Outrageous Persecution Perpetrated at the Hebei Provincial No. 4 Prison

The Fifth Ward of the Hebei Provincial No. 4 Prison uses a cruel method of torturing imprisoned Falun Dafa practitioners called "Taming the Eagle." This is considered an "outstanding torture" and was first used at the Baoding and Taihang Prisons to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. It was later popularized by the Hebei Provincial "610 Office."(1) In this torture, three to four criminals and several police guards make up what is called a "transformation" team. The team works in three shifts so that Falun Gong practitioners can be beaten 24 hours a day. They use all kinds of torture tools, and do not allow the practitioners to sleep, or even close their eyes, otherwise the practitioners are beaten. As long as practitioners refuse to renounce their belief in Falun Gong, the torture continues. Practitioners are continuously tortured day after day for up to a month, or even for 40 to 50 days.

Cai Baohua was tortured like this for three consecutive days and nights, Liu Huanjie for five days and four nights, and Xia Xingmin five days and nights. Liu Zhengqing's hands and legs became deformed after eight days and seven nights of this treatment. Liu Rufeng, political instructor of the No. 3 Division, prisoner Tian Xinshan, and others beat Liu Zhengqing for three nights in a row. They punched and kicked him, and used the sole of a shoe to beat him around the eyes. On the seventh night Mr. Liu lost consciousness during the severe beating. On the eighth night his head and face were so swollen and deformed that he was unrecognizable.

1. Intensive Brainwashing Centre is Run by the Prison Education Department

On March 18, 2003, the Political Director of the No. One Division and the Head and Deputy Head of the Division summoned Falun Gong practitioner Xia Xingmin to the division office. They said to him, "If you 'transform', then you don't need to go to the education department building anymore, since you would be forced to renounce your belief in Falun Gong anyway." Xia said, "It seems that I made a big mistake after I came to Shibei Prison. On the day after my arrival I called home and told them that No. 4 Prison is a civilized prison. That is to say, the prison manages the inmates in a civilized manner. I told my family not to worry. The Chinese Central Television Station once reported that the police guards in the prisons treat Falun Dafa practitioners nicer than they do their own mothers. Now I see firsthand the reliability of the reports on how Falun Gong practitioners are 'transformed.' It will be all right if they observe the law and are reasonable." The three policemen finally revealed the truth, "They are neither reasonable nor do they follow the law. What they do is force you to renounce your belief in Falun Gong."

Four Falun Gong practitioners were tortured at the Intensive Brainwashing Centre run by the Education Department of the No. 5 Ward. Each practitioner was tortured by three violent criminals. Two days later, one criminal, who still had some kindness in his heart, asked to go back to his ward. He said that in the tiny building in which the Education Department is located, one can only live up to expectations by being cruel and ruthless. However, the expected behaviour was too cruel for him to comply with. "The ghastly and bloodcurdling scenes, and the terrorized and bloody environment are just too much for me to bear...." The ward had to replace him with other criminals.

2. "Taming the Eagle"

In the intensive brainwashing centre, Falun Gong practitioners were forced to sit on stools that were upside-down; practitioners actually sat on the four legs of the stools. They had to sit either with their legs stretched out in front, or cross-legged, forcing the practitioners to put all their weight on the legs of the stools. The practitioners were not allowed to eat, drink, or use the toilet. They also suffered from torture methods of the prison's own invention. It is said that an everyday person would suffer a mental collapse after five days and nights of enduring the "Taming the Eagle" torture because they simply could not bear it.

Dafa practitioner Liu Weiji of the No. 12 Ward wrote a letter to the prison authorities and told them, "The violent criminals used by the prison police are experts at torture. They beat me and hit me with a wooden stool, always striking the pressure points, tendons, and other sensitive parts of my body. These sadistic criminals even shouted, 'We won't allow you to drink any water, but we'll wring the water out of you.' It turned out exactly as they said. After being tortured this way for a few days, it would be extremely difficult for a practitioner to even move."

After writing the letter to the prison authorities exposing the brutal persecution that he suffered at the brainwashing centre, Liu Weiji was even more strictly supervised and controlled. This is because the perpetrators were afraid of their evil deeds being exposed.

The "Taming the Eagle" torture was nothing new to Falun Gong practitioner Liu Huanjie. Ever since he started practicing Falun Gong, the persecution came at him wave after wave. On New Year's Day 2002 his house was searched, and many of his belongings were seized without justification. The items that were illegally confiscated included a motorbike, a sewing machine, a television set, leather suitcases, watches, clocks, and his herd of sheep. In the early morning of September 29, 2002, a group of plain-clothed police climbed over a wall to enter his courtyard and take Mr. Liu Huanjie and his family, including children, to the Yanshan County Police Station.

The police cruelly tortured Mr. Liu Huanjie for four days and three nights to extort an admission of wrongdoing. Seven days later Liu Huanjie was interrogated again. In the basement, Wang Yixin, division head of the Changzhou City Police Station, Liu Weidong, Head of the Riot Police Division, Wang Wenping, Division Head of the Yanshan County Police Station, and a dozen or so other perpetrators tortured Liu Huanjie. The policemen locked Mr. Liu into a metal chair and kept him awake for a long period of time. Whenever Mr. Liu felt sleepy the police would pour cold water over his head or slap his face with water-soaked towels. Liu Huanjie was constantly kicked and punched, sworn at and insulted. Wang Yixin was the most vicious. He roughly dragged a spoon up and down on Liu's ribs, which was extremely painful. The police threatened, "We can make you suffer even more. We can get the criminals to strip your trousers off and flick at your testicles, which will make you wish you were dead."

The more experienced police guards said they could mentally destroy an unyielding man by torturing him for five days and nights. Nine days and nine nights of such torture would make the strongest man urinate blood. However, after using all the threats, coercion, and torture tools, the guards failed to force the Falun Gong practitioners to agree to stop practicing. On the contrary, the guards also suffered because they had to stay up late. Every night one policeman smoked two packages of cigarettes and had to take anti-hypertension pills.

The Jiang regime uses money and recognition to drive Zhang Zhonglin and others to inhumanely torture kind-hearted Falun Gong practitioners. The policemen and criminals who took part in the persecution were promised monetary rewards, Citations of Merit, or reduced jail terms. Out of self-interest these perpetrators became even crueler and more ruthless.

(1) "610 Office": an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

(2) Yuan is the Chinese currency. The average monthly salary of an urban worker in China is 500 Yuan.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/4/11/72012.html