I. Detaining Falun Dafa practitioners does not require any reason
1. Around the July 20, 2000, some practitioners (the majority of whom have been detained before because of appealing in Beijing) received summoning phone calls from the local Police Station. In the station, as long as they respond with "yes" to questions concerning "Will you practice or not", they will be sent to a detention centre, and then transferred to Masanjia labor camp, for the reason of "Possibility of going to Beijing". There was no need to go through any procedure, not even informing their families.
Liu Meijun from Dalian city, who was in the middle of renovating her house, was sent to Yiaojia Detention Centre just like that. After kept there for a while, she was sent to Masanjia for one year "Labor Education". The reason used "Possibility of going to Beijing".
Some practitioners have not been to Beijing before, but as long as they answered "Yes" when asked "Will you practice or not?" they too were sent to Masanjia for one year. In another case a practitioner was working in the field when Police came to take away his ID card; the practitioner refused, and therefore was also sent to Masanjia. Yet another practitioner was sent to Masanjia due to paying a visit to another practitioner, reason used was also "'Possibility of planning to go to Beijing".
2. Police: "Criminals with death sentence can appeal, but you Falun Gong cannot."
The practitioners, due to their families not being informed, and not even being allowed to visit, did not carry any money or a change of clothes, and were unable to buy any necessities such as toilet paper. They have to wash with water when going to the restroom, but the water supply is generally cut off during daytime, their living conditions are appalling. When the female practitioners menstruate, they did not even have feminine pads available and they had to use their own clothes.
Before the practitioners were sent to Masanjia, it was clearly written on the detention ticket that appeal is allowed, but the police said: "Only capital criminals can appeal, but you - Falun Gong practitioners- cannot."
II. Evil "Transformation"
In order to transform practitioners, Masanjia has developed a set of "Transformation Procedure".
1. Initial "warmth" to put practitioners off their guards
The first encounter in Masanjia was the "warm reception" from the "transformed". They save their drinking water for practitioners to clean themselves. As practitioners lacked the chance to exchange information and experience with others while in detention, they were moved by so much "caring" from so many, and felt like they were being received at home, only to find out later that this was just the first step used for achieving the aim of "transformation" using the "transformed" ones to work on "transformation", to put practitioners off-guard.
2. Trick of "wrap & peg"
No need to go fetch your own meal, someone will help; even a trip to the restroom was always escorted - the newly arrived practitioners would mistake this as delicate "care". But one will realize after a while that this is in fact a measure to prevent information exchange between the "not so firmly transformed", and to avoid affecting the "transformation".
The so-called "firmly transformed" are those who could speak disrespectfully or even smear our teacher and Dafa anytime they opened their mouth. The guards often ask them to swear at Teacher or Dafa.
Using two to three "transformed" to "wrap & peg" a "not yet transformed" practitioner is another trick in Masanjia. In their encounter with these "transformed", practitioners would gradually discover that they are lost ones working against Dafa, just like Master Li wrote in "Eliminate Evil": "As for what those so-called reformed ones have said, on the surface they aren't against Master, but in their heart of hearts they are persuading people to stop practicing and studying [the Fa]." When the "transformed" practitioners become clear headed, they would "rebound", demanding the return of their guarantees or statements written when brain-washed, or declaring them invalid; but of course the evil ones will not easily let go of these papers that they use to attain merits and rewards. These "rebounded" will be enlisted in "not-transformed" or "not-firmly-transferred", and go through the forced transformation process again. Many would be unable to bear it and would write another transformation declaration, and some have "rebounded" many times. Those so-called "totally-transformed", together with the evil "transformers" of the centre, form an evil force, making Masanjia an extremely difficult place for practitioners.
3. Forced brain-washing
Masanjia falsifies and distorts Dafa; manufactures theories based on the Security Department's "Six Disallows", which was introduced for the purpose of persecuting Falun Gong; forces practitioners to repeatedly watch news recordings full of fact- distorting propaganda and manipulated "transformation" stories, to brain wash them. If this does not work within 3 to 4 days, they will remove their "moderate" cover, and start the inhumane transformation procedures using violence.
4. Physical torture
Masanjia exhausted every means possible in order to achieve their aim. "'Small Cell", "Square Squatting", "Corner Squatting", "Arching/Bending", "Punitive Standing", "Electrical shock" etc.; a few examples are provided below.
"Small Cell" is to be kept in isolation in a small room, with only one washbowl and a pair of handcuffs. The same bowl is used for washing as well as a toilet. The person in the cell is handcuffed to the door rail. There are 3 different positions for handcuffing, the highest position would require the whole arm being pulled upwards vertically, the middle position is at waist height, only the lowest position would allow the person to sit down.
Jia Naizhi, a female practitioner around 40, was "small celled" for 19 days and nights because she refused to "transform"'. Her ankle became swollen up to the diameter of a saucer; as she could not bend her legs, she had to grovel on the floor in order to secrete. She was cuffed at the highest position for six days and nights until she was running a high fever all over her body, even then the torture did not stop, only the position of the handcuffs was lowered. In mid October it's freezing cold in Shenyang city, yet the window was wide open, with the excuse given of venting the smell. Thirsty from the fever, Jia Naizhi asked for water but was refused, on the basis of avoiding the trouble of passing urine. Her request for warmer clothes was also rejected. Jia Naizhi, originally a healthy person, was tortured in such way for 19 long days and nights, until she ran a high fever, had a serious reaction with her heart, could not bend her legs, and became extremely weak. Because she still would not give up her faith, the Centre was preparing to apply the next torture electrocution. Beforehand, she was put through a health check. Doctors from the medical room discovered the problem with her heart, and hinted to the Police to allow her more water and more rest. Feared to cause a death case, only then did Masanjia discontinue the brutal torture.
The so-called "Arching" is to be kept in a head down bending posture constantly, except during meals, sleep, or on the toilet, and lasting for 17-18 hour a day.
Shen Roulin, a practitionerpractitioner who was put into Mashanjia almost the same time as Jia Nanzhi, was punished this way for persisting in her belief. She was forced to keep the posture for 19 consecutive days! The back flow of blood for such a long time caused her eye to become bloodshot severely and the eyeballs project outwards terribly. She was swollen all over beyond recognition. The guards, however, sneer at her in her torment. They said: "Look, how could you be like this if you are a good person." Even under such a persecution Shen refused to be "transformed", so the vicious police there prepared to apply electrical shock against her. Later, the practice was suspended when Shen was found with heart problems. Due to her determination to maintain her belief, she was sent to labor with the real criminals. The work lasts from 7:00 AM to 9 PM and she was often forced to work overtime.
Another Dafa practitioner named Li Shuzhen was also sent to forced labor with criminals after experiencing many torments and being beaten up by the police. Lin Suli and Miao Limin, who also refused to "reform", were sent to labor too.
Li Xiaoyan, Zhao Xue and Liu Xia were once punished with "corner squatting" and clubbing with a stick. "Corner Squatting" is to block the person in the narrow space around the corner of wall with tables; it only allows the person to keep still inside this small space. This punishment continued endlessly until the students show bad reactions of the body. At first the vicious police there often shock students with electrical sticks, but it didn't take effect with students, so they changed to beating with the electrical stick.
"Punitive standing" is to force a person to stand against the wall all the time except for eating, sleeping and going to the restroom. This punishment lasts every day until 1:00 to 2:00 AM and continues again at 5:00 AM after a short period of sleeping. Many people fainted after several days of the punishment, but they were forced to continue after some forced medical treatment. If this punishment had no effect, there will be another one ahead.
The electrical shock is to apply the high voltage electricity to the practitioners . Whenever a practitioner was taken out to the corridor for such a punishment, the guards ordered all rooms to turn up the volume of the TV to maximum, lest the groan of the practitioner should be heard and their crime be known by others. On a meeting broadcast live by CCTV this year, the camera group witnessed how Mashanjia police lied and cheated flagrantly. When a practitioner stood up to expose them, they immediately covered this righteous voice with claps and beat the student. The photographers had hastily to move the camera away from this violent scene. This part was cut out when CCTV broadcast it. Why won't CCTV dare not let people know the truth? Is their job just telling the people lies?
The so-called "square squatting" is to force a person to squat within a small area whose side is 30cm. The feet of the person are not allowed to cross the boundary, otherwise s/he will be beaten terribly. An ordinary person will sweat all over after only 2-3 minutes,
but they forced Dafa students to squat this way for 16-17 hours. Such brutality is beyond imagination.
One practitioner was beaten terribly for practicing inside the labor camp. The evil police pulled her out into corridor after beating her inside the room. They kept slapping her until they were tired. Finally they forced her to keep the "arching" posture in 90 degrees out in the corridor.
In fact there are a lot of methods used to persecute practitioners. If one method doesn't take effect, they will try another. If the physical torture is not enough, they will apply mental persecution.
5. Mental persecution
1) Prolonging of imprisonment
A practitioner was imprisoned for 3 more months after the one-year sentence had been completed. Because she was not "transformed", the police threatened that " If you don't transform, we'll prolong your sentence unlimitedly until you are tormented to death. Then you will be declared to have died normally."
2) Use of relatives and loved ones
Once a guard called a practitioner's husband and young daughter and let them come to Masanjia to see her. The child was so happy that she couldn't get to sleep for a whole night, because she would finally see her mother after such a long time of separation. When they arrived at that place, they were, however, forbidden to meet the practitioner and were told it was possible only after the practitioner wrote a guarantee to relinquish Dafa. The husband and daughter were not able to see her finally, even after the practitioner refused the extortion. Failing to realize her purpose, the jailer madly slapped the practitioner and shamefully insulted her without any human feelings.
3) Distortion of Master Li's words to lead the practitioners to the wrong understanding.
Considering the fact that the practitioners imprisoned there were not able to reach Master Li's new articles, the police changed the words and meaning of the articles and then read the distorted articles to the practitioners. Moreover, they often interpreted Master's article out of context, trying to lead the practitioners to misunderstand Dafa and betray Master.
4) Use of the "transformed" as the aids in persecution.
Those who have been "transformed" openly claimed that they are eyes, ears, and legs of the wardens, and they worked out ideas for "transforming" the resolute practitioners and frequently reported practitioners' activities. In collaboration with the guard, they are actually given the right to take charge of a lot of matters. When some practitioners wanted to appeal to the authorities for ill treatment, they would say that they were just obeying the instruction from the authorities. Meanwhile, some people dare not oppose this injustice due to their lack of righteous thoughts and being negligent in cultivation, and such appeasement of evil has increased the suffering of the practitioners who refused to be "transformed".
These "transformed" purposefully play the villains to make the guards appear kind to the practitioners. They also flattered the vicious guards publicly.
III. Extort money from practitioners
Since the persecution of Falun Gong started, the government has granted extra funds to the labor camp and the salaries and bonuses of the guards have experienced a significant increase. However, the meals offered in the labor camp are very bad. Practitioners are given very little food to eat everyday. Oftentimes the meals are not even well cooked. It's not uncommon that bugs and flies are found in the meals.
All family members who come to visit practitioners are required to order a special meal that costs at least 100 yuan if they want to see practitioners for more than 10 minutes. As a matter of fact, this meal is not worth 10 yuan.
Masanjia does not allow family members to deliver necessities to practitioners. Everything has to be bought in the labor camp shop at very high prices.
Recently, Jiang Zemin and his gang are selling the so-called "transformation result" in Masanjia to people who do not know the truth. Pitiful that many people would be deceived and miss out the precious opportunity to cultivate.
Master Li said in "Further comments on superstition", "Mankind! Wake up! The vows of Gods throughout history are being fulfilled. Dafa is evaluating all lives. The path of life in under one's own feet. A single thought of his own will also decide his own future."
A practitioner who has been tortured in Masanjia
February 13, 2001
