Abuse at Hexing Brainwashing Centre in Deyang City, Sichuan Province

On April, 2001, a school was established in Deyang City, Sichuan Province for the claimed purpose of science education. The school was moved to Hexing Town, Guanghan City around 2002. Under the guise of "science education," this facility is actually a jail used to brainwash and persecute Falun Gong practitioners.

The 610 Office [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong] of Deyang City, coordinating with the Politics and Law Committee of Deyang City, began setting up the brainwashing centre in June 2010, to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. They planned to move the brainwashing centre located at Hexing Town, Guanghan City, to Baotan Village in Hexing Town, formerly Baotan Elementary School. There is no sign on the gate. (Externally, it is called Guanghan City Anti-Cult Education Centre.) The grey iron gate is kept shut at all times. Multiple shifts of guards patrol inside. Cameras are installed everywhere to monitor people's movements. On the wall, there is a set of metal spikes.

There are 12 cells, and each cell has three beds. The middle bed is for a Falun Gong practitioner. Two people sleep on the left and right side. The head of the brainwashing centre is a woman in her 40's, and she is known as Director Mao. She is believed to be from the 610 Office. There is another official named Li, and he is in his fifties. There are 50-60 people working there, including those who work on propaganda materials against Falun Gong, plainclothes police, security people and others.

I. Arresting Falun Gong Practitioners

Hou Guangtao, in her seventies, a Falun Gong practitioner from the No. 2 Group of Xinglong Town, Guanghan City, was the first one arrested and taken to the brainwashing centre. At around 2:00 p.m. on August 5th, 2010, Li Chuanyu, the women's association head from the No. 2 Group of Xinglong Town, brought Huang Changwen, a person from Xinglong Town Judicial Department, Ye Gang from Xinglong Town Police Station, and a person from Guanghan National Security Team, and went to Hou Guangtao's home. Huang Changwen told Hou Guangtao, "We came here to take you to a two-month class." Hou Guangtao said, "I will not go anywhere." Ye Gang and another person carried Hou Guangtao to a car. According to a witness, Hou Guangtao shouted out, "Falun Gong is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!"

Zeng Qingbing, team lead of the No. 5 Team from Xigao Town, Guanghan, and Zhong Guoshu, the village Chinese Communist Party (CCP) secretary, went to talk with Falun Gong practitioner Tang Wenjun's son and ordered him to cooperate with them to trick his mother into going to the brainwashing centre at Hexing Town, Guanghan. On August 6th, right after 6:00 a.m., Zhong Guoshu and Zeng Qingbing went to Tang Wenjun's home. They kept talking to her until after 9:00 a.m., and tricked Tang Wenjun into going with them. They told Tang's daughter, "We want to take your mother to a class. That place has better living conditions, plus there is air conditioning."

On August 10th, at 9:20 a.m., while he was with his grandson playing outside, Falun Gong practitioner Meng Hualong from the Refractory Plant of Deyang City, Sichuan, was arrested by Yuan Jinhua and Wu Youdong from the plant's security department. Meng was then sent to Guanghan Brainwashing Centre for persecution.

On August 10th, while talking to people about Falun Gong, Chen Shiqing from Lianshan Town, Guanghan, Sichuan, was reported and then arrested. His whereabouts are not known. It was said that he might also be detained at Hexing Brainwashing Centre.

Falun Gong practitioner Zhao Mingju, in her fifties, from Xinfeng Town, Guanghan, Sichuan, was framed by Zhang Yurong, the village CCP secretary, and was arrested on August 13th, by police from Xinfeng Town Police Station and Guanghan National Security Team. She is now detained at Hexing Town Brainwashing Centre, Guanghan.

On September 6th, Falun Gong practitioner Sui Bairong from Luocheng Town, Guanghan, was arrested. She is now detained at Hexing Town Brainwashing Centre in Guanghan.

At 10 o'clock on September 7th, police from Xigao Town Police Station of Guanghan, and Qin Daoxue, the CCP village secretary of Mayan Village, along with Liu Changfu went to Falun Gong practitioner Luo Jihui's home at No. 11 Group of Mayan Village. They tried to get her to attend a "class." At that time, Luo Jihui refused. Secretary Qin Daoxue said, "If you don't go, your granddaughter will not be allowed to go to college." (Luo's granddaughter had just passed the college entrance exam.) Luo Jihui, 79, is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and is illiterate. Under intimidation and coercion by officers from the police station, Qin Daoxue and Liu Changfu, her daughter and the rest of her family, Luo Jihui was sent to the brainwashing centre for further persecution.

That same day, while harvesting beans in the field, Zhong Defang from the No. 11 Group of Xigao was arrested by Mu Qicheng, the CCP secretary from the No. 10 Team, and He Guanmeng, the village head, who brought officers from the police station and Guanghan National Security Team, and was then sent to Hexing Brainwashing Centre for persecution.

Three days later, Falun Gong practitioner Zeng Heqiong from Wenhe Village of Xigao, was arrested by officers from Xigao Town Police Station and Guanghan National Security Team while she was on her way back home after taking her grandson to school.

Ms. Zhou Weirong, 64, a Falun Gong practitioner from No. 4 Group of Jiangnan Village, Xiangyang Town, Guanghan, was arrested by Yu Shusheng from the 610 Office and some village cadres on September 13th, at noon. A total of ten people forcibly took Zhou Weirong to Hexing Brainwashing Centre in Guanghan for persecution. At that time, Zhou Weirong's husband was present and would not allow them to take her away. The person from the 610 Office lied to him, saying that they would release her four days later. However, when her family went to the brainwashing centre to visit her, the head of the centre would not allow it.

On September 15th, Ms. Zhao Mingying, a Falun Gong practitioner from the No. 1 Group, Longju Village, Xinfeng Town, Guanghan, Sichuan, who is 47 years old, was taken away by Zhao Dehua, the CCP village secretary, who brought a group of police. They broke into her home and took her away. They ransacked the home and confiscated Falun Gong books and materials. Zeng Heqiong, a Falun Gong practitioner from Xigao Town, was arrested and her whereabouts are not known. It was said that she might be detained at Hexing Brainwashing Centre.

At the brainwashing centre, there is a female Falun Gong practitioner who is over 60 years old, and her last name is Chen. It was said that she is from Mashi Village, Bajiao Town, Shifang City. It is unknown when she was arrested and sent to the brainwashing centre.

From August 5th to September 15th, it is confirmed that the 610 Office of Deyang City arrested twelve Falun Gong practitioners in Deyang City and sent them to Hexing Brainwashing Centre for further persecution.

There are still four Falun Gong practitioners detained at the brainwashing centre as of September 30th, including Meng Hualong, from Deyang City Refractory Plant, Sichuan; Zhong Defang, from the No. 1 Group of the No. 10 Team of Xigao Town, Guanghan; Zhao Mingying, from the No. 1 Group of Longju Village, Xinfeng Town, Guanghan; and a female Falun Gong practitioner whose last name is Chen, from Mashi Village, Bajiao Town, Shifang City.

II. Forced Brainwashing

Practitioners detained at the brainwashing centre are each placed in a cell with two people monitoring each practitioner. They eat, drink, use the toilet, and do everything in the cell. The two monitors follow the practitioner wherever he or she goes. They don't allow practitioners to do the Falun Gong exercises. Falun Gong practitioners must follow their requirement in whatever they do. If they don't follow their orders, they are labelled as not being "transformed" [forcibly renounce Falun Gong]. Those practitioners are given books, newspapers, and video tapes that slander Falun Gong, to facilitate the comprehensive brainwashing. Sometimes, a professional CCP-trained brainwashing expert is utilized, to instill the CCP fallacies as part of brainwashing the practitioners.

Those who still firmly believe in Falun Gong and persist in their practice are forced to sit on a tiny stool. The monitors don't allow such Falun Gong practitioners to move a bit. Practitioners have to ask for permission even to use the toilet. If the monitoring people are not happy, they don't allow the practitioners to use the toilet. Falun Gong practitioner Hou Guangtao from the No. 13 Group of the No. 2 Team of Xinglong Town, Guanghan, was punished by being forced to sit on a tiny stool, which made her back become numb. For a long time she had no feeling in that area.

Falun Gong practitioners were tortured by being deprived of food. Sleep deprivation is also a frequent method used on practitioners. Steadfast practitioners are not given any meals for up to seven days. Director Mao is also very cruel. If she is not happy with any of the Falun Gong practitioners, she withholds meals. Meng Hualong from the Refractory Plant was subjected to sleep deprivation. At first, he was not allow to go to sleep. When they saw that he looked very tired and was falling asleep on his feet, they tied him to a wooden chair, with his hands and feet tied up. Even in such a condition, a person who has been deprived of sleep will still fall asleep. The people monitoring him then made noise to prevent him from sleeping, and later started a tile-cutting machine that generated high-decibel noise, and placed it next to the chair to prevent the practitioner from sleeping. Practitioners were forced to curse Falun Gong. If they refused, they were labelled as not being "transformed" and punished. In order to prevent people from running away, dogs were utilized and security people inspected each cell periodically during the night.

III. Using Material Temptations and Deceitful Tricks to "Transform" Practitioners

When the goal of "transformation" wasn't reached, the persecutors would change their method. First, they faked concern for a practitioner's health. Sometimes they bought some fresh fruit or milk for practitioners. If a practitioner's family had a small business, they promised helping with remodeling the store. For those practitioners whose homes were in the countryside or who have no house to live in, or who have a dilapidated house, they promised furniture. For senior practitioners from the countryside, they promised social security benefits that were taken away because of the persecution.

The most cruel method used was to persecute relatives. They told practitioners that if they didn't cooperate with them in "transformation," their family members might not be allowed to go to college. Promotions at work, social security benefits, and other benefits for relatives were threatened. On one occasion they wanted to deceive Hou Guangtao into cooperating with them in making some video, which was intended to deceive other Falun Gong practitioners. With several video cameras focused on Hou Guangtao, a professional propagandist said to Hou Guangtao, "If you cooperate with us in videotaping this, we will send you to the hospital to treat your illness (her physical condition had deteriorated due to persecution), we will build a new house for you, buy you new furniture, and give you social benefits, so that each month you will get some money from us." Hou Guangtao saw through their plot and did not say a word. No matter what they said, she was not moved.

IV. The Brainwashing Centre Is Another Sign of the CCP's Corruption

The brainwashing centre funding comes primarily from a special account. A college instructor whose last name is Hu controls the money. He said, "We have plenty of funding to be used in transforming you guys. This time we have over several million yuan¹." Each Falun Gong practitioner has to pay local government five thousand yuan. The people who monitor practitioners have business relationships with officials (The two people who monitored Hou Guangtao are related to leaders from the No. 2 Group of Xinglong Town, Guanghan). Each person earned 1,000 yuan each month besides room and board. The people who monitor Falun Gong practitioners and other staff had fish or meat for every dinner and enjoyed full tables of good food. After each meal, left-overs are thrown away. If some leaders are coming, they will have a large banquet. Each month, they get 3,000 yuan including their expenses for food and accommodations. Staff members in the brainwashing centre have very light workloads. Sometimes they report to work in the morning and then leave for home shortly afterward. Some people stay at the office for only four to five hours and then go home.

Note

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

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/10/12/230893.html