Facing Cruelty and Violence in Hunan Province Prison

Inside Chishan Prison in Yuanjiang City, Hunan Province, prison guards incite and coerce inmates to torture Falun Dafa practitioners who refuse to give up their beliefs. Facing cruelty and violence, practitioners calmly and firmly resist the persecution using righteous thoughts.

One day in early 2003, a group of inmates were getting ready for forced labour. Three practitioners, Mr. Xiao Huisheng, Mr. Lu Songming, and Mr. Zeng Haiqi, were dragged out of their cells and forced to join the group. The practitioners resisted and shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" Prison guard Li Feiwen then instructed inmate Xu Shenjun to fiercely kick and beat the practitioners, causing their mouths to bleed. This did not deter them from continuing to call out, or make them cooperate with demands to do forced labour in the workshop of Section 5. The practitioners were dragged 200 meters, all the way to the workshop, on a path full of potholes. As a result, their skin was scraped and torn, leaving the path stained with blood. Many prison guards who were on their way to work just stood and watched.

Once inside the workshop, the practitioners immediately sat down and started to practise the sitting meditation exercise. Inmates Xu Shenjun and Gong Jian took out handcuffs and cuffed the practitioners' wrists to the window bars so that their toes barely touched the floor. Xu Shenjun then walked over and asked, "Is Xiao Huisheng going to work?" Mr. Xiao looked at him calmly and did not answer. Xu Shenjun got upset and punched him in the stomach several times and said, "Let me tell you, the provincial government is putting pressure on the prison, and Prison Director Zi is personally making sure that all of you are forced to work no matter how tough you are."

The three practitioners were cuffed to the window all day, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and were not allowed to eat or use the toilet. The handcuffs were only taken off after the whistle blew, indicating the end of the last work shift. Their bodies were in great pain, especially their hands and shoulders, and their swollen hands and feet. When they got back to their cells around midnight, after using the toilet, they were immediately cuffed again, for the entire night.

The same torture occurred daily for the next two days. The three practitioners were dragged, beaten, and cuffed, without food or water. Their shouting became weaker and weaker. On the forth day, inmate Gong Jian took off their handcuffs during lunch break while the guards went home for lunch. Gong let the practitioners sit on stools to rest. Prison guards Li Feiwen, Chen Xionghui, and others found out about it and scolded Gong Jian, threatening to dismiss him from his post.

The next day, a drunken Gong Jian walked up to the three practitioners during lunch and said, "The guards accused me of being too soft on you. What do you think I should do? Can you do me a favour and start working tomorrow?" Mr. Xiao replied, "You are drunk. If it was to help you personally, we will work. But this is to persecute us, we cannot agree to it." Gong Jian became furious and angrily told the practitioners, "The government forces me to, and I can only put pressure on you. You don't let me live my days in ease, so I cannot let you have any good days either."

Then Gong Jian rushed over and furiously beat the practitioners. He then took out a long needle used for sewing dolls and jabbed it in Mr. Xiao's left rib. At the same time he said, "Out of all three, you are the fiercest. If you agree to work, they will follow." Mr. Xiao did not move at all. Gong Jian pushed the pin a centimeter (about 0.4 inch) deeper into his flesh and ordered, "Work for me." Mr. Xiao showed no expression on his face. "Work!" Gong shouted. The pin went in another centimeter. Mr. Xiao did not flinch at all. All of a sudden, Gong Jian trembled, and pulled the pin out. Later, Gong often told other people, "Xiao Huisheng is a real Falun Dafa practitioner. He showed no fear when facing danger, and he did not yield when facing death. My heart trembled in front of him that day."

Mr. Xiao Huisheng's term was to end on May 13, 2003 after three years in jail. On April 8, he was again dragged to the workshop for forced labour. Inmate Xu Shengjun cuffed his hands to the windows so that his arms were stretched apart at the same level as his shoulders. When guard Yang Yaping walked in, he laughed without sympathy, "Xiao Huisheng looks just like Jesus Christ when he was being crucified." Mr. Xiao was cuffed like that for the entire day.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/6/6/76400.html