Slave Labor and Torture at Yuanjiang City's Chishan Jail in Hunan Province

(Clearwisdom.net) There are seven detention wards in the Chishan Prison in Yuanjiang City, Hunan Province, of which No. 3, 5, 6 and 7 are the worst in terms of persecuting Dafa disciples. Practitioners in those detention wards were tortured and forced to do manual craft work, like making summer sleeping mats by stringing together bamboo strips, making cloth dolls, and making stuffed toy rabbits and horses and other items for export through a Korean wholesaler. They also had us polish man-made gems. The prison authorities then financially reward the police there with commissions from the sale of these goods.

It usually takes 12 to 13 hours to finish the daily assignments. If the work process was slow it could take 15 to 16 hours, or even longer. Any practitioner who did not finish in time was hung up and beaten with electric batons, or kicked and punched, forced to stand still for long hours, or forced to do frog jumps and push-ups. Those not meeting the requirements were punished. Because of the long-term slave work and torture, many inmates became ill, and the number of tuberculosis cases increased daily. Out of more than 2,000 prisoners, more than 200 (10%) had tuberculosis. The illegally detained Dafa disciples objected to this kind of mistreatment. Events that occurred in the No. 6 detention ward showcase its cruelty.

No. 6 Ward Political Chief Ren Fei assigned Dafa disciple Mr. Li Xuexian a daily task of polishing 600 gems with a promise of no extra work. It took Li Xuexian 12 to 13 hours each day to finish. However, since October 22, 2003 he was assigned additional work. He worked from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and was too tired to finish the extra assignments. Division head Pang Chifeng saw him taking a rest in the workroom. He attempted to force Mr. Li to continue with the additional work, but Li Xuexian refused.

Li Xuexian also refused to address prison guards in a submissive pose, such as squatting, even when Pang Chifeng tried to force him to do so (prison rules requires a prisoner to squat or single-kneel down when talking with a guard). Then the deputy division political head Cheng Weidong, team head Qiu Hui, and team political head supervisor Yao Qi ganged up on Mr. Li and tried to drag him by his arms and legs, but even then Li Xuexian didn't give in. Then, head Cheng Weidong grabbed a high voltage electric baton to shock his legs, but Li Xuexian still didn't squat. Then four of them tore his clothes off and furiously applied electric-shocks all over his body. Li Xuexian called out at the top of his voice, "Falun Dafa is Good! Falun Dafa is the Righteous Way!"

The prisoners were looking on. Guard Cheng Weidong rammed an electric baton into Li Xuexian's mouth and discharged it for about 10 minutes. There were sparks all over his mouth. After the baton was removed, Li Xuexian continued calling, "Falun Dafa is Good! Falun Dafa is the Righteous Way!" The prisoners in the workroom stopped what they were doing, and watched and praised Li Xuexian. For fear of influencing the others, the four perpetrators dragged Li Xuexian outside the workroom. Guard Ren Fei asked him if he would follow orders to put on the prison uniform, and Li Xuexian said "no." They then beat him while verbally abusing him at the same time. Li Xuexian said, "You've broken the law, article 41 of the prison law. You have committed a criminal act."

The four guards electrically shocked him again and again. Li Xuexian insisted on not squatting. Qiu Hui then took a long bench to press against his calves but Li Xuexian didn't give up. After about an hour, police Ren Fei beat Li Xuexian and hung him up in the air.

Dafa practitioner Mr. Li Xuexian was handcuffed to the workroom window beginning October 24, for 15 to 16 hours each day. He was even handcuffed at night during sleeping hours, and he was not allowed to talk to the inmates. This kind of abuse and gross mistreatment continued until November 11.

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