(Clearwisdom.net) Numerous so-called "transformation study sessions" have sprouted up in Shijiazhuang and other areas in Hebei Province since the beginning of the summer. "'Transformation' study sessions" are in fact violent, illegal brainwashing operations disguised as "legal education classes," or in other words, places where people go to be educated about the law. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a long history of ruthless persecution, physical abuse, and violent brainwashing in its many campaigns of "cracking down" on certain targeted groups of people over the years. It has reached a new extreme during its suppression of Falun Gong.
To force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their belief, the CCP has repeatedly organized brainwashing sessions across the country. Hebei Province is notorious for the intensity of its brainwashing sessions. The brainwashing sessions have taken on different names in various areas in Hebei, such as "transformation study class," "legal education center," "legal education study class," "legal education school," "education and transformation center," "education and training class," etc. Despite the well polished names, the fact remains that they are illegal, ruthless, and corrupt brainwashing operations.
Ms. Yan Pingjun (also known as Yuan Pingjun), 45, was a Falun Gong practitioner living in the dormitory of the Telecommunications Department on Gexin Street, Shijiazhuang, Hebei. She made a living as a seamstress. On August 2, 2010, while she was at her stand outside of No. 4 Yongtaizhongjie in Shijiazhuang, Director Huang of the local residential committee and officers from the Ning'an Road Police Station in the Xinhua District whisked her into a waiting van and took her away against her will.
When Ms. Yan's husband, Mr. Zhang Yundong, returned home that morning, he ran into Liu Yongqiang, political instructor of the Ning'an Road Police Station; Ren Xuanjun, the local residential police officer; and others who were in the process of ransacking his home. The police followed no legal procedures and presented no paperwork. Before they left, they demanded 550 yuan for living expenses in the brainwashing center his wife was taken to. Mr. Zhang never heard a word about his wife. On the morning of August 11, when he was at work, officials from the Xinhua District 610 Office suddenly showed up at his workplace. They told him that his wife. Ms. Yan Pingjun. had died that day in a secret "Transformation Study Session" at the No. 6411 Lodging on Bailinnanlu in the Xinhua District.
This article, based on firsthand reports from sources across Hebei Province, unmasks the criminal nature of these "transformation" study sessions.
I. Transformation Study Sessions
The CCP mouthpieces have boasted to audiences outside of China about its "transformation" achievements. They claim to practice "the nurturing that wins over the hearts and minds through education as gentle as spring showers and caressing breezes." However, we will see from facts presented below that these "transformation" sessions are, in fact, brainwashing operations that employ coercion, violence, and extreme mental and physical abuse.
Brainwashing is a CCP specialty. To suppress Falun Gong, the Jiang regime went to extremes in exploiting the technique of brainwashing. During the Cultural Revolution, the CCP indoctrinated the public to "draw a clear divide [between oneself and the CCP's targeted enemy]." As a result of this type of relentless brainwashing, countless innocent teenagers have turned into ruthless killers without the slightest semblance of conscience. They have left their parents, punched mental staples into their teachers' heads, and tortured victims of the CCP's various movements to death. The CCP uses every method at its disposal to destroy the victim's resolve, distort the victim's soul, and deprive him or her of any dignity: any means are justified if the goal is achieved. It is part of Chinese culture that "a gentleman would rather die than be humiliated." For victims who value dignity more than their lives, once they have fallen prey to the CCP, "transformation" is often a more brutal form of abuse and persecution than deprivation of property, torture, or even execution. It amounts to the rape of one's soul and the death of one's spirit.
Mr. Sun Yanjun, who currently resides in the United States, is a renowned scholar from China. He was formerly a professor in psychology at Capital Normal University. On May 5, 2009, he held a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, to expose the crimes the CCP has committed in using religion-related scientific research to persecute private religious groups.
Mr. Sun pointed out that, in China, religious psychology measures are "a persecution and suppression approach that is more brutal, secret, subtle, far-reaching, fundamental, and sustainable than torture." It has become a tool used by the CCP to suppress the Chinese people. In discussing the persecution of Falun Gong, Sun said that the entire intellectual community has been involved in the criticism and persecution of Falun Gong. Based on conservative estimates, out of the over 100,000 research projects funded since 1999, nearly 2,000 have been in the field of psychology. Besides being subsidized by the National Social Science Foundation, the National Natural Science Foundation, and the Foundation of the Ministry of Education, these nearly 2,000 psychology projects were also funded by the Public Security Ministry, the State Security Ministry, the CCP Central Committee's Propaganda Department, the Central Committee's Liaison Department, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the State Administration for Religious Affairs, and other relevant organizations. Almost all research institutes in China have participated in the research. The total number of researchers involved has exceeded 10,000.
Sun stated, "The CCP takes advantage of psychology to slander targeted people for suppression, to confuse them by impairing their rationality, to lie to them while destabilizing their emotions, to sabotage their resolve, to control their behavior, and to destroy their core values and belief systems." He cited examples of the difficulty one might have receiving research grants. Only about 10 percent of funding has been allocated to scholars working on projects of research value. The rest, almost 90 percent, are allocated based on connections. However, funds for research about suppressing Falun Gong is easy to get, which has led many scholars to engage in such projects against their conscience.
What grieves him most is how researchers apply existing results in psychological studies, then turn the these methods around to destabilize Falun Gong practitioners. He said, "Quite a few corrupt researchers have made recommendations to the authorities on how to 'transform' a person, how to deprive them of sleep, how to deny them family visits, and how to take advantage of gentle feelings. This is harsher than physical torture or drugs. Physical torture can wear off, while mental wounds may never heal.
Why does the CCP insist on Falun Gong practitioners giving up their belief? Mr. Sun Yanjun believes this is the most fatal damage one can inflict on people with beliefs. He said, "This is the destruction of a belief system. It is serious and brutal. It leaves many injuries."
II. Criminal Measures Used in Brainwashing Sessions
All brainwashing sessions targeting Falun Gong practitioners are carried out under the guise of "legal education" to cover up the truth of what is happening. The organizers, completely sidestepping the legal process, are beyond any supervision or constraint. Brainwashing has become a convenient tool for the CCP government systems at various levels to abuse victims and deprive them of their personal freedoms for extended periods of time. Brainwashing sessions are usually organized by the 610 Office, which is an organization dedicated to the persecution of Falun Gong. Participating organizations include the police departments, neighborhood administration offices, residential committees (or work units), and local police stations. The officials or the police forcibly take victims to be "transformed" into custody and confine them in a privately set up prison cell. Some brainwashing centers are set up in a lodging facility that appears benign, but this does not change the fact that what happens inside tramples on the rule of law and is a blatant violation of basic human rights. This type of criminal activity has become the official duty and responsibility of the Political and Judiciary Committees and the 610 Office, which are reminiscent of bandits, gangsters, and organized criminal groups.
Previous reports from across Hebei Province document the following criminal measures used against Falun Gong practitioners.
Measure 1 - Sleep Deprivation
There is no personal freedom in a brainwashing center. In addition, victims have to bear physical penalties and abuse that exceed human limits. It is not uncommon that Falun Gong practitioners are deprived of sleep around the clock. The longest recorded time or a practitioner to go without sleep was 38 days. They call this type of torture "stew the eagle." (See http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/30/44560.html, which reported that practitioners were forced to stand 24 hours a day for over a month.)
The practitioners are not allowed to sit down or sleep, while those in charge often take turns yelling and screaming at them, roughing them up and beating them to keep them awake. In winter, they would pour cold water over practitioners' clothes. They would also smear balm oil or pepper juice into practitioners' eyes.
Ms. Zhang Yun from Luquan City, which is under the jurisdiction of Shijiazhuang, was deprived of sleep at the Provincial Capital Brainwashing Center. She passed out and fell down. One of her teeth was knocked out, and her mouth filled with blood. When she came to, the instructor sneered, "If you had died, we would have simply claimed that you committed suicide."
Mr. Liu Lifelong, a graduate student working at the Hebei Economic and Trade Commission, was deceived by the Hebei Province 610 Office into returning to China while he was studying abroad. Members of the 610 Office took him to the Provincial Capital Brainwashing Center. He was deprived of sleep for 18 days. They smeared balm oil into his eyes. He was not allowed to use the restroom. Several others forced him to sit in the lotus position with his legs crossed, which resulted in excruciating pain after an extended period of time. Mr. Liu remained steadfast in his belief despite the nonstop torture. In the end, he was taken to a forced labor camp.
Measure 2 - Extended Imprisonment, Restraint in an Iron Chair, and Insults
In Changli County, under the jurisdiction of Qinhuangdao City, a brainwashing center was run by a security company and headed by Zhang Xueping. There were over 30 participants. Some practitioners were held there for extended periods; Ms. Lang Shuying was held there for several years. Mr. Zhang Weijin spent four years in a forced labor camp. He refused to be "transformed" by the end of his term and was transferred to this brainwashing center for an illegal detention that lasted over a year. He was deprived of sleep for an extended period of time and put through intensive brainwashing.
Those who remain steadfast in their cultivation are restrained for torture on an iron chair (See http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/1/8/22783.html. An iron chair is made of iron pipes. Victims are restrained on the iron chairs with both arms and legs tied for a long period of time. For illustration, see http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/1/9/17577.html.) The practitioners are tied up in the chair for days. They are not allowed to leave the chair to use the restroom. What is more despicable is the persecutors would place three pictures of the founder of Falun Gong in the chair to force the practitioner to sit or step on them. Ms. Yang Xiuying was held in a chair for seven days. She was beaten numerous times, and her eyes were injured. She refused to be "transformed," and in the end, she was transferred to the Kaiping Forced Labor Camp in Tangshan City.
Zhang Shiyao (gender unknown) was taken to the brainwashing center even though his/her elderly parents, in their 80s, were left unattended at home.
Ms. Zhang Guizhu was forcibly taken to the brainwashing center while her daughter-in-law was left at home alone unattended just days before giving birth.
Ms. Miao Yingqun's mother has nearly lost her sight in both eyes. Yet she and her nine-year-old son were both taken to the brainwashing center, leaving her elderly mother unattended.
Measure 3 - Vicious Beatings, Inhuman Physical Penalties, and Starvation
Ms. Xiong Fengxia, 56, was from Gucheng Township in Dingxing County, Hebei Province. On October 13, 2002, she was beaten to death in the Liyuzhuang Township Brainwashing Center in Dingxing County, Hebei Province. Around 4 a.m. on October 1, 2002, officers from the Dingxing County Police Department led by Zhang Jun, head of the Legal Section, climbed over a wall and snuck into Ms. Xiong's home. She was alone. They took her away without even giving her time to put on socks and shoes. They took her and several other practitioners to a brainwashing center in Liyuzhuang Township. They prohibited the practitioners from talking to each other. Young retired soldiers were hired as thugs to conduct the inhumane torture. Less than two weeks later, Ms. Xiong had been beaten to death.
When Ms. Xiong Fengxia arrived, several thugs jumped on her and knocked her down. They also shouted at her, "We'll beat you all the way to the crematorium." In the following days, they hung practitioners up and beat them with rubber hoses, wooden clubs, or other hard objects. Ms. Xiong could not take in any food. She was beaten so badly that she could no longer take care of herself. Other practitioners had to carry her to the toilet, and she had blood in her stool. Nevertheless, the perpetrators shamelessly accused her of faking her symptoms. They forced several practitioners, including Ms. Xiong, who was not even able to walk, to run in the courtyard. On October 13, they again tortured her with forced feeding, although she had been so badly injured that she was not able to eat anything. Ms. Xiong died that day. When her family saw her body, her teeth were clenched. There were injuries all over her. Deep cuts were left on her wrists by the chains that had held her up while she was beaten.
Mr. Wang Xingtian was from Nanqi Village in Dayangzhuang Township, Ningjin County, Hebei Province. On February 21, 2000, to prevent him from going to Beijing to file an appeal, he was taken to the Ningjin County Legal Education Center. Around March 23, he was transferred to the office of the Beiquanli Township government. He was not given food or water. On March 25, a group of hired thugs beat him with electric batons and rubber clubs. His family had to pay the police to take him home while he was unconscious. Mr. Wang passed away the same day he returned home.
A brainwashing center was set up within a CCP Party School in Funing County, Hebei Province, where Ms. Fang was viciously beaten for 16 days. Zhang Yisheng and several other thugs held Ms. Fang on the ground. Chen Zhiqiang and a man with the last name Zou beat her with rubber clubs. Zhang Yisheng whipped her with ropes. Chen Zhiqiang also stepped on her fingers with heavy-duty boots, dislocating her fingers. Then they held her head on the ground and stepped on it. On one occasion, Ms. Fang lost consciousness and lost control of her bladder and bowels. It took her a long time to recover from this. One day she was forced to endure the standing torture for hours. She passed out. Blood came out of her nose and spread over the floor. During one forced feeding session, she kept throwing up blood from her throat. She was released only when she became emaciated and diagnosed with diabetes.
Mr. Shen Liyong went to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong, so the police arrested him. He was later transferred to the Yanghe Reservoir Brainwashing Center in Funing County. Practitioners held there were forced to attend drills and do exercises around the yard for 18 hours a day. Over 70 people shared each meal with food made from less than three pounds of rice. Practitioners were also occasionally held in solitary confinement, which consisted of being in a dark room for 24 hours. Mr. Shen was viciously beaten for insisting on doing the Falun Gong exercises. Bones in one of his shoulders were damaged, and he was not able to carry any weight.
Measure 4 - Use of Nerve Damaging Drugs
The Bazhou City 610 Office in Hebei used unknwon drugs on Falun Gong practitioners in order to meet their "'transformation' rates." They resorted to lies, in addition to drugs and injections that damage brain cells. The drugs were administered into food and drink or injected under the armpit. Continuous administration of small doses slowly caused the victim to become unable to reason without detecting the use of the drugs. If used heavily, it inflicted extreme pain on the victim. The victim would develop symptoms of nausea, headache, or loss of the ability to reason. These drugs could cause a victim to lose memory for some period of time, make the tongue stiffen, make thinking or reasoning difficult, cause excruciating headaches, or keep one from falling asleep. The victims spent every moment of their lives in pain. Some were rushed to hospitals for resuscitation. Some mentally collapsed.
On May 8, 2005, Mr. Jin Litao, who lives in Tangerli Town in Bazhou City, was taken to the Jiaotong Guest House Brainwashing Center in Langfang City. After 20 days of persecution, he was released due to the demands of his family. After he returned home, he was sometimes lucid, but not always. When his mind was clear, he said that he had been cursed and viciously beaten, that those in charge had mixed drugs in the food, and he dared not eat. Because he did not eat, he was then given forced injections under his armpit until he mentally collapsed. In his 30s, Mr. Jin Litao, who had supported three generations in his family, suffered mental collapse in a matter of weeks. Members of the 610 Office denied responsibility, yet they threatened the family not to mention this to anyone or they would face consequences. The individuals responsible for this brutality in the 610 Office were Cai Shaoyong, Zuo Benzhong, and one surnamed Song.
At the end of October 2002, Kang Peixue and Gao Zhenzhon of the Luquan City 610 Office in charge of brainwashing, conspired with Cao Yanfang, a retired female guard of the No. 4 Division of the Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp, to launch a campaign to administer drugs to Falun Gong practitioners. Cao had also abused a large number of practitioners in the Provincial Capital Brainwashing Center. They isolated practitioners into separate rooms, and each practitioner was tied to a chair with duct tape and deprived of sleep around the clock. Every day, Kang Peixue, Huo Jianshun, Han Xiang, and others grabbed the practitioner's head and pressed on their jaw to force feed a large amount of a pink colored liquid drug into the practitioner's mouth. If the practitioner threw up, they would continue to feed them. The drug had a stringent smell. It was developed to destroy the central nervous system. To expose this evil activity, some practitioners asked others to take samples of the drug out of the building for testing. After this was discovered, the persecutors escalated the torture in retaliation.
Measure 5 - Economic Plunder
The Provincial Capital Brainwashing Center was set up in Shijiazhuang City, the provincial seat. Every month, each practitioner had to pay 3,000 yuan for "tuition." Each session lasted three months or even longer. The payment was collected from the practitioner's work unit, deducted from the practitioner's salary, or extorted from the practitioner's family. "Assistant instructors" were hired among those who had been laid off from work, each receiving around 800 yuan a month. This additional payment to the assistant instructor was also paid by the practitioners. Ms. Qiu Liying was illegally held at the facility for a year. Her work unit had to pay over 60,000 yuan. Officials of the brainwashing center often went to extort money from practitioners' families. They threatened them, saying that if no "favors" were given by the family, it was not likely the practitioner would be released.
The Huaxin Employees Textile Professional School located on Xinhuadongdao in Tangshan City was occupied by the Tangshan City 610 Office as a "legal school" for brainwashing Falun Gong practitioners. Each practitioner was taken there in handcuffs in police cars. No one was to leave without compromising. The practitioners' work units were notified to suspend paying salaries to cut off practitioners' income. The brainwashing center demanded 300 yuan for living expenses, 200 yuan for instruction and education, and 300 yuan for assistant instruction fees each month from every practitioner's family. Even if the practitioner only spent one day at the facility, the school authorities demanded that the practitioner's employer pay 10,000 yuan. Practitioners were forced to engage in slave labor, not allowed to go home, coerced to watch videos that defamed Falun Gong, and deprived of all basic human rights.
Among the practitioners tortured at this school were: Mr. Bi Junqing, who worked at the Zhaogezhuang Mine in the Kailuan coalfield; Ms. Li Lihua, a retired employee of Qixin Cement Factory; Mr. Liu Jianli, an engineer at the Linnancang Mine in the Yutian area, Kailuan; Ms. Wang Yuchuan, a physician at the Zhaogezhuang Mine Hospital; Ms. Zhang Baohuan, a teacher at the Kailuan No. 2 Middle School; Ms. Li Yingnan, a teacher of the Lubei Experimental Elementary School; Ms. Zhang Xiujuan, a textile factory employee; Ms. Ren Juxiu, a city government employee; and Mr. Meng Fanquan, a lecturer at a technology institute.
Members of the Xinji City 610 Office in Hebei Province took advantage of brainwashing centers to collect cash. They knew that some practitioners were financially wiped out after several arrests and accompanied extortion. They instead demanded that each practitioner's employer pay 1,500 yuan for the practitioner to be taken to the brainwashing center. Wang Fucai and Wang Shurui of the Laishui County 610 Office collected 2,000 yuan each month when Ms. Xia Hongrui was forcibly taken to the Nanma Brainwashing Center, which was known to the public as a "legal education base," in Zhuozhou City.
In the Nanma Brainwashing Center, Ms. Xia was tortured by Gao Xuefei, Du Yonglu, Zhang Duanbao, Zhao Yinjiu, Wang Lei, Gu Jianpo, Zhu Jianhua, and others. When she passed out, her hair became stuck in dried blood which had flowed out of the corner of her mouth. She remained unconscious for three days. Ms. Xing Xiuqin was tortured to death at this site. Gao Xuefei, in charge of the brainwashing center, boasted openly, "We are not a prison here. We can use torturing devices no one dares to use in the prisons. We supersede the prisons." Ma Shuhui, a practitioner from Xianyu Town, Dingxing County in Baoding City, was starved, brainwashed, and tortured in the Xiaohanzhuang Brainwashing Center. Wang Fan, the Party secretary of the political and judiciary committee, and his subordinates left dark purple bruises and injuries all over Ma's body. The cigarette burns on Ma's arms did not heal for a month. Ma also suffered intermittent loss of eyesight. Despite Ma's physical condition, the brainwashing class officials demanded 3,000 yuan from Ma's family in exchange for his release.
Measure 6 - Inflict Misery Through Indecent Acts
If practitioners refuse to give up their belief, brainwashing center organizers will resort to all kinds of inhuman torture: pinning the eyelids, molesting the eyeballs, pulling the ears, force feeding alcohol, vicious beatings, pouring cold water on the victims in winter, prohibiting the use of the restroom, tying them up, feeding psychotropic drugs, and even taking them to the mental hospital. Staff assigned to brainwashing take turns bombarding the victims with lies and forcing them to watch videos and DVDs that defame Falun Gong. The torture exceeds the limit of human endurance.
In the Provincial Capital Brainwashing Center, Mr. Ding Wenhong, a train conductor at the Shijiazhuang Railroad Department, was deprived of sleep for 25 days. His ears were torn until they bled. Mr. Jiang Fan was burned with cigarette lighters. Ms. Liu Hui'e was prohibited from using the restroom. Ms. Ding Linian was not allowed to sleep for eight days upon arrival, but she still refused to be "transformed." The thugs then started force feeding her alcohol, preventing her from using the restroom, and smearing slogans attacking Falun Gong and its founder on her face, arms, and hands. Several men held her hand to force her to write these slogans.
Liang Siling, an assistant instructor at the brainwashing center, privately encouraged thugs to inappropriately touch modest female practitioners to coerce them into cooperating.
In the Balizhuang Brainwashing Center in Tangshan City, the thugs placed stacks of bricks on female practitioners' heads. They also mounted two steel pipes, one near the roof, the other near the ground. Female practitioners were handcuffed, one arm to each pipe, while they were lifted sideways with their legs off the ground. Male thugs even stripped female practitioners naked, caressing their breasts. Some tied a practitioner's arms and legs together, pulled her arms and legs to lift her up, and then threw her on the ground. They then repeated the process.
Practitioners who are steadfast in their belief have endured the most inhuman torture. One male practitioner was beaten so hard with steel bars that one of his eyes fell out. Another male practitioner was also viciously beaten. When they passed out, the thugs poured cold water on them to force them to regain consciousness. The thugs pressed burning cigarettes to the practitioners' feet and scorched their necks with a heated furnace poker.
III. The Illegality of Brainwashing Centers
1. There Is No Legal Basis for the Establishment of Brainwashing Centers
The is no legal basis for the establishment of brainwashing centers. No registration procedures, no laws, and no public documentation has been required by the CCP or the government to specify the nature of or rational for the brainwashing centers. No obvious agenda or supervising organizations have been announced; however, the staff of the brainwashing centers, who are not law enforcement officers themselves, have authority beyond that of law enforcers. They have the power to arrest anyone without any legal documentation; they incur no legal responsibility for beating someone to death.
2. The Conduct of Brainwashing Center Staff Constitutes the "Crime of Illegally Depriving Citizens of their Freedom of Religious Belief"
Article 36 of the Constitution states:
"Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief."
Article 251 of the Criminal Law stipulates:
"Workers of state organizations who illegally deprive citizens' right to religious beliefs or who encroach on minority nationalities' customs or habits, if the case is serious, are to be sentenced to two years or fewer in prison or put under criminal detention."
During the past five years, what goes on in these brainwashing centers has already constituted the crime of "illegally depriv[ing] citizens' right to religious beliefs." Elaboration on the illegal nature of the activities carried out in the centers follows:
First, the principal organization for brainwashing centers is the 610 Office, with the majority of personnel in charge of the centers being from the Political and Judiciary Commission at various levels, the courts, the {{Procuratorate}, the Department of Public Security, the Department of Justice, etc. They are all staff from state bodies, and thus fall into the category of Article 251 of Criminal Law, regarding governmental staff members who illegally deprive a citizen of his or her freedom of religious belief.
Second, the brainwashing center personnel violate the law when they deprive practitioners of their freedom of belief. For example, inside centers, the physical freedom of Falun Gong practitioners is severely restricted; practitioners are also subjected to personal attacks. Falun Gong books and materials and personal property are confiscated and destroyed; practitioners are prohibited from conducting their normal social obligations.
Third, the establishment and conduct of brainwashing centers belong to "severe cases," in terms of "depriving citizens of their freedom of religious belief." Brainwashing sessions are repeated incessantly. The number of practitioners who have been forced to attend such sessions is huge. There have been numerous cases of practitioners being mentally traumatized, injured, crippled, and even tortured to death in brainwashing centers.
Therefore, the primary people in charge of brainwashing centers have committed the "crime of illegally depriving citizens of their freedom of religious belief," and should be subjected to punishment according to article 251 of Criminal Law. By law, the responsible persons should be punished with "under a two years' sentence to either a prison or labor camp." [45]
3. Establishment of Brainwashing Centers Has Constituted the "Crime of Illegal Arrest and Imprisonment"
Article 37 of the Constitution states:
"The personal freedom of citizens of the People's Republic of China is inviolable."
Article 238 of the Criminal Law stipulates:
"Whoever unlawfully detains another or deprives him of his freedom of person by any other means is to be sentenced to not more than three years of fixed- term imprisonment, criminal detention, control, or deprivation of political rights."
Falun Gong practitioners are typically picked up and taken to brainwashing centers when they are engaged in work, study, or their daily routines. There are also practitioners who have been sent to brainwashing centers because they refuse to give up their belief in Falun Gong at forced labor camps, or after their forced labor terms are over. Those who abduct practitioners to brainwashing centers or transfer practitioners to brainwashing centers from forced labor camps do not follow any legal process.
Moreover, the brainwashing centers are completely isolated from the outside world. Practitioners are imprisoned in cells and watched by staff or monitors. Their physical activities are restricted, and they are forced to "study." Many practitioners have been bound, beaten, and tortured. Their family members are not allowed to visit them. Some practitioners have been detained in such centers for over a year. The staff in these centers often threaten practitioners by saying that they could be "imprisoned for a lifetime" if they refuse to be "transformed."
Such an act--forcing practitioners to "study" in a completely isolated environment--doesn't have any legal premise. The personal freedom of Chinese citizens is being restricted with no legal justification. It belongs to the severe cases stipulated in article 238, and the responsible persons should be subjected to punishment as dictated
4. The Conduct of the Brainwashing Center Staff Has Constituted the Crimes of "Purposely Injuring Others" and "Deliberate Murder"
Article 234 of the Criminal Law stipulates:
"Whoever intentionally injures another person is to be sentenced to not more than three years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, or control."
Article 232 of the Criminal Law stipulates:
"Whoever intentionally kills another is to be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or not less than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment; when the circumstances are relatively minor, he is to be sentenced to not less than three years and not more than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment."
This article targets people who knowingly and purposely end another person's life for personal reasons. Brainwashing center staff who beat or torture practitioners, causing injuries, disabilities, or death, constitute the crimes of "intentionally injuring" and "intentionally killing" others. Such offenders should be convicted according to Article 232 of the Criminal Law and receive serious sentences.
5. Numerous Children, the Elderly, and Pregnant Women and Nursing Mothers Have Been Forcibly Detained in Brainwashing Centers
China's legal system claims that protective measures are in place for suspects who are pregnant, nursing, or minors. Although Falun Gong practitioners are not suspects of any kind, they are taken to brainwashing centers without any legal justification. In addition, they are not being protected by the "protective measures" of law. According to China's "Re-Education through Labor" trial method, made by the Ministry of Public Security, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and those who are under 16 years of age are prohibited from serving forced labor. Nevertheless, numerous underage children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers have been detained in brainwashing centers.
To give examples, in March of 2001, in the "Forcible 'Transformation' Class" in the Changyi District of Jilin City, three children were detained. Hou Zhenlong was eight years old, Zhao Qinu, 14, and Guo Xiujing, 15. The oldest among all known detainees was 77-year-old Ma Shuang, a teacher in Yongji Normal School in Hewanzi City.
Ms. Liu Qiuhong is a practitioner from Yantai City, Shandong Province. She was formerly employed in Zhongce Pharmaceutical Company. She was eight months pregnant when she was arrested at home by the police, and was later subjected to forced abortion. When the baby was born, it was alive and able to cry. The baby was sent to an unknown place, and to date, no one knows of the baby's whereabouts. After the forced abortion, Liu Qiuhong was not allowed to rest. She was detained in the "'transformation' class" in the Fenghuangtai Office for nearly a month.
The 610 Office Brainwashing Center in Changli County, Qinhuangdao City, detained a young mother and her daughter for nearly two years. The child was only one year old at the time she was taken. She is now three.
The detention of children and pregnant women in brainwashing centers is a severe violation of protective rules and measures for babies, children, and women.
Obviously, the brainwashing center under the guise of "legal education" is the real crime in itself.
6. Accumulating Wealth by Illegal Means
According to a spot check made by this organization, it was revealed that brainwashing centers illegally demand huge fees from detainees. Brainwashing centers have become a tool for their personnel to racketeer and accumulate personal wealth. In the past years, a vast amount of taxpayers' money has been spent on establishing and conducting brainwashing sessions. The amount is very difficult to estimate. We are only able to get incomplete clues as to how much has been spent on brainwashing.
The "'transformation' fee" for each practitioner is typically five to six thousand yuan or even more. The family members and work units of those practitioners who have been illegally taken to brainwashing centers have to pay exorbitant living costs and a "transformation" fee.
Because "transformation" centers are organizations beyond the law, their financial situation is not transparent to the public and not subject to regulations or auditing. Regular huge sums are thus thrown into an abyss. The extorted money obtained from practitioners' families and work units under the guise of "cost of living" and "'transformation' fees" is not subject to any legal process. In many regions, the brainwashing center staff keep changing and the incidents of racketeering are occurring all the time. To a certain extent, making a fortune from brainwashing centers has become incentive for operating them.
Organizing brainwashing centers under the guise of "legal education" is the true crime. The eye-opening measures of torture have exposed the nature of the CCP's brutality. Ms. Yan Pingjun from Shijiazhuang was tortured to death, and her husband and child are to appeal her case. It poses these inconvenient questions to all of us: Who is carrying out this barbaric torture and killing our fellow countrymen in our own country without the slightest worry and constraint? Can we turn a blind eye to what is taking place? If we cannot stop such crimes, where will the future lead us?
Reference
Investigative Report on Brainwashing Classes and Brainwashing Methods (October 9, 2004) by The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (Web link: http://www.zhuichaguoji.org/en/index2.php?option=content&task=view&id=136&pop=1&page=0)