Exposing the Brainwashing Centre in Shenzhen

The brainwashing centre in Shenzhen, also known as the so-called Shenzhen Corrective School, is a subsidiary of the Shenzhen 610 Office¹. It is on the south campus of the Shenzhen Education Institute. The brainwashing centre is a three-story building facing West Li Long Zhu Avenue. The ornate façade of this building is studded with white ceramic tiles. Its interior serves as an evil institution established to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Illegally detained practitioners are kept on the third floor, offices are on the second floor, and a clinic is on the first floor.

The staff are divided into three groups: Brainwashing programme developers, ex-practitioners who renounced Dafa and now assist in brainwashing other practitioners (collaborators²), and brainwashing assistants.

The brainwashing programme development department is comprised of personnel from the Public Security Bureau, the military, and institutions for higher learning. Mr. Zhou and Mr.Chen Qiuhu, also referred to as the "principals," head the department. The intermediate administrative staff includes Ms. Wen Chuan, Mr. Jia Weibin, Ms. Cao Yang, Mr. Qu Shaode, Mr. Chen Tung (sounds like), and a psychologist, Mr. Zhou.

Other personnel include Yang Xiuhua, Yu Bin, Xiao Diao, Liu Yuhua, Yang Xiao Ting, and others.

There are eight to nine former practitioners who have been radically "reformed." They came from Shenzhen City and other provinces. Among them, Wang Hongfa and Zhang Haifeng from Huebei Province were particularly alluring and enticing. For assisting in the transformation of Falun Gong practitioners, they were paid 2000 yuan³ per month.

Clampdown control personnel are comprised of folks from the so-called Shenzhen Loving and Caring Association. They are retired personnel with higher educations and typically uphold and support the communist culture and indoctrination. They are paid a monthly salary of around 1000 yuan. The local seniors that have shown "compelling ability" include Xu Ying, Tian Gezheng, Yan Ai Ling, Shi Hui Xian, Wang Xiaohung, Ms. Wang, Ms. Ding, Ms. Ding, Ms. Si, Mr. Shi, and others. Among Mr. Ding's group, Xu Ying is a major contributor. The president of the Shenzhen Loving and Caring Association is Mr. Li Shengxian.

Each "transformation⁴ session" runs for three months. The cost for brainwashing each practitioner is 30,000 yuan.

When a practitioner is arrested, the reform procedure is as follows:

The three categories of staff hold a meeting. Staff members perform a comprehensive evaluation to analyse the individual's situation to formulate a transformation strategy. After a plan is developed, all three departments co-ordinate according to the plan to begin the persecution. A departmental administrator is selected to delegate all responsibility. He or she would normally be referred to as "the teacher."

The "transformation" process generally begins with a visit by a collaborator, who converses with the practitioner to explore the situation. The programme development interview as well as the "teacher's" meeting all appear to be very considerate and caring. They try helping to resolve situations affecting daily necessities such as clothing and other personal needs. They also motivate family members to visit, and at the same time to persuade practitioners to give in.

From a psychological perspective, before the transformation, the procedure is to hint that the practitioner has abnormal problems. After transformation, any changes in the subject's behaviour, whether big or small, are praised.

If the practitioner is very firm, the collaborators start their plan of attack. They take the Falun Dafa texts and quote out of context, carelessly twisting and misinterpreting the teachings in order to confuse and lead the practitioners onto an evil path. If the practitioners remained unmoved, they start a "weary war." During the day they besiege the practitioners, instilling them with their evil principles non-stop, around the clock. This continue until late at night, and sometimes deprive the victims from any sleep until the next morning. They use physical torture such as extensive and prolonged standing and freezing the victims in the cold until physically worn out. The victims are then compelled to sign the three statements⁵.

There are time when practitioners are compelled to maintain military posture and forced to stand for more than 30 hours. Simultaneously, they are forced to listen to lectures with no opportunity to rest. The end result is sometimes that practitioners cannot stand the torment and eventually give in. There are cases of practitioners resorting to a hunger strike to protest the persecution. The authorities bring in practitioners' family members, using them to persuade, scold, soothe, and beg the practitioners to give in. The family members are encouraged to stay to continue their persuasion until the fasting stops. Once fasting stops, the plan of attack described above resumes. One male practitioner could not stand the torture and struck his head against the wall. He ended up with seven stitches on his forehead. After the stitches, the attack continued until he finally gave in.

The whole process is supervised by psychological specialists who monitor progress and assess the degrees of "transformation." They give instructions on the degree and timing of various torture techniques to achieve the "best results."

The practitioners that sign the three statements are transferred to the brainwashing programme development section to continue their "transformation" classes. They are forced to watch various types of reform videos and compelled to write material acknowledging their transformation. The process continues until the level of breakthrough is judged satisfactory. At this stage, they are told to write self-criticisms as part of the process to renounce the practise. The 610 Office sends officials to verify and approve the documents. In the end, they have the street committee, the residential committee, the victims' family members, and the 610 officials hold a ceremonial graduation celebration to commemorate the success of the transformation. Recognition banners and fresh flowers are given out, and the street committee and the residential committee are required to sign an agreement to continue to supervise and monitor the reformed practitioner.

Related telephone numbers:

Shenzhen City Brainwashing Centre
Address: West Shenzhen, Li Long Zhu Main Road, South Education Acceptance Institute Courtyard, zip code 518,000
Principal Zhou's Office: 86-75526002813
Chen Qiuhu, Assistant Director: 86-1332923616

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. "Collaborators": Former practitioners who have turned against Falun Gong under brainwashing and torture. They are then made to assist in brainwashing and torturing practitioners.

3. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

4. "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")

5. "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://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/3/2/121897.html