By Yu Ming, a Dafa Practitioner in China

Continued...

(Clearwisdom.net) It is inconceivable to those whose human rights are maintained and respected throughout the world, in societies that are ruled by law, and especially after Jiang announced to the world media that China is enjoying "the best period of human rights," that there are still large areas where people are severely assaulted and abused in a dark and evil arena.

Furthermore, in my experience at some of the worst forced labor camps in Tuanhe (and others) that the police denied us access to information regarding the laws that regulate forced labor camps. Those sentenced to the labor camps had no idea what their personal rights were, nor the respect that they must be accorded under the law. If someone wanted to know about the regulations, the police would use various means to remove their requests. Even after release from the forced labor camps, the victim's family members dared not complain to the police. This happened with all the police and forced labor camps all over China.

One day, as some newly arrived detainees were shouting questions and answers, in protest, I shouted that I was illegally detained. The police rushed up to me, and without allowing me to explain myself, dragged me out to the office. Here, I was pressed to the ground and four or five electric batons were applied to various parts of my body at the same time. The strong electrical current caused my heart to palpitate. I felt as if my heart would burst as I began to lose any feeling and almost passed out. I was breathing very hard so that I wouldn't suffocate. My face, neck, arms, legs, and other exposed parts of my body were covered in blisters from the electric shocks. The police never did explain why they acted so savagely towards me. Later, I sent an appeal, in accordance with China's laws, to the National People's Congress and the Law Court in Beijing City, in which I denounced my treatment in the forced labor camp. As of today, I still have not received any reply. I do not know if the police confiscated the letter or mailed it.

(3) Sent to the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp, Beijing City.

*Various Savage and Brutal Offences at the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp*

On March 1, 2001, I was sent to the Second Brigade, Third Squad, of the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp, Beijing City. Here, I was immediately deprived of sleep; forced to stand under the hot sun and not allowed to move; made to do extra heavy physical labor; severely assaulted by inmates who were ordered to do so by the camp officials to force me to abandon my belief in "Zhen, Shan, Ren" (Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance); coerced to abandon my personal ideologies and beliefs; pressured to write materials abusing my Teacher and Dafa, which in essence was meant to justify the punishment I received. I was not allowed to speak my mind or appeal for my rights. I remained steadfast as I knew my constitutional rights to freedom of belief, freedom of speech, and my legitimate personal human rights, and did not compromise them. A few perpetrators of the Second Brigade and the police were planning some violent actions towards me. The people involved include Cao Hui (at that time he was the monitor of the Third Squad), Guo Jianxin, Jia Qishu, Ma Yuehui, and others. I warned them that I reserved the legitimate right to self defense so they dared not harm me.

In fact, within a month of arriving at the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp, there were many occasions when I saw Falun Gong practitioners severely and savagely assaulted.

1. In the Second Brigade, Practitioner Lu Changjun was tied up with wide plastic tape by staff members Zhang Wenlong, Ju Chongfeng, and Zhang Qingshan. Lu's head was lowered to his knees and then tied down. He was forced into a tiny space under a wood plank bed, and then several people sat on the bed, which exerted tremendous pressure and crushed Lu's vertebrae. He is now a paraplegic. Lu's family filed a lawsuit and Zhang Wenlong was only sentenced to three years in jail. In reality, the perpetrators of this assault were the duty policemen Liu Xincheng, the leader, and assistant of the Brigade, Jiang Wenlai, and Ni Zhenxiong respectively, of the Second Brigade as well as all the officials at the Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp. Were it not for the urging of the police, those inmates would not dare to assault people in this way. The wide tape that was used had been banned from use at the camp. The police must have supplied the inmates with the tape, as it was impossible for the inmates to obtain it by themselves. During the assaults on Lu Changjun and others, everyone could clearly and distinctly hear their screams and cries. Even those in the other brigades on the ground-floor (Second Brigade was in the first floor) heard the screams and they shouted: "What are you doing up there?!" The general office and the police hostel was only a few meters away, separated only by a staircase. It cannot be denied that the sound of the beatings and abuse could be heard, as there were always police officers on duty, standing in front of the staircase. But with so many Falun Gong practitioners being abused and beaten, especially when Lu Changjun was assaulted till his vertebrae were broken, no police officers went to stop the assaults. Until today, not a single policeman has been disciplined or punished for his illegal treatment of the practitioners.
2. Falun Gong practitioner Chen Gang was surrounded by more than twenty people and beaten in a frenzy, then tied up, forced under a bed, and beaten on the head, legs, and body with the hard soles of boots till his whole body was swollen and unrecognizeable. He was unable to walk for several days and was almost paralyzed. Later, when Chen Gang complained on many occasions to the forced labor camp staff and the Department in charge of forced labor camps, not only was he ignored, but his sentence was extended by an extra six months.
3. Wei Rutan, Duan Peichen, Cui Xiangjun, and others were tortured by the hired hatchet man Guo Jianxin and others. They stabbed needles into the legs and arms of the victims and then twirled the needles in the wounds; they poured boiling water on the heads and bodies of the victims; they tied the practitioners up and forced them under wood plank beds and then beat them on their heads and legs with the plastic soles of boots. When Duan Peichen protested, his head was smashed against the sharp edge of a metal radiator. He fell and lay in a pool of blood. Zhang Jiuhai was beaten by the gang, tied up, and forced under the bed as both his legs were stepped on. He was also forced to sit on the "tiger bench"* (implement of torture) then tied up and paraded through a group that abused and beat him. The hair of a 30-year-old practitioner had tuned almost completely gray hair and much of it had fallen out. University students had their mouths stuffed with rags, as they were tied up and forced under the bed, had their legs stepped on; had toothbrushes forced between two tightly closed fingers and the brushes were rotated until the skin of their index and middle fingers was shredded, the bone was exposed, and there was profuse bleeding (this form of torture called "key opening the lock"). The pitiful screams of the victims could be heard for quite a distance.
4. Yang Shuqiang was assaulted by Pang Yu and others of the Third Brigade at the forced labor camp. He was taken into a toilet and beaten till his eardrum was perforated and blood and pus oozed out of his ear. His sides and legs were seriously injured. It appeared that his legs were fractured , as he could not walk for many days. He did not receive any medical attention or care. Jiang Yongjun was beaten, abused, and kicked by the forced labor camp officers Mo Haitao, Jin Haoyou, Pang Yu, and others, tied to the planks of a bed, and forced to drink ice water. Eventually, the torture caused him to become incontinent and lose his sanity. He was taken to a committee called the "Assisted Transformation League" and then publicly paraded in order to humilate him, a method commonly used in the cultural revolution. The authorities spread a fabricated rumor that Jiang Yongjun became insane as a result of practicing Falun Gong. This was done to dmonize Falun Gong, decieve the public who did not know the truth, and justify the authorities persecution. Many other practitioners were deprived of sleep, shocked with high voltage cattle prods, physically assaulted, and beaten. When practitioner Gong Chengxi first arrived at the forced labor camp, he was attacked by the hatchet-men in a frenzied assault. They bashed his head against the wall and beat his face until his lips were torn and bleeding.

The afore-mentioned cases are only the tip of the iceberg! Among the more than one hundred persons sent to the camp, at least fifty percent of them were tortured by having their heads tied to their knees, then forced to sit in a wash-basin under a low wood plank bed while being beaten continuously on their bodies and faces with the hard soles of boots.

All these bloody cases, all the beatings, and the persecution, can be verified with the Falun Gong practitioners that were the victims. All of the assaults were instigated by the police. Otherwise, how could so many Falun Gong practitioners have suffered continuous abuse since the end of 1999, when the Falun Gong practitioners were first sent to the forced labor camps.

(To be continued)

*tiger bench: Practitioners 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. They are not allowed to turn their heads, close their eyes, talk to anyone or move at all. Several inmates are assigned to watch over the practitioners and force them to remain motionless while sitting on the bench. Usually some hard objects are inserted underneath the practitioners' lower legs or ankles to make it harder for them to tolerate this abuse (see illustration on )

Part 1: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/2/23/45389.html
Part 2: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/2/24/45429.html
Part 3: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/2/26/45356.html

Posting date: 2/27/2004
Original article date: 2/23/2004
Category: Eye Witness Accounts
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/2/10/66825.html