Elderly Mr. Hu Shangxue Tortured in Jiuquan Prison

Name: Hu Shangxue
Gender: Male
Age: 72
Address: Jiaojiazhuang Township, Yongchang County, Gansu Province
Occupation: Retired from the Veterans Hospital
Date of Most Recent Arrest: March 6th, 2002
Most Recent Place of Detention: Jiuquan Prison
City: Jiuquan
Province: Gansu
Persecution Suffered: Sleep deprivation, brainwashing, beatings, hanging by handcuffs, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, extortion, home ransacked, interrogation, detention.

Mr. Hu Shangxue was detained four times between 2000 and 2002. During his fourth detention, he was sentenced to a 12-year term by the Yongchang County Court.

Mr. Hu began practising Falun Gong in May 1996. Through practising his physical and mental health improved greatly. He felt as if he was walking on air. Not long after, Mr. Hu's wife, Ms. Zhao Yongxiu, also started to learn Falun Gong. Her rheumatoid arthritis disappeared after she took up the practice. Mr. Hu and his wife talked about their personal experience to their neighbours and friends. Gradually, more and more people came to learn Falun Gong.

On July 20th, 1999, the persecution of Falun Gong, a practice which has benefited tens of millions of people, began.

Cultural Revolution-Type Mental Persecution

Mr. Hu Shangxue was detained by officers from the county police bureau in 2000. He was tied up and paraded through the streets to humiliate him in public. At the time, more than a dozen practitioners were detained in the same prison. Liu Fuhai and Peng Weiping, directors of the Yongchang County Police Bureau, and Li Guoyu from the Domestic Security Section ordered that he be detained and humiliated. All cars owned by the county police, Procuratorate, and court took part in this activity. After the parade the practitioners were taken to the courtyard of Hetan Village, Jiaojiazhuang Township, to attend a “criticize and denunciate” meeting. After that, the practitioners were paraded through the streets in Yanhetan, Lishuzhuang, Beiquan, and Shuangmojie. At that time, Liu Fuhai punched Mr. Zhang Yanrong, who eventually died as a result of being abused, in the head for raising it a bit higher. Liu Fuhai shouted, “Lower your head!” During the “criticize and denunciate” meeting, all the practitioners were handcuffed.

The practitioners were then taken to the Yongchang County Detention Centre and released after 20 days. This was Mr. Hu Shangxue's first detention.

The Police, the Procuratorate, and the Court Violate Chinese Law

Yongchang County Police Bureau detained Mr. Hu and more than a dozen practitioners on December 1st, 2000. At that time, Mr. Hu had been detained for 137 days. The third detention began on August 3rd, 2001. He was detained for 20 days for talking to people about Falun Gong. Yongchang County officials arrested him at his daughter's home.

When Mr. Hu and other practitioners posted banners and messages on March 6th, 2002, he was detained by the Yongchang County Police Bureau, along with more than 50 other practitioners. Eighteen were sentenced to forced labour and 13 to prison terms.

Police Officers Violate the Law

No one, from everyday officers to the director of the police bureau, followed the letter of the law. One day, Liu Fuhai, director of the police bureau, interrogated Mr. Hu. When Mr. Hu told him about all the benefits he derived from practising, Liu Fuhai slapped his face for not badmouthing Falun Gong.

Cheng Yesheng, director of the detention center, forced the detained practitioners, old and young, to do push-ups. Mr. Hu said, “I can't do it.” Cheng Yesheng said, “It you can't do it, you must stand on the ice.” Winter in the northwest is very cold. Mr. Hu’s arms and hands lost feeling shortly after being forced to lie on the ice on his stomach. The skin on his palms and fingers stuck to the ice, and when they pulled him up, his skin was torn off.

At the Yongchang Detention Centre, torturing practitioners was a very common activity. Duard Hao Jiang kicked and punched Mr. Hu.

The guards also demanded that the practitioners step on the photo of Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong. Almost every practitioner was forced to do this. One day, when a guard put Mr. Li's photo on the office floor, two officers pushed Mr. Hu from behind to make him step on it. Mr. Hu pushed the guards backwards to keep from stepping on Mr. Li's photo.

When practitioner Mr. Zhu Dayi was taken to Yongchang Detention Centre, Liu Fuhai ordered the guards to hang him by his handcuffs with his feet barely touching the ground, and then hung a bucket of water from his neck until he lost consciousness. His clothes were soaked with sweat. They poured cold water on him to revive him and then beat him with rubber batons. The guards tried to make him step on Mr. Li's photo, but Mr. Zhu refused. Liu Fuhai yelled at the guards, “Beat him hard! Beat him to death!” The guards used batons to hit Mr. Zhu's ankle until he was crippled. As a result, he was unable to walk for several months.

A female guard who was taking notes misspelled Mr. Zhu's surname on purpose as “Chu.” Mr. Zhu said, “How can you misspell my name?” The next day the female guard took a screwdriver and stabbed Mr. Zhu’s hand between the thumb and the index finger. A tall male guard was shocked to see what she did and asked, “How could you do that?”

On March 6th, 2002, Li Guoyu and other officers detained Mr. Hu and his wife. When ransacking their home, the evildoers stole 1,300 yuan¹. Over time, the officers ransacked his home many times and stole more than 3,800 yuan from Mr. Hu.

Yongchang County Court Sentenced Several Practitioners to Prison Terms

On September 18th, 2002, the Yongchang County Court sentenced several practitioners to prison terms, including Mr. Zhang Yanrong, Mr. Qin Dexin, Mr. Fan Yongcheng, and Mr. Hu Shangxue, who were sentenced to 12-year terms; Mr. Wang Zexing, Mr. Yue Peifu, and Mr. Qin Jichang to ten-year termss; Mr. Zhu Dayi, Ms. Wang Zefang, and Ms. Wang Yongfang to seven-year terms; and Mr. Yan Shengjie to a three-year term.

When the practitioners appeared in court, Mr. Hu Shangxue said that he had not violated the letter of the law, so he should not be tried. He sat on the ground to protest his sentencing. The presiding judge, Shi Duoying, pounded the table and shouted, “Hu Shangxue, behave yourself! This is a courtroom, not your home!” Mr. Hu said, “We are all good people and haven't violated any law. We are not afraid. It is you who are persecuting practitioners. We are explaining the facts about Falun Gong to let people know that Falun Gong is good and the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good. We are all good people.” Shi Duoying got flustered and said, “If it were still the past, I would have sentenced you to death.” Practitioner Mr. Zhang Yanrong said, “Shi Duoying, this is an official courtroom, not your home!” By then, Shi Duoying was too flustered to say anything.

Tortured in Prison

Mr. Hu and a dozen or so practitioners were detained in Lanzhou Prison for more than three months. During that time, the guards talked to the practitioners regularly. The practitioners used the opportunity to talk to them about Falun Gong.

One day, a guard who was newly transferred to the prison slandered Falun Gong at a meeting. At first Mr. Zhang Yanrong stood up to protest, and so did Mr. Hu. Then. more than 20 other practitioners also stood up. The guard had to declare the meeting over. All the cell's supervisors were left behind. Not long after, one of the supervisors came over and said, “Zhang, the guard wants to see you. You should talk nicely. Otherwise you guys will be thrown into solitary confinement. You see, they even brought the handcuffs for the solitary confinement.” Mr. Hu went to talk to the guard about Falun Gong and the significance of pursuing the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” Mr. Hu also told the guard that he was telling him this for his own good. Finally, the guard said, “I see. You can go now.” After that, the guard never slandered Falun Gong again.

Mr. Hu was transferred from Lanzhou Prison to Wuwei Prison on February 26th, 2003.

On December 1st, 2005, Mr. Hu was transferred from Wuwei Prison to Jiuquan Prison. Among the 21 practitioners who were transferred to Jiuquan Prison, two died there as a result of inhuman torture, including 48-year-old Mr. Zhang Yanrong and 56-year-old Mr. Liu Yongchun. Another practitioner, 46-year-old Wang Zexing, was mentally traumatized as a result of torture.

The officials at Jiuquan Prison adopted a policy of forced “transformation” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong]. They burned practitioners with cigarettes, beat them, burned them with pokers, kept them in solitary confinement, and tied them up and then stuffed a hare into the crotch of their trousers. They also used the torture method “splitting the body” (or the "beng torture") as well as forced sitting on a small stool for hours at a time (this torture is known as “stewing the eagle”).

Mr. Wang Xiaodong and Mr. Ma Yong from Jiuquan were held in solitary confinement. A steel chain connected their handcuffs to the radiator of the central heating system. They were unable to squat down or stand up. After Mr. Liu Yongchun and Mr. Zhang Yanrong were chained, the guards stuffed a hare into each practitioner's crotch. They kicked the hare so that it began to kick and bite. Mr. Zhang Yanrong died in Jiuquan Prison. When his family changed his clothes they found that a large area around his genitals was black and blue.

The guards ordered the cangues to make Mr. Hu and Mr. Fan Yongcheng sit on a small stool around the clock for many days. The only time they could stand up was at mealtime. They were not allowed to close their eyes. Whenever they closed their eyes, they were beaten. The cangues continuously read books that framed or slandered Falun Gong in a loud voice toward the practitioners. On one occasion, Mr. Hu was not allowed to sleep for four days and nights, and Mr. Fan for 13 days (300 hours). They were not allowed to take off their shoes or change their shoes. They were forced into prolonged sitting. Therefore, he could only kneel on the stool. This torture continued until he was released four and a half years later.

The “beng torture” used in Jiuquan Prison is explained in detail in an article published on the Clearwisdom website on March 5th, 2009, “The Torture Method 'Splitting the Body' Used on Falun Gong Practitioners in Jiuquan Prison, Gansu Province” (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2009/3/27/105968.html)

The director of Jiuquan Prison at the time was Liang Qiuming, who is currently the enterprise manager of the Gansu Provincial Prison Management Bureau

Financial Persecution Continues

Mr. Hu eventually left Jiuquan Prison on May 26th, 2010. However, he is still being persecuted financially.

Mr. Hu went to the personnel department of the county government to get his pension in early June, 2010, but so far has not received a reply.

Mr. Hu went to the county government six times to see the magistrate, who refused to meet with him. Mr. Hu then went to see the director of the County Appeals Office, who also refused to meet with him.

Mr. Hu's wife, Ms. Zhao Yongxiu, went to Beijing to appeal and was sentenced to forced labour twice.

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/2011/6/16/242475.html