Re-enactment of Torture Methods Used at Xishanping Forced Labour Camp in Chongqing - Part 1 (Photos)

This article exposes the details of the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by Jiang Zemin's regime at the Xishanping Forced Labour Camp in Chongqing. Based on the available information, Falun Gong practitioners have re-enacted these scenes of persecution to expose this den of evil so that the torture can no longer remain hidden.

The Xishanping Forced Labour Camp is Chongqing. From July 20, 1999, to the present, several hundred Falun Gong practitioners have been detained there. In November 2000, an Education Brigade (7th Brigade) was specifically established to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. When the Education Brigade was established, there was only one squadron. In December 2001, however, when the persecution escalated, the original squadron was split in two (1st and 2nd Squadrons).

The guards at Xishanping selected the strongest and most merciless prisoners from the 8,000 in their charge (of which more than 90% are convicted drug addicts) to perform violent acts for them, and utilized them to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Currently, a few dozen practitioners are still being held at Xishanping. One of these addicts said, "It is a living hell there."

A heavy discipline team is usually comprised of about 14 prisoners. Oftentimes, when they torture Falun Gong practitioners, seven or eight prisoners attack the practitioner together. Wang Jianpeng, the cruellest of these prisoners, was awarded the title "Outstanding Detainee." Tu Deyu, Commissar of the Municipal Re-education through Forced Labour Bureau, rewarded him with a one-year reduction of his sentence. The police have often hailed these convicted drug addicts as, "Outstanding people persecuting Falun Gong on behalf of the country and the government."

In December 2001, the malevolent Liu Hua became head of the 1st Squadron. He added more than 30 policemen to the Education Brigade, reorganized it, and escalated the persecution of the Falun Gong practitioners. He incited everyone at Xishanping to participate, and on December 24, established the heavy discipline unit. Several dozen Falun Gong practitioners have suffered torture in the heavy discipline unit. They had no freedom, and the criminals were employed to control their every word and deed. Their family members weren't allowed to see them or deliver clothes, and they weren't allowed to wash themselves or their clothes. The guards rigorously concealed all information about the persecution, especially concerning the practitioner Zhang Quanliang, who suffered several dozen incidents of torture in one day, fainted more than 100 times, lost control of his bowels, lost the hearing in his right ear, lost the ability to speak normally, and finally suffered a complete mental breakdown. Almost every day, his miserable cries for help and screams of anguish could be heard within the confines of the labour camp. Despite all the torture methods the persecutors employed, they were ultimately unable to achieve their goal of transforming him. In January 2004, Zhang Quanliang walked out of the camp.

Reenactment of Torture

Torture Method 1: "The Nail Stool"

Torture reenactment 1A	Torture reenactment 1B
Torture reenactment 1C	Torture reenactment 1D

Torture reenactment 1E

On the orders of 1st Squadron head Li Qiwei and other guards the prisoners of the heavy discipline team melted the top of a broken plastic stool, pushed six nails nearly one inch long by 1/16th of an inch in diameter through the softened plastic, and used plastic cement to hold them in place, creating a torture instrument known as "The Nail Stool." They used it to torture Falun Gong practitioners (Torture reenactment 1A). (The wood on the stool in the picture isn't part of the original instrument, but was used to save time in making the prop for this demonstration. In order to allow our readers see the nails after the victim sits on the stool, we used three long nails on the top left side.)

In the cell of the heavy discipline team, four strong prisoners escort a Falun Gong practitioner to an iron bed, and ruthlessly press him on the nail stool, not allowing him to move, while simultaneously pressing the practitioner's hands on the iron bed, and pressing down on his shoulders and arms. Two more prisoners stand behind the practitioner holding wooden sticks, ready to beat him should he resist the torture. (Torture reenactment 1B)

The practitioner is stripped down to his underwear. Sharp nails are then plunged into his flesh. His blood flows, dripping from his soaked underwear to the floor. Because the police torture these practitioners every day, dragging them around, and don't allow them to wash, their underwear is dirty and torn, and might not be replaced for several months. (Torture reenactment 1C)

The severe pain causes the practitioner's body to squirm and twitch, while the criminals grasp him even tighter. The Falun Gong practitioner's head and body are covered with bruises as a result of torture. (Torture reenactment 1D)

Finally the practitioner loses consciousness. (Torture reenactment 1E)

The guards watch the process from outside the door. In the summer of 2003, Zhang Quanliang was tortured to the point where he was emaciated. He was continuously subjected to this torture for a month. His bloody trousers stuck to the broken flesh of his buttocks, causing excruciating pain.

Note: the Education Brigade cell has six iron beds and 12 single beds. Falun Gong practitioners can only sleep on the lower berth where they can be easily seen, because the guards require the criminals to watch the practitioners and prevent them from practising the exercises or studying the Falun Dafa teachings. They are supposedly on "suicide watch."

Torture Method 2: "Starvation"

A re-enactment of the torture method, "Starvation"

Instigated by 1st Squadron heads Liu Hua and Li Qiwei, prisoners give Falun Gong practitioners less than 50 grams of food for each meal. Li Qiwei even clamoured, "How ever many years you've lived is how many grains of rice you get."

Breakfast: The prisoners bring a big box of steamed buns from the kitchen into each cell, enough for at least one bun for each person, and a big bowl of porridge (enough for half a small bowl per person), and some pickles. They give Falun Gong practitioners only a quarter of a bun, which they choose from the black and dirty ones. The prisoners take all the porridge and pickles, and don't allow the practitioners to buy food or spices from the canteen. They take any left over buns, porridge and pickles to feed to the pigs. Some visiting family members have mistaken this for a humanitarian act, thinking that the prisoners were given more food than they could eat.

Lunch and dinner: Prisoners bring in a box of rice and entrees in a plastic container (with meat served twice a week). Falun Gong practitioners are given broken and dirty bowls, without even chopsticks (except perhaps wooden sticks picked from the garbage), a small portion of rice and a yellow and rotten piece of a vegetable leaf. Then the guards say to visitors, "See, they have food and rice, we haven't persecuted them."

Since the other prisoners have more food than they can eat, they feed any extra food to the pigs. Visiting family members see buckets of food being thrown away, and think that Falun Gong practitioners must be well provided for, but the truth is, "The pigs of Xishanping are better fed." Later, the budget was reduced, and prisoners were no longer allowed to throw away buns and food, so they took most of the food for themselves.

Falun Gong practitioners in the heavy discipline team suffer torment day and night, even during mealtime, and the prisoners don't let them relax. The prisoners force practitioners to squat with their heads lowered, with a prisoner right there specifically to hold them down and prevent them from moving or resisting. Meanwhile the other prisoners are allowed to sit or walk around at their leisure, relax, choose the best food, and are sometimes allowed to drink alcohol.

Of course, people who are forced to live on a diet of this kind for extended periods are in danger of starving to death. When the prisoners see somebody is close to starving, he is transferred to another cell, where he is given more food for a few days, and then he is brought back to suffer "starvation" and torture again. Practitioners are persecuted continuously. They are told, "Your life must be worse than death, but we won't let you die." Practitioners who conduct hunger strikes are repeatedly force-fed.

"Starvation" has reduced the Falun Gong practitioners to emaciation and severe weakness. Even in this state, prisoners still torture practitioners using all means at hand. Another common torture method is known as, "One song everyday."

Torture Method 3: "One Song a Day"

Torture reenactment of "One Song a Day"

Prisoners throw a Falun Gong practitioner down on the cement floor, and then two prisoners on either side take hold of the practitioner's arms, twisting them until the practitioner's face touches the floor. Three or four prisoners then step on his legs. One prisoner presses down on the practitioner's head, slamming it repeatedly with a plastic stool; another prisoner randomly strikes the practitioner's back, waist and feet with a wooden stick. The stick is wrapped in cloth, causing internal injuries, but leaving no bruises on the skin thereby minimizing the evidence of the crime; one prisoner strikes the malleolus (1) with a rubber stool or a bowl, and some kick, stomp, and hit the practitioner with their shoes. Some prisoners sing loudly near the window to cover up the sounds of the torture and the miserable cries of the practitioner, while other prisoners stuff dirty clothes into his mouth to silence him.

Falun Gong practitioners in other cells heard the staccato sound of punches and kicks and strange singing. The whole squadron is plunged into terror. While this is going on, they might use any object in the cell in the wanton beating of practitioners, until prisoners achieved their goal of "beating every inch of the practitioner." Practitioners subjected to this mistreatment suffer bruising all over their bodies, and briefly struggle in pain until they lose consciousness. The guards and the police observe from outside the door.

After Liu Hua became the squadron head, practitioner Zhang Quanliang was subjected to this torture more often than any other practitioner. On December 25, 2001, he was sent to the heavy discipline unit, where he remained until he walked out of the forced labour camp. He suffered these beatings every day for the first half of the year, and that's when the prisoners started calling it "One song a day." Sometimes it was once a day, sometimes several times a day. After breakfast, the prisoners would ask him, "Will you write the 'three statements' (2) today? If you don't, we will beat you again." He always refused, so they beat him again. For a month, they tortured him this way until he blacked out, and after he regained consciousness they asked him to write the statements. As he always refused, they then subjected him to "The Nail Stool."

Torture Method 4: "Dragged to the Cadres"

Torture reenactment of "Dragged to the Cadres"

The guards at the Education Brigade force Falun Gong practitioners to call them "cadres." Practitioners are tortured with "One Song a Day" until they lose consciousness. When they awake, these "cadres" order prisoners to drag the practitioners to discussion sessions. The prisoners know they would benefit by letting the cadres see their "power and prestige," so they display as much brutally as they can. The cell head leads the procession, with two prisoners on either side holding the practitioner by his arms, twisting them to force the practitioner down, dragging him. One prisoner yanks his hair, alternately shoving and dragging him, sometimes his head almost touches the ground. Another prisoner drags him by his clothes, while yet another prisoner shoves him from behind. The rest of the prisoners follow along, scolding the practitioner and shouting insults. All of these proceedings are performed at the command of the guards in the area and from the duty platform.

Torture Method 5: "Chat with the Cadre"

Torture reenactment of "Chat with the Cadre"

A practitioner is dragged to the on-duty platform, to an office or to some other secluded room. While a guard sits in a chair, the Falun Gong practitioner is forced to squat, with two prisoners holding him on either side, and two more pressing down on his shoulders. Several more prisoners stand nearby holding bamboo blocks and wooden sticks, ready to beat the practitioner. The guard sits on the chair, one leg casually crossed over the other, with his foot pointing at the practitioner's head, drinking tea and asking questions, as a prisoner to the side takes notes. All of his questions are phrased in a way that slanders and defames Falun Gong and its founder, or are in some other way derogatory. The tone the guard uses is sarcastic and cynical, and the practitioner is forced to answer only "yes" or "no" to many of the questions.

If the guard doesn't get what he is looking for, he roars, "Drag him back for me!"

A List of Persecutors (some of the direct participants in the persecution)

Tu Deyu, Chongqing City Forced Labour Camp political commissar, about 50 years old, often instigates and aggravates the persecution.
Long Zong, the Forced Labour Camp manager.
Long Shishun, the Forced Labour Camp Vice Manager and Education Brigade
Chief, over 40 years old.
Tian Xin, the Education Section Chief, later appointed Education Brigade Chief, over 40 years old.
Hu Hong, the Brigade Chief, later transferred to the Maojiashan Female Forced Labour Camp, over 30 years old.
Tian Xiaohai, the Education Brigade chief, over 30 years old, one of the main persecutors.
Gao Ding, was the office secretary for the Xishanping Forced Labour Camp, Secretary in Charge of Education in the 7th Brigade. Later promoted to Chief of the Maojiashan Female Forced Labour Camp
Liu Hua, the Squadron Head, later transferred to the chief of live administration section in the Xishanping Forced Labour Camp, around 30.
Li Qiwei, squadron head, over 30.

Chongqing area numbers
The Chongqing City Reeducation and Drug Rehabilitation Administration Office: 86-23-6827-2131/2111/2105
Address: Beibei District, Chongqing City, postcode: 400700
The Chongqing City New Forced Labour Transfer Post: 86-23-6775-8448
Address: No. 18 Wannian Village, Renhe Town, Yubei postcode: 401121
Chongqing City Reeducation through Forced Labour Administrative Bureau: 86-23-6787-1831
fax: 86-23-6787-1831
Address: 10th floor, No. 72 Yangheyi Village, Jiangbei District postcode: 400020
The Chongqing Xishanping work farm: 86-23-6827-1290
The Chongqing Xishanping Reeducation through Forced Labour Administrative Station: 86-23-6827-2131/2009
Address: Beibei, Chongqing postcode: 400700

(1) Malleolus, The protuberance on both sides of the ankle joint, the lower extremity of the fibula being known as the lateral malleolus and lower end of the tibia as the medial malleolus. Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 18th Edition

(2) "Three Statements": Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write "Repentance Statement," "Guarantee Statement" or 'Dissociation Statement" as proof that they have given up their belief. In the statement, the practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practising Falun Gong, promise to give up Falun Gong, and never again associate with other practitioners or go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/2/25/96140.html