The Persecution of Practitioners in Shandong Province Men's Prison

The Shandong Province Men's Prison, also known as the Shandong Province No. 1 Prison, is located in Jinan City. It is notorious for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. The guards in the No. 11 Ward use all types of torture techniques such as brainwashing, hypocrisy, cajoling, force-feeding, sleep deprivation, sitting on a board¹, solitary confinement, shocking with an electric baton, mental torment, criticism, denunciation, and humiliation to compel practitioners to do things against their will and renounce Falun Gong.

The prison authorities claimed that they were successful in "transforming²" 100 per cent of the practitioners, and that none of them returned to the practice of Falun Gong. As a result they were commended by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the prison was designated an "advanced" institution. The prison is open to the public and receives visitors nearly every day. The visitors include police officers, students, and sometimes foreigners. The prison authorities conceal the unceasing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and this outright pretence continues to poison people.

The No. 11 Ward is specifically set up to persecute Falun Gong. Guards encourage inmates to abuse practitioners. Except for some criminals, most of the inmates are CCP officials guilty of corruption. They were high ranking officials that lived through the Great Cultural Revolution, so they are familiar with exercising a series of tactics to discipline others. When the prison authorities linked personal gain, such as sentence reduction, with the abuse of practitioners, the inmates became hostile to the practitioners and acted as the CCP's thugs.

To "transform" the practitioners, the prison gave governing power to the inmates to monitor, strictly control, and beat practitioners. The prison set up a so-called "strictly controlled team" and a "consolidation team." Any practitioner who refused to renounce his belief would be abused by the "strictly controlled team." Seven or eight inmates were assigned to torment one practitioner. The inmates were murderers, gang members, or those guilty of corruption

The practitioners who held steadfast to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance were locked in a remodelled cell, with the door and windows sealed tightly. The practitioners were detained separately, and inhumanly tortured at night. Their cries could be heard throughout the entire ward. To cover up their crimes, the thugs stuffed socks, towels, or rags into the practitioners' mouths.

They also wrote the founder of Falun Gong's name, Teacher Li Hongzhi, on the practitioners' benches and beds with virulent intent. Practitioners were forced to swear at people, otherwise, they would be deprived of sleep. Some were forced to sit on a small bench for a long time until their buttocks festered. They were forced to watch videos slandering Falun Gong and if they closed their eyes, the thugs would push open their eyelids. Some of the practitioners held a hunger strike to protest the persecution and were brutally force-fed.

The following is brief information about some of the male practitioners that are being persecuted in the Shandong Province Men's Prison.

Mr. Zhang Lejin, who lives in North east China, was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for tapping into a TV signal to expose the persecution of Falun Gong. As a result of abuse in detention, he developed a disease of the rectum and has great difficulty defecating. He has suffered immensely.

Mr. Huang Min of Northeast China was also sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for tapping into a TV signal to expose the persecution of Falun Gong. He has suffered long-term inhuman abuse, such as force-feeding, beatings, and and denigration.

Mr. Wang Fengyu, in his 50s, lived in Laiwu City, Shandong Province. He was sentenced to nine years. He was force-fed and beaten and became extremely weak as a result. His family was prohibited from seeing him for a long time.

Mr. Shi Zenglei lived in Linyi City, Shandong Province. He was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment. He was brutally beaten and injured and still experiences pain. The guards broke his spirit by criticizing and denouncing him at meetings that were structured similar to those that occurred during the Great Cultural Revolution. Consequently, he became extremely weak and had difficulty taking care of himself.

Mr. Liu Guixian lived in Jiaodong Peninsula, Shandong Province. He was sentenced to nine years. He suffered brutal abuse and became extremely thin.

Mr. Gao Hongjie lived in Anqiu City, Shandong Province. He was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment. He was beaten, cursed regularly, deprived of sleep, and forced to sit on a small, backless stool for long periods of time.

Mr. Wang Xidong lived in Jiaodong Peninsula, Shandong Province. He was brutally beaten. Once he was struck on the back of the neck and fainted instantly. As a result, his cervical vertebra was severely damaged and he frequently felt dizzy.

Mr. Li Jianqiang, an alias, lived in Jiaodong Peninsula, Shandong Province. He was subjected to long-term "strict control." He was deprived of sleep and beaten. His leg was disabled and he was forced to sit on a small, backless stool for long periods of time and his buttocks festered as a result. He endured excruciating pain. He is currently in a weak state and his face is gaunt due to the abuse he has suffered. He held a hunger strike to protest the abuse and was force-fed. Everyone in the ward witnessed the persecution inflicted on practitioners by the guards and inmates. Some of them said admiringly, "I witnessed with my own eyes that Falun Gong practitioners are very brave."

Mr. Zhao Weidong was sentenced to seven years. The guards abused him over a long period of time both mentally and physically. His family is very poor and cannot afford to treat his son, who is disabled. His wife does not have an income. Both the wife and son are awaiting his return.

Mr. Yi Xiangyang, in his 50s, was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment. He was beaten, deprived of sleep, hit with an electric baton, and all his teeth were knocked out. His family is very poor and could not afford to buy meat during the spring festival. His son could not bear the circumstances and tried committed suicide without success.

The guards and their accomplices were still not satisfied with the practitioners who had given up Falun Gong against their will. Further mental abuse was inflicted on them. Meetings that criticized and denounced them were organized. They were forced to listen to slanderous video and tape recordings. They were also ordered repeatedly to write articles slandering Falun Gong and "confess" that they had committed a crime. They were severely demeaned both mentally and physically. Their mental anguish was severe and difficult to mend. Not only did they lose their personal freedom but they were also mentally devastated.

Note

1. Sitting on a board - Every day, practitioners were forced to put their hands on top of their laps, with backs straight and sit on benches 18 hours per day. This continued for over fifty days. The authorities limited practitioners' restroom use. Because of the long time spent sitting on hard benches, practitioners' buttocks developed large sores that hurt badly. Practitioners could not urinate normally because of the pain. Because of being locked up for long periods of time under wet and damp conditions with no ventilation or sunlight, practitioners developed scabies, which were extremely itchy and painful. See case at: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/7/29/24631.html.

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.ca/mh/articles/2008/12/14/191588.html