Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured and Killed at "Lanzhou Legal Training School"

The "Lanzhou Legal Training School" was established in December, 2001. The employees claimed that this institution provides "legal education training," however, it is actually a brainwashing centre of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), solely established to persecute Falun Gong practitioners.

The head of the centre is Qi Ruijun (the CCP secretary). Those in positions of authority include Yang Dongchen, Sun Qiang, Yang Wentai, Quan Run and Wang Dong. The people in charge of the persecution are Liu Xin, Mu Jun, Lu Liang. Security guards or assistants Wei Yichuan, Yang Jigang, Qiao Houquan, Qin Hongxia, Ju Youhua, He Lixia and many others aid and abet in the torture of practitioners. Torture methods include cursing, beating, force-feeding, trussing, handcuffing behind the back, hanging up, not providing water, not allowing to go to toilet, confining in the basement, and so on.

Over the past six years, almost 400 practitioners were imprisoned in this centre. Three hundred practitioners were tortured. Practitioners were handcuffed behind the back or hung on twin size beds, heads of bunk beds, iron gates of small cells or the basement. After three to five days, their bodies and extremities swell up. The wrists bleed because of being handcuffed for a long time, and they become disabled. Many people were mentally traumatized and extremely weak afterwards.

At the end of November, 2007, the "Lanzhou Legal Training School" (brainwashing centre) celebrated its sixth anniversary. Government officials allocated 200,000 yuan¹, and the brainwashing centre 8,000 yuan for celebrating that date. They put a red carpet in the hallways of the office building, and invited their supervisors to banquets. The centre raised its rank from No. 60 to No. 16 in China. The CCP leaders in Gansu Province gave Qi Ruijun and Mu Jun the opportunity to attend the 17th National Congress Conference.

Ms. Liu Zhifang Tortured to Death

In July, 2005, the CCP members from the "Lanzhou Legal Training School" locked practitioner Ms. Liu Zhifang, 48 years old, an actress at the Lanzhou Yu Opera, in a confinement cell in the south western corner of the labour camp. They first handcuffed Ms. Liu behind her back, then they hung her up. Ms. Liu ran a fever, so the doctor on duty gave her an IV (which usually contains unknown drugs). On a July night, Ms. Liu died. The Gongjawan Brainwashing Centre announced that Ms. Liu Zhifang committed "suicide"(including a document that was sent to all levels of government officials). They threatened people who knew the truth so they would not reveal it. To eliminate the evidence Ms. Liu's body was cremated without an autopsy.

There was no sunshine, ventilation or heater in the confinement cell. It was cold and damp. There were iron rods one metre above the iron gate, which were used to hang up practitioners. Those practitioners who were persecuted in the confinement cell were hung on the iron rods 24 hours a day, with their faces towards the room and their backs towards the gate. Their arms were extended from the iron grids and handcuffs were used to lock their hands on the iron grids. They were only released during meals and at 11 p.m., so they could go to the toilet.

Ms. Liu Zhifang's family members filed an appeal. Qi Ruijun assigned responsibility to Wang Quan who was on duty at that time. Later, Yun Yucheng (director of the labour camp, vice director of the Lanzhou Judicial Bureau, and president of the "Lanzhou Legal Training School") became involved. Wang Quan was excused from any legal responsibility and returned to his home town in Hebei Province. Other people in charge of the confinement cell at that time included Chen Luzhang (security deputy chief of the general merchandise warehouse), Chen Wenxian, Wang Quan (23 years old, his uncle Zhang Zhigang was the director of the brainwashing centre, later Zhang became deputy chief for supply) and Wang Yuping (female, her aunt was an accountant for the labour camp).

All Kinds of Torture Lead to Injuries and Disabilities

1. Practitioner Ms. Han Zhongcui was detained in the brainwashing centre for more than four years. The CCP guards locked her into the confinement cell over 10 times and for more than ten days each time. Around December 10th, 2004, the guards put Ms. Han Zhongcui, who refused to write statements renouncing Falun Gong, into the confinement cell and hung her up in the air many times. This went on the entire winter in a cell without heat. Ms. Han slept on the cement floor. She was not released from the confinement cell until the beginning of June 2005.

From September 2005 to January 2006, they locked Ms. Han Zhongcui and Ms. Qian Shiguang, in her 60's and a retired engineer, again in the cold confinement cell for 4 months. They handcuffed Mr. Han Zhongcui behind the back for 13 days. One of Ms. Han's arms was injured and her left hand became disabled. In March, 2006, Qi Ruijun handcuffed Ms. Han Zhongcui and Ms. Niu Wanjiang, an employee from the Lanzhou Railway (she was detained for three years in the Dashaping Prison and then in the brainwashing centre) behind the back and to the metal rails in the yard. They were freezing and starving in the cold weather and not released for almost ten hours.

From July 2006 until the middle of September 2006, Ms. Han Zhongcui was locked into the workshop office and handcuffed behind the back for 45 days. In 2006, she went on a hunger strike to protest the torture. Qi Ruijun ordered her cuffed to an iron bed. She was force fed for more than one month. One day in January 2007, Qi Ruijun ordered that Ms. Han Zhongcui be hung up in front of a bunk bed. Guard Liu Xin squeezed Ms. Han's cheeks, Sun Qiang forcefully opened Ms. Han's mouth, and they force fed her. Her face was injured.

2. Practitioner Bai Fugui, an employee at a supermarket, was arrested and detained in the brainwashing centre in 2004. He went on a hunger strike to protest. He was thrown into the confinement cell, cuffed on an iron bed, and had a force-feeding tube inserted. The guards in the confinement cell force fed him at will. The torture lasted for 2 weeks.

3. Practitioner Mr. Guan Ziping, an employee at the Lanzhou Nylon Factory, was detained and tortured in the Dashaping Prison for 5 years before being transferred to the brainwashing centre. He went on a hunger strike many times. He refused to sign any statement or take part in the centre's activities. Because he refused to cooperate, he was locked into the confinement cell and tortured.

4. In April, 2006, practitioner Mr. Zhang Tao from Baiying City went on a hunger strike. He was locked into the confinement cell for 23 days. His ankles were injured by ropes used to tie him up.

5. In June, 2006, practitioners Wang Zhijun, Zhang Rong (a teacher from the Huining High County School), Zhang Tao and Chai Qiang (a graduate student from Lanzhou University) were imprisoned in a confinement cell. They were handcuffed behind the back and tortured for four days. Wang Zhijun's knees were injured because of kneeling down for too long. His wrists were also injured because of being handcuffed for too long.

6. In January 2007, practitioner Sun Jianfeng, an employee of the Yingchuan Electric Supply Company in Ningxia Autonomous Region, protested that Qi Ruijun beat Qian Shiguang. Sun Jianfeng was handcuffed behind the back and locked into the confinement cell for 53 days. His wrists were injured. He still refused to renounce Falun Gong.

7. In October, 2007, six practitioners were locked into the confinement cell, including Niu Wanjiang, Sun Jianfeng, Su Jinxiu, Wang Caixia, Song Lanping and Zhang Chunlian. Mr. Niu Wanjiang was handcuffed behind his back and hung up for 81 days. He passed out and fell to the ground while eating. He was injured around his eyes and needed 5 stitches. His feet were frozen, resulting in two wounds, which were more than 1 inch long and 1/2 inch deep. His arms and wrists were injured. His hands are now paralysed.

8. Mr. Sun Jianfeng was handcuffed behind his back and hung up for 72 days. His knees were swollen and extremely painful. He had difficulty walking afterwards.

9. Ms. Song Lanping was handcuffed behind her back for 53 days. Her body was swollen. She was sent to the hospital emergency. Each day she was forced to pay 500 yuan for the hospitalization. In the brainwashing centre, the guards injured practitioners, but they did not pay for the medical bill; instead, they forced Ms. Song's family members to pay.

10. Ms. Zhang Chunlian was handcuffed for 25 days. Both of her elbows, wrists and fingers were injured. There were two big holes on the inner side of her legs. There was a lot of pus which leaked onto her trousers and shoes. The handcuffs injured her wrists and the wounds dug deep into her flesh.

11. Wang Caixia and Su Jinxiu were handcuffed for more than 20 days and their wrists were injured.

Many of the practitioners' legs and feet swelled so badly as a result of the torture that they were not able to squat. There were injuries on their arms, hands, legs and feet. They were not allowed to drink, wash their faces, or to go to the toilet.

To cover up the crimes and block the information, Qi Ruijun ordered Yang Wentai and two policemen to guard the gate of the labour camp. They monitored everyone at the brainwashing centre.

Torturing and Beating Practitioners

The guards, as ordered by Qi Ruijun, beat the practitioners. The following are some of the cases of abuse.

1. In March, 2006, Qi Ruijun grabbed the hair of practitioner Ms. Miao Maolin from Qinghai Province and slapped her. On the second day, he beat Ms. Miao Maolin again.

2. In March, 2006, Qi Ruijun, Yang Wentai and Zhang Yongfu beat practitioner Guan Ziping.

3. In April, 2006, Qi Ruijun and Wang Dong beat practitioner Qian Shiguang. Even Qi's driver Jia Renlu helped beat the practitioner.

4. In April, 2007, Qi Ruijun and Sun Qiang went to the confinement cell in the workshop. They cursed at and beat practitioner Sun Jianfeng, whom they handcuffed behind the back.

5. In August, Ms. Qian Shiguang's Falun Gong articles were found and guard Yang Ji reported it. Qi took Ms. Qian Shiguang to his office, beat her, slapped her, and hit her with a cane. After Qi was tired, Quan Run and Wang Dong continued to beat Ms. Qian Shiguang. Ms. Qian's mouth bled and her body was bruised.

6. In February 2008, Ms. Guan Shenghe was detained on the first floor of the building. She was handcuffed behind her back and tortured. Yang Wentai grabbed her hair, and Mu Jun slapped her. Ms. Guan Shenghe's mouth and nose bled.

7. In 2003, they detained practitioner Ms. Yao Tianrong in the confinement cell and handcuffed her behind her back. When Ms. Yao Tianrong refused to give up her belief, they detained her in the basement and brutally beat her.

8. The so-called "basement" used by the guards, according to the victims, looked like a big vegetable cellar on the outside. After walking into the gate of this underground cell, there were stairs more than ten meters long that extended down. It was dark inside. One couldn't see anything. It was rumoured that a female drug addict was handcuffed and died there. Practitioners who were taken to the basement were handcuffed to the iron gate of the underground cell. Practitioners who refused to renounce their belief, were taken there for additional torture.

9. Practitioner Ms. Han Zhongcui was detained for seven days in this underground cell. She was not allowed to go the toilet.

10. Practitioner Wang Jun from Lanzhou University was tortured in the basement.

11. Liu Wanqiu and Zhang Zhan were tortured in the basement.

12. In the winter of 2007, the labour camp ordered people to do construction work in the basement. Probably they were afraid that their crimes would be exposed and they wanted to eliminate the evidence.

Selling Practitioners as Slaves to Forced Labour Camps for Profit

"Lanzhou Legal Training School" used the practitioners they arrested as hostages. The practitioners' workplaces were forced to pay 3,000 yuan per month to the brainwashing centre. The brainwashing centre had hired people to collect this money. For each practitioner that the staff at the brainwashing centre "transformed²", the upper level government would award 5,000 to 10,000 yuan to the centre.

The brainwashing centre fudged the employee name list, so that they could receive a higher salary. Some staff members accidentally found out that some employees had left more than one year ago. The staff members of the brainwashing centre also extorted money from the practitioners' families. For example, the brother of Zhang Tao paid Qi 7,000 to 8,000 yuan. Female practitioner Wang Yongli's family members also paid Qi 7,000 to 8,000 yuan. In 2007, there was a practitioner with the last name Lu, whose family members were forced to pay 1,600 yuan. In 2008, the family members of a practitioner with last name of Hou had to pay 4,000 yuan twice. There are probably many more who had were forced to pay money. The relatives of the head of the brainwashing centre also mentioned to other staff members that they "received lots of money."

For the practitioners who refused to be "transformed" or whose family members refused to pay money, the "Lanzhou Legal Training School" sold them as slaves for a high price to labour camps. In the middle of May, 2006, the brainwashing centre sold practitioner Ms. Dong Guohong to the Shanya Women's Labour Camp in Lanzhou for 20,000 yuan. The document of this labour camp with the price they paid and the stamp of the labour camp was saved in the file folder of Qi Ruijun. In the same year, they sold practitioners Ms. Li Yuxia and Ms. Liu Xiuping to the same labour camp, and they sold Luo Yongde and Bao Jianfeng to the Ping-Antai Labour Camp. In 2008, they sold practitioner Ms. Wu Shenghe to the Shanya Labour Camp.

Since "Lanzhou Legal Training School" was formed, they sold at least 20 practitioners to labour camps.

Sending Practitioners to Mental Hospital and Force-feeding Practitioners with Alcohol

Practitioner Ms. Li Dongmei, a professor from the Ganshu Chinese Communist Party School, was detained in the brainwashing centre in 2002. She went on a hunger strike. She was taken to the Tianshui Mental Hospital.

There were 6 practitioners, including Ma Jun (employee from a water pump factory) and Wei Zhouxiang (a teacher from the No. 8 High School), who were tortured in the brainwashing centre. They were still compassionately trying to convince Qi Ruijun not to commit any more more crimes. When they invited Qi to meet in a restaurant, Qi called and informed policemen from the No. 26 station. They arrested all 6 practitioners and imprisoned them.

According to the practitioners who were tortured, the staff at the brainwashing centre knew that practitioners do not drink alcohol. To damage the practitioners' bodies, they bought lots of wine for cooking and added it to the practitioners' food.

As ordered by Zhou Xinfu, secretary of the Political and Judiciary Committee of Lanzhou, Yun Yucheng, Zhou Hongwei and Zhang Qing from the brainwashing centre wrote an article which viciously slandered Falun Gong. This was distributed to all the staff, security guards, all levels of government officials, the workplaces of the practitioners who were detained, and those who came to visit the brainwashing centre.

What is listed above is just a fraction of the crimes committed by employees at the "Lanzhou Legal Training School" against practitioners. The Political and Judiciary Committee and the 610 Office of Lanzhou cleaned up an old storage place to establish this brainwashing centre. They called it "Lanzhou Legal Training School." However, it is a place where Falun Gong practitioners are detained and tortured.

Contact information of personnel involved in these persecution cases:

Address of the Gongjiawan Brainwashing Centre:

Gongjiaping Bei Lu, #136, Qilihe district, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province.

Tong Jianmin, head of the 610 Office of Gansu province
Qi Ruijun (the CCP secretary): 86-931-286001
Quan Run (director), Wang Dong (director), Mu Jun, Sun Qiang, Wang Guilan
Qing Hongxia (staff, a farmer from Dingxi), Ju Longhua (staff, a farmer from Yaojie)
Yang Jigang (security, a farmer from Tianshui)
Other staff: Yang Dongchen, Yang Wentai (director), Liu Xin, Wu Liang, Pan Xiaochun, Zhang Yongfu, Du Mei, Ma Xin

Note

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

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")

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/7/23/182504.html