(Clearwisdom.net)
In 1998 China signed the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Under the despotic rule of Jiang's regime, however, China reneged on this promise to the world, turning the convention into a worthless piece of paper as people are arrested and tortured just for believing in "Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance."
UN rapporteur Theo van Boven originally planned to go to China in June to investigate the existence of torture, but the Chinese government again postponed his visit, saying, "We are not ready for it." Such a cycle of promises and postponements, promises and postponements has repeated itself for ten years. Even more absurd is the Chinese government's contention that their repeated postponement of Boven's investigation is simply a measure of the attention they are paying to it. Based on these excessive excuses and postponements, one can only imagine how serious the status quo of torture conditions in China must be.
On any given day, Clearwisdom Website's persecution cases against Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China will catch your eye right away. Barbaric tortures such as force-feeding and poisonous needles are described. Meng Xiao from the Qingbaijiang District in Chengdu was tortured to death; Lu Xingguo was beaten to death in the Qingpu No 3 Forced Labor Camp, Shanghai City. Over 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been confirmed dead in the persecution. These have all been verified by witnesses as to time, place, and the victims' names.
The author of this article discovered that of 100 randomly selected death cases from the Clearwisdom reports, 14 were beaten to death within fifteen days of their arrests. This is an indication of the bitter and tragic string of deaths from torture in China. The cases of torture, persecution, and death increase year after year. According to the Clearwisdom Website (Chinese version), there were 1,750 reports of persecution against practitioners in 2000. The number increased to 8,299 in 2002 and 11,155 in 2003, and has already reached 9,127 by the first half 2004. And these reports are just a tip of the iceberg, more than enough to expose Jiang's crime of genocide.
I. Who Planted the Seeds of Hatred toward Falun Gong?
Those who are responsible for law enforcement did not originally hate Falun Gong. So who caused these law enforcement personnel to become torturers? Who planted the seeds of hatred toward Falun Gong in these people? Why is the persecution happening? One reason is that the media controlled by Jiang's regime framed and slandered Faun Gong. Another, more important, reason is that Jiang Zemin used monetary incentives, causing many honest law enforcement officers to become "killers for hire."
Using a Policy of Implications and Pressuring Subordinates to Instill Hatred
In December 1999 the "610 Office" (in charge of suppressing Falun Gong) informed local officials that if the number of practitioners going to Beijing to appeal from their province surpassed a certain number, then the party secretary of that province would have to write a self-criticism. Wu Guanzheng, the former party secretary of Shandong Province said at a meeting, "All the officials in every city must be aware of the seriousness of the consequences of not conforming to the central government's demands."
In other words, he was telling his staff that "I will see you fired before I end up being forced to do a self-criticism, so you'd better execute the orders of the central committee to the letter if you want to keep your post."
This method of achieving success at the cost of failing to distinguish right from wrong and of protecting one's own neck at the cost of indiscriminately pressuring one's subordinates by any means made it possible for Shandong Province to rack up one of the highest Falun Dafa death tolls of any province. As of October 2003, 93 Falun Gong practitioners had been persecuted to death in Shandong Province. In Weifang City alone over 30 Falun Gong practitioners were confirmed dead in the persecution, ranking the city as number one among similarly sized cities in the nation.
As a result, Wu Guanzheng was praised by Jiang Zemin and promoted to the standing committee of the Political Bureau. Li Changchun, the former party secretary of Guangdong Province, personally enumerated a list of practitioners in order to please Jiang Zemin and be promoted. He pressured certain departments, saying, "Why didn't you arrest this person? Why didn't you sentence that person?" During the Spring Festival of 2004, the Party committee of Hebei Province gave orders to Xingtai City that it must "finish the investigation" of practitioners who had succeeded in broadcasting the truth about Falun Gong on TV in Xingtai and Sharhe. Otherwise, the mayor would be removed from his post. To protect his own interests, the mayor applied even more pressure on his subordinates, calling for an even shorter time limit and more severe punishment. In turn, his subordinates did the same to their subordinates. The end result was a frantic scramble.
One practitioner had been abducted by the local police station many times. When he asked the police what was bad about practicing Falun Gong, the officer answered, "I don't know what is bad about practicing Falun Gong, but because you do practice Falun Gong, my bonus was taken away completely. If you continue practicing Falun Gong, I will be fired. I don't care whether Falun Gong is good or bad. If you take away my rice bowl, don't expect me to be polite to you."
Transformation Quotas Drive Law Enforcement Personnel to Carry Out Systematic Torture
Jiang's regime forces practitioners to give up their belief in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. This is called "transformation." Jiang Zemin linked police salaries to their transformation quotas, stating that those who met the quota would be promoted and those who didn't would be demoted. Motivated by personal gain, the police cannot see the evil intent behind Jiang's regime, which is to convince all law enforcement personnel to persecute Falun Gong. Practitioners' resolve in their belief results in less money in their pockets, so the police then grow to hate Falun Gong.
The administrators and the police in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp conduct their "education" as follows:
"Didn't you say that I persecuted you? Today I will really persecute you."
"If you refuse to transform, I will put you in a state in which you can neither die nor live."
"What is tolerance? It means that you cannot sue me even if you are raped."
"You all want to do good deeds. What kind of good deeds? The best good deed you can do is to die. Do you know how much money, manpower, and resources you would save the nation if you died? That is why it is the best deed there is!"
How do people who utter such words treat practitioners who persist in their belief? They "torture them systematically and cruelly." One practitioner said, "I did not know what a living hell was until now. I have never seen such crazy and inhumane people in the world until I arrived in Masanjia and met the authorities there."
It is the transformation quotas that drive the guards and police to exact such cruel torture.
At the end of 2002, the Police Department of Liaoning Province issued "secret orders:" a transformation quota of 95%. But the head of Jinzhou Detention Center Zhang Haiping said that they would reach 100% to please his supervisors. Jinzhou Detention Center divided its police force into groups of two or three. These groups took turns every three hours, day and night without stopping, torturing practitioners who refused to give up their belief.
Longshan Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang City has strengthened its brainwashing and persecution against practitioners since 2004 because it intends to win the title of "Most Civilized Forced Labor Camp at the Provincial Level." Since April, this policy has caused the death of practitioner Wang Xiuyuan and the disfigurement of practitioner Gao Rongrong. Su Jing, the head of the No. 2 Institute of Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, plotted many tactics to persecute practitioners. Her hands are covered with their blood. Many were persecuted to death or deformity. She won praise from her supervisors and even from Luo Gan because of her cruelty and "effectiveness." In 2001, she was awarded the title of "First Class Hero" and a bonus of 50,000 yuan (500 yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China). All the other policemen in Masanjia won the title "Group Second Class Heroes."
Police know that their crimes might be examined one day in the future, so they incite the prisoners to commit crimes instead, convincing them that by torturing practitioners their prison terms will be reduced. The police shift their accountability onto the prisoners. The prisoners detained in the forced labor camps, prisons, and detention centers in Harbin City have become quasi-guards, using over 200 instruments of torture to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. While the "Advanced and Model Section" of Xishanping Forced Labor Camp was purported to be a group of so-called "helpers" selected nationwide, most of them were criminals who had been convicted of drug abuse, drug dealing, theft, robbery, rape, and gambling.
"Death Quotas" Gave a Green Light to Systematic Torture
Under such a program of systematic torture, it is inevitable that some people will die. Jiang Zemin's policy is to "Destroy their reputations, bankrupt them financially, and annihilate them physically." The "death quotas" gave this plan of systematic torture a green light. In Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province, the police who persecuted practitioner Tan Yanjun said, "The party secretary of the city committee Zhang Xingfu said that there is a death quota for Falun Gong practitioners and that the supervisor will assume responsibility if anything happens." When 45-year old practitioner Lu Xingguo was beaten to death in Qingpu Distict No. 3 Forced Labor Camp on October 15, 2003, Section Head Xiang Jianzhong said, "We've received orders from our superiors saying that a 5% death rate is normal. If someone is beaten to death, he dies in vain. We are not afraid if people die."
The policemen in Shenyang Dabei Prison said, "There won't be any problems no matter what we do to Falun Gong practitioners. They cannot get out of here alive if they refuse to reform. We have no alternative. Jiang Zemin will deprive us of food if we don't do this." During the last six months of 2002, over ten Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted to death in Dabei Prison. Falun Gong practitioner Zhong Hongxi from Qianyu Village, Duanjiagou, Tiefa City, Liaoning Province, was tortured to death in Wujiabao Forced Labor Camp on April 13, 2003. The forced labor camp claimed, "We don't have to shoulder any responsibility if we beat Falun Gong practitioners to death within the death quota assigned by the authorities." Falun Gong practitioner Chen Duo from Shantou City, Guangdong Province, was detained in Shantou City's jail on May 26, 2005, and was beaten many times by the policemen. He died on June 9. But the policemen threatened his family members, saying, "We have beaten your husband to death and fulfilled this quota that is long overdue. How can you dare to say anything? Aren't you asking for death also?"
Peng Kaifa, Vice Party Secretary of Qiyang County, Hunan Province, said openly to the law enforcement personnel, "What you do to Falun Gong practitioners is above the law. You won't be asked to assume responsibility if anything happens." Not long after, Qiyang County practitioner Jiang Laisheng was beaten to death. The forced labor camps could apply for a special death quota if their death rate exceeded the existing quota. On April 20, 2003, the department in charge of the forced labor camps, after much discussion, gave a permit to the Zhengzhou Shibalihe Female Forced Labor Camp for a double death quota when it used violence to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their cultivation.
When every law enforcement officer was told that his benefits and promotions will be based on whether he has satisfied his supervisor's requirements, when those law officers are told that excessive actions are encouraged and that they won't be held accountable, and when they are told that they don't have to restrain themselves from carrying out systematic torture since they will be guaranteed immunity under the death quotas, the cruelty of the torture and recklessness of the killing will know no bounds! Aren't they becoming the cruel government officials of the present age, just as Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen were in their time? (i)
The Law Never Protects Practitioners
People ask, "How can such a human tragedy happen? Why have the thugs who have committed so many crimes been praised and rewarded instead of punished? Why hasn't the media exposed these crimes?" In the persecution of Falun Gong, the law has never been used to protect them. Appealing is a citizen's right. But if you appeal for Falun Gong, you will be sentenced to forced labor. Freedom of belief is a human right as well as a guarantee written in China's Constitution. But if you persist in your belief in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, you will end up being tortured and even killed.
The system of forced labor reform in China violates Article 37 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Article 8 of the Legislative Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 10 of the Administrative Punishment Law of the People's Republic of China, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights signed by China in 1998. Nevertheless, the system still exists.
Painted in huge letters on the main building of the Shuanghe Forced Labor Camp in Qiqihar are the sayings: "Modern Civilized Labor Camp" at the top and "Fair and Civilized Law Enforcement" below. In February 2004, camp officials tortured each one of the 30 steadfast Falun Gong practitioners. The methods of torture included handcuffing, shackles, the half squat, the "Flying Airplane" the "Big Hang Up" and shocking with electric batons. Section Head Wang Mei roared loudly, "This is sanctioned by the province! The province allows beatings and the use of torture! If you don't reform, there is no way out. You won't win your case no matter where you go!" This is the forced labor camp's 'fair and civilized law enforcement.'"
Huo, the former head of the Changchun City Police Department's Nanguangchang Police Station, Kuancheng Branch, saw in person how the police beat Falun Gong practitioner Liu Haibo to death and how they plotted to say that Liu Haibo had died of a "heart attack."
On the day Liu Haibo was killed, Chang Xiaoping, the first vice party secretary of the Changchun City Committee, came to the Kuancheng Branch of the police department and told Branch Head Zhou Chunming and his team how to deal with this incident. He said, "First, dealing with Falun Gong is a tough political task, but we should not be afraid when people die. Second, keep it confidential and prevent leaks so we can avoid causing an international scene. Third, the departments of disciplinary inspection and supervision from any level should not get involved in investigating Falun Gong death cases but should give their highest priority to the general situation."
If lawyers want to defend practitioners, they get in trouble. In April 2003, Attorney Wei Jun defended Falun Gong practitioner Liang Changying from Baise City, Guangxi Province in the Youjiang District Court. Facing Wei's rational and factual defense, the public prosecutor became speechless and enraged. After the court session, the prosecutor immediately asked the relevant personnel, "Aren't there rules stipulating that no one can use "innocence" as a defense for Falun Gong practitioners? Who gave permission for this lawyer to defend a Falun Gong's innocence?" Later the police went the Judicial Bureau, Wei's supervisor, requesting that he be suspended and his credentials withdrawn. They also requested Wei to be sent to forced labor reform for three years. This is what Jiang's regime means by "governing the country by law."
II. Underhanded Tactics -- Hiring Thugs to Do the Dirty Work
Hiring thugs to kill people is not something new in today's morally degenerate society. Jiang Zemin even hires them openly. People who hire thugs covertly live in fear that a third party will find out. Jiang Zemin, however, openly and publicly issued documents setting quotas to hire thugs. Those who hire others to do their dirty work do it in a very limited way. Jiang Zemin, however, hires them to kill people all over China, and even around the world. Hiring hoodlums to shoot Falun Gong practitioners in South Africa is a recent example.
Those who hire thugs to kill do it once. Jiang Zemin has been hiring them for five years. Those who furtively employ hired killers use "dirty money," while Jiang Zemin casually takes money from the nation's banks, money earned by people's hard work, to hire his henchmen. Those who hire others to do their dirty work usually look for outlaws. Those who covertly hire some lowlife to do their dirty work will be arrested and punished along with their "murderer for hire," while Jiang Zemin looks for law enforcement personnel already in positions of power, plus anyone who pursues fame and profit, and then rewards them with huge bonuses, even arranging for them to shamelessly speak about their "kind behavior" on TV.
Everyone opposes hiring hoodlums to kill people, but Jiang Zemin has forced the people of China to accept it. He has justified his crimes by claiming that his sovereignty is more important than human rights. Those who hire an outlaw usually kill one person. But Jiang Zemin's massive hiring policy is actually implementing genocide. Yang Zemin, the head of the female brigade in Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp, said, "On the bright side, I am the head of the brigade. While on the dark side, I am Big Brother." A person who witnessed how Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp in Hebei Province frantically persecuted Falun Gong practitioners said, "There is no justice or civilization here. There is only blood, cruelty, and persecution.
III. Those Participating in the Persecution May Find a Way out for Themselves If They Stop Now
Many people think that the persecution of Falun Gong (which was instigated by Jiang Zemin out of his own personal jealousy) targets only Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners. They don't realize that he has dragged everyone into the persecution effort. This is also a persecution against every person in the world, whether or not one realizes it.
Publicly recruited law enforcement personnel have implemented Jiang Zemin's persecution of Falun Gong. Some of them even think it is a good opportunity to be promoted and make a fortune. Some think they are carrying out orders from their superiors and it has nothing to do with them even if Falun Gong is redressed in the future. Their thinking is too naive.
We all have to pay for our crimes. Killing a person overtly or covertly or on someone else's orders makes no difference. After the Second World War, Hitler of Germany, Hideki Tojyo of Japan, and Mussolini of Italy were not the only ones put on trial. On April 5, 1976, the mayor of Beijing issued orders of suppression at the direction of his superiors. After the incident was reviewed, the mayor was removed from his position and more than 100 local police officers were shot to death.
No one else can take the blame for your crime. One has to pay for a life he has taken, just as one has to pay what he owes. For Jiang Zemin's hired killers, the money is absolutely not a passport to heaven, but a dead weight that can drag them to hell. Behind each bonus there is a bloodstained witness and human lives persecuted to death. It is a deal with the devil, and the cost is one's conscience. Now Jiang Zemin feels threatened since he has been sued in international courts for his crimes of genocide. Won't Jiang Zemin's hirelings, who have helped him persecute Falun Gong, become the ornamental objects to go together with him to his coffin?
One cannot escape the judgment of history, either as a decision maker or a follower. Whether you did it yourself or you seduced someone else to do it for you, you are still guilty! Su Jing from Masanjia Forced Labor Camp worried because she knew that she had done so many evil things. She once said to her good friend, "I won't have a good future no matter what happens."
Those that have participated in carrying out the tortures should wake up for their own sakes. To stop killing is to leave a way out for oneself and to have a chance to repent and pay for one's crimes. If not, one will suffer due retribution sooner or later.