Torture Techniques at the Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp in Harbin City Used Against Falun Gong Practitioners (Re-enactment Photos)

The following pictures were taken during a re-enactment of torture survivors' personal experiences. They intend to show the torture methods used in the Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. Many other torture methods are yet to be exposed. Because these methods are extremely cruel and painful, for practitioners' safety and health, we cannot fully portray the actual torture that these practitioners actually endured.

1. Pushing, breaking and bending

Four or five criminal inmates (1) pin a practitioner to the floor, face down; the arms are pulled backwards and held by two inmates; two other inmates hold the legs while twisting the feet at the ankles, so the toes are pointing outward. The two inmates holding the arms then force the arms to go against the way joints bend normally. They forcibly push the arms until they are at a 90 to 180 degree angle to the back. Sometimes, the victim's arms are forced to the 180-degree angle from the back and are made to swing. The arms are then pulled up across the hips and over the top of the head, and finally, the criminals push the arms to the floor, forming the opposite 180-degree angle to the back. The shoulder joints are twisted. This goes far beyond the normal limit of the shoulder joint's range of motion. Muscles and tendons are torn and the pain is extreme. Often the practitioner faints from the pain. The practitioners' heads and necks have to sustain very high stress from such stretching. Being face down, they can hardly breathe. As the face is pressed against the floor, this also causes severe pain. (See Photo 1)

Fig. 1

2. "Tightening the Clock Spring"

Six to seven criminals force a practitioner to the floor, face down. Some hold the legs, some sit on the back, and two inmates twist the arms to the back. They insert hard objects with corners, such as a rectangular metal bar, between the fingers and start to forcefully crank it while clamping the two fingertips tightly to each other. The bar scratches the skin and flesh between the fingers, and cuts the flesh right to the bone. Some practitioners' fingers are fractured in the process. This bloody torture causes severe pain. Some practitioners were repeatedly tortured using this method within a very short time, even before the old wounds healed. The more frequent the torture, the more pain it causes. (See Photos 2, 3 and 4.)

Fig. 2	Fig. 3

Fig. 4

3. Violent Beating

To punish the practitioners who remain steadfast in their belief and who refuse to succumb to the perpetrators' demands, the camp police order a group of inmates (3 to 9 people) to physically assault the practitioner. They violently beat the practitioner, punching with fists, kicking with leather boots and jabbing with the knees. As a result, the victims often suffer from multiple injuries - from bruised eyes and bloody noses to internal organ damage. Some cough up blood. Even after many days, the victims still feel intense pain. Almost all practitioners, regardless of age or physical condition, have suffered from this torture. Please see Photos 5, 6 and 7 for details.

Fig. 5	Fig. 6

Fig. 7

4. Needle Piercing

The police order criminal inmates to insert large steel needles (as long as 10 cm, or 3.9 inches) that are used for weaving into the practitioners' head, neck, back, chest and other sensitive parts of the body. Some needles are pushed in so deep that the inmates have a hard time pulling them out. The pain it causes is beyond words.

Fig. 8

5. Electric Shocks

Camp police use electric batons to shock practitioners on the face, nose, mouth, neck, armpits, and even the genitals. The shocks caused a rash and blisters on the skin. Once the police soaked Zhang Xiangfu's face with water and then shocked him repeatedly, causing blisters all over his face and excruciating pain.

Practitioner Wei Yunge is over 70 years old and suffered from a severe heart problem, but that didn't stop the guards from ordering the criminals to shock him in the genital area.

Most practitioners have suffered this torture. See Photo 9 and 10 for details.

Fig. 9	Fig. 10

6. Stomping on fingers

With the encouragement of the police, the criminals stomped on practitioner Gao Ke's fingers, causing severe pain and swelling.

Fig. 11

7. Burning the back of the hands

Police told the criminal inmates to burn the back of Zhang Xiangfu's hands using a cigarette lighter. The skin was badly burnt and the hands swelled up. They started bleeding and festering. This is an extremely cruel and painful form of torture. Even though the hands are in terrible pain, the victim is still forced to do hard labour.

Fig. 12

8. Squeezing testicles

Police encourage the criminal inmates to pull off the practitioners' pants and squeeze their testicles with their hands. Sometimes the testicles even ruptured. This torture causes unbearable pain. The victim feels a penetrating pain from the top of his head to the chest and lower abdomen.

Fig. 13

9. Pinching the flesh with pliers

Police order the criminals to pinch practitioners' skin and flesh with pliers. After this torture, the victims' bodies are covered with purple bruises.

Fig. 14

10. Violent kicking

Several criminals push a practitioner to the ground. Wearing leather boots, the perpetrators kick the practitioner in his ribs, chest, head and other parts of his body. Some practitioners have suffered multiple broken ribs. Practitioner Yun Fuqi suffered broken bones at over 20 locations, and one rib was broken in two places. Every intake of breath or any exhaling brought sharp pain to his chest. The torment was beyond words. Photos 15 and 16 demonstrate this torture.

Fig. 15	Fig. 16

11. Smashing with a bench

The police direct the criminals to use a bench to hit practitioners on their backs, the sides of the chest, legs and even in the head. As a result some practitioners suffer from multiple broken bones or severe back injuries. Their backs are covered with big bumps, which bleed and fester.

Fig. 17	Fig. 18

12. Metal nut hitting the head

The police instigate the criminals to tie a metal nut to a string and swing it at the practitioner's head. The pain is intense, and the victim's head feels swollen and dizzy. Practitioner Sun Kaiqing and Yun Fuqi went through this torture. They were hit dozens of times each day. This torture fractured their skulls. Sometimes their skulls had cracks in over 20 places, causing a severe concussion. Today, even though two years have passed, these victims' heads still ache, and they are sometimes dizzy and experience a lack of mental clarity. Photos 19, 20 and 21 are illustrations of this torture.

Fig. 19	Fig. 20

Fig. 21

The incomplete list of some police officers in the brainwashing division (Division 5) of Changlinzi Forced Labour Camp:
Zhao Shuang, the division head
Zhang Chunliang, the political head
Yang Yu, the deputy division head
Pan, a guard

Perpetrators:

Teng Liwei, (a murderer who won an early parole after beating Falun Gong practitioners; he committed murder again after he got out on parole)

Guards often entice criminal inmates to torture Falun Gong practitioners by offering them "points" for doing so. If they get enough points, they can earn an early release. If they refuse to torture the practitioners, the guards will take away points or even reduce their food allowance.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/3/20/97726.html