(Minghui.org) Ms. Tang Changjun, a Wuhan City, Hubei Province resident, talked to a passenger on the subway about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ongoing persecution of her faith, Falun Gong, on April 12, 2019. She was arrested and sentenced to three years and six months. When she was released from Hankou Prison in Wuhan City on October 12, 2022, she was unable to walk, her speech was slurred, and she was emaciated. Yet the local street committee continued to harass her and attempted to force her to renounce her faith. Ms. Tang died two months later on December 17. She was 74.
Ms. Wang Qiong, another Falun Gong practitioner in Wuhan, was sentenced to two years after she was arrested around 6 a.m. on August 12, 2018 while grocery shopping. While serving time at Hankou Prison, she was pushed to a corner of the restroom, a blind spot from surveillance cameras, where several inmates stuffed rags used to clean the toilets into her mouth. Throughout her term, Ms. Wang was closely monitored by the inmates and often forced to stand for long hours without moving.
The inmates beat Ms. Wang again on March 18, 2020 because she refused to write a statement to renounce Falun Gong. One inmate yanked her hair and slammed her against the corner of a metal bed rail, breaking two of her ribs. The inmates forcibly stuffed a rag into her mouth and slapped her in the face. Ms. Wang lost a tooth, vomited blood, had difficulty breathing, and then passed out.
Hankou Prison, along with Wuhan Women’s Prison and Jiangcheng Prison, are the three women’s prisons in Wuhan City. Hankou Prison is located on No. 28 Jiangda Road in the Jianghan Economic Development Zone, facing the Wuhan Garden Expo Park. It was retrofitted from a men’s prison in 2005. Most of the inmates were transferred from Wuhan Women’s Prison, located on Baofeng Road, Qiaokou District.
The leadership of Hankou Prison actively participates in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. There are nine divisions there, with four management levels, including loose, regular, strict, and stringent. All Falun Gong practitioners are assigned to the Stringent Management Division.
“Transformation”
As soon as a Falun Gong practitioner is admitted to Hankou Prison, two to four inmates are assigned to monitor her around the clock. Her every word and action is recorded and submitted to the guards for review.
Upon prison admission, everything the practitioner brings in with her has to be trashed and she is forced to buy everything anew, which is sold at significantly marked-up prices. Pens, detergents, and trash bags are confiscated regularly each month. If a practitioner’s family mails photos to her, she can only keep two and must turn in the rest. When her term is up, she is not allowed to take anything with her, except a set of clothes she is forced to buy for 140 yuan. She is also forced to sign a statement promising “not to disclose prison secrets.”
Throughout her term, the practitioner is not allowed to call, write to, or meet with her family. She is prohibited from doing anything by herelf or talking to other imprisoned practitioners. Even when doing laundry, she cannot start until the previous practitioner is done and returns to her cell.
If the practitioner refuses to renounce Falun Gong, the guards force her and the inmates monitoring her to stand for long hours together, while studying brainwashing materials. When the inmates experience fatigue, swelling in their legs, or other physical conditions after standing for extended periods of time, they will begin to verbally abuse the practitioner, accusing her of being selfish. Sometimes they spray hot pepper water on her. If a practitioner continues to hold firm to her faith, the guards will begin to broadcast videos smearing Falun Gong and Falun Gong’s founder. Some inmates also read slanderous articles in front of the practitioner. Some have thrown themselves against the wall or the metal bed, in attempts to pressure the practitioner to give in.
In most of cases, the guards don’t get involved in the persecution directly, but instigate the inmates to act on their behalf. The monitoring inmates are managed by a “head inmate.” Their awards, term reductions and purchase allowance in the prison’s convenience store are directly connected to whether the practitioner in their charge renounces Falun Gong.
The head inmate often uses a variety of methods to pressure the practitioner to “transform,” at times threatening to put the photo of Falun Gong’s founder on the ground for others to step on [an extremely disrespectful act], or for other inmates to take turns verbally abusing Falun Gong’s founder.
Every day, the practitioner is given certain “homework” to finish. She also has to write an essay every week and “thought reports” every month. During holidays, she is forced to pledge allegiance to the CCP and to sing songs in praise of the Party.
In addition to doing daily “homework,” the practitioner is forced to sit on a small stool or stand, immobile, for long hours each day. While sitting, she must place her hands on her lap, keep her back straight and stay still. The standing torture requires her to keep her head lowered, looking at her toes and also staying motionless. The forced standing and sitting alternate every hour. The head inmate watches the practitioner constantly. If her postures are deemed non-compliant, she will be subjected to further punishment.
The practitioner and the inmates monitoring her are deemed a team and must do everything together, including using the restroom and drinking water at pre-determined times. If one violates the rule, all others in the same team are punished. If anyone needs to use the restroom beyond the alloted time, they have to seek permission from the guards.
Before having meals, the practitioner and the monitoring inmates are also forced to sing songs to praise the CCP and do a roll call. If during dinner time, the TV happens to play Xinwen Lianbo, the flagship daily evening news program by the CCTV (the CCP’s official mouthpiece), they have to stop eating and watch the news.
The food provided in the prison is very poor. Sometimes, the guards give the inmates rancid rice with spicy pickled radish. Some meals consists only of a steamed bun or clear noodles, with barely any protein or vegetables. No hot water is provided for instant noodles or cereals.
No matter the season, the practitioner and the monitoring inmates are only given two thermoses of hot water for bathing every Tuesday. Even though the hot water provided isn’t enough, they aren’t allowed to shower with cold water, either. Yet the head inmate who is assigned to watch the others receives a thermos of hot water for drinking and showering each day.
Forced Labor
After a certain period of “transformation,” the practitioner is assigned to a regular division, where she is made to work along other imprisoned practitioners and inmates five days a week, mostly making clothes, with another day for “study” and one day for rest. When the workload is heavy, everyone has to work on the “study” day. The workday is extremely long, but they may “enjoy” regular working hours when the prison is under inspection.
Pressure is high to do everything quickly. After getting up, inmates have to hurry to line up in 5 minutes for a roll call. They aren’t allowed to use the restroom until 30 minutes later. If anyone doesn’t squat during the roll call or shout “Good morning, sir,” the entire cell will be punished, including having points deducted, being forced to stand, or being made to clean the prison or hand-copy the prison rules from weeks or months.
The detainees are ordered to finish lunch within a short period of time and then hurry back to the workshop, without being allowed to wash their hands, rinse their mouths, or wash their dishes.
After finishing the work in the evening, they have to sing songs to praise the CCP again and walk in marching formation. Nothing is allowed to be brought back from the workshop. The guards select one team each day for a strip search.
The workshop in the prison is located on the higher floors. Without elevators, the inmates have to carry rolls of fabric weighing hundreds of pounds upstairs on narrow and dark stairs. Some elderly inmates or those physically weak have passed out from carrying these loads. If an inmate accidentally stabs herself with a needle during work, she cannot report the injury or seek treatment, or she will be punished.
Each day during work hours, they are given two restroom breaks. If they have strong need to use the restroom more often than that, they must get approval from the guards first and then the entire team havsto go together. If a team can’t finish the work quota during the day, they are punished at night.
Wherever one is or whatever one is doing, they have to be prepared for a roll call or body search at any time. If they make any perceived mistake, they are punished.
Every week, the guards search the inmates’ and practitioners’ beds and personal belongings for contraband, including water infused with essential oils, stamps, or food bags. Even reusing a cookie bag for candies or for crushing hard peanuts isn’t allowed. Sharing food or daily items is also strictly prohibited. Anyone who is found violating the rules will cause the entire team monitoring her to be punished.
Practitioners Who Have Served or Are Serving Time at Hankou Prison
Besides the two practitioners mentioned at the beginning of the report, the following Hubei natives have also served or are still serving time at Hankou Prison.
Ms. Jiang Liyu, a Hubei native who worked in Beijing, was arrested in Beijing on May 12, 2017, for distributing Falun Gong fliers. She was sentenced to four years by the Shijingshan Court in Beijing on July 12, 2018. She was transferred to Hankou Prison in March 2019 and released in May 2021.
Ms. Hu Xuefang, of Huanggang City, was arrested on February 27, 2018. She was later sentenced to 3.5 years and released from Hankou Prison on August 27, 2021.
Ms. Wu Bilin, of Wuhan, was arrested on May 19, 2018, and sentenced to five years in April 2019. She served time in Hankou Prison and was denied family visits the entire time.
Ms. Shao Lian, in her 70s and from Jingzhou City, was arrested on August 27, 2019, and sentenced to three years on December 17, 2020. Although she was originally allowed to serve time at home, the Shashi District 610 Office still took her to Hankou Prison to serve time.
Ms. Liu Mulan, a 56-year-old Wuhan City resident, was arrested on October 16, 2019. She was sentenced to four years with a 4,000-yuan fine by the Hanyang District Court in late January 2021. Ms. Liu was taken to Hankou Prison in April 2021, after her appeal was struck down by the intermediate court.
Ms. Chen Shunying, in her 70s and from Jingzhou City, was arrested in late 2019 for distributing Falun Gong materials. She was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison and admitted to Hankou Prison in September 2020. Her family wasn’t allowed to visit her.
Ms. Hou Aila and Ms. Rao Xiaoping, of Wuhan City, were convicted in mid-September 2019 for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Hou was sentenced to eight years and fined 40,000 yuan while Ms. Rao was given seven years and fined 30,000 yuan. Both are currently serving time in Hankou Prison.
Ms. Qian Youyun, of Wuhan City, was admitted to Hankou Prison in December 2020 to serve a two-year term. As a result of constant beatings and involuntary drug administration, she suffered from constant pain, as well as declining vision and memory.
Ms. Luo Yuanying and Ms. Huang Hongwei were arrested on February 22, 2021, after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong. The Hanyang District Court held two joint hearings in 2022, on May 31 and June 17, before sentencing Ms. Luo to seven years and Ms. Huang to three and a half years on August 8, 2022. They were transferred to Hankou Prison shortly after their appeals were denied by the Wuhan City Intermediate Court on November 28, 2022.
Related Report in Chinese:
Related Report:
Hankou Prison in Wuhan City Tortures Falun Gong Practitioners
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