China: 60-year-old “Saint who escaped from the Tiger Bench” Finally Tortured to Death By Police

Wen Hua, The Epoch Times Staff, Oct 14, 2007-

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang Yuhuan from Changchun City, Jilin Province, ( who’s called as “saint who escaped from the Tiger Bench” by prominent Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng) died on September 24, 2007 whilst under police custody. The police didn’t inform her family until October 10.

(picture: torture- Tiger Bench)

Wang was a peaceful and kind elderly lady in her 60s. She had been in and out of jail over ten times in the past eight years because of her belief in Falun Gong.

The police in Changchun once tortured her on a Tiger Bench for three days consecutively. Her anklebones were visible because of the shackles digging into her legs and the police beat her repeatedly, causing her arms to brake.

Wang had to endure terrible forms of torture: she was shocked with electric batons until her face was severely burnt, several officers picked her up and repeatedly threw her against a tree, and a police officer once burned her eyes with a cigarette and stabbed her ears with skewers. Even worse, a prison medical staff member once cut her veins and almost killed her with an injection.

She was stripped of all her clothing, together with other imprisoned female Falun Gong practitioners, and they were hung on wooden boards naked for 26 days straight so that the male guards and prisoners could humiliate them.

Wang was diagnosed with breast cancer in the detention center and they thought that she would not survive. She was later released but on May 9, 2007, she was illegally arrested again.

According to sources, this large scale arrest was initiated by the Jilin Province Public Safety Department, the Changchun City Public Safety Bureau, and the Erdao District Police Station. Nearly 70 practitioners were illegally arrested including Wang and they were kept in the Changchun City Third Detention Center.

Since then, there was no news of Wang until October 9, 2007. The police called Wang’s family and told them, “Wang had internal bleeding. The emergency rescue failed and she died on the spot.”

In fact, Wang died on September 24 at the Changchun City Central Hospital but the police claimed that they did not know where Wang’s body was and the details of her death.

In 2005, human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng once called Wang the “saint who escaped from the Tiger Bench” after hearing Wang’s experience in the prison. The following is a quote from Wang reminiscing her experience, “The police tortured me every five minutes. They handcuffed my hands behind my back and lifted them up and down violently. I heard the sound of my shoulders dislocating. The excruciating pain almost knocked me unconscious and sweat and tears poured down my face. Immediately, they pushed my head down toward my crotch. My chest was immobilized on the Tiger Bench with iron rods and it felt like my neck was about to break. Since my chest and abdomen were fixed onto the bench with iron rods, I felt I was dying second by second from suffocation and the excruciating pain. They tied my ankles to iron rings with a rope and pulled on the rings so hard that I felt they would dislocate my ankles. At the same time, other police pushed my head toward my crotch. I couldn’t stop shivering because of the extreme pain.”

Wang added, “They tortured me like that every five minutes. My hair and clothes were soaked in sweat, tears, and blood from my torn flesh. Again and again, I fainted because I couldn’t bear the excruciating pain. Repeatedly, the police woke me up by pouring cold or boiling water on me. The boiling water blistered my already damaged skin. I wished they would just shoot me right there because I really didn’t want to bear such pain.”

- Original report from the Epochtimes

Barbecued Cats a Popular Delicacy in Northeast China City Changchun

Central News Agency, Taiwan, Via the Epochtimes, Sep 11, 2007-

BBQ cats have become a popular delicacy in China’s northeast city of Changchun. Despite health warnings from the Animal Disease Control Center, many restaurants provide live cats for customers to choose from, and then cook them on the spot.

According to City Evening report, several cats were locked in a cage in front of a BBQ shop. A waiter showed the cats to a customer, which were then killed and cooked on the spot, fetching about RMB 100 yuan each (approximately US$13).

According to cat vendor Lao Zhou, people eat cats, but currently no one is in the business of raising cats for slaughter; cat vendors normally collect them from households, paying 20 to 30 yuan for each.

Aside from being served in restaurants, cats are also sold in the pigeon market on Taibei Ave, Changchun city. BBQ stalls are set up in close proximity to the cat stall. According to a chef that specializes in cooking cat meat, customers first pick out a cat from the market and then bring the slaughtered animal to him. He will cook the cat for a fee of about 10 yuan (approximately US$1.50).

According to the local Animal Health Supervision Institute, all animal or poultry products sold in markets or restaurants should be killed in a designated location that meets sanitation standards and passes the food safety inspections. Currently, there is no designated area for slaughtering cats because killing cats for sale is unlawful.

According to Mrs Li Xiuyun, Chief of the Changchun Animal Disease Control Center, people are misled by the myth that eating cats is beneficial to one’s health. On the contrary, cats can be infected with many types of parasites, which can be passed on to humans if they eat an infected animal.

- Report from the Epochtimes: Barbecued Cats a Popular Delicacy in Changchun

List of the Most Wicked Labor Camps in Modern China

Under China’s “reform through labor” policy, hundreds of modern labor camps are built up through out the country to hold political prisoners, dissidents, religious, lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders along side dangerous criminals.

Torture to death

Torture is widely used in these labor camps to force prisoners to reform.

Till the year 2003, “at least 69 labour camps have directly persecuted Falun Gong practitioners to death (Appendix 2 contains detailed information)”, said in a report by World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG).

“Even practitioners who were senior citizens older than 65 years, infants as young as eight months, or disabled had no impunity”, it said.

Two specific cases:

“In November 2000, Ms. Wang Lixuan and her nearly eight-month-old infant son were both tortured to death at the Tuanhe Labour Camp in Beijing. ” ( details)
(photo right: Ms. Wang Lixuan and her 8-month-old son)

“In October 2000, 18 female Falun Gong practitioners were stripped of their clothing and thrown into the male criminals’ cells at the Masanjia Labour Camp in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. ” ( details)

The worst- organ harvesting

large-scale of organ harvesting is happening in China labor camps, said by two well-known Canadian human rights activists, David Kilgour and David Matas, in their independent report “BLOODY HARVEST- Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China”.

List of most wicked labor camps

I’m trying to collect information from the Internet to list out some of the most wicked labor camps in modern China.

By click on the name on the list, you can find out the labor camps’ location, introduction, cases of abuses and killing, victims and Perpetrators.

1. Masanjia Labor Camp
- Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, Northeast China

2. Harbin Wanjia Labor Camp
- Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China

3. Beijing Tuanhe Labor Camp
- Daxing County, Beijing City, Capital city of China

4. Beijing Tiantanghe Women’s Labor Camp
- Daxing County, Beijing City, Capital city of China

5. Beijing XinAn Labor Camp
- Daxing County, Beijing City, Capital city of China

6. Hebei Gaoyang Labor Camp
- Gaoyang County, Baoding City, Hebei Province, north China

7. Tianjin Banqiao Labor Camp
- Tianjin City, north China

8. Harbin Changlinzi Labor Camp
-Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, northeast China

9. Shenyang Longshan Labor Camp
- Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, northeast China

10.Shenyang Zhangshi Labor Camp
- Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, northeast China

11. Changchun Heizuizi Women’s Labor Camp
- Changchun City, Jilin Province, northeast China

12. Shandong Zibo Wangcun Labor Camp
- Zibo City, Shandong Province, east China

A few more will be added on the list later.

China Pollution Scares: Algae Outbreak Make 25,000 People No Water

Reuters, Tue Jul 17, 2007-

BEIJING (Reuters) – An outbreak of blue algae in a Chinese reservoir has left nearly 25,000 people without water and 100,000 others with reduced supplies, state media said on Wednesday of the latest in a series of water pollution scares.

The algae, in the northeastern city of Changchun, was likely caused by farm fertilizers and abnormally hot and dry weather, the official China Daily reported.

The local government had started collecting the algae using nets and boats and was trucking in water to residents in Changchun’s Luyuan district where supplies have been suspended, the newspaper added. Other Changchun residents had had water pressure reduced, the Beijing Youth Daily said, showing pictures of fluorescent green-looking water in the reservoir.

Water supplies to millions of residents have been affected in a series of algae outbreaks across the country in recent months.

On July 4, water supplies to 200,000 people in Shuyang county, Jiangsu province, were halted for more than 40 hours after ammonia and nitrogen were found in a local river, state media reported.

In late May, a major outbreak in China’s third biggest lake cut off water supplies to over 2 million residents of Wuxi city, also in Jiangsu.

Algae blooms develop in water that is rich in nutrients, often because of run-off from heavy fertilizer use, industrial runoff and untreated sewage — all pollutants in ready supply in many parts of China.

- original report from Reuters: New China algae outbreak threatens water supplies

China No. 1 Blogger Arrested Over Stock Investment Messaging Services

By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai, The Financial Times, UK, July 12 2007-

China’s proliferation of unregulated investment advice companies and private “hedge funds” could be under threat after the arrest of a blogger whose online stock tips made his site one of the country’s most popular.

Wang Xiujie, 35, was arrested in the north-eastern city of Changchun after an investigation into his unauthorised investment consulting business, Xinhua news agency reported. No charges have yet been filed.

The popularity of Mr Wang’s blog turned him into one of the phenomena of China’s recent stock market frenzy, in which millions of new investors opened share trading accounts. His blog is one of many unlicensed investment advice and fund management operations to have sprung up over the past 18 months and which have begun to attract the attention of regulators.

Mr Wang set up his stock-tip site in 2005 under the name Daitou Dage 777 – which means “senior big brother” and is the name of a famous kung fu character. The site claims to have received more than 33m hits and local media in May branded it China’s most popular blog, eclipsing that of a popular actress.

Mr Wang, who claims to have been a stockbroker in the 1990s, also used personal messaging services to deliver share tips. Chinese media reports have said he made Rmb10m ($1.3m) for his investment advice.

As part of the explosion in informal investment companies, many investment “studios” have sprung up to offer stock tips for a fee to new investors. Meanwhile, hundreds of private investment funds – referred to as hedge funds in China – have been established to trade clients’ money.

Some of these unlicensed funds are run by professional investors, others by relative newcomers investing their friends’ and families’ savings. By some estimates, private funds now have $50bn under management – roughly a third of the formal sector.

Government officials have been debating for months which of these activities to clamp down on and which to allow.

Neither the China Securities and Regulatory Commission, the stock market regulator, nor Jilin province police would comment on Mr Wang’s arrest.

Lawyers said it was unclear whether his detention was part of a broader regulatory move against informal investment companies.

Song Yixin, a partner at Wenda law firm in Shanghai, said the case “could be viewed as a benchmark in the industry, with the government using it as a warning to other unlicensed activities”.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

- original report: Chinese blogger held over stock tips

Prominent Falun Gong Practitioner Dead from Torture

The Falun Dafa Infocenter, 11/5/2006-

NEW YORK, November 3— The Falun Dafa Infocenter is deeply troubled by the recent death (on October 16, 2006) , who had been subjected to prolonged torture and ill-treatment in police custody.

(photo: Mr. Zhang Zhong)

Zhang was a 35-year old man from Heilongjiang province. He reportedly took part in the bold and courageous effort to tap into Chinese state-controlled television on March 5, 2002 to expose the persecution of Falun Gong.

Since 1999, Chinese television across the country has attempted to incite hatred and violence against Falun Gong practitioners. The 2002 broadcast in northeastern China’s Changchun city reportedly shocked top Chinese Communist Party officials and led to former CCP leader Jiang Zemin ordering police to “kill [those responsible for the broadcast] without pardon.” According to reports from Changchun, police raided houses and arrested some 5,000 Falun Gong practitioners within three days that March (see: http://www.faluninfo.net/Compassion5/civil.htm). On April 19, 2002 Zhang was arrested and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

With his death, Zhang joins Mr. Liu Chengjun, whose case had been highlighted by Amnesty International, and Mr. Lei Ming, as Falun Gong practitioners tortured to death after being sentenced to long prison terms for participating in the broadcast. Others, such as Mr. Liang Zhenxing, remain in critical condition. (see: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2006/6/27/74853.html)

Zhang was tortured severely at the Daqing City Prison where he was held. On January 15, 2004 he was discovered doing Falun Gong exercises in his cell. Prison guard Li Fangjie then sent him to a disciplinary room where guards bashed his head until Zhang lost consciousness. Guards then stabbed Zhang’s head and hands with needles; he did not respond, so they kicked him in the stomach. After that, he began to spit blood and vomit whatever he ate for a period of six months.

Zhang was also whipped in the face with belts, nearly suffocated to death by plastic bags forced over his head, and stripped and doused with cold water in freezing temperatures, among other things.

After nearly two years of torture at Daqing, which left Zhang unconscious and paralyzed, he was released on July 23, 2004. The Infocenter believes he was released because he was on the brink of death and, since his case was being monitored overseas, Chinese authorities did not want him to die in custody.

But when he was strong enough to do so, Zhang exposed via the Internet details of the torture he had suffered and included electronic images of his broken and emaciated body (see: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2006/10/29/79434.html). This led Daqing Prison authorities to dispatch a pursuit team to arrest him again. Zhang managed to evade them for quite some time by living away from home, but was finally rearrested on August 10, 2006, along with eighteen other Falun Gong practitioners.

Among the group, Zhang and one other man were reportedly tortured the most severely. After ten days of detention, Zhang was transferred to Harbin City Police Hospital. He eventually died there on October 16, 2006. His parents went to the prison hospital that day but were not allowed see his body, and authorities refused to issue a death certificate.

“Those responsible for Zhang Zhong’s death must be held accountable,” said Infocenter spokesperson Levi Browde. “The Falun Dafa Infocenter calls for an investigation by outside organizations of the circumstances leading to Zhang’s death.”

“The continued, flagrant state-sanctioned murder of Falun Gong practitioners in China simply cannot continue,” Browde said. “Unfortunately, we have yet to see any sign of remorse on the part of senior Chinese Communist Party officials for all the suffering they have caused. Accounts of cruelty against Falun Gong practitioners in China continue to pour in daily.”

photo: Quit the CCP Slogans Found Throughout China(3)

The Epoch Times, Sep 02, 2006- (cont’d)

Hebei Province

Clearwisdom.net reported on September 1st 2005 that withdrawal statements, introductory articles about the Nine Commentaries , The Epoch Times statements, and ways to quit the CCP began to appear on the streets of Shijiazhuang City. Most of them were found in Hebei Normal University, Hebei Economic and Trade University and Shijianzhuang Vocational Technology Institute, as well as other universities. All of the aforementioned flyers were also found on the door of the Shijiazhuang jail. This report coincides with the point in time when the world was expressing it’s support for the four million brave citizens who had thus far withdrawn from the CCP.

(photo above: Quit the CCP poster at Shijiazhuang City, Hebei province. — Clearwisdom.net)

Changchun City

On August 14th, 2005, Clearwisdom.net reported that on the afternoon of July 20th an amazing sight appeared in the city of Changchun City, Jiling Province. Resignation statements could be seen almost everywhere, signifying yet another significant blow to the Communist Party. These statements were neatly glued to walls, electric poles, and doors all along the roads. The people who resign from the CCP come from all different backgrounds, including technical workers, mechanical staff, teachers, and just about every other profession imaginable.

(photo above: Quit the CCP poster at Changchun City. — Clearwisdom.net)
(to be cont’d…)

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Related:
- How Global CCP Resignation Statistics Are Calculated, August 2nd, 2006

Lawyer’s 3rd open letter urge China to stop the Brutality(1)

Note: Mr. Gao Zhisheng has been praised as “the conscience of Chinese lawyers” and “a great hero.” China’s Ministry of Justice rated him one of China’s top ten lawyers in 2001. He has earned a reputation for courage in standing up against human rights abuses and is one of only a handful of lawyers in China who will defend those persecuted for their religious or spiritual beliefs. His 3rd open letter to Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, titled “We Must Immediately Stop the Brutality That Suffocates Our Nation’s Conscience and Morality” shocked the whole world. WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF TORTURE.

We Must Immediately Stop the Brutality That Suffocates Our Nation’s Conscience and Morality

–by Gao Zhisheng, December 12, 2005, Changchun City, Jilin Province

Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, and all other conscientious fellow Chinese citizens:

I, Gao Zhisheng, send you my greetings from Changchun City. I would first like to convey my deepest mourning for the innocent fellow Chinese citizens killed by the Guangdong government, and my condolences and support for the family members of the victims. At the same time, I would like to express my strongest protest against the brutality of slaughtering our kind countrymen. I strongly urge that the highest authorities follow the basic principles recognized by civil societies, punish the murderers and those responsible for these acts, and comfort and compensate the families of the victims.

Winter in Changchun is extremely cold. Although in “hiding” in a room that doesn’t have water most of the time, my blood is boiling hot. The reason isn’t because I am again writing an open letter to Hu and Wen. Instead, simply being able to work for the future of one of the greatest peoples in the world is enough to make any ordinary citizen’s blood boil.

On October 18, also with red-hot enthusiasm, I wrote an open letter to Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, two fellow countrymen of mine, urgently calling on their government to “Stop Persecuting Believers in Freedom and Mend Your Ties with the Chinese People.” The next day, I received blatant threats over the phone at home. Starting the third day, at least 10 cars and 20 plainclothes police officers began circling, monitoring, and following my entire family every day, 24 hours a day. The 15th day after I wrote the letter, the Beijing Judicial Bureau illegally closed the law firm I ran. It is very regrettable how our country treats a citizen who openly makes suggestions.

Another strong reaction prompted by the open letter was that Falun Gong believers from various parts of China who have been persecuted have written me and invited me to their areas to learn more about their true situation. Quite a few of these letters were from the cities of Changchun and Dalian. Beginning on November 29, I spent almost 24 hours a day continuously traveling between Jinan City, Shandong province; Dalian and Fuxin cities, Liaoning province; and Changchun City, Jilin province to conduct another round of investigations. Unlike my usual practice of traveling solo, I was honored to be accompanied by Professor Jiao Guobiao.

Meanwhile, flocks of plainclothes police were still hovering around my home night and day, creating an atmosphere of terror and severely suppressing my entire family. On November 29, I escaped being followed and encircled by more than 20 plainclothes police and spent 15 days investigating the truth in my own way. I especially would like to say here that we try our best to tell the truth of how this nation is being continually and brutally persecuted, especially at this time. This is also to remind our entire nation of the severity and urgency of the problems we are facing. It is time for our nation and each and every one of us to seriously face our problems. Any excuse or delay by any means is committing a crime against our entire nation! (To be cont’d…)

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Related:
– AI report 2006- China overview(4) , Amnesty International
- Lawyer’s 3rd open letter urge to stop the Brutality, on Dec. 12, 2005
- Gao zhisheng’s 2nd open letter to China head, on Nov. 22, 2005
* Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao: Please Answer the Following Questions
- Gao zhisheng’s 1st open letter to China head, on Oct. 18, 2005
* Stop Persecuting Believers of Freedom and Mend Your Ties with the Chinese People