Torture Methods Used in Yinchuan Women's Prison, Ningxia Province

Ever since the persecution began on July 20th, 1999, Yingchuan Women's Prison officials have cooperated closely with Jiang Zemin's, [former leader of China and instigator of the persecution] regime to persecution Falun Gong practitioners. They torture detained practitioners ruthlessly, attempting to make them give up their faith. The prison officials do not make any progress reforming or educating the criminal inmates, but they do make a great effort to brainwash Falun Gong practitioners using various vicious methods.

Prior to 2003, the prison authorities sent all practitioners to brainwashing sessions supervised by agents from the provincial 610 Office¹. After the brainwashing sessions were over, the prison officials decided to have scheduled sessions at the prison to try to force practitioners to "reform²." The officials set up award programmes to encourage prison guards and criminal inmates--including convicted murderers, thieves and drug addicts--to "reform" practitioners using various methods of torture. In order to encourage guards and other inmates to force practitioners to give up their belief, the prison officials grant a third class award for a guard or reduce a criminal's sentence for each practitioner who renounces Falun Dafa.

Descriptions of some of the brutal brainwashing methods:

1. The prison authorities force practitioners to watch DVDs slandering Falun Gong and the founder of Falun Gong, Teacher Li Hongzhi. They try to force them to verbally abuse Falun Gong, try to force them to sing the songs that pay tribute to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and compel practitioners to report their "new understanding" of Falun Gong in writing after they have been subjected to brainwashing. If a practitioner was unable to write after being tortured, she had to find someone to write a report on her behalf.

2. The prison guards slander Falun Gong and Teacher at the brainwashing sessions and in private or open meetings. Sometimes the guards would appear to be hypocritical by saying, "You should have [the right to] your own ideology and your own thoughts." However, once practitioners confirmed their faith in their writings, the guards would quickly make an about-face and escalate the persecution.

3. The prison authorities assign criminal inmates such as thieves, murderers and drug addicts, who are eager to earn sentence reductions, as "personal monitors" to watch practitioners. Practitioners are forbidden to talk, practise the Falun Gong exercises, study the Falun Dafa teachings, go to the toilet, get lunch, or even take a walk. Criminals are encouraged to be in close contact with prison officials and to report any and all of th practitioners' actions. Other inmates are banned from having any contact with, providing help to, or sympathising with practitioners, or even from standing beside a practitioner. Otherwise, they will be warned or threatened with longer sentences. Still, many criminals who have learned the truth of Falun Gong and the persecution, secretly respect, encourage, and even help practitioners.

4. The prison utilises collaborators³ to badger practitioners to "reform."

5. The prison deceives practitioners by offering sentence reductions if they write the Three Statements⁴. Some practitioners did so, and as a result, they suffered from even more ruthless persecution at the hands of the prison authorities.

6. Prison guards openly spread rumours that practitioners do not care for their families and relatives. The prison has opened a "family phone line," but practitioners are prevented from using it because they are banned from phoning their families. They are also not allowed to have any family visitations, to accept any money their families might bring them, to exchange letters with their family, or to receive any daily provisions from their family members. The prison officials keep practitioners completely cut off from their families.

7. Prison guards inspect letters written by practitioners. Letters cannot be mailed out without official permission.

8. Those who refuse to be "reformed" have to listen to the guards' berating, threats, and verbal abuse. Those practitioners are banned from having any connection with their families, are handcuffed, locked in an isolation cell, and have no communication with the outside world or other people for a long time.

After eight years of abuse and torture, one practitioner became mentally traumatised and several others lost their mental abilities to function normally. Many practitioners suffered from severe depression after their release.

Tue Meiling, a former employee of the Lingwu City Medical Company, used to be a healthy, lively and intelligent woman. In 2003, she was sentenced to three years in prison and held at the Yingchuan Women's Prison. The guards attempted to force her to "reform," but she did not cooperate. She refused to wear a prison uniform and to memorise the prison rules. This resulted in Ms. Tue being handcuffed and locked in an isolation cell, and she was banned from any communication with anyone else. Due to this ongoing physical abuse and mental torment, her mind was sometimes clear and sometimes not. Although her condition meant she was disqualified for incarceration, the prison authorities did not release Ms. Tue. Instead, they put her on heavy medication for mental disorders, which led to a profound mental disorder. She was released for outside hospitalisation at the Ningan Hospital and had to endure additional torture in the hospital. People who knew her before are shocked at how emaciated she has become.

As a result of brutal "reform" measures, a formerly healthy and lively individual suffered a mental collapse. This is a reflection of the twisted minds of the prison authorities and guards.

List of contacts at Yingshuan Women's Prison:

Prison head Du Xiulan: 86-951-4098751 (Office), 86-951-4073751 (Home), 86-13909516562 (Mobile)
Tang Jieban, Political Commissioner: 86-951-4098021 (Office), 86-952-2033566 (Home), 86-13909571011 (Mobile)
Other officials: 86-951-4086032, 86-951-4086033, 86-951-4086613
Prison general office: 86-951-4098301, 86-951-4095153 (fax)
Cao Zhonglong, prison head: 86-951-4098092 (Office) 86-13079500899
Prison Politics Section head: 86-951- 4098021

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. "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")

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

4. "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/2007/10/8/164103.html