(Clearwisdom.net) (correspondent from Hebei Province) Taixing Prison is located in Baoding City, Mancheng County, Hebei Province. Since the persecution of Falun Gong started in 1999, many Falun Gong practitioners have been locked up and tortured in this prison. The guards have beaten practitioners and instigated other prisoners to beat and monitor Dafa practitioners. These prisoners follow practitioners while they eat, sleep, shower, and use the toilet. Practitioners are not allowed to talk to each other. The following are several persecution cases that have taken place in Taixing Prison.

1. Ms. Chen Yanyu is in her 30s and comes from Chengde City, Hebei Province. She is an oculist by profession. She was imprisoned in 2003. Guard Ma Huiran instigated prisoner Bian Cuiqin and a former Falun Gong practitioner, who had given up Dafa under pressure, to take her to an isolated room. They wrote words slandering Falun Gong and its founder. They hit Ms. Chen on her face and neck until her face and neck were swollen and red. Later, she was transferred to the Shijiazhuang Prison because she refused to cooperate with the unreasonable demands of the guards in Taixing Prison.

2. Ms. Hu Shenhua is in her 30s and is from Yi County, Hebei Province. Guard Wang Guiying noticed that Ms. Hu was copying Falun Gong articles and ordered a dozen prisoners to push her down on the ground. Guard Ma Huiran slapped Ms. Hu 's face and handcuffed her hands and legs to a big wooden board. She was later transferred to the Shijiazhuang Prison.

3. Ms. Ma Shulan is 63 and is from Yi County. Guard Liu Xingke tried to force Ms. Ma to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong, but she refused. Liu and former Falun Gong practitioner Wei Tianchen (female) tortured Ms. Ma. In addition, they did not allow her to use the toilet. She suffered from high blood pressure as a result of the abuse.

4. Ms. Dou Yongzhi is in her 30s and comes from Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. The guards in Taixing Prison ordered everyone to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong. They said that those who wrote the statement would receive reduced sentences. Ms. Dou refused to write anything against Dafa and was thus not allowed to leave the prison. Prison officials continued to pressure her to give up Falun Gong. When she shouted, "Falun Dafa is good," the guards handcuffed and beat her.

5. Ms. Guo Jinghua is in her 40s and is from Changli County, Hebei Province. Ms. Guo was forced to work day and night doing labor-intensive work. She wrote several letters to appeal and demand that the officials of Taixing Prison unconditionally release all Falun Gong practitioners who were illegally arrested and detained. Guard Ma ordered prisoners to tie Ms. Guo onto a bed. Later, Ma stuffed a piece of cloth in her mouth and forced her to sit on a stool. She had to sit on this stool more than ten hours a day and was not allowed to shower, nor was she allowed to use the toilet. No one in the prison was allowed to talk to Ms. Guo. Guards Ma and Du Lijing took her to an isolated room and ordered prisoners Zhou Jinhuang and Bian Cuiqin to beat her. Ms. Guo became very weak because of the torture but still she had to do routine forced labor.

6. Ms. Zhang Lijun is in her 30s and is from Dingzhou City, Hebei province. She was not allowed to sleep because she refused to renounce Falun Gong. Once, she had her period and her lower abdomen hurt. The guards instigated prisoners to hit her lower abdomen. Ms. Zhang shouted to try to stop them. A guard told her they would pay for her medical bill if she got injured. In the prison, inmates get "credits" for beating Falun Gong practitioners and were told they wouldn't have to work in the sweat shop. Because of these incentives, many prisoners are willing to help persecute practitioners.

7. Ms. Zhou Yu is in her 30s and comes from Cangzhou City. She was locked in solitary confinement. The guards instigated prisoners to torture her around the clock. She was forced to stand for a long time and was not allowed to sleep. Ms. Zhou refused to give up her belief. Guard Ma told her that the prison had all the time in the world to "work on" practitioners who refuse to renounce Falun Gong.

Ms. Liu Jinying from Laishui County, Hebei suffered a mental collapse because of the torture she endured. Practitioners Ms. Zhao Wenlan (in her 70s), Ms. Bai Junjie, Ms. Zhang Li, Ms. Wu Yueting were tortured until they were ill but were not allowed to get medical treatment. The prison officials demanded that all prisoners tell the outside world that there is "no beating, no verbal abuse, no torture and no sleep deprivation" taking place in this prison.