(Minghui.org) On the 25th anniversary since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress Falun Gong in July 1999, practitioners from 44 countries submitted a new list of perpetrators to their respective governments, asking them to bar the perpetrators and their family members from entry and freeze their overseas assets according to the law.
Among the perpetrators listed was Lu Xianyu, former Party secretary and warden of Wangling Prison in Hunan Province.
Perpetrator Information
Full Name of Perpetrator: Lu (last name) Xianyu (first name)Chinese Name: 卢先钰Gender: MaleCountry: ChinaDate/year of Birth: April 1974Place of Birth: unknown
Title or Position
October 2017 – March 2024: Party committee member, secretary, and warden of Wangling Prison, Hunan Province
March 2024 – present: deputy general manager of Wan’anda Group Co. Ltd. (an enterprise owned by Hunan Prison Administration to sell products made by the inmates); researcher with the Hunan Provincial Prison Administration
Main Crimes
Wangling Prison is the main facility in Hunan Province where male Falun Gong practitioners are incarcerated. After Lu Xianyu took office as the warden in October 2017, he established a “’Transformation’ Ward” that specializes in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners to try to force them to give up their beliefs. A variety of torture methods have been used here, including long hours of standing, sleep deprivation, and physical abuse including the “leg-splitting” torture. Some guards proudly proclaimed, “We are very experienced in ‘transforming’ Falun Gong practitioners.”
The “’Transformation’ Ward” is the 10th ward. On the second floor of the main building, each cell is about 12 square meters with four bunk beds for eight people. There is a surveillance system in the 10th ward in which every practitioner is monitored by three inmates 24 hours a day in one cell. Practitioners’ every move and word are monitored. The inmates use any excuse to beat, verbally abuse, and physically torment practitioners. They also browbeat them to “confess” to their crimes.
With the goal of forcing practitioners to abandon their belief, the “transformation” programs include brainwashing routines as well as physical torture. Practitioners are forced to watch and listen to propaganda programs, read articles that defame Falun Gong, and then write their thought reports. Slogans slandering Falun Gong are posted everywhere. Recently, practitioners have been forced to shout slogans abusing Falun Gong before every meal, otherwise, no one is allowed to eat. They often have to sing songs praising the Chinese Communist Party.
Practitioners have no personal freedom. They have to get permission for everything they do. If the inmates do not let them use the bathroom, they have to wet their pants. They are often deprived of sleep. Freedom of thought is not allowed, either. Practitioners are often ordered to report their thoughts, and if they still say that Falun Gong is good, they will be tortured non-stop.
To protest the persecution, some practitioners went on a hunger strike. The guards simply waited for a few days and then took the practitioners to a hospital for a toxic injection. Mr. Tan Meilin went on a hunger strike for 23 days and had injections several times.
“Leg-splitting” is one of the most brutal torture methods. The person's legs are pulled apart in a straight line. It is very painful, and ligaments are often torn, sometimes leading to permanent disability. The excruciating pain makes the practitioner scream in agony. The guards also call this method “killing a pig.” Mr. Hu Wenkui, in his 30s, from Changdei City became incontinent after being tortured like this and eventually developed a mental disorder.
“Leg-splitting” has become a preferred tactic because it leaves no marks and instills fear in practitioners afterwards. The prison further refined the technique by adjusting it to the individual. Some people were in pain long before their legs were aligned. When others didn’t have much pain at first, the guards would force their legs into a straight line and then pull the legs upwards until they hurt. The guards would pause at a very painful point and then slowly increase the pressure.
In addition to being a torture chamber, Wangling Prison is also an underground factory. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the inmates were forced to make face masks, personal protection gear, and surgical gowns for overseas export. The packaging on some of these items was printed entirely in English. If inmates did not finish their assigned quota for the day, they were shocked with electric batons or physically brutalized at night. The guards called this abuse “nighttime education.”
Select Death Cases
Case 1: Critically Ill Man Denied Medical Parole, Dies Months after Being Imprisoned
Mr. Wang Yuelai of Yueyang City, Hunan Province, was in critical condition after three months in Wangling Prison. Despite his family’s repeated requests for medical parole, the authorities refused to release him and ordered the guards and inmates to monitor him around the clock. His condition continued to deteriorate until doctors issued a third critical condition notice. He passed away in prison on August 31, 2018. He was 56.
Mr. Wang was arrested on January 24, 2018, while studying Falun Gong books with other practitioners. The Yueyang City Court sentenced him to three years on April 10 and fined him 5,000 yuan. He was taken to Jin City Prison in Hunan Province on May 14 and then transferred to Wangling Prison one month later, where he passed away.
Case 2: Hunan Man in His 70s Dies One Year after Prison Release
When Mr. Tan Huidong was released in 2019 after serving four years in prison for practicing Falun Gong, the Li County, Hunan Province resident was incontinent and unable to stand, sit or talk. Weeks later, Mr. Tan’s family found his tongue had atrophied. They also discovered needle marks on the back of his head. While Mr. Tan was unable to tell them what had happened to him in the prison, his family suspected that he was injected with toxic drugs. He died a year later in early October 2020. He was 76.
Mr. Tan was arrested in 2013 after a police chief spotted him distributing informational materials about Falun Gong. He was later sentenced to 3.5 years, but wasn’t taken to the Wangling Prison until 2016 due to his health.
Because Mr. Tan refused to renounce Falun Gong, he was forced to sit or stand for 16 hours a day. The guards regularly beat and verbally abused him. He was also held in solitary confinement, as well as in a cell facing west with direct exposure to the sun and no air conditioning. He developed severe health problems due to the torture, but the authorities still extended his term for six months.
Case 3: Hunan Man Dies While Serving 8 Years in Prison
Mr. Liu Chaoyang of Changde City, Hunan Province, was arrested on May 12, 2015, and sentenced to eight years in June 2018. He was admitted to the 10th ward in Wangling Prison in Zhuzhou City in the same province on October 23, 2018. He died there in March 2021.
According to other practitioners in the same prison, the 10th ward has been used as a “concentration camp” to torture steadfast practitioners over the years. The guards usually do not torture practitioners personally—they instigate inmates to carry out the persecution by using term reductions and other incentives. The inmates are given free rein to torture practitioners with no consequences. They also force practitioners to attend brainwashing sessions, during which they order practitioners to curse at Falun Gong and its founder, and to sing songs to glorify the communist regime.
The guards and inmates often organized meetings to share persecution experiences and devise further strategies to try to force practitioners to renounce Falun Gong. They would use different tactics with different practitioners based on their backgrounds, family situations, and other factors. While inflicting harm on practitioners, some inmates claimed they had no choice but to follow the guards’ orders. Some guards then denied responsibility by claiming they never laid a finger on the practitioners.
Case 4: 81-year-old Man Dies One Year after Serving Third Prison Term
Mr. Liao Songlin struggled with poor health after he was released on July 13, 2021, having served a three-year term for practicing Falun Gong. The 81-year-old Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, man passed away on October 14, 2022. Even after his passing, local community workers still came to harass him and even attempted to verify his death by checking out his place of burial.
Mr. Liao, a veteran retired from the Military Reception Center, was arrested at home on July 19, 2018. After days at the local detention center, the then-77-year-old man was diagnosed with high blood pressure, heart disease, a minor stroke, and tuberculosis. Instead of releasing him, officials sent him to a military hospital. His wife demanded his release, but to no avail.
The Beihu District Court heard Mr. Liao’s case in the hospital on September 27. He was handcuffed and shackled and not allowed to defend himself. The judge sentenced him to three years on October 22, 2018. His pension was suspended during his term.
Select Torture Cases
Mr. Yang Jun, in his 40s, is from Changsha City and graduated from Hunan University. He was admitted to the 10th ward on September 25, 2020. He was monitored and tortured by three young, tall, strong inmates. They made him stand (or squat) absolutely still for long periods of time, didn't allow him to go to the toilet, and beat him brutally. Two months before Mr. Yang's term was up, the guards intensified the torture.
Mr. Zang Keren, 74, from Mayang County was tortured by guard Wang Puchen. Wang poured freezing water over his head in the winter. Guard Wang Qiang slapped Mr. Zang in the face. The guards also did not let Mr. Zang use the restroom, forced him to kneel on the ground, and slapped him in the face with slippers.
Mr. Xu Yunyan was severely tortured on August 8, 2019, because he shouted, “Falun Dafa is good!” He was locked in a one-square-meter wire cage and ordered to sit still on an inflated ball with his hands on his knees. If he didn’t, he would be tortured with “leg-splitting.”
At mealtimes and at night, he was put into a four-square-meter room with a concrete table and a large urinal. He was only given half a bowl of rice and one cup of water every day. It was summer, but he was not allowed to change clothes, so they stank. The guards who passed by his cell had to hold their breath.
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