Mr. Liu Yunchao, 56, from Wuhan Dies As a Result of Abuse and Torture in Fanjiatai Prison

Name: Liu Yunchao
Gender: Male
Age: 56
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Death: July 7th, 2012
Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 5th, 2009
Most Recent Place of Detention: Fanjiatai Prison
City: Wuhan
Province: Hubei
Persecution Suffered: Forced labour, brainwashing, forced injections/drug administration, beatings, hung up, imprisonment, solitary confinement, torture, extortion, home ransacked, interrogation, detention

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Liu Yunchao from Wuhan died at the age of 56 at 7:00 p.m. on July 7th, 2012. Mr. Liu had been mentally and physically abused for many years. Before he died, he lost most of his eyesight, could not speak, and was unconscious. His body had many scars from beatings that he suffered while he was in prison. His legs, hands, and back were dark blue. Mr. Liu had been incarcerated in Fanjiatai Prison for three years, where he was tortured and almost died. It was suspected that he was subjected to forced drug administration.

Many crimes have been committed in Fanjiatai Prison in Shayang County, Hubei Province. Six practitioners from Hubei have been killed there: Mr. Zheng Handong from Huanggang City, Mr. Chen Qiji from Jingzhou City, Mr. Xing Guangjun from Xiangfan City, Mr. Jiang Zhongyin from Huanggang City, Mr. Guo Zhengpei from Xiaogan City, and Mr. Zheng Zhong from Huanggang City. Drug administration was widely used by the guards. They used various types of drugs, including tinctures, glue, and powder. Many imprisoned practitioners were victims of drug administration. As a result, they suffered organ failure, symptoms of nervous disorders, excretory and digestive system failure, skin problems, and so on.

Mr. Liu Yunchao Was Beaten, Tortured, and Almost Died in Fanjiatai Prison

In April 2009, Mr. Liu was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Xialu District Court in Huangshi City. He appealed, and the Huangshi Court changed his term to three years without a trial.

In August 2009, Mr. Liu was placed in the Fourth Ward of Fanjiatai Prison. Warden Xiao Tianbo was very vicious. He is personally responsible for the deaths of three practitioners. He threatened Mr. Liu, saying, “If you do not 'transform' and give up your belief, you won't have any good days.” It was under his orders that Mr. Liu was beaten and tortured.

On July 24th, 2010, Xiao Tianbo and the head of the guards, Deng, told the head of the prisoners, Luo Dan, to beat practitioners. Luo was a thug who was imprisoned for violent crimes. At night, he first orchestrated a group of prisoners to beat practitioner Mr. Wang Delin, which resulted in his being bedridden. He then directed seven or eight prisoners to brutally beat Mr. Liu Yunchao. As they punched and kicked him, they shouted, “Comrade said to beat you, so we will beat you. We are just obliging.”

Mr. Liu was subsequently tortured many times and his health deteriorated. One day, he suddenly fell over while he was sitting. He was taken to emergency care in the Pinghu Hospital of Shayang Prison. His condition worsened even after he was admitted to the hospital. Three weeks later, the prison called his family and lied that he had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage.

The Prison Threatened His Family: “Do Not Tell Anyone about This”

The prison first told Mr. Liu's family to call an ambulance with a doctor and an oxygen tank to pick up Mr. Liu from the prison hospital. They said that Mr. Liu was dying, and if they did not come immediately, he might die in prison. The next day, however, the prison changed its mind, saying that the family wouldn't be allowed to take Mr. Liu home.

On August 28th, 2010, Mr. Liu's family went to the prison hospital. They saw that Mr. Liu was very thin, that his feet were purple and blue, and that he was unconscious. The family called to him again and again, and he finally heaved a sigh but could not speak.

The prison threatened Mr. Liu's family not to contact other practitioners and not to tell anyone else. They and the agents from the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) confiscated the family's cell phones.

610 Office Director: “Let Him Die There”

Mr. Liu's family asked to take Mr. Liu to Wuhan for medical treatment. The prison claimed that they would release him only after they got more than 30 official seals from the 610 Office in Huangshi and the 610 Office in Wuhan, as well as other departments.

On August 30th, 2010, the family worked on getting the official seals from the 610 Offices in Wuhan and the district, local police stations, street neighborhood committee, community neighbourhood committee, and so on. The deputy director of the Danshuici Police Station, Liu, called for instructions from Hu Shaobin, the director of the 610 Office in the Jiang'an District. Hu shouted on the phone, “We won't take him home. Let him die there.”

The Prison Shirked Its Responsibility

On September 7th, 2010, Mr. Liu's older brother went to the prison to take him home. The prison had his brother sign documents that stated that the family would pay for his medical expenses, including in the prison hospital and for travel from the prison to Wuhan. The prison also videotaped the proceedings. Just before they got into the car, Chen from the prison office told his brother to sign another document, and said, “Once you get into the car, you are responsible for everything that happens to Liu Yunchao.”

Three police cars carrying officers from the police department and agents from the Justice Bureau and 610 Office followed them to the Hankou Railroad Hospital, then left before Mr. Liu had finished being admitted. Once they left, Mr. Liu's eyes rolled up into his head, and he had black blood in his stool. When his family later recalled what happened, they said that the prison must have given Mr. Liu a booster shot. Otherwise, why was he fine on the road and then in critical condition once they left? And they left in such a hurry.

Repeated Harassment by the Authorities after His Release

Before his last imprisonment, Mr. Liu had been persecuted for many years. His wife divorced him because she could not bear anymore pressure, and his brother and other relatives paid for his medical expenses. It cost more than 10,000 yuan¹ just for the week of September 7th. They could no longer afford it and had to take him home. He was cared for by his brother, his 80-year-old mother, and his daughter.

By then, Mr. Liu's lower body was paralyzed, he was totally incontinent, and he could not speak. He made fists and could not open them. He lost most of his judgment and reasoning ability. When relating the persecution he had suffered, he would cry out, his emotions out of control.

The agents of the district 610 Office, the Justice Section of the Danshuichi Street Management Office, and the officers from the local police station kept harassing him at home. They kept pushing Mr. Liu to sign a guarantee statement. When they realized that he had lost his ability to reason, they coerced his brother, who did not practise Falun Gong, to sign various guarantee statements to renounce practising Falun Gong. They set up posts to monitor the family and threatened them to not contact any practitioners. His brother worried about his brother's life as well as his own.

Agents from the street and community where Mr. Liu used to live, such as Erqi Street, Changjian Community, Daijiashan Community, where Mr. Liu's resident card was registered, kept harassing him at his brother's home. They wanted to have him sign the guarantee statement. Their every visit hurt Mr. Liu. Finally, it was too much for Mr. Liu's brother, and he told them, “Mr. Liu cannot walk, but I can. If you come again, I will post and distribute fliers everywhere.” They then stopped.

Disabled and Nearly Blind from Previous Persecution

Mr. Liu had suffered many years of persecution and was disabled.

In 2000, he was taken to the Baibuding Detention Centre in Wuhan and put solitary confinement in a tiny cell for two weeks. The guards used a high intensity searchlight to shine into his eyes. As a result, he was nearly blind. He could only see things within three feet. At the end of his solitary confinement, both his legs were disabled.

In the same year, he was subjected to two years of forced labor and imprisoned in the Second Ward of Hewan Forced Labour Camp in Wuhan. The guards hung him up by his handcuffs above the ground for 35 days. In January 2003, just a month after he was released from the labour camp, he was taken to a brainwashing centre.

In 2009, the Huangshi City police tried to extract a confession from Mr. Liu using torture in the Huangshi First Detention Centre. Mr. Liu was not given enough food and was tied to a tiger bench² for three days.

A practitioner recalled, “When Mr. Li was released the year before last and several of us visited him. be was able to sit but could not speak clearly. When we asked how he had been tortured in Fanjiatai Prison, he got very agitated and shouted, 'Huangshi also!' We could not get what he said and asked him if the beating was very horrible and had he been subjected to the tiger bench for three days. He nodded and began to cry. I later heard from others that he had been that way for a while. Whenever it was mentioned, he would cry emotionally. I think that what he suffered really hurt him.”

Suspected Drug Administration

When Mr. Liu died, his legs, hands, and back were dark blue and full of herpes. Practitioners who have been imprisoned in Fanjiatai Prison suspect that, in addition to beatings, Mr. Liu was administered unknown drugs.

Many practitioners mentioned that guards in the Fanjiatai Prison forced practitioners to take drugs that hurt them. A practitioner said, “I was transferred to another cell. In the new cell, three practitioners were being given drugs. They had severe health problems, including high blood pressure, heart failure, renal failure, chills, sweat, and urinary incontinence, and they spit constantly. The guards poisoned everything—bed pads, comforters, all four sides of the beds and the walls close to the beds, even clothes, bowls, and toilet paper. They did it worse on holidays. They poisoned many practitioners. They used different types of drugs: powder or water-based, black, white, milky white, or granular. Some had a strong smell, and some had none. The drugs damaged people's internal organs, and nervous, excretory, and circulatory systems. I suffered heart, kidney, and foot problems, and fainted and lost consciousness many times.

“The prison hospital and prison centre hospital were involved in persecuting practitioners. Many practitioners were taken to a hospital, and then were released on medical parole when they were in critical condition. Six practitioners were persecuted to death in recent years in Fanjiatai Prison.”

Former Tough Guy Learned Courtesy after Practising Falun Gong

Mr. Liu was 6 feet 2 inches tall. He used to be considered a “bad boy” and beyond help. He fought from the time he was young. After he grew up, he fought in the street markets, and people were afraid of him.

Luckily he learned Falun Gong and totally changed. He became a good man who was tolerant and considerate of others. He said that it was Falun Gong that changed his life and made his life meaningful.

He used to be a mason but was not very good at it. Neither the street committee nor his managers at work could manage him. He also thought that he was very bad. His heart ached, and he felt his life was meaningless. He didn't cared about being a good person. After he married, his life was hard. He made a living riding a tricycle taxi. He would seize others' fares like a tyrant.

One morning, he heard Falun Gong exercise music in a park. He read a short introduction on Falun Gong, nd decided to practise Falun Gong.

After that, Mr. Liu was strict with himself in following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The former tyrant learned to wait in line to get his fares. He told a story: “I had father-and-son customers, and they were very heavy. When I took them to their destination, they got off without paying me. I called out to them, but they swore at me. I got angry and wanted to punch them, but I thought, as a practitioner, I should not fight back when hit or sworn at, so I did not do anything. Although I did not make any money, I kept calm, so it was worth it.

“On another occasion, I rode three customers to an entrance to an alley. The alley was dirty and there were puddles. The customers saw that it was hard for a tricycle to get through and said to forget it, that they would get out there. I thought that, since I was a practitioner and should consider others on every occasion, I got up from my seat, walked into the dirt and puddles, pulled hard, and took them to their doorstep. They were touched and wanted to give me extra money, but I firmly refused to take it. I was not moved in the face of self interest and felt very good. Only through truly cultivating can I enjoy the happiness of selflessness. I am happy everyday and have totally changed. My wife boasted that I was totally upside down. I often wait on my wife and know how to care about her.” He said this with tears in his eyes.

Friends and Relatives Call for Justice and to Quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

Some years ago, a friend of Mr. Liu's appealed to the authorities for his release. He said, “After I heard that Mr. Liu Yunchao had been arrested in Huangshi by the CCP, I got angry. I knew Mr. Liu ten years ago. Because of practising Falun Gong, he was virtuous instead of a street bully. He became a cultivating practitioner of the Buddha law and a practitioner that assimilates to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The CCP is planning to sentence him. Isn't that terrible?”

Mr. Liu has died as a result of the persecution. His friends and family are sad and indignant. Besides asking for justice, they have said that the CCP is evil and that heaven is against it.

We hope that Mr. Liu's death awakens people's conscience and helps them see through the evil of the CCP and choose righteousness over evil.

Note

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

2. "Tiger Bench": Prisoners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead without movement for long periods of time.