Daqing Prison Authorities Killed Three Practitioners and Tortured Dozens Others within Three Months

In all of China, Heilongjiang Province in the northeast has been the area where Jiang Zemin and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP's) persecution of Falun Gong has been among the most severe. Under the annihilation policies of "defame their reputation, bankrupt them financially and destroy them physically" and "if practitioners are beaten to death it is nothing and shall be counted as suicide," as well as the dictum "cremate their bodies right away and don't identify them," the authorities in Heilongjiang have persecuted Falun Gong practitioners severely. Since July 20th 1999, the number of practitioners who have died as a direct result of the persecution has reached 336. This number has been confirmed, and the practitioners' names and the persecution details have been verified. These deaths represent the second largest number of all the provinces in China.

The authorities at Daqing Prison (also called the Hongweixing Prison in Daqing City) have persecuted practitioners using as many as ten different methods of torture. Particularly after the May 1st holidays this year and after Jiang Shuchen, the deputy head of the prison in charge of the persecution of Falun Gong, and Guo Chuntang, the chief of the Reform Section and also head of the 610 Office (1) in Daqing Prison, returned from Xi'an City after a meeting, the prison authorities started a new round of brutal persecution of practitioners. They ordered prisoners to monitor them and insisted that those practitioners on hunger strikes resist the persecution be force-fed once every two or three days. Each time they were force-fed corn flour paste with no regard for their lives. About 60 practitioners suffered this and other tortures. Three of them were tortured to death.

On May 14th Mr. Wang Hongde died after suffering physical torture and mental torment, as well as from illnesses resulting from torture

Mr. Wang Hongde, 56, was an employee of the Xinhua Power Generation Plant in the Datong District of Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province. He started practising Falun Gong in 1997. After the persecution started in July 1999, because Mr. Wang refused to give up his belief in Falun Dafa, he was sentenced to a five-year prison term. On August 16th 2003, Mr. Wang was sent to the Hongweixing Prison in Daqing City.

The first day, the guards beat and tortured Mr. Wang with leather belts. His hands were swollen, his palms were bleeding, and half of a tooth in his upper-right jaw was broken off. During his illegal detention, staff from the prison's "Education Section" (the 610 Office) forced him to watch video programmes slandering Falun Dafa. They tried to brainwash him and mentally tormented him.

Around December 2002, Mr. Wang suffered a heart attack as a result of the torture and prolonged sleep deprivation. He fell into a coma. He was then diagnosed with severe heart disease--mitral stenosis and third-degree heart weakness.

When Mr. Wang's family members learned of his situation, they went to Daqing Prison and requested to see him. But no matter how they asked, Wang Yingjie, the prison head, didn't allow them to see Mr. Wang because Mr. Wang didn't write the "Three Statements." (2) Meanwhile, the prison wanted to improve the so-called "reformation rate" (3) and aggravated Mr. Wang's torment. Mr. Wang then lived in the hospital affiliated with the prison. Hospital administrator Huang often attempted to force Mr. Wang to write the Five Statements by threatening that they would dismiss him from the hospital. After receiving a phone call from a Falun Gong practitioner exposing the truth of the persecution, Director of the hospital Gao Qing verbally abused Mr. Wang and tried to make him to reveal the name of the caller. Because of the intense mental pressure, Mr. Wang's condition deteriorated. He had difficulty breathing and suffered from oedema.

Although they experienced many setbacks, the family still pleaded to send Mr. Wang to a regular hospital for a re-examination. At first, prison head Wang Yingjie refused and spoke rudely to the family. Later the prison authorities didn't want to be held responsible and approved Mr. Wang's transfer to the No. 4 Hospital in Daqing for a re-examination.

In January 15th 2003, while still wearing heavy, linked-together handcuffs and shackles, Wang Hongde had a difficult re-examination in the No. 4 Hospital. The diagnosis showed rheumatic heart disease, joined valves, high aortal pressure, mitral valve stenosis, heart regurgitation, and fourth-degree heart weakness.

In January 24th 2003, the family made a formal application to Daqing Prison for Mr. Wang's medical parole. Prison head Wang Yingjie not only refused to release Mr. Wang, but also blocked information about him, aggravated his persecution, and didn't permit the family to visit him. A guard even said, "We would rather see a Falun Gong practitioner die here than release him or her for medical treatment."

Mr. Wang's mother was over 70 years old and suffered from high blood pressure. After learning that her son was at the brink of death from torture, she made the long trip to the prison to seek medical parole for her son.

At 8:30 a.m. on August 25th 2004, Mr. Wang's mother came to the Daqing Prison office complex and found prison head Wang Yingjie. Wang Yingjie refused to let her enter the office. He even called officers from the police station. A police officer dragged her from the third floor all the way to the police car, and then sent her to the Hongweixing Police Station with the excuse that she was a troublemaker and Falun Gong sympathiser. They illegally interrogated her.

The mental torment contributed to Mr. Wang's deteriorating physical condition. His heartbeat was 160 to 200 times per minute. He suffered severe oedema and couldn't move, even to use the restroom. He had difficulty breathing and was at death's door. Nevertheless, Mr. Wang still had to wear the heavy instruments of torture. His family had frequently requested the removal those devices but got no response. His clothing was stained, and he couldn't have his pants washed in a timely manner, causing serious tissue damage in his groin area.

At the insistence of the doctors and his family, Mr. Wang stayed in the hospital for 14 days, from February 13th to February 27th 2005. Then, without assent from the family or the patient, the prison authorities discharged him from the hospital. Mr. Wang's illnesses were such that he was in no condition to be released from the hospital. The doctor said that his illnesses must be at least be stabilised; otherwise, with each recurrence the illness would get worse and finally become fatal.

On February 25th 2005, Mr. Wang's family came to the prison to petition for his further hospitalisation and treatment. Their efforts ended in vain after rushing about for three days. The prison authorities stalled all of the family's efforts, as usual. Since Mr. Wang was suddenly prevented from having access to medication and timely treatments, between February 22nd and April 30th his illnesses recurred again and again, and he finally lost hope of recovery.

Wang Yingjie and others from Daqing Prison repeatedly delayed Mr. Wang's medical parole. When they finally released him, he had been incarcerated for two years and three months, from January 24th 2003 until April 30th 2005.

On May 14th 2005, 15 days after his release, Wang Hongde passed away.

On June 7th five prisoners drowned Mr. Xu Jishan under orders from Daqing Prison authorities

Dafa practitioner Mr. Xu Jishan from Daqing City was 41 years old. He worked at the Furnace Construction Company under the Daqing City Petrochemical Company's Construction Company in Heilongjiang Province. Because he practised Falun Gong, the company terminated his work contract. In March 2004, Mr. Xu was illegally sentenced to three years in prison for distributing leaflets exposing the persecution. He was sent to the No. 7 Prison Ward at Daqing Prison.

At 4 p.m. on June 7th 2005, the prison unexpectedly notified Xu Jishan's family, saying, "The Daqing fourth Hospital tried to save Xu Jishan's life, but it didn't work out. Mr. Xu died of illness."

There was congealed blood in his mouth and nose, and teeth marks around his mouth. According to reliable sources, five prisoners, with instructions from a prison guard, held Xu Jishan under water until he suffocated. The prison attempted to cover up the truth. They forbade his family from seeing the body or doing a brain scan.

On May 11th 2005, the CCP Committee of Daqing Prison held a meeting, during which they decided to intensify the torture of Dafa practitioners. In the meeting, those present were told, "Any death resulting from a hunger strike will be treated as a natural death." In the meantime, in a nearby hospital, they prepared more than ten plastic tubes to force feed Dafa practitioners who went on hunger strikes. They decided that this time they would force-feed practitioners with saline solution and corn congee.

Xu Jishan was once detained in the Seventh Division of Daqing Prison. He had acted against the persecution for a long time. The authorities tried to force Mr. Xu to write a repentance statement by forcing him to stand for seven days without any sleep. One day, when Mr. Xu was so tired that he could no longer hold himself upright, a prisoner who watched him tied him to the ladder of a bunk bed. Several days later, at midnight, many people were awakened by Mr. Xu's scream for help. He was sprayed with water, which soaked his winter coat and pants.

On June 7th 2005, Mr. Xu ate a piece of bread and drank a big bowl of gruel for his breakfast. He was in good physical condition. He emptied and cleaned the spittoon and helped clean the study room. At about 9 a.m., Li Liancai ordered a prisoner on duty to take out two bed boards, which he claimed would be used to brainwash Mr. Xu. They then fastened the boards into a cross and bound Mr. Xu to them after stripping off his clothes. They said, "We have given you many chances to renounce your belief, but you have rejected them. Now we will no longer give you any more chances."

At noon on June 7th 2005, Li Fengjiang, the team leader, and Zhang Dezhi, the head of the police section, gave personal instructions for Mr. Xu's torture. Prisoners who participated in his murder were Li Liancai, Pu Song, Guo Liyang, Wang Anhui, and Chen Zhongyu. They striped off his clothes, tied him onto a board, carried him to a toilet, closed all the windows, and gagged him. Then they sprayed cold water on him and dunked him in water. Around noon, police officer Zhang Dezhi entered the prison restroom to give personal instructions. At around 1:00 p.m. Mr. Xue was carried out of the toilet and rushed to the hospital, but he had already stopped breathing from choking on too much water.

On July 23rd Mr. Yuan Qingjiang died after prolonged torture

Mr. Yuan Qingjiang was a practitioner from the Xiangfang District in Harbin City. He died on the night of July 23rd 2005, after enduring brutal tortures by the Daqing Prison guards.

Mr. Yuan was once arrested during the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on March 7th 2003. The authorities unlawfully sentenced him to Harbin Prison, where he was subjected to severe torture. Prison guard Zhang Jiushan and prisoners Guan Dejun and Wang Shijun forced him to stand for 18 days without sleep. They also beat him, causing water to accumulate in his chest. He felt wobbly and uneasy, and his arms and legs were numb. Mr. Yuan eventually lost consciousness.

On July 1st 2004, Mr. Yuan was transferred from Harbin Prison to the sixth division of the Daqing Prison. After Chinese Labour Day on May 1st 2005, the Daqing Prison authorities intensified the persecution. More than 10 practitioners went on a hunger strike to protest. They were confined in a solitary compartment and forced to sit on metal chairs. From March 30th to June 1st Dong Fenghuan, the head of the Sixth Division, and the deputy head instructed prisoners to tie up Mr. Yuan for three days. At the same time, Dong Fenghuan brutally beat him. Mr. Yuan suffered severe torture and coughed up blood. His arms and legs were hurt from being tied up. The beating injured his liver, resulting in severe abdominal oedema. The size of his abdomen was abnormal. His genitals were swollen. He was emaciated.

Mr. Yuan protested this inhumane treatment with a hunger strike. When his condition was critical, prison guards took him to the prison hospital to undergo so-called "treatment." To use some prisoners' words to describe it, "Going into this hospital is the same as being sentenced to death." On July 23rd 2005, Mr. Yuan Qingjiang died as a result of abuse.

Dozens of practitioners were tortured

Daqing Prison guard Guo Chuntang claimed, "It is nothing if Daqing Prison tortures a couple of people to death." Prison guard Li Fengjiang said in public, "When dealing with Falun Gong, if they don't reform, cremate them." When prison head Jiang Shuchen saw that Dafa practitioners were being called out of solitary confinement to be force-fed, he told the guard, "Why do you feed them milk powder and corn congee? Feeding them water is enough!"

The prisoners whom the guards instructed to torture practitioners said, "The government (prison guards) told us that as long as we don't create any visible injuries, we could do whatever we wanted with them."

According to a recent Minghui/Clearwisdom website report, more than 60 practitioners are still confined in that prison. In this new tide of persecution, they have suffered from torture to varying degrees. The following is a partial list:

More than 10 practitioners were protesting the persecution with a hunger strike. As a result, they were confined in a solitary compartment and forced to sit on metal chairs.

Practitioner Mr. Cheng Peiming refused to wear the prisoner uniform. Prison guard Pan Shaolin instructed prisoners to beat him, but he still refused to wear the uniform, so they tied Mr. Cheng up for several days. Pan Shaolin finally said in front of many prisoners, "I don't believe that I can't make you give in. If you are not afraid of death, I am not afraid of burying you." Then he secretly told a prisoner to strangle Cheng Peiming to death when Mr. Cheng was on his way to the restroom, saying, "Don't worry, it will be called a suicide." That prisoner didn't do it, so he was kicked out of the Prisoner Patient Division. Cheng Peiming had pulmonary tuberculosis, but the prison didn't release him or give him treatment. They put him in a solitary compartment instead.

Prison guard Li Jinhao boxed Mr. Wu Chunwen's ear, injuring his eardrum. He lost hearing in that ear as a result.

Mr. Zhao Yuan is a Dafa practitioner from the Seventh Division. He was tortured to the point where he couldn't eat and was hospitalised.

Mr. Zhang Zhi is a former employee from the Daqing Petroleum Institute. One of his ribs was injured from being kicked. The pain didn't go away until a month later. He couldn't breathe well with his ribs injured. Mr. Zhang went on a hunger strike to protest the torture. They force-fed him and also knocked out one of his front teeth.

Practitioner Mr. Li Lizhuang was sentenced to up to four years in prison. He is now being grossly abused in the First District of Daqing Prison. Prison guards and convicts worked together to abuse him inhumanely. They deprived him of his right to sleep, beat him, and sprayed cold water on him. They once stuck a water pipe into his anus and injected water into it. Also, some of his ribs were broken from the beating.

Because Mr. Zhang Zidong refused to wear the prison uniform, the prison guard instructed five or six prisoners to tear off his clothes, slap his face, and break his glasses. They confined him in a solitary compartment. Mr. Zhang went on an eight-day hunger strike and was force-fed twice. Beginning on May 20th prison guards refused to let him walk out of the building, go to the cafeteria, or get water. They had two prisoners monitor him every day.

Mr. Pu Fanwei is a 26-year-old practitioner from Gannan County. He is as thin as a stick from abuse under the persecution. His condition is critical and has recently been getting worse. His blood pressure is between 40 and 70, he has black stool, his breathing is weakening, and he often falls into unconsciousness. The prison refuses to release him or give him treatment, and they continue to abuse him.

Note:

(1) "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

(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.

(3) "Reform or Transform" Implementation of brainwashing and torture in order to force a practitioner to renounce Falun Gong. (Variations: "reform", "transform", "reformed", "reforming", "transformed", "transforming", and "transformation")

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/8/4/107721.html