More than seventy Falun Dafa practitioners are currently being held in Tailai Prison in Tailai County, Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province. They are held separately in fifty sections in fifteen divisions. There is approximately one practitioner among every eighty prisoners in one section. Some sections hold several practitioners, but they are not allowed to talk to one another. Beginning in autumn 2003, the Tailai Prison authorities set a rule that every practitioner would be guarded by four inmates day and night. The inmates also had to report the practitioner's words and actions to the prison authorities once a month. If the practitioner is found to study the Falun Dafa teachings or practise the exercises, the inmates would be punished and the guards would have their bonuses reduced or lose their jobs. Over the past years, the authorities forced practitioners to do manual labour and pressured them to write the so-called three statements1.
Prison Authorities Used a H-Shaped Stretching Instrument to Brutally Torture Practitioners
The "small cell"2 run by Tailai Prison's Political Section used a H-shaped instrument to torture the practitioners. The prison guards handcuffed the practitioner's hands onto the two ends of the top beam of the stretching instrument, and handcuffed his/her legs to both ends of the lower beam. They then connected the vertical pole of the stretching instrument to shackles fixed onto the ground. In this way, the victim could not lean on the wall of the cell. There are two types of this stretching instrument. One type is of a fixed length, with the two beams fixed to the pole at both ends. The victim cannot lie down to sleep but can only sit with his/her back bent. The other type is adjustable. The victim's lower body can be moved so that he/she is able to lie flat. The practitioners locked up in the small cells were all cuffed to this instrument. Locking someone up in the small cell requires a signature from the deputy head of the prison. He would sign for at least seven days in a row. If the practitioner "did not do well" during the seven-day period, the deputy head would sign for another seven days. Most of the practitioners would be handcuffed to the fixed instrument for seven days, then changed to the adjustable type, and finally to the shackles.
This is one of the cruellest instruments of torture in existence. The individuals in charge of the small cell are Yang Lipo, head of the Prison Education (Brainwashing) and Political Section, and Wu Yong, head of the prison, and leader of six or seven prison guards and two inmates.
Practitioner Mr. Zhang Kuiwu Held in the Small Cell for a Year
Practitioner Mr. Zhang Kuaiwu was held in the small cell with handcuffs and shackles as well as a stretching instrument for as long as one year. Before practising Falun Dafa. Mr. Zhang had been sentenced to life in prison. While he was in prison in 1998, he learned about and began to practise Falun Dafa. After July 20th, 1999, when the Communist regime began to suppress Falun Dafa, he was locked in a small cell for practising the exercises. He was later transferred to Tailai Prison. In early 2002, Mr. Zhang was locked up in the small cell by Wang Yiguan, head of the Prison Education and Political Section, for persisting in practising the exercises. Mr. Zhang was shackled for a long period of time. The two rings of the shackles were screwed to both ends of an iron pole, which was 90 centimetres (35 in.) long. Mr. Zhang had to wear the shackles while he had meals or used the toilet. The prison guards tried to force him to write a guarantee statement3 many times, but he refused.
Mr. Zhang was not released from the small cell until January 2003, after prison guard Wang Yi was transferred out of the Education and Political Section.
Beating Practitioners with a Nine Millimetre Iron Bar
In early October 2002, some practitioners were escorted to Tailai Prison and put into an intensive training group, also called the "Strict Discipline Team." Practitioners Li Shunjiang and Zhao Chuanfang refused to wear prison uniforms or recite the prison rules and regulations. For this reason, the political commissar of the training group with the surname of Ji incited criminal Li Xingmai and others to severely beat the practitioners with an iron bar nine millimetres (.35 in.) thick. The criminals also kicked and punched the two practitioners. Consequently, Li Shunjiang was on the verge of death.
Practitioner Zheng Lianqing Badly Injured as a Result of Beatings
In December 2002, practitioner Mr. Zheng Lianqing, who was held in the No. 5 Ward, wrote a letter to Liu Zhiqiang, head of the prison. Zheng Lianqing requested an open and fair environment for the practitioners. On the following day, Liu Zhiqiang held a meeting of the heads and deputy heads of all the wards. At the meeting, he threw the letter at the head of the No. 5 Ward and shouted, "I give you three days to make this practitioner write a guarantee statement, otherwise you will lose your job!" After returning from the meeting, the head of the ward called a meeting of the heads of the sub-wards and told them, "I will make sure that you lose your jobs before me! Now I give you two days."
Li Deyou, the head of the sub-ward, led several prison guards to beat the four prisoners who were ordered to watch Zheng Lianqing. The guards made them make a rope with iron wire and tie it together with a stick of thorns. These criminals vented their anger at Zheng Lianqing for the beating. They beat the practitioner with this iron rope first, then several other criminals who served the guards continued beating the practitioner until they were tired. After that, several guards kicked and punched the practitioner. The whole torture session lasted for more than two hours. Zheng Lianqing was badly injured.
In the afternoon, after a few drinks, Li Deyou and several other guards began to beat Zheng Lianqing again. The stick broke into several pieces--even the steel wires were broken. In the evening, the guards on duty also beat Zheng Lianqing. The beating did not stop there. Guard Li Deyou threatened Zheng about writing a guarantee statement. Zheng Lianqing wrote the statement against his will. Upon hearing this, Li Zhiqiang went to the cell where Zheng was held, along with Ma Yaolai, head of the Political Section. The head of the prison dragged Zheng out of the cell, stepped on Zheng's head and asked, "Do you still want to write letters like that?" After the beating, blood was all over the walls of the ward office, and it took the inmates a full day to clean it up.
The Persecution of Practitioners Li Shunjiang, Qiu Jianpin, Tian Yong, Li Zhenzhong, and Zhou Zhifeng
Since 2003, the prison has had a rule that all practitioners must renounce Falun Dafa within three months. For each practitioner who refuses to renounce Falun Dafa, the head of the ward will have 1,000 yuan4 deducted from his/her salary. Likewise, for each practitioner who renounces Falun Dafa, the head of the ward receives a bonus of 1,000 yuan. In addition to renouncing Falun Dafa, the practitioner has to write a statement and pledge not to practise the exercises in prison. Since the practitioners refused to cooperate with the unreasonable demands of the authorities, such as taking part in forced labour, or studying and reciting the prison rules, many of them were beaten.
Practitioner Mr. Zhou Zhifeng, who was persecuted in the kitchen of the prison's Daily Life Section, was beaten by Wang Yongtao, the deputy political instructor of the Daily Life Section, and Zhang Qingbin, the head of the sub-ward, for not acknowledging that he had done something wrong. They pulled Mr. Zhou by the head and slammed him against the wall. Mr. Zhou suffered from anaemia as a result of the frequent beatings.
Practitioner Qiu Jiabin was beaten frequently in the No. 4 and No. 5 Wards. However, despite all the torture, Qiu Jianbin still refused to do forced labour and eat "meals for inmates."
The righteousness of the Falun Dafa practitioners called forth in many prison guards and inmates a feeling of profound respect. They learned that the practitioners were all well-educated and were quite different from what was described by radio and TV broadcasts. Therefore, they did not have the heart to persecute the practitioners as severely as they did when the persecution first began. The environment has improved greatly for the practitioners.
In summer 2003, when the head of a sub-ward slapped practitioner Mr. Li Shunjiang in the face more than 100 times, Mr. Li shouted, "Teacher help me!" at which time the guard verbally abused the founder of Falun Dafa. Not long after this incident, the guard suffered from hemiplegia (paralysis affecting one side of the body), took to his bed, and never rose again. Mr. Li Shunjiang had been persecuted severely at the Qiqihar No. 1 Detention Centre for about two years. However, after coming to Tailai Prison, Mr. Li found the persecution was even worse. As a result, his health deteriorated rapidly and he suffered from anaemia. Mr. Li is now unable to walk.
In November 2003, practitioners Li Shujiang, Qiu Jianbin, Tian Yong, and Li Zhenzhong were locked up in small cells for holding a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Thereafter, the prison created a regulation that every practitioner be watched by four inmates.
In 2004, Tailai Prison Brutally Persecuted the Practitioners for Ten Months in an Attempt to Fulfil Its Quota of So-called "Transformation5" Cases
In early 2004, the Provincial Forced Labour Bureau issued a document requesting a ninety-five percent "transformation" rate of practitioners. In other words, ninety-five percent of the practitioners had to renounce Falun Dafa. At the time, the prison had two new bosses, who were transferred from Mudanjiang Prison: prison head Zhang Zhibin and deputy head Zhao (surname). Since other prisons all began to brutally persecute the practitioners to fulfil their respective quotas, one practitioner had been tortured to death at the Harbin Prison. In order to cover up the death, Harbin Prison transferred all of its practitioners to Daqing or Tailai Prisons in Mudanjiang City. Only a few practitioners who had renounced Falun Dafa were left behind.
On June 30th, twenty-eight practitioners were transferred to Tailai Prison. When they were getting off the bus, some practitioners shouted "Falun Dafa is good!" On the following day, these practitioners were all punished. In July, Tailai Prison held a meeting of all the heads of wards and sub-wards and worked out a series of measures. Those who refused to renounce Falun Dafa or refused to do forced labour would all have to be "transformed." A ward would be rewarded 1,000 yuan for being successful in forcing all the practitioners of the ward to renounce Falun Dafa, and the head of the ward would be rewarded 2,000 yuan. Otherwise, the head of the ward would be punished. They would be demoted, have their salaries deducted, or be fired. The wards were allowed to use implements of torture with no need to get permission. If there were not enough tools for torture, the wards could make their own. The No. 8 Ward ordered ten of the previously-mentioned stretching instruments.
In the No. 8 Ward, most of the guards were graduates of the police academy. Zhou Shuzhen, head of the ward, made a rule that every guard must take part in beating practitioners. Those who did not join in were punished. There was once a virtual competition among the wards to see which one could do the most damage. Practitioners were handcuffed and shackled every day. They walked with difficulty in going to work. In the process, you could constantly hear the horrifying sound of shackles. When the practitioners' ankles were worn out and they were unable to walk, they were taken to and from work in wheelbarrows. During the work hours, these practitioners were hung up by their handcuffs, and after work they were handcuffed to the stretching instruments. Practitioners who dozed off were awakened by guards pouring cold water over them.
In the No. 1 Ward, practitioner Wu Xianang was hung up for ten days and was not allowed to sleep for three days. Practitioner Zhang Yaoming was hung up for three days and handcuffed to the stretching instrument for two days. In the No. 2 Ward, practitioner Zhao Chuanfang was handcuffed to the stretching instrument for five days. In the No. 3 Ward, practitioner Li Chang'an was tortured with the stretching instrument for two days and was then locked up in a small cell. In the No. 4 Ward, prison guards hung up practitioners Li Zhezhong and Tian Yongbai under the scorching sun, with the temperature over 40 degrees Celsius (104o F). Afterwards, the practitioners were thrown into a pit more than one metre deep with their arms and legs pointing upwards, and left there for three days. In that position, they could not move or sleep. In the No. 5 Ward, practitioner Zhang Qiubin was tortured with the stretching instrument for six days. In the No. 7 Ward, guard Zhao Wenge ordered Tian Lijun and other inmates to torture practitioner Wang Shouqing, who was deprived of sleep for more than one month. Wang Shouqing was then handcuffed to the stretching instrument for two days. In the No. 9 Ward, the guards did not allow practitioner Li Shunjiang to sleep and pushed him once every ten minutes. Practitioner Pan Hongdong was constantly beaten and handcuffed to the stretching instrument for five days. In the No. 10 Ward, guards Li (surname) and Zhang often ordered their men to handcuff the newly-arrived practitioners to the stretching instrument for over twenty days. They put two steel balls underneath some of the practitioners' buttocks for as long as seven days. The scene was too horrible to watch. In the No. 11 Ward, practitioner Zhang Kuiwu was tortured with the stretching instrument for as long as two weeks. Sometimes the guards would also force the practitioners to watch television and cartoons that slandered Falun Dafa and take part in criticism meetings.
The ruthless torture ended in October 2004.
Practitioners Pan Hongdong and Xu Linshan Passed Away as a Result of Inhuman Torture
During this round of ruthless persecution, practitioner Pan Hongdong, who was held in the No. 2 sub-ward of the No. 9 Ward, and practitioner Xu Linshan, of the No. 3 sub-ward in the No. 4 Ward, suffered the most.
Mr. Pan Hongdong, who was 37 to 38 years old, graduated from Sichuan University and specialised in computers. Mr. Pan was smart and talented before the persecution. After enduring persecution, Mr. Pan reacted slowly, and his eyesight was dull. Mr. Pan Hongdong suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on May 15th, 2005, and died in the prison hospital shortly afterwards.
In December 2002, the head of No. 3 Sub-ward of the No. 4 Ward incited Zhang Jian and other inmates to torture practitioner Mr. Xu Linshan in an attempt to force him to renounce Falun Gong so that he could obtain a bonus. The criminals did not let Mr. Xu sleep and tried to keep him awake by pouring cold water over him and pricking him with needles. They also deprived Mr. Xu of food and water and forced him to drink salt water. This torture lasted for two weeks.
Mr. Xu Linshan was tortured at Fuyu Forced Labour Camp in Qiqihar City and was unable to squat down as a result. After his transfer to Tailai Prison, he suffered additional torture and developed the symptoms of six or seven diseases.
In December 2004, Qiao Sheng from the No. 4 Ward (current head of the Personnel Section) and Zhang Xiaodong, head of the No. 3 sub-ward, forced Mr. Xu Lianshan to write the three statements immediately after his discharge from the hospital. They ordered criminal Bi to take Mr. Xu, who was unable to walk at the time, in a wheelbarrow to the rear of the workshop of the No. 4 Ward. Qiao and his fellow inmates brutally beat Mr. Xu and left him in the biting cold weather for two days. In the No. 4 Ward, the prison guards and the criminals tortured Mr. Xu Linshan for more than four years.
Mr. Xu Linshan's health deteriorated as a result of prolonged torture and he was eventually on the verge of death. In December 2005, Mr. Xu was released on "bail" for medical treatment after his family paid 30,000 yuan. He passed away several days after returning home.
Persecuted for Making a Statement Solemnly Declaring that All They Wrote and Said that Is Not in Accordance with Dafa is Null and Void
Around January 2005, many practitioners wrote guarantee statements in their respective wards under pressure and inhuman torture. Some later wrote statements declaring their previous guarantee statements null and void. Guard Wang Zhiling of the No. 5 Ward hung up practitioner Zheng Lianqing in the open in freezing cold weather for three days. Practitioner Zhang Kuiwu, held in the No. 11 Ward, wanted to declare the three statements invalid. Guo Ping, head of the No. 7 Ward, ordered his men to torture Zhang Kuiwu for twenty-seven days. For the last seven days, the guards deprived Zhang of sleep, and poured cold water over the practitioner. Zhang was also locked in a small cell for holding a hunger strike. In 2006, Zhang Kuiwu held another hunger strike to protest the illegal detention, and was taken to the prison hospital and force-fed for 33 days. From July to December 2006, Zhang Kuiwu was handcuffed and shackled and carted in a wheelbarrow to and from work.
Practitioners Liu Haishan, Tian Yong and Lu Yuping were badly beaten, handcuffed, and shackled. In May 2005, Song Weiwei, head of the No. 1 sub-ward of the No. 4 Ward, tried to force practitioner Liu Haishan to write the three statements, which Liu refused to do. The guards hung a big plate weighing dozens of kilogrammes on Liu's neck for more than 20 days. In 2005, practitioner Tian Yong, who was held in the No. 4 Ward, was locked in a small cell for passing around Teacher's [Teacher Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa] recent articles. Tian Yong went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Under the instructions of Wu Yong, head of the small cell, the guards force-fed Tian Yong for two weeks, until Tian was on the verge of death. Tian was later sent to a hospital to be further persecuted and was sent back to the prison in March 2006. Practitioner Lu Yuping was persecuted at the No. 1 Section of the No. 1 Division. In May 2006, the political instructor incited criminals to beat Lu many times and handcuffed and shackled him for nearly two months. However, Lu Yuping persisted in practising the five sets of exercises despite the torture. The division eventually left Lu alone.
Note
1. "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.
2. "Small cell" - The detainee is locked up in a very small cell individually. The guards handcuff the practitioner with his/her arms behind his/her back in a fixed position, in which the practitioner can neither move nor lie down. The small cell is very damp and no sunshine comes in. Detainees have to urinate and defecate in the cell. Only half of a regular meal is served to detainees locked up in a small cell during the daytime. During the night, rats run about. The stench in the small cell is so bad that it is difficult to breathe.
3. "Guarantee Statement": A statement to declare that one is remorseful for practising Falun Gong and guarantees not to practise Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.
4. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.
5. "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.ca/mh/articles/2007/3/29/151749.html
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