Part 1 - http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200705/39562.html
II. Ruthless Torture of Falun Gong Practitioners
1) Electric shocks
As of February 23, 2006, officials at Ward 8 in the Mudanjiang Prison detained practitioner Huang Guodong in solitary confinement for 15 days. Guards Wu Xuejun, Jiang Lei, Zhang Shengli, Song Junpiao, Shen Guang and several others from Ward 8 shocked Huang Guodong with four high-voltage electric batons. Wu Xuejun inserted an electric baton into Falun Dafa practitioner Huang Guodong's anus. Wu Xuejun stated he would use "humanised administration" on criminals and "coercive administration" on Falun Gong practitioners. He said Falun Gong practitioners required "daily beating and verbal attacks" and according to him, prison director Chen Shougang had personally made up this policy.
Ward head Mei Jianguo verbally insulted 38-year-old practitioner Li Fengquan from Qitaihe early in the morning on December 8th, 2004. He beat Li Fengquan until his lips swelled so much that the insides of his lips protruded. He bled from his gums and inside his mouth. In the afternoon, Zhao Xihe and political head Li approached Li Fengquan holding electric batons. Zhao Xihe struck Mr. Li on the bridge of the nose with his fist and also repeatedly slapped his face. Political head Li kept shocking all parts of Li Fengquan's face and body. Practitioner Li Fengquan was injured everywhere and was blinded from the beatings. Despite his condition, the guards still made him do slave labour. Li Fengquan lost consciousness from exhaustion at the end of his work shift on December 14th, 2004. He collapsed on the stairs and rolled down to the third floor. He suffered a head injury and lost an excessive amount of blood. He was taken to the emergency room at the Mudanjiang Police Hospital that evening.
Guard Zhang Qingshan beat practitioner Guan Lianbin, held at Ward 6, around November 10th, 2005. He shocked practitioner Guan Lianbin with electric batons for more than three hours. Zhang Qingshan screamed as he tortured practitioner Guan Lianbin, "I am an evil guard! I am an evil guard!" He shocked Guan Lianbin's genitals and inner thighs and beat him until he had severe skin injuries. Guan Lianbin suffered a heart attack after more than one hour of torture. Zhang Qingshan put the electric baton inside Guan Lianbin's shirt on his skin and shocked his chest saying, "This is a special treatment for heart disease!" Ward head Zhou Yuanping and political head Zhu Zailiang then took Guan Lianbin to solitary confinement and shackled his feet.
2) Force-feeding
Force-feeding is one of the most merciless and painful tortures afflicted on Falun Gong practitioners. Each feeding session is a life-and-death experience for those practitioners who are weak from hunger strikes. First, the officials immobilise the practitioners with handcuffs and shackles; then a prison doctor and/or guards violently cram a thick tube down through the nose into the practitioner's stomach. Sometimes the tube enters the trachea and causes a lung infection. They repeatedly pull the tube out and re-insert it and stir it around inside the practitioner's stomach "for fun," severely damaging the nasal cavities and the gastrointestinal tract. When they have "enjoyed" enough of the practitioners' suffering, they pour a mixture of highly concentrated saline solution and corn porridge into the tube, which results in inflammation of the practitioner's stomach. The practitioner may foam continuously from the mouth. A fluid of digestive enzymes mixed with blood, tears and sweat erupts and sticks to the practitioner's face and body. Over time, the mess turns into a hardened crust. This force-feeding torture causes tremendous pain and sometimes leads to death.
Practitioner Gong Guidong from Hegang City and practitioner Li Baohua from Jixi City went on a hunger strike on May 9th, 2005 to protest the abuse and humiliation of the persecution. They were extremely weak, emaciated and dehydrated. The force-feeding severely injured each practitioner's oesophagus, and their lives were hanging by a thread.
Practitioner Zhang Hongquan from Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province died from persecution. He was transferred from Harbin Prison to Ward 16 of the Mudanjiang Prison in July 2004. He protested the detention and defied the officials' commands, such as not responding to roll call or squatting. Political head Zhen Yuhe locked Zhang Hongquan in solitary confinement for 17 days. To protest, Mr. Zhang held an 11-day hunger strike. The guards overseeing solitary confinement took him to the prison hospital where he was force-fed with salt, causing severe vomiting. Zhang Hongquan was subsequently taken to Ward 3.
The persecution at the Group Drill Ward is even more brutal. The officials order the guards at the solitary confinement section and other parts of the prison to torture Dafa practitioners with electric batons, shackle the practitioners to the floor through metal rings and force-feed them concentrated saline solution.
Practitioner Yao Guocai held a 15-day hunger strike while being held in solitary confinement. The guards ordered the inmates to force-feed him. They forced a tube down his throat into the stomach. They purposely pulled the tube back and forth during the feeding to exacerbate the pain. Yao Guocai developed inflammation of the oesophagus due to erosion from stomach acid and eventually suffered a high fever.
Officials at the Group Drill Ward launched another round of persecution on September 4th, 2004, in an attempt to "reform1" Dafa practitioners. They locked the practitioners in isolation, separated everyone and deprived them of sleep. Practitioners Liu Jun and Wu Yuerong were held in Room 1 and Room 2, respectively. They had to make their beds early in the morning and were forbidden to sleep at night. Several inmates took turns "talking" to them. Sometimes Liu Jun was forced to stand for a whole night and sometimes he was made to stand on a small stool for five days. The guards said that torture must be administered to every practitioner.
The practitioners commenced a group hunger strike on September 9th, 2004. The next day, practitioners Gao Yunxiang, Guan Lianbin and Jin Youfeng were locked in solitary confinement. They each wore a 19-kg [41.8 lbs] shackle as well as chains and a wooden stick that connected and immobilised their hands. A chain connected the wood stick and the shackles. The practitioners were shackled like this for 15 days. On the second day of their solitary confinement, the officials force-fed the practitioners through a very thick tube. They jabbed the practitioners' throat lining with the tubes and kept poking the tubes down, even after the tubes had entered the practitioners' stomachs. They tried to force such a great amount of raw corn meal and pepper powder down that the mixture overflowed, backing out of the practitioners' mouths, almost choking them to death. The practitioners had bouts of diarrhoea immediately after the feeding.
The day after this force-feeding, a guard nicknamed "king of all devils" led four inmates to torture practitioner Jin Youfeng. The guard pinched Jin Youfeng's nose and force-fed him water continuously, without letting up. It is not known how many bottles of water were poured into Jin Youfeng.
The solitary confinement cell is cold and damp. Jin Youfeng was wearing thin clothes and requested more clothes but never got anything. He had to sleep on a bare wooden bed without any covers.
3) Hanging by up handcuffs
The officials often handcuff the practitioners and hang them up in the air, so the practitioner's entire body weight rests on the handcuffs. Long-term hanging leads to agonising pain, severe swelling and sometimes broken wrists.
Practitioner Jin Youfeng was transferred to Group 1, Ward 7 on May 26th, 2005. His sentence reduction was denied because of his refusal to "reform," although he performed the forced labour. Afterwards Mr. Jin refused to do any more work as a means to defy the persecution. The next day, group head Luan Yu handcuffed him to some metal grates on a workshop window during working hours. He was handcuffed for an entire morning on May 27th, 2005. In the afternoon, Ward head Zhu Zailiang ordered certain people to hang Jin Youfeng by one arm from a wooden beam in a corner of the guards' toilet for an afternoon, alternating between the left and right arms periodically.
Zhu Zailiang sent criminal inmates Han Baoren, Dai Qingmin, Liu Yong, Su Yuming and others to monitor and "reform" Jin Youfeng on May 28th, 2005. Jin Youfeng persisted in his belief. The inmates took him back to the toilet the next day and beat him. Han Baoren was the main perpetrator. They slapped and kicked his face, hit his back and twisted his arms. Su Yuming did not participate in this beating. Liu Yong was later assigned to keep Jin Youfeng under surveillance. He did not let Jin Youfeng sit down and threatened him many times with electric batons and hanging.
4) "Flying an Airplane"
In this torture, the body is bent at a 90-degree angle, with both arms stretched out behind one's back and pointing upward. This is a torture that doesn't result in bloodshed but is no less cruel. It is difficult for the victim to stay in this position for long. If one relaxes slightly, the guards would beat and kick him. For a reenactment illustration, please go to http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/9/29/52921.html.
Practitioner Jin Youfeng was a sports teacher at the Mudanjiang Normal Institute. He was sent to the Group Drill Ward at the end of March 2004. Right after his arrival in the prison, the officials made him squat against a wall, with his arms wrapped around his head. They took everything from him, leaving him with only one sweater, one pair of wool trousers and underwear. They even took his towels and toothpaste; he could not dry his face or brush his teeth for the first few months. Maintenance worker Zhou Shaokun presided in Room 1, the "Strictly Controlled" room. He is one of the main abusers of Falun Gong practitioners following orders from guard Zhuang.
Falun Gong practitioners toil in the workshop during the day and work overtime after dinner in the dormitory in order to meet an impossible quota. Jin Youfeng could not meet the quota and was tortured with the "Flying an Airplane" method. Guard Si Hongtao pressured Zhou Shaokun to "reform" Jin Youfeng and a practitioner surnamed Wu. Jin Youfeng defied the officials and refused to write a guarantee statement2. Zhou Shaokun beat him in front of guard Si Hongtao. Jin Youfeng also refused to put his hands behind his back, bow his head, or squat, and Si Hongtao slapped his face.
5) Freezing
Officials at Ward 1 locked practitioner Wang Hai in solitary confinement on March 15th, 2006. They did not let him wear anything for eight days in subzero temperature. They shackled him and immobilised his hands with chains and a wooden stick. They also chained him to a metal ring fastened to the floor. They didn't give him any water, and only gave him a small piece of cornbread each day. They could only wear inmates' shirts and trousers. Inmates Liu Lijun, Fan Miao and others deprived Wang Hai of sleep for two weeks and beat and kicked him all day long. Guard Song Junjie often shocked Wang Hai with electric batons. Guard Hou Bo is from the Prison Administration Section, in charge of solitary confinements.
Guard Zhang Shengli shocked practitioner Zhang Shijiang with electric batons on February 24th, 2006. He forbade Zhang Shijiang from eating lunch and made him remain outside in the freezing cold. He also hung Zhang Shijiang upside-down.
Political head Zhang Lichun locked practitioner Sun Dianshan in solitary confinement in December 2004 for explaining the facts. There is no heating in the solitary confinement cell, yet Sun Dianshan was allowed to wear only underwear while shackled.
The officials at the Group Drill Ward deprived practitioner Sun Yuerong of sleep for seven days. They dragged him into a bathroom and poured cold water all over him until he lost consciousness.
6) Stabbing with an awl
In the morning of February 24th, 2006, guards Wu Xuejun and Liu Boyong shocked practitioner Liu Jun with electric batons and injured his hands. They took practitioner Guan Wenlong to the toilet where they shocked him with electric batons, hit him with rubber clubs and beat and kicked him. After one hour, several inmates carried Guan Wenlong out of the toilet. He could not walk, was bent over and his right leg was disabled. The guards forbade him from eating lunch and savagely beat him again in the toilet at noon. They brought him out after the inmates had finished their meal and left for work. His face was red and swollen.
Guard Wu Xuejun stabbed Guan Wenlong with an awl on February 25th, 2006 right after he came to work. He dragged Guan Wenlong into the toilet and tortured him for nearly 30 minutes.
7) Encouraging inmates to persecute practitioners
At the Group Drill Ward, deputy prison director Luan Jing and political head Zhuang Yixin threatened the practitioners, "We will not let you go to your cell if you do not 'reform'." Zhuang Yixin followed instructions from his superiors and ordered inmate Zhou Zhaokun to brutally torture practitioners. If the practitioners refused to write guarantee statements they would be deprived of sleep. When they dosed off, the evildoers would flick their eyeballs, savagely beat and kick them, and/or force them to stand or bend over in humiliating postures. Inmate Zhou Zhaokun also told new prisoners to persecute practitioners by forcing the practitioners to work. They beat the practitioners if they could not complete the assigned workload. Determined practitioners Jin Yongfeng, Guan Lianbin and Gao Yunxiang refused to "reform" and were locked in solitary confinement. They were handcuffed, shackled and affixed to a metal ring on the floor so they could only sit while bending forward. The handcuffs cut into their wrists, which caused excruciating pain. Each detention in solitary confinement lasts at least 15 days.
Yang Xiaoguang was held in solitary confinement in early November 2004 and was brutally abused. Guard Song Junlin would beat Yang Xiaoguang every time he came on duty. Once, Song Junlin beat Yang Xiaoguang three times in one evening until Yang Xiaoguang's face became deformed and swollen. He could not see anything after the beating, and his chest and back were black and blue.
Political heads Li Jiezhi and Li Yuhong assigned 30 inmates to "reform" four practitioners in early December 2004. If the inmates did not persecute the practitioners, the guards would threaten them with removing points for sentence reductions. Several inmates attacked one practitioner and monitored him around the clock. They forced the practitioners to sit upright on a bare wooden board, with their legs crossed in the full lotus position. They forbade the practitioners from sleeping and beat and kicked them in an attempt to make them write guarantee statements. Group head Dong Yujiang said to the inmates, "No matter what you do, it's all good, as long as you make them write the guarantee statements!" Political head Li Yuhong said, "This work is directly associated with your sentence reduction and appraisal." Inmate Liu Lijun, a convicted robber and murderer, viciously beat and tortured Dafa practitioners Yang Xiaoguang, Sun Rongxiao and Liu Guolai.
Liu Lijun beat practitioner Yang Xiaoguang until he bled profusely from his nose and mouth. His face was swollen, and the inside of his mouth was lacerated in numerous places; as a result, he could not eat anything. Liu Lijun beat practitioner Liu Guolai until his eye sockets were black, three of his ribs were broken and he could not get up. Practitioner Sun Rongxiao was beaten barbarically twice within four days. After the first beating his face was bleeding severely and had become severely deformed. Mr. Sun, in his 50s, rolled on the floor in pain.
The guards ordered inmates Mao Jianbo from Ward 2 and Liu Lijun to beat practitioner Liu Guolai in the evening on February 28th, 2005, which made him lose consciousness several times. Liu Guolai's head swelled; his left eye was black and the eyeball was bloodshot. His chest and sides hurt so terribly that he could not breathe without suffering great pain. Inmate Mao Jianbo remarked, "It's useless for you to tell the officials! Beating you is nothing!"
8) Solitary Confinement
Solitary confinement: Dafa practitioners are held in small, dark and damp rooms. They are handcuffed with their arms behind their backs to the cell door 24 hours a day. They have to relieve themselves in this tiny room. It is called a "prison within a prison." At times, the practitioners are held in solitary confinement for days and even months. When they come out of solitary confinement they are covered in huge blisters, possibly from bug bites or infection, which causes excruciatingly painful itching and suffering.
Ward head Tang Xiaohui and political head Chen Zhanfeng started persecuting practitioners after they came to Ward 8. They began to beat practitioner Guan Wenlong during roll call on November 4th, 2005 in front of 300 inmates and 14 guards. They locked Guan Wenlong in solitary confinement on November 17th, and told the inmates to beat him. Guard Wu Xuejun often bribed inmate Guan Zhenli with liquor and food to get him to beat practitioner Guan Wenlong.
Guard Wu Xuejun and inmate Wang Lijun severely abused practitioner Huang Guodong on April 18th, 2006. Huang Guodong could not endure the torture any more. He threw himself against a heating pipe to protest the persecution and immediately lost consciousness [Note: the teachings of Falun Dafa do not condone personal injury of any form]. His blood was all over the floor. Still, he was locked in solitary confinement for 15 days, where he was handcuffed and shackled. At the same time the guards also beat practitioner Guan Wenlong.
9) Slave labour results in severe injury and disability
Practitioner Yu Zonghai accidentally hit his left eye against a hard object during work at the end of August 2006. The injury severed his tear gland. The prison doctor told him to get treatment at an outside hospital. The guards at Ward 6 told his family to pay or they would not let him leave prison. Yu Zonghai's wife and sister were held at Harbin Women's Prison for practising Falun Gong. His family did not have any money for medical treatment. The guards said, "If his family doesn't pay us, we don't care if he goes blind." Yu Zonghai's brother paid the prison officials. Mr. Yu was eventually taken to the Ophthalmic Department at the Hongqi Hospital in Mudanjiang City, but it was already too late for reconstructive surgery.
10) Staged show during official inspections
The minister of justice came to inspect the prison in 2004. The prison started to provide decent food for the detainees almost one month before the official visit. The prison authorities did not know the exact date of the visit, so they wanted to make sure they were "covered" when the minister arrived. Some inmates mistakenly thought the Communist Party was starting to treat them nicely, as the food quality improved and the work hours were shortened. Most inmates saw through the facade, however. The minister of justice left after a quick tour of the prison. The food immediately reverted to pig feed, like ground corn. The same long work hours were restored.
The entire prison went into heightened mode while the minister was there. The prison directors issued a notice stipulating that the ward heads would be fired if any ward let out hints of the staged cover-up. The prison rented lots of bonsais and potted flowers, each one costing 10 to 80 yuan3, and decorated the whole prison until it looked like a flower market. Thirty detainees had previously slept in one room; now only four beds were left in the room. All abused detainees were put into hiding to prevent them from shouting "inappropriate" things during the visit. Falun Gong practitioners and the abused inmates were locked in a gigantic vegetable vault in the basement. Designated head inmates and guards watched the entrance to the vault. Such deceptive practice is commonplace at this, and other prisons.
A group of people from Taiwan and Hong Kong arrived at the prison in 2005. The next day, the prison news broadcast touted, "The guests from Taiwan and Hong Kong were surprised to see a large pot of roast meat in the prisoner's cafeteria." In fact, each time someone important came to visit, the prison always came up with ways to mislead people. The prison food is terrible, and most prisoners work more than 11 hours a day. They are compelled to operate like robots on a daily basis and are extremely weak from exhaustive labor and malnutrition.
III. Prison officials exploit detainees' wages and divide the profit
Mudanjiang Prison is also called a "death camp." More than 4,800 people are held in a space of less than 35,000 square metres [376,737 sq. ft.]. The prison is atrociously filthy and medical facilities are stunningly inadequate. The guards force the detainees to work more than 11 hours a day without any holiday or break. To achieve its financial goals, the prison directors issue orders for the ward heads to turn a certain amount of profit each year. The ward heads in turn exploit the detainees to the maximum extent to meet the requirements and also keep some money for themselves. The Party contracted the prisoners' cafeteria to the guards to run and ordered the guards to turn in 1.5 million yuan each year.
The chopsticks made at Mudanjiang Prison not only supply the city but are also exported to Japan. They carry infectious bacteria, viruses and microscopic mites. The inmates who produce these chopsticks often do not wash their faces for 20 days and they work 12 hours a day. Those who do not meet their daily quota are forced to sit still on the floor when they return to their room. They frequently miss the allotted time to wash themselves, and those in poor health have to endure beating and verbal abuse from the guards. The prison strictly blocks information and whoever leaks the facts is savagely beaten by the guards and inmates.
In 2004, one inmate wrote down that the chopsticks are contaminated with viruses and bacteria on a slip of paper and tried to conceal it in the product to be exported to Japan. He wanted the buyer to know the truth. Prison inspectors found the paper, and the guards tortured him with electric batons and wooden sticks. They took him to a hospital but did not give him any treatment. He died several days later. When his family came to visit him, the authorities did not grant them entry and did not tell them about his death.
Currently, Dafa practitioner Kang Yuncheng is unconscious from torture. He was a volunteer assistant at a Falun Gong practice site in Mudanjiang City. He worked as the manager at Mudanjiang City Real Estate Company. After the persecution began in 1999, Mr. Kang was arrested many times for persisting in his belief. He was sentenced to prison and brutally persecuted. After his release, he returned to work at the real estate company. He was arrested again by the Mudanjiang City 610 Office4 at the end of October 2003. The main officials in charge at his company attested to his outstanding integrity and work performance, but the guards ignored them. He was sentenced to prison and held at Ward 5 of Mudanjiang Prison. Prior to this time, Mr. Kang had developed severe high blood pressure and other conditions due to the persecution, and he was taken to the prison hospital. His family requested medical parole but were denied. He was locked in solitary confinement on January 18th, 2006. On January 13th, 2007, Kang Yuncheng again showed symptoms of critical illness and the prison authorities transferred him to a local hospital, where he underwent two surgeries. He is currently unconscious and was recently taken home on medical parole.
Dafa practitioner Kong Xiangzhu has been diagnosed with tuberculous meningitis in June 2006. It has been 11 months but the prison officials refuse to release him, using various excuses. Mr. Kong was diagnosed with a brain injury and he cannot take care of himself. His condition is quite precarious. The prison decided to release Mr. Kong on medical parole but demanded 5,000 yuan from his family. Kong Xiangzhu's parents are maintenance workers at a supermarket, and they earn a total of 400 yuan per month, barely enough to get by. There is no way for them to come up with 5,000 yuan.
When prison director Chen Shougang and Luan Jing, deputy prison director, were in office, seven Dafa practitioners died from persecution and many more practitioners were held in solitary confinement and brutally tortured.
The information above lists just some of the crimes committed at Mudanjiang Prison. These crimes constitute a violation of Article 234 of the Criminal Law, which stipulates, "Whoever intentionally injures another is to be sentenced to up to three years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or control;" Article 247 of the Criminal Law stipulates, "Judicial workers who extort a confession from criminal suspects or defendants by torture, or who use force to extract testimony from witnesses, are to be sentenced to three years or fewer in prison or put under criminal detention;" Article 397 of the Criminal Law, which stipulates "State personnel who abuse their power or neglect their duties, causing great losses to public property and the state's and people's interests, shall be sentenced to not more than three years of fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention; and when the circumstances are exceptionally serious, not less than three years and not more than seven years of fixed-term imprisonment." The prison administration has also violated the Labour Law and the Prison Law.
Contact information for prison authorities:
Main switchboard: 86-453-6404715, 86-453-6404755
Internal line extension after dialing the main switchboard: 8000
Chen Shougang, prison director: 86-453-6404715 dial 8000 to connect ext. 8388, 86-13904676888 (Mobile)
Yu Jinghe, political secretary: 86-453-6404715 dial 8000 to connect ext. 8388, 86-13904835888 (Mobile), 86-13904935558 (Mobile)
Sun Jiujie, head of the Politics Section: 86-453-6404715 dial 8000 to connect ext. 8298
Li Bin, secretary of the Disciplinary Committee: 86-453-6404715 dial 8000 to connect ext. 8398
Song Xiaobin, head of the Education Reform Section: 86-453-6404715 dial 8000 to connect ext. 8333, 86-13766603777 (Mobile) 86-453-6179431
Note
1. "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")
2. "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.
3. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.
4. "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.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/4/18/153000.html
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