Atmosphere of Terror Reigns in Guangzhou Tianhe Detention Centre

Guangzhou Tianhe Detention Centre is located at the 5th compound of Tianhetang. In January 2000, Mr. Gao Xianmin, a 43-year-old biology instructor at Jinan University, died from the barbaric force-feeding of large amounts of salt with only a little water in this detention centre. However because of Jiang's policy of persecuting Falun Gong, the murderers have not been brought to justice yet.

At that time, Gao Xianmin was force-fed with table salt containing iodine. Only a small amount of water was added to 2 packages of salt (1000grams), and was poured into his mouth all at once. It caused medical "food poisoning." In addition, during the ruthless and unprofessional force-feeding they poured the mixture into his trachea causing him to suffocate and die. The directors of the detention centre, Zhu and Ma, are responsible for his death. Zhu is over 30-years old, and often takes liberties with females in custody with the excuse of "checking the cell" and "talking to the prisoners." Ma is also very cruel. Both of them are police officers, but they commit all kinds of crimes.

On the surface, Tianhe Detention Centre has a nice appearance. The environment and working conditions seem extremely good. However, it does not benefit the people in custody. The food is rotten and the living and sanitary conditions are disgusting. According to the standard, each cell can only contain 16 people, but they usually contain 30 to 40 people (not because no empty cells are available). There is no sunlight all year around. Even though there is a courtyard, it is hardly ever used. There are no necessities in the cells. The prisoners have to sleep on the floor, and buy all of their daily necessities. If practitioners do not buy the necessities, they will be punished and receive all kinds of harassment or have money extorted from them by other means. The prisoners are forced to work for 13 to 14 hours every day.

In 2001, the centre restricted the prisoners much more strictly in the name of "standardising management." They forcibly regulated the amount of purchases prisoners had to buy. In other words, practitioners were forced to buy a certain amount. All of their savings had to be spent. The prices are very expensive, and most of the goods are counterfeit and low quality commodities, so that the officials can make huge profits. The detention centre also forcibly regulated that 15% to 30% of every purchase had to be deducted as a "donation," to buy joint necessities for the cells. Actually, the supplies are exclusively used by the head of the cell.

Everyday practitioners have to do hard labour for long hours. The forced labour camp even dared to break the rules and forced the prisoners to work excessively so they can make more profit. The physical torture and abuse are very severe and includes forcing the practitioners to kneel down, forcing them to squat with both legs apart, slapping the face, and conspiring with the head of the cell to scold practitioners. The guards also personally beat people. Whoever is unable to finish the tasks is brutally beaten, and not allowed to shout or cry out. Otherwise they will receive more heavy abuse. The vicious criminals are assigned by the guards to be so-called "discipline supervisors," but are actually the heads of the cells. These people are very cruel and do not give any thought to the law. They dare to do things that the guards want to do but do not dare to do themselves, and they conspire with the guards. Everyday the guards only have about ten minutes to inspect the cells. The heads of the cells are in charge for the rest of time. They have "privilege," use strength to bully the weak persons, and behave in a reprehensible and lawless manner. The cells are filled with an atmosphere of terror. Many people in custody are close to having a nervous break down.

Tianhe Detention Centre perseuctes Falun Gong practitioners even more inhumanly and brutally. It has illegally detained more than a thousand practitioners. Countless practitioners were cuffed for refusing to recite the prison rules. If they conduct a hunger strike, they will be punished by "threading a needle to wear the shackles" which is a cruel torture method.

During the New Year of 2002, it was the coldest period in Guangzhou. A female Falun Gong practitioner refused to tell her name. Under the instigation of the guards, the head of the cell, Pan Guifang, ordered each person in the cell to get a bucket and keep pouring cold water on her for more than a hour. At the end, this practitioner could not stand up straight and her lips became dark purple colour. It was only then that the scoundrels gave up for fear of killing her.

Another female practitioner Zhu Yuhong, a 26 year old music teacher, has been illegally detained for more than 2 years since she was arrested in 2000. Because she clarified the truth and exposed the lies to others, she was cuffed, beaten and locked in a small cell until her buttocks festered. The vicious guards did not give her any medical treatment, and did not release her until maggots grew in her wounds.

In September 2001, female Falun Gong practitioner Zhu Maodi conducted a hunger strike to protest against the illegal detention. Zheng Fenghua instigated Pan Guifang to torment Zhu with all means including severe mental pressure. Pan Guifang had been arrested for stealing a large amount of money. Her family members spent a lot of money to bribe Yang, the female director of the detention centre. With cooperation from Yang, Pan became the head of the cell. Pan Guifang is very cruel. She acts wrecklessly, tyrannizes and randomly abuses others, and commits all manners of crimes. In June 2002, Yang illegally released Pan Guifang from the centre for medical treatment, to avoid legal sanctions.

Female guard Zheng Fenghua, 34 years old, inhumanly abuses the prisoners. She disregards the law, using excessive physical abuse and torture, and is extremely wicked. She is especially virulent toward Falun Gong practitioners. For example, when Falun Gong practitioners refused to participate in slave labour, Zheng confiscated all their clothes and daily neccessities. She did not allow them to purchase anything and did not allow others to help practitioners. She also did not allow practitioners to have their daily neccessities back or to wash their clothes during their menstrual periods. It was very hot in the summer and Zheng's cruelty made the health conditions even worse. Falun Gong practitioners have been illegally detained, have experienced all kinds of suffering, and have witnessed every kind of ugly phenomenon in the lowest and darkest level of the human world.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.cc/mh/articles/2003/7/5/53497.html