Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Changshou Detention Center is located in Duzhou Town, Chongqing City. It sits on the top of a cliff with only one way to come and go. It is closely guarded and there are submachine guns pointed toward the courtyard from the watchtowers. The director of the detention center is Zhang Jie, and the political instructor is Chen. Guards who torture practitioners are Chen Jian (promoted to deputy director for being ruthless in the treatment of prisoners), Zhou Jian, Li Heiguan (a nickname meaning "vicious guard"), and Chen Xiaobi (female).

Since 1999, the guards at the Changshou Detention Center have closely adhered to Jiang Zemin and his followers' dictates. They have brutally tortured several hundred Falun Gong practitioners. Practitioners are held in a tiny, dark, damp cells and not allowed to go to the courtyard or any other place. Detention lasts from one month to longer than a year.

A 69-year-old steadfast practitioner refused to cooperate with the persecution, so the guards held him in the cell with death row prisoners, where he was brutally beaten and tortured. Practitioners are not allowed to take showers or wash their clothes. They may not go to the bathroom outside their cell. When released, many practitioners have boils all over their bodies, which are itchy and fester, and other related illnesses. Many can't walk when they are finally released.

The guards spend most of their time eating, drinking or playing Majiang, also known as Mahjong, a Chinese game that is considered gambling. They have organized a group of inmates to control other inmates and torture practitioners.

Each cell holds over 20 people and the guards choose who is to be responsible for the cell. The lead inmate uses other inmates' money to hire criminal inmates who enforce his rules. Each cell has four to eight such "enforcers."

There is one toilet in each cell. Everyone in the cell is given a total of 20 minutes to eat and use the toilet. So quite often some people do not get to go to the toilet. They have to get the lead inmate's approval first. Some practitioners have to wait for more than 20 days to use the toilet once. Because inmates rarely get fresh vegetables, bowl movements are difficult.

The food in the prison is very poor. For breakfast, prisoners get only a tiny portion of rice with some cold water and a bun. The few ounces of rice tastes terrible and has many ants in it. No one gets fresh vegetables. Old pumpkin, winter squash, or cabbage quite are often served. And inmates have to pay for salt. Since inmates never get enough food, they will eat any food that they can find, including the leftovers that are thrown into a toilet. However, they face severe punishment if they are found doing so.

There are many insects and pests in the detention center. The inmates are bitten all the time.

The lead criminal inmates extort money or even just take other inmates' money. The detention center uses a cash card to record the balance for each inmate's account. The inmates' relatives or friends are asked to replenish that account every week. The lead inmate holds all the cash cards for all the inmates in his cell. The guards pretend not to know it and keep telling prisoners to take care of their own cash cards. Some guards even directly ask the lead inmates for money or other things. Each week the lead inmate takes three yuan for himself from each card. He either demands they money from the inmates or uses their cards to buy good food or cigarettes for the guards. Some inmates do not even know how their money was spent.

The detention center does not allow an inmate's family to bring food or personal things for their family member in detention. All daily necessities have to be bought in through the guards. The guards charge a huge markup. For example, a bar of soap that generally costs one yuan is sold for five yuan to inmates.

The largest cell in the detention center is about 30 feet wide, with boards on the long side of the wall to form a big wide bed. Normally there are at least a dozen, and sometimes as many as 30, people imprisoned in a cell this size. The lead inmate and his "enforcers" occupy more than half of the big bed and force others onto the other half. Inmates are forced to lie on their sides. Sometimes it is so packed that the " enforcers" have to press them together so that they can all fit on the bed. To save room, some inmates are forced to sleep on the floor. Sometimes six people share a single sheet.

The criminal lead inmates and their enforcers allow no inmates but themselves to use soap or a toothbrush. They steal inmates' clothes and belongings. One lead inmate has taken nine quilts from others. The prison gives inmates a total of 20 minutes to eat, clean the dishes, use the toilet, and wash their clothes. Inmates have to wash the clothes of the lead inmate and his enforcers first. Since there is no drying rack in the cell, inmates are forced to wave the lead inmate's clothes or bed sheet in the air to dry. Therefore, the cell is always damp. In the summer, inmates are forced to fan the lead inmate and his enforcers.

Besides being beaten and having money extorted by the guards, Falun Gong practitioners suffer abuse from the lead inmates in particular. New inmates have to "beimu" 50 times, bending with their legs straight and hands touching their feet. Then the lead inmate or other inmates jump down from the bed and hit the victim's back with their elbows. Another torture is the "prison bath." The person is striped and the tormentors repeatedly pour big bowls of cold water over him. The lead inmate also drags the inmates by their hair and smashes their heads against the stone wall. He either does this either or tells his enforcers to do it for him. Then he reports to the guards that this inmate is trying to commit suicide. Other inmates are coerced to lie. Then that victim's prison term is extended.

The lead inmate sets the rules of the cell. The most important rule is to always be honest to the lead inmate. Once a new teenage inmate was brought into the cell. After he was tortured, a group of enforcers jumped on him and beat him cruelly. Then the lead inmate asked him, "Did anyone hit you?" He answered no. The lead inmate said, "You are dishonest. I saw someone beating you just now. Did anyone hit you at all?" He kept asking until that person acknowledged the rule. If an inmate tells the truth to others, even if he manages to be transferred to another cell, the lead inmate of his previous cell will use the money from inmates' cash accounts to bribe the guards and the lead inmate of the cell to beat him.

Many criminal inmates have fractured ribs or internal injuries from the brutal beatings. However, the tortures in the prison are not to be exposed to the outside. When the government's inspection team is scheduled to come to the detention center, the lead inmates are called for a meeting or invited for a good dinner with the guards to prepare for the inspection. The lead inmates then go back and warn all the other inmates that if they dare to do or say anything against the prison, there will be severe punishment after the inspection team leaves.

Inmates are not allowed to talk in the cell. They are not even allowed to move during newspaper reading time. They are required to memorize prison regulations. If they fail, they will be beaten, forced to work, or deprived of sleep. Some illiterate inmates did not sleep for a week until they were finally able to memorize the regulations. If they fall asleep, they will be beaten or kicked.

More than 100 torture methods are employed at the Changshou Detention Center.

Not a day goes by without someone being beaten in each cell. The lead inmate does not allow the victim to cry or others to speak for him. Otherwise there will be more cruel torture. Beating methods include using a quilt to cover the person and repeatedly hitting the person's heart. Another method is "eating headache noodles," which is dragging the person by his hair and knocking his head against the wall. To do the "big bang" they force the victim to lie on the floor and then jump from the bed to land on the victim with both feet. It goes on. For the "sticking moth," the person is forced to stand facing the wall with both hands on the wall. Other tortures are even more vicious and brutal and are carried out under the guards' orders.

Other tortures include the death bed, the "teaching chair," force-feeding, and "horse-riding cuffing." On the "dead person's bench," the victim is forced to lie on an iron bed with his limbs handcuffed to four posts. He can't eat. If he moves his arms or legs, the handcuffs will cut into his flesh, causing great pain. After over ten days, his hands and feet are so swollen that the handcuffs can't be seen any more. For the "teaching chair," the person is forced to sit on a chair in a dark and foul smelling restroom. Insects bite him and his entire body swells and becomes disfigured. When force-feeding is to done, they put the person on the "death bed" and his hands and feet are cuffed. Then a feeding tube is inserted through the person's nose, causing many injuries to the person's mouth and nose. "Horse-riding cuffing" is mainly applied to Falun Gong practitioners. The practitioners' feet are shackled first, then their wrists are handcuffed with one hand going between the legs. Even elderly practitioners in their 60s or 70s are handcuffed in this way.

The guards also use their heavy leather boots to step on practitioners' hands and feet. Or they hold two practitioners' heads and knock them against each other. They gag the practitioner's mouth with a dirty cloth that is used to clean the floor.

The Changshou Detention Center uses the above mentioned torture methods on practitioners who shout "Falun Dafa is good" and "Truthfulness, Benevolence and Forbearance is good." When the detention center runs out of torture instruments such as the "death beds" or the "teaching chairs" for practitioners, they handcuff them and take them to the Changshou Drug Rehabilitation Center to have the drug addicts beat and torture them.

The Changshou Detention Center has imprisoned many Falun Gong practitioners. The following practitioners are known to have been illegally sentenced to prison or forced labor after being imprisoned there:

Mr. Yang Dingchan, Ms. Zhang Xiuyun, Ms. Chen Xiaohui, Ms. Wu Suhui, Mr. Chen Yonghe, Ms. Feng Ping, Ms. Wang Qin, Ms. Gao Yunxia, Ms. Zhou Bijun, Ms. Yu Xiurong, Ms. Liu Xuelian, Ms. Gao Yunqing, Ms. Ye Jinhua, Ms. Yin Shuqin, Ms. Zhang Sufang, Ms. Liao Shulan, Ms. Huang Zhenglan, Ms. Kong Fanhui, Mr. Li Chunyuan, Mr. Cheng Jianbo, Mr. Cheng Huatang, Ms. Li Lianhui, Ms. Huo Yuanli, Ms. Zhou Hualan, Ms. Huang Shuhua, Ms. Zhang Huilan, Mr. Huang Zhonglin, Mr. Zhao Zhirong, Ms. Zhang Siyu, Mr. Chen Zongrong, Ms. Wang Jinshu, Ms. Tang Guoqin, Ms. Yang Daqun, Ms. Zhao Hongxiu, Mr. Bai Jun, Mr. Cao Zhirong, Mr. Cheng Yiquan, Ms. Wang Gaizhi, Ms. Yu Banglian, Mr. Gao Xiaobo, Mr. Xiang Ruiqiao, Mr. Li Benran, Mr. Liu Weizhong, Mr. Zhang Quanmin, Mr. Chen Zhongwen, Ms. Wang Min, and others. Some practitioners have been imprisoned three times.

The following practitioners were tortured to death:

Ms. Liu Shumei, Ms. Peng Chunrong, Ms. Zhang Sufang, Ms. Yu Xianglan, Mr. Zhang Haiming, Mr. Lei Dengcai, and many more.

Ms. Bai Yuzhi was sentenced to four years at the Hebei Province Women's Prison, for her belief in Falun Gong and for clarifying the truth. She was released on December 19, 2006. The persecution left her in very poor condition. Ms. Bai is physically weak and has blurred vision and can barely stand up. Neurological problems seem to be the cause of her hand tremors. She suffers constant pain throughout her body. Looking at such a formerly beautiful, kind, and energetic woman who underwent relentless abuse in a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sanctioned prison, Ms. Bai's family fought back their tears.

During the four years of imprisonment, Ms. Bai adhered to her belief in Truth, Compassion and Forbearance and protested the illegality of the imprisonment. She was force-fed several times and was subjected to constant brainwashing. Because of the long period of abuse, Ms. Bai's health deteriorated. Many times she was at death's door. She eventually developed paralysis and was bedridden for two years.

Bai Yuzhi suffered excruciating psychological and physical abuse under the CCP's persecution in the women's prison. Her family had petitioned to have her released on bail for medical care, but the prison officials denied their request, saying that upper level officials forbade it. The Hebei Women's Prison officials shrugged off their responsibility for Ms. Bai's severe psychological and physical injuries. Ms. Bai's family will retain their right to sue the relevant people for their negligence. Despite her severe physical condition, on the day of Ms. Bai's release, agents from the 610 Office in Jingxing County, Hebei Province wanted to take her away and continue to persecute her. After strong resistance from her family, the 610 Office agents finally gave up. The following is additional information about Ms. Bai and the persecution she has suffered:

Ms. Bai Yuzhi, about 45 years old, is a former member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). She was illegally arrested several times, and put in a labor camp. She was forced to leave home and was also sentenced to prison, all for her belief in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. She has not been able to have a normal, stable life for the past seven years since the persecution of Falun Gong began on July 20, 1999. For most of this time Bai Yuzhi has been imprisoned and persecuted.

Ms. Bai was illegally arrested in 1999 and sent to Kaiping Forced Labor Camp in Tanshan, Hebei Province, where she suffered all kinds of tortures. She once went on a 100-day hunger strike in protest of the persecution and was hospitalized following appeals from her family and friends. As soon as she had recovered, however, policemen arrived to harass her repeatedly. Ms. Bai chose to leave her home to avoid further persecution.

Ms. Bai was arrested again in August 2002 in her temporary home in Shijiazhuang City and was incarcerated in the Shijiazhuang Second Detention Center. She began a protest hunger strike in September 2002. During that period she suffered from various tortures such as force-feeding. Many times she was close to death. She experienced whole-body edema and weakness, was unable to take care of herself and became bedridden.

In the beginning of 2003, Ms. Bai was tortured so severely that she went blind. On April 10, 2003, she started to vomit blood. Still, the policemen did not stop the harmful force-feeding. Since she couldn't even walk, others carried her to the force-feeding station. The Second Detention Center officials reported to the upper authorities that Ms. Bai was terminally ill. However, the persecutors at the 610 Office not only refused the request for medical bail from Ms. Bai's family, but also sentenced her to four years in prison.

On May 19, 2003, Ms. Bai Yuzhi and Ms. Wang Yunman, another practitioner, were sent to the Shijiazhuang Second Prison. Ms. Bai was eventually transferred to the Hebei Women's Prison.

At Hebei Women's Prison, Bai Yuzhi continually suffered persecution. As mentioned above, not only had she become blind and vomited blood, but she also suffered from kidney ailments. Her family's appeal for medical parole/hospitalization was finally approved on December 19, 2006, allowing Ms. Bai to return home, her mental and physical health in devastation.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Jiang Jie, a resident of Fushun City, Liaoning Province, began to practice Falun Gong in 1996. On September 8, 2006, less than one month after Ms. Jiang's husband's death, policemen from the First Department of the Fushun City Police took Ms. Jiang to the Luotaishanzhuang Brainwashing Class in Fushun City. Without any of her family members at home or a search warrant, Ms. Jiang's computer, speakers, a printer, and Falun Gong books were taken from her house; the value was around 4,000 yuan in total.

On the second day of brainwashing class, the head of the Fushun City CCP (Chinese Communist Party) Political and Judiciary Committee talked to Ms. Jiang and tried to force her to give up practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Jiang refused to give in. On September 28, 2006, Ms. Jiang was taken to the Masanjia Women's Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang City.

Knowing she did not belong there, Ms. Jiang looked for a chance to escape every day. Nearly every time she tried to escape, she was handcuffed afterwards. The longest period that she was handcuffed lasted five days. Starting January 12, 2007, Ms. Jiang went on a hunger strike to protest the unlawful persecution.

Ms. Jiang was on the hunger strike for five days. At first, the guards tried to persuade Ms. Jiang to eat. After January 17, 2007, they began to torture her with force-feeding. First, the vicious guards used steel pincers to force open her mouth, and then they pinched her nose with their hands. After that, they force-fed food into her mouth. They did it this way twice a day.

At around 11:00 a.m. on January 19, 2007, Jiang Jie suddenly felt severe abdominal cramps on her right side. Later she was diagnosed with a stomach perforation. On January 24, 2007, she was sent home.

Due to the torture at the camp, Ms. Jiang suffered a mental collapse and has not yet recovered.

Falun Gong practitioners Ms. Liu Hongying, Xu Yongqing, and Lu Chengjun from Laizhou City in Shandong Province have been illegally detained in the Laizhou City Detention Center. Party members claimed that they would try these practitioners on January 24, 2007, at a court in Laizhou City, located on the east side of the old supermarket. This was in fact a trap set up to arrest other practitioners. That day, 23 practitioners were arrested. They were incarcerated in Dianzi Brainwashing Center in Laizhou City.

On January 24, 610 Office officials placed a large number of plainclothes police in the vicinity of the court. These agents knew the practitioners from the different townships and towns. They had orders to arrest people walking on the street. They even stopped the supermarket shoppers, whom they considered suspects, and put them in the police vehicles. The police knew that they were violating the law. They claimed they were wanting to arrest burglars.

Around 9:30 a.m. on January 26, 2007. the police tried practitioners Ms. Liu Hongying, Xu Yongqing, and Lu Chengjun in a dark room outside the detention center in the absence of their family members. Furthermore, the police did not even spell out the judge's name in the court. Policeman Sun Junwei (who lives in the Yiwan residential area and whose wife works in the People's Hospital) beat Ms. Liu Hongying to the floor and then handcuffed her. The three practitioners were dragged out of the court.

The court even went so far as to fabricate the facts. The court made up some names, saying these were the names of those who had testified. The court listed all the things that were taken away from Xu Yongqing's home except cash in the amount of 48,700 yuan. Ms. Xu's father, over 80 years old, died in November 2006. He was traumatized by the police who had broken into his home.

Additionally, one male and two female plainclothes police officers reported Qi Haijun, a disabled practitioner from Laizhou City, on the evening of January 23, 2007. He was then sent to Laizhou City Detention Center although they found nothing on him to use as evidence against him. About 2:00 p.m. on January 27, Mr. Qi suddenly felt dizzy, had a rapid heart beat and lost consciousness. He then went into convulsions and fell into a coma. When his family members learned of his condition, they petitioned the detention center to allow them to bring him home. They did bring him home after paying 4,000 yuan in cash as a "warrant of probation."