Pingshan 610 Office Personnel Persecute Mr. Liang Zhifang

Mr. Liang Zhifang is from Donghuishe Village, Donghuishe Town, Pingshan County, Hebei Province. Because he practises Falun Gong and follows the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, he was brutally tortured by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) personnel at a brainwashing centre.

On May 31st, 2001, under the direction of Officer Li Haihai of Donghuishe Village, Wei Yutang from the Donghuishe Town Government, along with Wu Suoting and Cui Zhenya from the Donghuishe Police Station, found Mr. Liang Zhifang, who was hoeing weeds in his field. They said they wanted to have a talk with him at the town hall and then they would let him go. Mr. Liang did not suspect anything and got into their vehicle. However, he was taken directly to a brainwashing centre at Lizhuang Army Camp by Pingshan 610 Office¹ personnel.

He was arrested during the busy season for farmers and detained for more than five months. He was not released until November 2001. As a result, his crops failed on that six-acre field, upon which he depended for his living.

In the brainwashing centre, Mr. Liang had no personal freedom, not even to use the toilet. Pingshan 610 Office personnel extorted money from Falun Gong practitioners, and every practitioner was charged 20 yuan² for daily boarding expenses. However, they were given little to eat, and were tortured. One day they only provided eight buns and a bit of a side dish for 13 practitioners. But those in charge drank alcohol and ate chicken, fish, meat, and fruit every day. When they got drunk, they employed all kinds of means to torture practitioners. They broke windows and screens with glass bottles, which gave mosquitoes access to the rooms to sting people. They knew that practitioners do not drink alcohol, so in the middle of the night, when Lu Weihua and Zhang Jiange were drinking alcohol, they ordered Mr. Liang and another practitioner to come drink with them. The two practitioners kindly explained that practitioners don't drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes. Lu Weihua and Zhang Jiange swore at the practitioners and made them stand for several hours.

In order to reach their goal for the number of practitioners "transformed³," the 610 Office threatens, entices, and deceives practitioners' families and relatives. They fabricated a series of situations designed to result in family members beating family members. Mr. Liang Zhifang's brother and sister-in-law were deceived and beat him once. Seeing that his spirit was not destroyed, Hou Cunli, deputy director of the 610 Office, ordered several persons to force his arms around a big tree and then handcuff his hands together. His body was tied to the tree with a rope. Mr. Liang was exposed to sunlight for an entire afternoon, and he was not allowed to eat or drink. He was not untied until nightfall.

One day, the female practitioners did not eat breakfast. At noon, the male practitioners asked that the female practitioners be allowed to eat first. As a result, Zhang Jiange and Yang Zhiwen reported that "Falun Gong practitioners were on a hunger strike." The person in charge of the board came over to see what was going on. Practitioners explained the facts about Falun Gong to him, which irritated Zhang Jiange and Yang Zhiwen, so they dragged Mr. Liang Zhifang into the yard and brutally beat him. Mr. Liang's clothes were ripped. Even other personnel were appalled by this and advised the two guards to stop the beatings. However, rather than stop, they dragged Mr. Liang to their dorm room and intensified the beating. Yang Zhiwen punched Mr. Liang in the chest several times, which caused Mr. Liang to faint. He didn't regain consciousness until after receiving emergency treatment from a doctor.

One day, someone reported to Hou Cunli that the posters defaming Falun Gong in the cell had been torn up. Hou interrogated Mr. Liang, who answered his questions wisely, and divulged nothing. Afterwards, Mr. Liang and two other practitioners were beaten. Zhang Jiange, Wang Ligang, and Xing Shulai handcuffed Mr. Liang and hung him up with a rope. The tips of his toes just touched the ground. He was beaten from morning until dinner time.

The next day, Hou Cunli found three long bamboo sticks and broke them into short sticks, about two feet long. He and Wang (director of the 610 Office), along with Tan Zhijie and Zhao Shuyong, forced Mr. Liang to kneel down. When he refused to cooperate, they pushed him down on the ground, took off his shoes, then hit his hands, feet and body with the bamboo sticks. Mr. Liang was beaten until he was almost lost consciousness. His clothes were ripped, and the bamboo sticks broke into pieces. The four men got tired and took a rest, but forced Mr. Liang to stand with his feet apart and knees bent. Mr. Liang was brutally tortured like this for three days. Tan Zhijie also said, "If you don't talk, I will smash your private part."

On the morning of October 8th, 2001, Zhang Xingang, Zhang Jiange, Liang Yanjun, Liu Hua, Tan Zhijie, and Zhao Shuyong put crushed rocks in Mr. Liang's shoes, force-fed him a bowl of chilli water, beat him, poured hot water on his face and neck, then burned his head, arms, and palms with cigarettes. The six officials took turns beating him. Mr. Liang's teeth were loosened and his mouth bled. Zhang Xingang said callously, "Swallow blood!" He forced Mr. Liang to wipe up the blood on the ground, and they tried to force him to curse Teacher Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong. Mr. Liang shouted that he would not swear even if he was beaten to death. They handcuffed him to two bunk beds and beat him. His wrists bled. Mr. Liang was tortured for four more hours. He almost fainted.

At that time, Zhang Xingang, Zhang Jiange, Liang Yanjun, Liu Hua, Tan Zhijie, and Lu Weifang were about 20 years old and did not have regular jobs. They were hired as hatchet men by the CCP. Niu Zhengui, deputy party secretary of Pingshan County (now party secretary of Zhengding County) promised that no matter what they did, they would have jobs as long as they "transformed" Falun Gong practitioners. Instigated by the CCP, this group of youths persecuted practitioners unscrupulously. When practitioners gave them good advice, they did not listen at all.

Relevant personnel:

Wang Gengting, director of the 610 Office, from Beijie Village, Pingshan Town.
Hou Cunli, deputy director of the 610 Office, from Xihongzidian Village, Guyue Town
Wei Yutang of Donghuishe Town Government, from Nanzeying Village, Pingshan Town
Cui Zhenya of Donghuishe Police Station, from Mengbao Village, Pingshan Town
Wu Suoting of Donghuishe Police Station.

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

3. "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/2008/10/14/187695.html