(Minghui.org) During the time Wang Chuansong served as the chief of the 11th Ward of Shandong Province Prison from July 22, 2020 to October 2021, he ordered inmates to brutally torture Falun Gong practitioners in order to force them to give up their faith. One practitioner was tortured to death. In the meantime, practitioners and inmates had to work extremely long hours without pay to meet high quotas.
After Wang was appointed as the chief of the 11th Ward, he forced all the practitioners and the inmates to work longer and longer hours. At first, practitioners were ordered to get up at 5:00 a.m. and worked overtime til 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. without a lunch break. Later, the end of shift was extended to 9:00 p.m. Once they had to work until 1:30 a.m. Each person’s quota was first doubled and then eventually quadrupled. If any practitioners refused to do the forced labor, Wang ordered the inmates to torture them into submission.
Below are select persecution cases during Wang’s tenure.
Mr. Gong Piqi was a retired colonel from Qingdao, Shandong Province. He retired as deputy chief of staff of the Shandong Provincial Reserve Artillery Division. He was arrested on October 17, 2017, and the Qingdao City North District Court sentenced him to seven and a half years in prison and fined him 20,000 yuan in July 2018. He served his prison term in Shandong Province Prison.
Since Mr. Gong refused to renounce his faith, he had suffered long-term physical and brainwashing torture. He was specially targeted because he refused to do the labor work. One inmate openly said to him, “As long as we don’t torture you to death, we will make you live a life worse that death.”
Wang put inmate Zhang Shaoqing in charge of the brainwashing sessions that Mr. Gong were forced to attend with the brainwashing hours matching the prolonged labor hours. The practitioners at these brainwashing sessions were denied breaks or use of the restroom and were not allowed to buy food or necessities. The longest duration that they weren’t allowed to go downstairs for any outdoor activities was more than six months. Wang also instigated inmate Zhong Jilin, who was in charge of the meals, to reduce the ration of the vegetable dish to half for Mr. Gong and some practitioners. Wang frequently inspected the brainwashing sessions and reprimanded the inmates for being lenient with practitioners.
Due to the long-term torture, Mr. Gong’s health went downhill and he developed high blood pressure. The head inmate of his cell, Li Feng, who regularly abused Mr. Gong, often said, “Gong Piqi is just pretending (to be sick). He won’t die. But it’s better if he dies.”
Mr. Gong suffered myocardial pain when he went outside during break time on April 12, 2021, a rare outdoor break for him. Guard Wang Dong (no relation to Wang Chuansong) and the prison nurse checked on him afterward but did not do anything. He vomited blood on the same night and died, at the age of 66. He had head injuries when he died, with blood seen flowing out from his ears and his head swollen and wet.
On April 26, 2011, the Shandong Province 610 Office opened a new building in Shandong Province Prison specifically for brainwashing Falun Gong practitioners. The inmates in the prison called it a “prison inside a prison.” After Mr. Gong’s death, it was closed in July 2021.
Some practitioners who also refused to do labor work were brutally tortured in addition to the brainwashing sessions.
Inmates Xu Chao, Lin Zechao, and Wang Bingji brutally beat Mr. Cao Guozhen three times and knocked out eight of his teeth. He had difficulty eating as a result.
Mr. Zheng Xufei was forced to stand for long periods of time, sometimes after midnight. Inmates Xu Chao and Liu Huailiang stomped on his toes, causing them to swell and bruise.
Wang Chuansong ordered inmates to take Mr. Zheng and Mr. Du Yihe to the confinement room on the first floor and tortured them there one after another. Inmates Sun Youda and Liu Huailiang tied them to chairs with restraining straps. with feet tied backwards with ropes, and their heads tilted back and held there with ropes. The inmates tilted chairs backwards and placed a pen between the practitioner’s fingers. They held the two fingers tight and twisted the pen, which rubbed against the skin and made the fingers swollen. They also used the pen to rub against practitioners’ ribs.
Inmate Xu Chao also tied up Mr. Zhang Yicheng to try to force him to give up his faith and do the labor work.
In early April 2021, Wang again ordered Sun Youda and Liu Huailiang to torture another practitioner Mr. Du Zezhou at the confinement room. They tied Mr. Du to a metal chair and tortured him for three days. Then they took one more practitioner Mr. Zhu Xiaodong there and tortured him the same way.
Practitioners in the 11th Ward who refused to cooperate with the guards were also subjected to other various torture means, including electric shocks, being hit on their ribs with steel bars, burning their chests with lighters, pounding on their chests, and deprivation of sleep.
Because of the increasing workload during Wang Chuansong’s tenure, inmate Wang Xinqiang was unable to bear the pressure and committed suicide in early April 2021. Wang Chuansong carefully covered up and shirked his responsibility during the investigation.
Months later, Wang Chuansong was transferred to a prison in the far away Xinjiang Province in October 2021, likely for the authorities to cover up his crimes.
Inmates who actively participated in the persecution of practitioners were rewarded with exemption from forced labor for a long time and high points for sentence reduction rewards. Their names are: Yi Jun, Wu Jinda, Wang Guituan, Wu Mingming, Sun Youda, Xu Chao, Chen Jianyou, Liu Huailiang, Zhao Gang, Wu Kejun, Chen Shengsheng, Ju Yong, Zhong Jilin, Shi Wei, Xue Qinghai, Che Miao, Liu Erdong, Shi Yan’an, Wu Jinfeng, Li Wenda, Li Feng, Zhu Xiaoming, Wang Xiyuan, and Wang Jiufu.
Other prison guards of the 11th Ward who were actively involved in the persecution of practitioners were Liang Jingda (current chief), Chen Shuo (deputy chief), Zheng Jie (instructor), Shi Qiang, Yan Fei, Wang Dong and Wang Qingmao.