Geneva: Demonstrating Methods of Torture and Taking a Close Look at the Persecution

On her young-looking face with fine skin, Ying wore thick make-up. She looked as if she was beaten up and bleeding. On one spot on her face, her skin seemed to burst open and her flesh was hanging out in shreds. Her hair was dishevelled and her clothes were tattered. Both of her arms were hung up and tied with thick ropes to a bar that was more than a foot above her head. Her husband Lin, who was dressed in police uniform, carried a baton in his hand and made postures as if he was beating Ying. Each time when his baton touched Ying’s clothes in front of her abdomen, he stopped with great care. Ying stood as if she was being beaten up. Unlike the dripping blood from the make-up on her face, her painful expression was real. One could see that with a glimpse at her wrists, which turned black and blue due to the pressure of the rope.

Passers-by stopped and were shocked at the scene. The adjacent posters answered their questions. These two people were demonstrating one method of torture suffered by Falun Gong practitioners in China’s labour camps or prisons. The re-enacted method is a light one compared to some of the other kinds of torture methods used by the Chinese Communist Party in cruel attempts to force Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their beliefs. During the 61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, which began on March 14th 2005 and will last for six weeks, torture re-enactments can be seen each weekend in downtown Geneva and by Lake Geneva. At the beginning of the UNHRC, participants also saw Falun Gong practitioners’ peaceful exercise demonstration at the Palais des Nations in front of the UN building.

At the weekends during the 61st UNHRC, Falun Gong practitioners from Switzerland demonstrate a method of torture suffered by fellow practitioners in China.

The young couple, Ying and Lin, come from the German district of Switzerland. Whilst they were taking part in the activity, other Falun Gong practitioners helped them to take care of their baby son. Over the past year, they have demonstrated the torture methods a number of times across Switzerland. The most unforgettable demonstration for Ying occurred some time ago. When she was “hung up”, her son was only six months old and he suddenly began crying. She felt as if her heart was cut by a knife. This was not because of her son; she knew that someone was taking care of him. Instead, she was reminded of Ms. Wang Lixuan, a young Falun Gong practitioner in China, and her eight-month-old son Meng Hao. Wang Lixuan had been to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong. In November 2000, Ms. Wang and her son died from the persecution. During that demonstration, Ying could not help shedding tears. That was the most unforgettable experience for her, which allowed her to have a deeper understanding that fellow practitioners’ situation in China is far beyond what the word “hardship” can express.

Demonstrating the torture methods in summer and winter can be very difficult for the performers due to the extreme temperatures. Switzerland is a well-known place for skiing. One can imagine how cold it is in winter. One would not feel comfortable under the summer’s scorching sun at midday either. Usually, during one-day demonstrations, it is hard for one to play the torture victim for several hours in a row. Practitioners take turns to give the demonstration and one’s turn usually lasts at least thirty minutes before changing. Practitioners all vie for demonstrating the most uncomfortable postures and leave the easier ones for others.

Ying remembered one method of torture in which a practitioner is confined in a small cage. The top of the cage is so low that one cannot sit with a straight back. On the other hand, the cage is so small that one is unable to lie down. The back soon starts to feel very painful when suffering the small cage torture. Nevertheless, practitioners vied to re-enact this torture method and they tried to hold the position as long as they could endure so that others didn’t have to. On a winter’s day, Ying saw an elderly female practitioner sitting in the cage for thirty minutes. Ying wanted to swap places with her. The elderly practitioner said, “I’m not tired at all. See, my hands are still warm.” Ying touched her hands and was amazed that her hands were indeed warm without wearing gloves on such a cold winter’s day.

Ying felt really uncomfortable when she put the red and black make-up on her face for the first time. However, she remembered her fellow practitioners in China. They were beaten so badly that one could not even recognise their faces. In order to help them and allow more people to learn the truth of the persecution, practitioners outside China do not hesitate to put on the make-up. In fact, almost all practitioners who participated in the torture re-enactments thought about what their fellow practitioners suffered in China, especially when their arms felt sore and painful after hanging up for a period of time, when their wrists were deeply bruised by the ropes, when their back was bent forward so they couldn’t straighten up, and when they feel painful throughout their bodies.

The trouble encountered by Lin, who played the role of a police officer, was of a different kind. Passers-by often said to him, “You should not treat her this way! It is too brutal!” One person directly rushed at him and seized the baton from his hands. Although he was often accused, Lin felt happy in his heart because he witnessed that their demonstration touched people and awakened the goodness from the bottom of their hearts.

Lin, the “fake” policeman had an encounter with a real police officer. At one particular time, a Swiss policeman did not allow them to display photos which exposed the torture and brutality of the persecution with the excuse that they looked too “bloody and terrible”. Lin told him that displaying those photos was to allow people to learn the real story about what is happening in China and call upon people to help those innocent victims. Many people did not know that the persecution was so severe until they viewed those photos. They signed the petition calling for an end to the persecution after they witnessed the brutality. After carefully listening to Lin, the real police officer said, “You’ve convinced me. Please go ahead and continue your good work.”

Last year, anti-torture exhibitions were successfully held throughout the world: from the U.N. building in Geneva to the European Union building in Strasbourg; from cold northern Europe to warm Australia; from Taiwan, which shares the same culture as China, to Italy where almost everyone believes in Christ. People outside China feel that the anti-torture exhibitions provide them with an opportunity to have a deeper understanding about the brutality of the persecution launched by Jiang’s faction against Falun Gong. They are all left with the same questions on their minds: “Why is such a cruel thing still happening to mankind in the 21st Century? What can we do?”

In March and April 2005, during the 61st Session of the UNHRC, Falun Gong practitioners from Switzerland demonstrate a method of torture suffered by fellow practitioners in China.

During the 61st Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, practitioners in Switzerland hold anti-torture exhibitions every week to expose the Jiang regime’s inhuman persecution of Falun Gong. This has become a unique scene in the busy downtown area.