on a horizontal stick in the air. They have subjected practitioners to this cruel torture for as long as 11 hours.

The torture methods mentioned here mainly include stretching the victims in cruel ways. The CCP uses many other torture methods in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.