(Minghui.org) The Jilin Province Women’s Prison is one of the facilities that has been used by the Chinese Communist Party to detain and torture Falun Gong practitioners since the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999. Below were some of the torture methods used on Falun Gong practitioners in the Eighth and Tenth Divisions.
After being sentenced, practitioners were transferred from the detention center to the prison. There, they had to change into a prison uniform before being sent to the admissions team. Each cell had an inmate in charge of patrolling the area. These inmates usually had shorter sentences or were about to be released. They stayed on the third or fourth floor of the Eighth Division building.
Each cell in the admission team had six bunk beds, and each person was given one plastic spoon and two plastic bowls to use during mealtimes. Everyone had to sit on a small plastic stool and provide their personal information, such as their name, medical history, and the crime they committed. They also had to answer a few psychological questions that the prison would use to determine which division to send the inmates to. Falun Gong practitioners and other religious believers were sent to the Education "Transformation" Division, also known as the Eighth Division. Those with medical histories were sent to the Tenth Division, which is for the elderly, ill, and disabled.
First, practitioners had their blood pressure measured in the meeting room. Then, they were asked about their age and when they started practicing Falun Gong. The prison used this information to determine how steadfast the practitioner was in her cultivation and whether there was a chance to "transform" her. The practitioners were the placed in different cells on different floors. The former division head, Qian Wei, told the practitioners that the eighth division did not allow appeals of their wrongful sentences.
As the practitioners were about to leave the admissions team and enter the Eighth Division, the division began arranging for inmates to receive them. Depending on the number of inmates in a cell, the health conditions of the practitioners, and how steadfast they were in their cultivation, the cell team leader would select inmates capable of "transforming" practitioners. After a period of time, the guards would make personnel changes to prevent the inmates from becoming friendly with the practitioners.
Each cell had six bunk beds, three on each side of the wall. The lower middle bunks were reserved for newly admitted practitioners. Each cell had an inmate as the team leader. Practitioners who had been "transformed" would be made to work with the team leader to try to "transform" the others.
Newly arrived practitioners were placed under strict management. They had to stand facing the wall at all times while inmates monitored them to ensure they did not look at others. The practitioners were also restricted in how many times they could use the restroom, how much toilet paper they could use, and how much they could spend on daily necessities. They were instructed to complete tasks quickly, such as using the restroom and washing up. Those who refused to give up their faith were not allowed to use the restroom, wash up, or brush their teeth.
Besides being given two bowls, a spoon, and some basic necessities, such as a quilt, mattress, shoes, and four sets of seasonal clothing, practitioners were given nothing else. They depend on family members to deposit money into their accounts to purchase daily necessities. The cell team leader would collect clothes and daily necessities left by inmates who had left the prison and save these items for those who had been "transformed." Those who refused to "transform" would be restricted.
Those under strict management had only five minutes to talk to their families, while the rest had ten minutes or more. Red tags indicate strict management and a spending limit of 100 yuan per month. Those with blue tags were in the inspection stage and could spend 200 yuan per month. Those with yellow tags could spend 300 yuan per month. During public holidays, everyone was allowed to spend an additional 300 yuan.
The eighth ward was housed in a four-story building. The first floor was designated the “strict management” area, which included cells 101 to 107. Cell 107, known as the “Storm Cell,” held practitioners who refused to renounce their faith. Practitioners were often forced to sit motionless on small stools every day. They were only allowed to use the restroom two or three times a day. Inmates brought food to the practitioners and returned the plates once they had finished eating. If a practitioner wanted to use the restroom, they had to ask the inmate, “Can I stand up?” They could only stand up when the inmate said yes. They had to ask for permission for every movement. Otherwise, the practitioners would be scolded.
The Eighth Division also had inmates who helped to run errands for the guards, such as patrolling each cell in the division. Every floor had an inmate who had the power to suggest personnel changes to the guards. There were also inmates responsible for managing the monthly purchases of goods and expenses and medical inmates who assisted in the treatment of illnesses. Whenever a practitioner tried to resist the persecution, a few inmates would bring the practitioner to the storm cell and torture the practitioner.
Every day, the former division head, Qian Wei, would bring the guards to each cell to check on the practitioners’ “'transformation' progress.” Practitioners were forced to study, write “thought reports,” and watch videos slandering Falun Gong. In the classroom, inmates would ask questions about Falun Gong to determine if the practitioners had really renounced their faith. The guards also took videos of the practitioners to study their expressions and determine if they had truly "transformed." Criticism meetings were held where practitioners were forced to slander Falun Gong. The guards video recorded the meetings and showed them to the next group of practitioners. The goal was to meet the assessment criteria set by the Political and Legal Affairs Committee. Practitioners who had been "transformed" had to attend an assessment and be questioned by the officials to determine if they had indeed given up their belief.
Ms. Li Chunhuan had hepatitis B when she entered prison and was immediately sent to the Tenth Division. She was transferred to the Eighth Division after one and a half years.
Ms. Xu Bin was abused by inmates during the strict management period when she refused to give up her faith. She shouted for the guards’ help but they ignored her.
Ms. Mu Hua was not allowed to use the restroom and had to relieve herself in the cell.
Ms. Fu Yanfei became emaciated after being tortured.
Ms. Qiu Lin was beaten, kicked, and pinched by inmates for refusing to "transform." The inmates threatened to lock her in solitary confinement forever and not allow her to leave or talk to anyone. She would often vomit and did not have enough to eat. She was hospitalized several times and was emaciated.
Ms. Yu Jianli was forced to sit on a small stool for many days and not allowed to wash up. She looked very haggard a few days later when she left the cell.
Ms. Huang Jingru was sent to the Tenth Division after she shouted “Falun Dafa is good” while in strict management.
For elderly practitioners who refused to "transform," the inmates would deprive them of sleep and restrict them from drinking water or using the restroom. The inmates wouldn’t stop the abuse until the practitioners developed high blood pressure. When the practitioners went to the hospital, inmates would accompany them to ensure that they did not talk about the abuse to anyone. Younger practitioners were deprived of sleep, made to sit on small stools, humiliated, and threatened.
The second floor consists of practitioners and other religious believers. Cries and screams could be heard coming out of cells 202 and 206 during the day and night. The inmates claimed that the sounds came from a mentally ill person.
The Eighth Division had one division head, three captains, and team leader in each cell. Two team leaders took turns to be on duty for a period of time before being replaced by two others. The guards were not fixed and will be transferred to other divisions. However, the division head, Gao Yang, who was a teacher, had always remained in the division after the former division head, Qian Wei, was transferred to the safety department.
The prison had a “mutual monitoring group” where at least three inmates had to stay together at all times, including going to the restroom, or points would deducted from them. If practitioners were hospitalized, at least one inmate had to stay with them in the hospital and prevent them from talking to outsiders. The inmates in charge of monitoring the practitioners were usually those who had committed fraud or violent crimes.
Practitioners were not allowed to talk or make eye contact with one another. The prison also defamed the practitioners by spreading rumors that the practitioners were bad people.
The division had books and videos containing content that slandered Falun Gong. If there was a new batch of guards, the inmates would introduce the brainwashing materials to them.
Many elderly practitioners were transferred to the Tenth Division due to their advanced age and health issues. The division head, Cui Yan, once tried to force Ms. Li Jinxi, a practitioner of Korean ethnicity, to get an injection in 2023 and threatened to send her back to the Eighth Division. Ms. Huang Yuru was tortured by the inmates for refusing to take medicine and often vomited.
Ms. Zhao Hongyan, who is currently held at the Tenth Division, is emaciated and malnourished. The prison forced her to take antihypertensive drugs and rifampicin, even though she didn’t have the conditions these drugs are meant to treat.