Interview with a Participant in the Anti-Torture Exhibition in London

Edward never wanted to make the tiger bench. Standing under the shade of a tree overlooking the anti-torture exhibition held in London on Sunday 18th July, he is almost in tears as he recalls the process of bringing himself to make the mock-up torture device. The tiger bench is one of many torture methods used by Jiang Zemin’s regime to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their belief in the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. It was only the knowledge that his efforts would help that day’s exhibition outside the Houses of Parliament and expose the evil nature of the persecution that enabled Edward to overcome his heavy heart and fashion the terrible device.

The veteran Chinese practitioner, resident in the UK, points out that this infamous torture device, for some reason dubbed the tiger bench was actually banned and outlawed by the communist regime in China, slated as barbaric. “Actually you know the tiger bench is very infamous. We heard about it before, when the Communist Party was condemning the previous regime and how they tortured their people. I didn’t know what kind of pain it could inflict. It is ironic that they now use the same thing to torture other people.”

The tiger bench was one of a ten mock-up torture devices at the anti-torture exhibition, used in conjunction with actors and stage make-up to re-enact the reality of the persecution in China. On the bright busy summer’s day in the capital the exhibition proved to be very powerful, attracting large numbers of tourists, who stood quietly absorbing the horrors depicted in the exhibition and display boards.

The tiger bench consists of a narrow part on which the legs are placed outstretched. The back of the device is vertical and the victims back is placed against it and parallel with it. Edward describes the way it is used: “People are tied on there for a long time, to make them suffer prolonged pain. Then they put bricks under the feet of the victim so that their knees are in the air, then they use a bar to press down to cause pain.” After trying it out by just sitting on it, out of consideration for those who would act out the victims at the anti-torture exhibition, Edward modified the design. “I found some pictures and made one with a vertical back. At first I made it with a vertical back and I sat on it for just a few minutes and found it is so painful!. It is terrible. I think that our purpose is to demonstrate the devices not to take the pain ourselves, so I changed it and put the back at a bit of an angle.”

For Edward, it was not just the creation of the torture devices which created a personal challenge for him. He was also to play the part of one of the prison guards that day. For a sensitive person and compassionate person, knowing that such guards have been responsible for the torture and beatings of tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners, and over a thousands documented deaths, was not easy. “I was quite reluctant to play the part of a policeman and it was quite painful for me. But we have to show what is happening. Actually I feel that I have an obligation to show what is happening.”

Understanding the mentality of the guards is not as simple as just adopting a menacing appearance. For Edward, the most harrowing element of the persecution is not the anger or malice, but a more sinister lack of emotion. “I recall some photos I saw last year of how the police torture people. I saw that actually the police are emotionless. They are doing things just like it was a routine job. Tying people up, beating them, completely emotionless. The regime has just turned these people, these policemen, into instruments to torture people. I was actually horrified deep in my heart. It is not necessarily that when these evil people torture you they show a horrible expression on their face. When their upright thoughts have been taken away they have no conscience, and are emotionless. That is the most horrible thing. When you look deep inside them, their soul is hollow already. This is indicative of the way the regime has persecuted everybody. By promoting hatred and by controlling people’s minds they are taking away people’s basic belief in goodness. By staging this exhibition we want people to know what is happening in China and to help practitioners in China and stop this brutal persecution.”

Playing the role of the cold, cruel emotionless guard was hard for another reason. He found it hard to control himself when he saw his fellow practitioners who played the victims were quietly crying, intensely reminded by the realism of the exhibition of what is happening in China. “I saw one of the practitioners, she played a victim suffering the torture, and she later sat behind, crying. It reminded her of what is happening in China. Like Bao, his sister is still in there, in prison. There was another practitioner crying too. But I had to hold myself, control myself, not show emotion. It was very hard, because I have to play this part. “

The quite endurance of the practitioners around him also touched him. Seeing one practitioner sitting demonstrating one torture method, in which the victim had sharp bamboo sticks driven under the finger nails, he was concerned and moved, “She had been there for about three hours. I was quite touched. I had to show a brave face to go near her. I was actually caring very deeply about her and the other practitioners and was worried about her. Our purpose is not to cause any suffering just to show what is happening and I worried about the practitioners doing this for so long without a break. We are not intending to suffer, but for anyone just to sit there for such a time without a break is a difficult process anyway.”

For Edward, all of the hardships and tribulations were worthwhile when he saw the public response was so strong and supportive, “So many people are actually asking what is happening. I saw so many people signing the petition. I feel so happy to see so many people in the world who are actually caring about what is happening in China.”

The suffering which these forms of torture create is unimaginable. These exhibits give only a fleeting glimpse of the agony which is unleashed upon Falun Gong practitioners in China. Yet in this persecution, not only Falun gong practitioners have been the victims; the victims are also countless policemen, guards and others who have been brainwashed and threatened into persecuting and torturing their fellow human beings against their conscience. Referring to the belief that doing bad deeds accumulates negative karma which must be repaid through suffering, Edward comments, “I think whoever first invented this tiger bench made a lot of karma for themselves.” If only the people who used such horrible tortures on practitioners also understood this principle and could listen to the dictates of their conscience.