Recalling the persecution, I'll summarize it in three phases: the blind persecution phase, the violent persecution phase and the malicious "theoretical" guidance phase.
First Phase: Blind Persecution
From 1999 until March 2001, guards and police of Handan City Labour Camp used similar methods to "educate" Falun Gong practitioners and common prisoners. First the guards tried to "persuade" Falun Gong practitioners not to resist the policy of suppression, and follow the requirements of the government. Practitioners who wouldn't comply were beaten, physically punished or mistreated. Practitioners were also deprived of the right to see their families, and forced to watch propaganda shows slandering Falun Gong. Most Falun Gong practitioners were steadfast and held to their righteous belief in Falun Dafa.
In this phase, the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners caused terrible suffering. In January 2001, Falun Dafa practitioner Yang Baochun insisted on practicing the Falun Gong exercises. Police Xue Peijun ordered some criminal prisoners to beat him, and he was bedridden with serious injuries for a long time. Subsequent long-term torture by police led to the amputation of his leg that same year due to severe frostbite. Since practitioner Yang still upheld his righteous belief in Falun Dafa, he was then sent to a mental hospital for further spiritual torture.
Second Phase: Violent Persecution
Starting in April 2001, Handan City Labour Camp was constantly criticized for their low so-called "transformation rate" of Falun Gong practitioners. So the police of the labour camp conducted a persecution of unrestrained violence until December 2001.
Under the direct order of the labour camp supervisor, the police of the labour camp committed acts of brutal torture upon all the Falun Gong practitioners one by one. Practitioners were shocked with electric batons, and beaten with wooden or rubber batons. They were not allowed to sleep for several days and nights continuously, and were force fed alcohol. Police salted their wounds, stuck needles under their nails, hung them by their wrists with twine, and used vicious torture instruments, such as the "Tiger Bench", the "small swallow fly", and "pull the willow backward" etc. Gao Chao, a practitioner over 60 years old, suffered the torture of "small swallow fly" many times [editor – for a description of these torture methods, see the end of this page].
Under such cruel torture, some practitioners were forced to write "repentance statements." However, after a short time, Falun Gong practitioners all started to declare that all these statements were invalid. The police began torturing these practitioners again. From April 2001 to December 2001, each practitioner was severely tortured once per month on average. Many people in the labour camp know that was a ‘dark room of horror’, where practitioners all "walk-in, but are carried out." In this way, practitioners who were forced to write "repentance statements" [editor – a statement saying that the person regrets ever practicing Falun Gong and promises not to practice Falun Gong again], and after declaring them invalid, were tortured again into writing the “repentance statement” once more. During this procedure, Falun Dafa practitioners are enduring unimaginably cruel persecution.
In April 2001, Falun Dafa practitioner Li Pingchang refused to write the "repentance statement." The people in the labour camp beat him with a wooden baton, poured salt water on his wounds, and stuck needles under his nails etc. With a broken hand, and the lower back area around his kidney seriously injured, practitioner Li was hospitalised for over a month.
In October 2001, Falun Dafa practitioner Ren Mengjun declared to the guards and police that the "repentance statement" he wrote before was invalid. Approximately 10 police in the 5th team of the labour camp beat him with wooden batons, seriously injuring his internal organs. Unable to eat, Ren died about 10 days later.
Phase 3: Degenerate "Theory" Guidance
At the end of December 2001, some collaborators (Former Falun Gong practitioners who have now assist the police in persecuting practitioners due to brainwashing and torture.) from Langfang Area, sent a set of deceptive "theories" to Handan City Labour Camp. In January 2002, the labour camp escalated their persecution from pure violence to complete destruction of both body and mind under the guidance of these lies, carried out by the "Special Managing Team."
The "Special Managing Team" usually follows three steps:
Step one - Forced brainwashing. After the "Special Managing Team" was set up, the steadfast Falun Gong practitioners were each gradually sent to them, where brainwashing started on the first day. Practitioners were not allowed to sleep, while the collaborators took turns feeding lies to them. Some wouldn't even allow practitioners to sit down for several days (up to 7 to 8 days reported). Some Falun Gong practitioners were tortured into spiritual confusion and blindly accepted the brainwashing.
Step two - violent force. If the brainwashing didn't take hold, the guards used more violent methods, such as physical punishment, beating, "small swallow fly" torture etc.
Step three - Hypocritical persuasion. Unlike past brainwashing, in this step, practitioners who were forced to compromise their beliefs are cared for in their everyday necessities, and their injuries are treated, while collaborators talk to them and continue feeding them lies. If after this process, a good brainwashing effect is not obtained then after practitioners recover a bit, the process begins again. The pain that Falun Gong practitioners have suffered cannot be described.
To date, about 70 of the over 80 Falun Gong practitioners in Handan City Labour Camp have been sent one by one to the "Special Managing Team" for torture; but most practitioners have not been confused by the lies.
Brief Description of the torture methods described above.
Tiger Bench - Practitioners' knees are tightly tied on a "Tiger Bench" [a small iron bench]. Usually some hard objects are inserted underneath the practitioner's lower legs or ankles to make it harder for them to tolerate this abuse.
Small Swallow Fly - The practitioner's lower body is tied to the floor while six to ten or more people hold the practitioner's arms and pull backward, and press the practitioner's head or upper body down until his/her forehead touches the knees. This can last over ten hours each time. On top of this, when practitioners are shaking from head to toe, unable to stand, the police force them into a low bed, pressing the upper body onto the lower body.
Pull the Willow Backward - Practitioner is forced to bend down and pressed onto a tree for a long time
Click here for a detailed description of torture methods used against Dafa practitioners.
Source: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/9/21/26730.html
Chinese version: http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/9/9/36316.html
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