Prison Guard Reveals Death Quotas in Chinese Prisons

In late 2001, Wafangdian Prison set up a "Disciplinary Control Team" that consisted of about 48 inmates headed by guards Cong Zheng and Lv Chuangui, in a separate prison district dedicated to detaining Falun Gong practitioners. In this special area, Falun Gong practitioners were brutally persecuted and many of them were left physically maimed. Prison guards said, "Every year the prison sets a quota on the number of allowed deaths, which means we are not accountable as long as the number of prisoners that die is within the quota."

Falun Gong practitioner Zhang De was frequently knocked unconscious, and was twice taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. Even in the hospital, the guards continued beating him with electric batons, and kept him tied to the bed for about a month. Since he refused to sit on a small bench (an instrument of torture), inmates stepped on his abdomen, which made him throw up, and used the small bench to hit his anklebones and shins.

On New Year's day 2004, guard Lv Chuangui instructed inmates to drag the injured Mr. Zhang De off the bed, pour cold water over him, brutally beat him, and force him to work. On the first day of the Chinese lunar new year 2004, a few inmates beat Mr. Zhang De with wooden bats because he didn't say, "Greetings to the Chinese government." Lv Chuangui said to the inmates, "As long as your beating doesn't kill him, it's okay." He also promised inmates, "If you 'transform' [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] a Falun Gong practitioner, your prison term will be reduced by six months. When Zhang De went on a hunger strike to protest the unjust treatment, he was force-fed through a tube inserted into his throat, which injured a lung. The wound became infected and he had a high fever, so he was sent to a hospital for more than two months.

Falun Gong practitioner Lu Guozan's ribs were cracked by the inmates' brutal beatings, but the injuries were left untreated. Liu Fangxu was tortured until he fell unconscious. Yang Guoqian, whose toes had been broken by a prison guard, was bloodied all over his body because he tried to get to the toilet without being escorted by a guard. Practitioner Yang Guoqian was detained in the "Strict Control Room" for at least two months to conceal his serious condition.

Falun Gong practitioner Gao Hui's gallbladder was damaged during a serious beating that occurred because he sat with his leg crossed. Falun Gong practitioner Lv Jinyu was force-fed for over a month in the name of treatment while he was hospitalised. She Yue was hung in a window so that guards could burn her fingers with cigarette lighters while they were outside the building. Xu Zhibin vomited blood after being hit with a wooden board. Because Zhao Chenglin refused to sit on the "small bench," he was beaten, which caused him to vomit blood and to have blurred vision.

Zhao Chenglin was also brutally beaten by many guards and inmates, which caused a gash in his face, and left his body covered in bruises. Inmate Li Qiang hit Song Yuegang over the head with a chair, which resulted in an extended hospital stay for Mr. Song. This inmate did the same thing to Falun Gong practitioner Gao Hui. Under the direction of guard Liu Shulin, many inmates hit, kicked, and seriously injured Falun Gong practitioners Meng Yong, Xu Zhaobin, Guan Jianhua, and others.

Falun Gong practitioner Xue Xinglong was held in the Department of Strict Control for more than a month. Practitioner Lv Jinyu was brutally beaten, handcuffed, and shackled on a wooden bed for more than a month. Zhao Chenglin was seriously beaten, handcuffed, and shackled by many guards for about three months. She Yue and Zong Liguang were detained in the Department of Strict Control for almost three months.

In April 1998, Zong Liguang started practising Falun Gong in prison. In October 1999, prison guards Yin Buxi, Dong Dekun, Wang Shengyuan, Xue Zhifeng, and others tried to force Zong Liguang to give up his faith in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He refused their demands even after he was beaten with rubber-coated batons, which were used with such force that they broke, and tortured with electric batons on every part of his body except his neck. His whole body was covered in bruises and his internal organs were injured. After two months of torture in the Department of Strict Control, there was blood in Zong Liguang's urine.

Falun Gong practitioners Wang Tianyu, Gao Hui, and Wang Miao were beaten many times. In February 2003, Song Yuegang and Zong Liguang were brutally shocked with an extra-powerful electric baton, rated at tens of thousands of volts, by inmates under the direction of prison administrator Song Lujun and warden Fu Shengjun, after the practitioners protested the inhuman treatment they received in Wafangdian Prison. Mr. Song and Mr. Zong were also handcuffed behind their backs and their feet were shackled even when they were sleeping.

Song Yuegang and Zhang De had a talk with Director Hou of the Department of Strict Control. As a result Hou handcuffed and shackled the two Falun Gong practitioners and then tortured them with an electric baton. They were tortured for more than two months. The prison warden and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chief totally disregarded the numerous complaints they received about the torture of the practitioners.

Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to call their families or write letters. In order to stop Falun Gong practitioners from suing prison guards and inmates for the unjust treatment they receive, Falun Gong practitioners are detained in separate prison divisions, and inmates are not permitted to converse with the practitioners, who are also monitored around the clock. Due to long-term incarceration and lack of sun, many practitioners have skin diseases.

In order to prevent Falun Gong practitioners from knowing about current events in society, they are not allowed to read newspapers, listen to radio reports, have guest visits, or have family members bring daily necessities. They can only buy things in the prison at twice the regular price.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/3/29/220609.html