Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Yu Huaicai from Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, could not speak after being tortured at Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp. He died on April 22, 2007. His family suspects that camp personnel injected him with drugs that affected his ability to speak.

The family saw Mr. Yu Huaicai at the labor camp for the last time four days prior to his death. He stared at his family with an open mouth. He moved his tongue but could not make any sound. He was handcuffed. The family asked the labor camp officials, "Why are you handcuffing him when he's already in such terrible condition?" The authorities answered, "That's the rule." They eventually took off Mr. Yu's handcuffs at the family's request. Yu Huaicai's eyes were bulging out. He grasped his shirt in front of his chest and repeatedly slapped his hands against the wall. He appeared to be in great agony.

Yu Huaicai was around 45 years old and lived in the Hulan District, Harbin City. He was illegally detained many times and had money extorted from him by lawless officials in the Hulan District. His wife, Du Xiuying, went into exile to avoid arrest. Their young daughter was forced to withdraw from elementary school and had to live with relatives.

Mr. Yu was illegally arrested in public on November 15, 2006. The police took more than 1,000 yuan, a mobile phone, and keys from him.

He was taken to the former Hulan District Detention Center. He was interrogated twice at the Hongda Hotel in the Hulan District but he did not cooperate. He was released on November 25, 2006. Then he returned to the Hulan District National Security Team to ask for the return of his money and personal belongings. The officials arrested him again and held him at a detention center.

Mr. Yu went on a hunger strike and was taken to Harbin City Police Hospital more than 20 days later. He was transferred to the Hulan District Chinese Medicine Hospital after January 1, 2007. Eight days later his family went to see him at the hospital, having found out where he was. They saw him lying in a bed with his feet shackled. His feet and ankles were swollen and severely bruised. He was emaciated. His family had been forbidden to see him before then and were not given any information on his condition. According to a nurse, his condition even in this state was much better than when he was first brought to the hospital. He was taken to Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp the next day.

Yu Huaicai's mother visited him at the labor camp on January 25, 2007. He said to her, "Just bring me a few clothes; don't come here again."

The labor camp officials called Yu Huaicai's family on February 25 and told them that he was in critical condition and was being treated at the 2^nd Hospital Affiliated to Harbin Medical University. The officials forced the family to sign a document slandering Falun Gong and its founder before they would let them see him. They also demanded money from the family to "treat Yu Huaicai's illness" and threatened to force-feed him if the family did not pay them! The authorities said, "We are not responsible for anything that happens during force-feeding." The family immediately paid the officials 1,000 yuan. Yu Huaicai said again to his family when he saw them, "Don't come here again."

Yu Huaicai was taken back to Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp. Before he passed away, the camp officials contacted the family many times and urged them to visit him. They lied to the family and claimed Yu Huaicai would be allowed to practice Falun Gong and study the Falun Gong books if he resumed eating.

When the family did see him again he could no longer speak and could only look at his family.

The family knows Yu Huaicai did not do anything wrong. He only persisted in his belief in Falun Gong. Because of the ruthlessness of the CCP persecution and intimidation, his family dared not utter any protest or words of suspicion when they saw fabricated documents and medical records.

On April 16, 2007, four family members of Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Chuai Cuijun, of Qianxi Town, Tangshan City, Hebei Province, along with some of Chen Baihe's family members, went to the Quanxi Court to appeal for justice regarding the issue of Ms. Chuai and Chen being illegally sentenced. They asked for their release, but instead they were all arrested by the National Security Team and illegally detained.

On April 16, at around 9:00 a.m., Ms. Chuai Cuijun's husband, Chuai Zhiwu, along with her brother-in-law, Chuai Zhigang, sister-in-law, Chai Junxia, and her mother-in-law, all went to the Qianxi Court to ask for Ms. Chuai's release. The chiefs of the National Security Team, Zhu Zhengang, Xu Zhigang, and Wang Wei, immediately dragged Chuai Zhiwu out of Chen Zhigang's office without any reason when they arrived at court. Later, the remaining people were also dragged out. During that time, Wang Wei and Zhu Zhengang ordered Qi Guiliang to begin persecuting the relatives. He stepped on Ms. Chuai's mother-in-law's hair and dragged her from the second to the first floor, holding her head to the ground. This poor old lady, over sixty years old, was brutalized by Qi Guiliang. One of the court police officers also beat Chuai Zhiwu.

Later, the National Security Team sent many agents over in a vehicle. They dragged all of the family members into the vehicle without giving any reason. Because Chuai Zhigang had refused to go, they brutally stepped on his head, causing his nose to bleed. The police even hurt Chen Baihe's daughter and son as they pushed them into the vehicle. These young school kids were frightened and didn't know what to do.

The police forcibly sent Ms. Chuai's family members to the police department, where they were handcuffed for the entire day. They also did not get anything to eat. The police charged them with "disturbing the court's normal working order," and threatened that they could be detained for fifteen days. Chuai Zhigang, Chua Zhiwu, and Chuai Cuijun's mother-in-law, were all sent to the Qianxi Detention Center.

It was said that the authorities from the 610 Office had planned to detain Ms. Chuai Cuijun and Chen Baihe until late 2008 in the name of "securing the safety of the Olympic games in 2008." According to inside sources, last Friday, (April 13) the politics and law committee of the party had a meeting. The secretary, Bai Xingyuan, threatened that they needed to deal harshly with Falun Gong practitioners.

On May 13, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Chuai Cuijun, Chen Baihe, and others were passing out truth-clarifying materials in Yuhuzhai Township when they were reported to the authorities by people who didn't know the truth about Falun Gong. The local police, together with the Qianxi National Security Team and officials Zhu Zhengang and others, took them to the Chengguan Police Department in Qianxi. They were later transfered to the Qianxi Detention Center. Their houses had been searched and Chen's computer and other belongings were confiscated. During the time that they were detained, they were all forced to have blood drawn. On April 12, 2007, Ms. Chen and Ms. Chuai were sentenced to four and five years in prison, respectively.

More than seventy Falun Gong practitioners are currently being held in Tailai Prison in Tailai County, Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province. They are held separately in fifty sections in 15 wards (groups). Usually one practitioner is jailed among every eighty prisoners in one zone (squadron). Some squadrons hold several practitioners, but they are not allowed to talk to one another. Beginning in autumn 2003, the prison authorities set a rule that every practitioner would be guarded by four inmates day and night. The inmates also had to report the practitioner's words and actions to the prison authorities once a month. If the practitioner is found to practice Falun Gong, the inmates would be punished and the guards would have their bonuses reduced or lose their jobs. Over the past years, the authorities forced practitioners to do manual labor and pressured them to write the so-called three statements.

Prison Authorities Used a H-Shaped Stretching Instrument to Brutally Torture Practitioners

The "small cell" (1) run by Tailai Prison's Administration Section used a H-shaped instrument to torture the practitioners. The prison guards handcuffed the practitioner's hands onto the two ends of the top beam of the stretching instrument, and handcuffed his/her legs to both ends of the lower beam. They then connected the vertical pole of the stretching instrument to shackles fixed onto the ground. In this way, the victim could not lean on the wall of the cell. There are two types of this stretching instrument. One type is of a fixed length, with the two beams fixed to the pole at both ends. The victim cannot lie down to sleep but can only sit with his/her back bent. The other type is adjustable. The victim's lower body can be moved so that he/she is able to lie flat. The practitioners locked up in the small cells were all cuffed to this instrument. Locking someone up in the small cell requires a signature from the deputy head of the prison. He would sign for at least seven days in a row. If the practitioner "did not do well" during the seven-day period, the deputy head would sign for another seven days. Most of the practitioners would be handcuffed to the fixed instrument for seven days, then changed to the adjustable type, and finally to the shackles.

This is one of the cruelest instruments of torture in existence. The individuals in charge of the small cell are Yang Lipo, head of the Prison Education (Brainwashing) and Political Section, and Wu Yong, head of the prison, and leader of six or seven prison guards and two inmates.

Practitioner Mr. Zhang Kuiwu Held in the Small Cell for a Year

Practitioner Mr. Zhang Kuaiwu was held in the small cell with handcuffs and shackles as well as a stretching instrument for as long as one year. Before practicing Falun Gong. Mr. Zhang had been sentenced to life in prison. While he was in prison in 1998, he learned about and began to practice Falun Gong. After July 20, 1999, when the Communist regime began to suppress Falun Gong, he was locked in a small cell for practicing the exercises. He was later transferred to Tailai Prison. In early 2002, Mr. Zhang was locked up in the small cell by Wang Yiguan, head of the Prison Education and Political Section, for persisting in practicing the exercises. Mr. Zhang was shackled for a long period of time. The two rings of the shackles were screwed to both ends of an iron pole, which was 90 centimeters (35 in.) long. Mr. Zhang had to wear the shackles while he had meals or used the toilet. The prison guards tried to force him to write a guarantee statement many times, but he refused.

Mr. Zhang was not released from the small cell until January 2003, after prison guard Wang Yi was transferred out of the section.

Beating Practitioners with a Nine Millimeter Iron Bar

In early October 2002, some practitioners were escorted to Tailai Prison and put into an intensive training group, also called the "Strict Discipline Team." Practitioners Li Shunjiang and Zhao Chuanfang refused to wear prison uniforms or recite the prison rules and regulations. For this reason, the political commissar of the training group with the surname of Ji incited criminal Li Xingmai and others to severely beat the practitioners with an iron bar nine millimeters (.35 in.) thick. The criminals also kicked and punched the two practitioners. Consequently, Li Shunjiang was on the verge of death.

Practitioner Zheng Lianqing Badly Injured as a Result of Beatings

In December 2002, practitioner Mr. Zheng Lianqing, who was held in the 5th Ward, wrote a letter to Liu Zhiqiang, head of the prison. Zheng Lianqing requested an open and fair environment for the practitioners. On the following day, Liu Zhiqiang held a meeting of the heads and deputy heads of all the wards. At the meeting, he threw the letter at the head of the 5th Ward and shouted, "I give you three days to make this practitioner write a repentance letter, otherwise you will lose your job!" After returning from the meeting, the head of the ward called a meeting of the heads of the Zones and told them, "I will make sure that you lose your jobs before me! Now I give you two days."

Li Deyou, the head of the Zone, led several prison guards to beat the four prisoners who were ordered to watch Zheng Lianqing. The guards made them make a rope with iron wire and tie it together with a stick of thorns. These criminals vented their anger at Zheng Lianqing for the beating. They beat the practitioner with this iron rope first, then several other criminals who served the guards continued beating the practitioner until they were tired. After that, several guards kicked and punched the practitioner. The whole torture session lasted for more than two hours. Zheng Lianqing was badly injured.

In the afternoon, after a few drinks, Li Deyou and several other guards began to beat Zheng Lianqing again. The stick broke into several pieces--even the steel wires were broken. In the evening, the guards on duty also beat Zheng Lianqing. The beating did not stop there. Guard Li Deyou threatened Zheng about writing a guarantee statement. Zheng Lianqing wrote the statement against his will. Upon hearing this, Li Zhiqiang went to the cell where Zheng was held, along with Ma Yaolai, head of the Political Section. The head of the prison dragged Zheng out of the cell, stepped on Zheng's head and asked, "Do you still want to write letters like that?" After the beating, blood was all over the walls of the ward office, and it took the inmates a full day to clean it up.

The Persecution of Practitioners Li Shunjiang, Qiu Jianpin, Tian Yong, Li Zhenzhong, and Zhou Zhifeng

Since 2003, the prison has had a rule that all practitioners must renounce Falun Gong within three months. For each practitioner who refuses to renounce Falun Gong, the head of the ward will have 1,000 yuan deducted from his/her salary. Likewise, for each practitioner who renounces Falun Gong, the head of the ward receives a bonus of 1,000 yuan. In addition to renouncing Falun Gong, the practitioner has to write a statement and pledge not to practice the exercises in prison. Since the practitioners refused to cooperate with the unreasonable demands of the authorities, such as taking part in forced labor, or studying and reciting the prison rules, many of them were beaten.

Practitioner Mr. Zhou Zhifeng, who was persecuted in the kitchen of the prison's Daily Life Section, was beaten by Wang Yongtao, the deputy political instructor of the Daily Life Section, and Zhang Qingbin, the head of the Zone, for not acknowledging that he had done something wrong. They pulled Mr. Zhou by the head and slammed him against the wall. Mr. Zhou suffered from anemia as a result of the frequent beatings.

Practitioner Qiu Jiabin was beaten frequently in the 4th and 5th Wards. However, despite all the torture, Qiu Jianbin still refused to do forced labor and eat "meals for inmates."

The righteousness of the Falun Gong practitioners called forth in many prison guards and inmates a feeling of profound respect. They learned that the practitioners were all well-educated and were quite different from what was described by radio and TV broadcasts. Therefore, they did not have the heart to persecute the practitioners as severely as they did when the persecution first began. The environment has improved greatly for the practitioners.

In November 2003, practitioners Li Shujiang, Qiu Jianbin, Tian Yong, and Li Zhenzhong were locked up in small cells for holding a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Thereafter, the prison created a regulation that every practitioner be watched by four inmates.

In 2004, Tailai Prison Brutally Persecuted the Practitioners for Ten Months in an Attempt to Fulfill Its Quota of So-called "Transformation" Cases

In early 2004, the Provincial Forced Labor Bureau issued a document requesting a ninety-five percent "transformation" rate of practitioners. In other words, ninety-five percent of the practitioners had to renounce Falun Gong. At the time, the prison had two new bosses, who were transferred from Mudanjiang Prison: prison head Zhang Zhibin and deputy head Zhao (surname). Since other prisons all began to brutally persecute the practitioners to fulfill their respective quotas, one practitioner had been tortured to death at the Harbin Prison. In order to cover up the death, Harbin Prison transferred all of its practitioners to Daqing or Tailai Prisons in Mudanjiang City. Only a few practitioners who had renounced Falun Gong were left behind.

On June 30, twenty-eight practitioners were transferred to Tailai Prison. When they were getting off the bus, some practitioners shouted "Falun Dafa is good!" On the following day, these practitioners were all punished. In July, Tailai Prison held a meeting of all the heads of wards and Zones and worked out a series of measures. Those who refused to renounce Falun Gong or refused to do forced labor would all have to be "transformed." A ward would be rewarded 1,000 yuan for being successful in forcing all the practitioners of the ward to renounce Falun Gong, and the head of the ward would be rewarded 2,000 yuan. Otherwise, the head of the ward would be punished. They would be demoted, have their salaries deducted, or be fired. The wards were allowed to use implements of torture with no need to get permission. If there were not enough tools for torture, the wards could make their own. the 8th Ward ordered ten of the previously-mentioned stretching instruments.

In the 8th Ward, most of the guards were graduates of the police academy. Zhou Shuzhen, head of the ward, made a rule that every guard must take part in beating practitioners. Those who did not join in were punished. There was once a virtual competition among the wards to see which one could do the most damage. Practitioners were handcuffed and shackled every day. They walked with difficulty in going to work. In the process, you could constantly hear the horrifying sound of shackles. When the practitioners' ankles were worn out and they were unable to walk, they were taken to and from work in wheelbarrows. During the work hours, these practitioners were hung up by their handcuffs, and after work they were handcuffed to the stretching instruments. Practitioners who dozed off were awakened by guards pouring cold water over them.

In the 1st Ward, practitioner Wu Xianang was hung up for ten days and was not allowed to sleep for three days. Practitioner Zhang Yaoming was hung up for three days and handcuffed to the stretching instrument for two days. In the 2nd Ward, practitioner Zhao Chuanfang was handcuffed to the stretching instrument for five days. In the 3rd Ward, practitioner Li Chang'an was tortured with the stretching instrument for two days and was then locked up in a small cell. In the 4th Ward, prison guards hung up practitioners Li Zhezhong and Tian Yongbai under the scorching sun, with the temperature over 40 degrees Celsius (104^o F). Afterwards, the practitioners were thrown into a pit more than one meter deep with their arms and legs pointing upwards, and left there for three days. In that position, they could not move or sleep. In the 5th Ward, practitioner Zhang Qiubin was tortured with the stretching instrument for six days. In the 7th Ward, guard Zhao Wenge ordered Tian Lijun and other inmates to torture practitioner Wang Shouqing, who was deprived of sleep for more than one month. Wang Shouqing was then handcuffed to the stretching instrument for two days. In the 9th Ward, the guards did not allow practitioner Li Shunjiang to sleep and pushed him once every ten minutes. Practitioner Pan Hongdong was constantly beaten and handcuffed to the stretching instrument for five days. In the 10th Ward, guards Li and Zhang often ordered their men to handcuff the newly-arrived practitioners to the stretching instrument for over twenty days. They put two steel balls underneath some of the practitioners' buttocks for as long as seven days. The scene was too horrible to watch. In the 11th Ward, practitioner Zhang Kuiwu was tortured with the stretching instrument for as long as two weeks. Sometimes the guards would also force the practitioners to watch television and cartoons that slandered Falun Gong and take part in criticism meetings.

Practitioners Pan Hongdong and Xu Linshan Passed Away as a Result of Inhuman Torture

During this round of ruthless persecution, practitioner Pan Hongdong, who was held in the 2nd Zone of the 9th Ward, and practitioner Xu Linshan in the 3rd Zone of the 4th Ward, suffered the most.

Mr. Pan Hongdong, who was 37 to 38 years old, graduated from Sichuan University and specialized in computers. Mr. Pan was smart and talented before the persecution. After enduring persecution, Mr. Pan reacted slowly, and his eyesight was dull. Mr. Pan Hongdong suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on May 15, 2005, and died in the prison hospital shortly afterwards.

In December 2002, the head of the 3rd Zone of the 4th Ward incited Zhang Jian and other inmates to torture practitioner Mr. Xu Linshan in an attempt to force him to renounce Falun Gong so that he could obtain a bonus. The criminals did not let Mr. Xu sleep and tried to keep him awake by pouring cold water over him and pricking him with needles. They also deprived Mr. Xu of food and water and forced him to drink salt water. This torture lasted for two weeks.

Mr. Xu Linshan was tortured at Fuyu Forced Labor Camp in Qiqihar City and was unable to squat down as a result. After his transfer to Tailai Prison, he suffered additional torture and developed the symptoms of six or seven diseases.

In December 2004, Qiao Sheng from the 4th Ward (current head of the Personnel Section) and Zhang Xiaodong, head of the 3rd Zone, forced Mr. Xu Lianshan to write the three statements immediately after his discharge from the hospital. They ordered criminal Bi to take Mr. Xu, who was unable to walk at the time, in a wheelbarrow to the rear of the workshop of the 4th Ward. Qiao and his fellow inmates brutally beat Mr. Xu and left him in the biting cold weather for two days. In the 4th Ward, the prison guards and the criminals tortured Mr. Xu Linshan for more than four years.

Mr. Xu Linshan's health deteriorated as a result of prolonged torture and he was eventually on the verge of death. In December 2005, Mr. Xu was released on "bail" for medical treatment after his family paid 30,000 yuan. He passed away several days after returning home.

Persecuted for Making a Statement Solemnly Declaring that All They Wrote and Said that Is Not in Accordance with Falun Gong is Null and Void

Around January 2005, many practitioners wrote guarantee statements in their respective wards under pressure and inhuman torture. Some later wrote statements declaring their previous guarantee statements null and void. Guard Wang Zhiling of the 5th Ward hung up practitioner Zheng Lianqing in the open in freezing cold weather for three days. Practitioner Zhang Kuiwu, held in the 11th Ward, wanted to declare the three statements invalid. Guo Ping, head of the 7th Ward, ordered his men to torture Zhang Kuiwu for twenty-seven days. For the last seven days, the guards deprived Zhang of sleep, and poured cold water over the practitioner. Zhang was also locked in a small cell for holding a hunger strike. In 2006, Zhang Kuiwu held another hunger strike to protest the illegal detention, and was taken to the prison hospital and force-fed for 33 days. From July to December 2006, Zhang Kuiwu was handcuffed and shackled and carted in a wheelbarrow to and from work.

Practitioners Liu Haishan, Tian Yong and Lu Yuping were badly beaten, handcuffed, and shackled. In May 2005, Song Weiwei, head of the 1st Zone of the 4th Ward, tried to force practitioner Liu Haishan to write the three statements, which Liu refused to do. The guards hung a big plate weighing dozens of kilograms on Liu's neck for more than 20 days. In 2005, practitioner Tian Yong, who was held in the 4th Ward, was locked in a small cell for passing around Master Li's recent articles. Tian Yong went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Under the instructions of Wu Yong, head of the small cell, the guards force-fed Tian Yong for two weeks, until Tian was on the verge of death. Tian was later sent to a hospital to be further persecuted and was sent back to the prison in March 2006. In May 2006, the political instructor incited criminals to beat Lu many times and handcuffed and shackled him for nearly two months. 

Thirty-eight steadfast practitioners declare that their guarantee statements written under inhuman torture are null and void. The practitioners are: Li Shunjiang, Li Chang'an, Li Zhenzhong, Wang Shouqing, Pan Hongdong (died in Tailai Prison as a result of torture), Zhang Kuaiwu, Zhang Liqun, Zhao Chuanfang, Zhang Yaoming, Sun Guangli, Li Xingya, Sun Weimin, Zhou Lifeng, Lu Yuping, Xu Linshan (died in Tailai Prison as a result of torture), Wu Xiangang, Liu Haigang, Liu Yinquan, Yu Boqing, Ji Decai, Zheng Lianqing, Yang Zhi, Qiu Jianbin, Tian Yong, Ma Fulong, Wang Wenlong, Song Anyu, Hao Yancheng, Liang Hongyu, Gao Fuping, Qu Yuzhu, Wang Zizhong, Hu Ping, Wang Junfeng, Xu Youyun, Yin Anbang (died in Tailai Prison as a result of torture), Fu Hai, and Han Ximing.

Note:

(1) "Small cell" - The detainee is locked up in a very small cell individually. The guards handcuff the practitioner with his/her arms behind his/her back in a fixed position, in which the practitioner can neither move nor lie down. The small cell is very damp and no sunshine comes in. Detainees have to urinate and defecate in the cell. Only half of a regular meal is served to detainees locked up in a small cell during the daytime. During the night, rats run about. The stench in the small cell is so bad that it is difficult to breathe.

Mr. Wei Quan, a practitioner from Chengguan Town, the Wuqing District, Tianjin City, was reported to the police by Zhang Yubin (male) when he was distributing brochures about Falun Gong on November 16, 2006. As a result, he was arrested by officers from the Chengguan Town Police Station and detained in Wuqing District Detention Center.

At about 1:00 p.m. on November 16, 2006, six or seven officers from the Wuqing District Criminal Police Team and the Chengguan Town Police Station knocked on Mr. Wei's door. His daughter, who had given birth to a child just one month prior, answered the door. The officers did not go into her room but searched every other room. They left when they did not find what they wanted.

In the afternoon, Mr. Wei Quan's wife went to the police station to ask for his release. She provided director Liu Wenge (male) with a truthful description of Falun Gong, but he refused to listen and threatened to record her explanations on his cellphone.

The next day, she again went to the police station again to ask for his release. Liu Wenge tried to make excuses, claiming that Mr. Wei had been taken away by the criminal police team and was no longer his responsibility. Mr. Wei's other family members also went and asked for his release many times during his detention but were not allowed to see him. On March 30, 2007, members of his family went to the detention center once more. The door was closed tightly and only a small window was open. A guard behind the window said that Mr. Wei Quan had been sentenced to jail, that he had appealed the sentencing and had been transferred to the 2nd Detention Center of Tianjin City. The guard then left the window. Mr. Wei's family went straight to the court to ask why they had not been informed of the sentencing. A bailiff responded that Mr. Wei Quan was an adult and that it was not necessary to inform his family. The Wei family asked for this policy in written form but the bailiff brusquely answered, "You should just ask the government," and left.

On April 4, 2007, Mr. Weis family again went to the 2nd Detention Center to look for him. The guards informed them that there was no such person there. The family then asked the officials to look at their records, but the guards simply ignored their requests.

All female Falun Gong practitioners who have been illegally sentenced in Zhejiang Province are sent to Zhejiang Provincial Women's Prison, where they are subjected to intense persecution. The gate of the prison is deep in an alleyway and hardly noticeable by outsiders. It is a so-called "civilized prison at the ministry level" of the Chinese Communist Party. Let's look at how "civilized" this prison is.

In the prison, inmates in the Newcomers' Team, About-to-Be-Released Team, and the Elderly-Sick-Disabled Team go to work around 6:00 a.m. and return between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. (with two one-hour meal breaks). Other teams go to work earlier and return later.

A variety of products are manufactured at the prison. Most of them don't require much skill to produce. Such products include apparel, sweaters, rubber gloves, umbrellas, disposable chopsticks, spools of thread, toothpicks, decorative Chinese knots, etc. This type of labor is repetitive and time-consuming. Because huge quantities are required, one's hands and feet have to be swift in order to make them. Some inmates have suffered mental collapse due to long-term forced slave labor, and exhibit such symptoms as lethargy, seizures, uncontrolled yelling or rage. The so-called high-grade chopsticks and toothpicks are packaged under poor hygienic conditions, often by bare-handed inmates who have infectious diseases. (National food hygiene laws do not apply to prisons and detention centers in China.)

Since the Newcomers, About-to-Be-Released, and Elderly-Sick-Disabled teams are places where it is relatively "comfortable," inmates with some pull are concentrated in those teams. They are white-collar criminals--people who have been involved in monetary crimes, such as illegal fund-raising, embezzlement and tax evasion. They used to be rich or powerful in society, or their relatives have wealth or political pull. These inmates are often in certain "trusted positions" in the prison and are the guards' trusted subordinates. Every prison guard develops trusted agents among her own network, who spy on the other inmates and pass on all kinds of information and whose terms get shortened quickly.

To protect their own self-interests, these inmates immediately become privileged enforcers, monitors, and coordinating "instructors" of imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners. They sandwich practitioners 24 hours a day and record practitioners' every word and action, even their facial expressions and the movements of their hands and feet. The prison initially uses "soft tactics" to persecute and "transform" newly-arrived practitioners. Practitioners who have been "transformed" are required to work only half a day, or not at all, or not work on certain days of the week. They are taught wicked and deceitful "transformation" techniques. Hypocritical concern for them on the part of the prison staff is shown in the form of petty favors, such as being allowed face-to-face family visits.

Steadfast practitioners are subjected to brutal treatment such as solitary confinement, long-term sleep deprivation, excessive labor doing the most painstaking and hardest jobs, limited food and/or daily necessities, being subjected to criticizing meetings, torture with electric batons, and cancellation of family visits.

Solitary confinement and sleep deprivation are the most commonly used tortures, regardless of the age or health of the practitioner. There are approval procedures and time limits for confining ordinary inmates. However, Falun Gong practitioners can be placed in solitary confinement at will and for unlimited terms. After several months of solitary confinement, a practitioner can be ruined both mentally and physically.

Another persecution tactic is to use the reading room in each prison ward as a confinement room. Sometimes the whole ward is vacated in order to confine one practitioner in each cell. Once, all the DVD players and TV sets in the prison were used to "transform" practitioners. The prison rules of not closing doors and not covering the windows (in order to prevent inmates from fighting and committing suicide) are not enforced for practitioners. The doors and windows of all "transformation" rooms have been covered with heavy newspapers. Brutal persecution is carried out behind closed doors. Inmates think up all kinds of methods to deprive practitioners of sleep. Some women who look gentle become extremely vicious under the instructions of the guards, and inside the closed rooms.

Those once kindhearted and healthy practitioners become unrecognizable after undergoing these dreadful "transformation" tactics. Some practitioners suffer from symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease, some have a recurrence of their old illnesses. Some practitioners' health is failing because they are so regretful after being forced to "transform." Some former practitioners develop nervous conditions and easily lose their tempers. Every day they count down the days before they can be released from a worse-than-death situation. Do these "transformed" practitioners with attachments know the true cost of their promised term reductions promised?

The prison personnel, taking advantage of the "transformed" practitioners' desire to be released, force them to publicly "reveal and criticize" again and again. Through these so-called "trials," they are pushed even further down into hell. The prison organizes "spring outings" for the "transformed" practitioners, allows them "home-visits," allows them to spend holidays with their kids, has them learn dancing and other qigong practices, and lets them listen to lectures given by monks and study Buddhism, etc. Under the pretext of "being concerned," the prison tries to exploit every angle to destroy anyone who has cultivated in Falun Gong. It drags practitioners who do not cultivate soundly down into human sentimentality. Such "transformation" measures have eventually worn down practitioners who have had to endure five or six years in prison.

The Zhejiang Provincial Women's Prison often has inmates hold activities like "art performances," beautifying the prison wards, and planting vegetation in the prison wards. However, all the tools, equipment, supplies, plants, and cleaning materials come from the inmates' families. Even the inmates who are in charge of cutting hair have to buy their tools out of their own pockets. The prison won't spend a penny on these activities. The inmates, needing financial help from their families for their own day-to-day needs, and in order to appease the guards, collect points and get term reductions, ask their families for these provisions. The families, hoping their relative will be released from prison sooner, often provide more than needed.

During the second half of 2006, the police in Weifang, Shandong Province arrested over 120 practitioners. Some were sentenced and sent to forced labor camps, others were detained, fined, tortured and/or their family members were incriminated. Wang Wei, head of the State Security Team in the Weifang Police Department, is the main person persecuting practitioners. He did not even protect his 70-year-old mother.

The following is a partial list of persecution cases for the second half of 2006.

Cases of Illegal Arrest and Sentencing

Ms. Yang Xiurong from Wutu Town, Changle County, was arrested in June 2006 and sentenced to one and a half years of imprisonment in July.

Mr. Zhang Yunfu from Tanjiafang Town, Qingzhou City, was arrested on July 6, 2006, and sentenced to three years of imprisonment in November 2006.

Mr. Zhang Qingjun from Weifang City was sentenced to four years in November 2006.

Ms. Song Cuiwen from Changle County was arrested on November 1, 2006, by Zhao Shisheng and six other officers from the Chengxi Police Station. She was sentenced to three years after she had served four months of detention.

Labor Camp Cases

Ms. Yan Xiling was arrested and sent to a forced labor camp on June 19, 2006.

Mr. Fu Bin, an empolyee of a chemical fiber factory in Weifang, was arrested while distributing truth clarification materials in Bu Village, Xifenying, in the afternoon on September 4, 2006, and was sent to a labor camp.

Ms. Gui Rong from Anqiu County was arrested on November 24, 2006, and sent to a forced labor camp.

Ms. Liu Xingying is from Changle. On the evening of October 2, 2006, police searched her house and sentenced her to two and a half years of forced labor.

Mr. Xing Xianyong and his wife, Ms. Zhou Caixia, are from Jiaozhou. On October 24, 2006, they were arrested at home and sentenced to three years of forced labor.

Ms. Zhang Jiulan and Ms. Zhang Guiling from Zhifang Town, Linqu County, Weifang City, were arrested at home and sent to a forced labor camp.

Mr. Wang Zhaohua from Wujin Town, Linqu County, was arrested on October 3, 2006, and sent to a forced labor camp.

Mr. Wang Anmin from Changle County, Weifang City, was arrested on November 7, 2006, and sent to a forced labor camp.

Ms. Zhao Chuanmei from Wuli Town, Qingzhou City, was arrested in early December 2006 and sent to a forced labor camp.

Ms. Zhang Xueqin from Weifang City was arrested in November 2006 and sent to a labor camp.

Cases of Long-term Detention

On October 15, 2006, Mr. Liu Shengzhu, Ms. Ma Juanxian, and Ms. Wang Honghua were arrested and detained. It has been six months, and Liu Shengzhu and Ma Juanxian are still in the Weifang Detention Center. Wang Honghua is still in the Changle Detention Center. It has been reported that the authorities want to sentence the three practitioners. The case has already been sent to Weicheng District Court.