September 7, 2003

Etouwan Brainwashing Center in Qiaokou District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province cost nearly one million yuan to construct. It is a base specifically used to persecute Dafa practitioners. In June 2002, Qiaokou District's "610 Office" (an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems) decided to increase the "transformation" (meaning to force practitioners to give up their belief) intensity, so they have since selected the so-called "elite torturers" from the district to reinforce the brainwashing class. In the classes, these people openly call themselves local thugs and evil heads sent by Satan. When persecuting Dafa practitioners they are more base, deceitful and cruel than anyone before them. The assistant director of the "610 Office," Xie Xiaofeng was appointed Party secretary of the brainwashing center. Xie Xiaofeng has authorised the team leader, Li Wei, to use any means to "transform" Dafa practitioners. Before coming to Etouwan Brainwashing Centre, Li Wei had graduated from the police academy and worked in the Public Safety Department, where he had viciously beaten many innocent people, often to the point of disability. Now in persecuting Dafa practitioners he uses all kinds of vicious methods and persecutes them inhumanely. He has even screamed insanely, "Once you are in this class, don't think about getting out through me if you aren't transformed. Not unless you are dead."

At the end of August 2002, Dafa practitioner Mr. Yan Kejian was arrested at work by the police and illegally put into the Etouwan Brainwashing Center. After Mr. Yan went on a hunger strike for over 20 days, Li Wei used extremely barbaric methods to force- feed him, and deprived him of sleep for several days in a row. Mr. Yan was forced to stand facing the wall and when he could not stand up any longer, Li Wei would punch him and kick him. Finally Mr. Yan's whole body was in shock and he could not control his bladder or bowel movements, but Li Wei still refused to let him go. The second day, Li Wei tied Mr. Yan's hands behind his back, made him kneel on the ground and hung him on the metal window; then he extended his four limbs and tightly secured them on the windows for a few days. During that time, the staff continued to use different methods to torture him. In the end, Mr. Yan went into a coma, but the labor camp staff still said he was pretending and refused to let his family members take him home.

In November 2002, the brainwashing center staff forced Dafa practitioner Mr. Liu Li from Commercial Bank in Qiaokou District to read a poster on the wall that slandered Dafa and Master Li. He refused to read it and tore it apart. They then took him to an empty room in the detention center across the street, handcuffed his hands and then suspended him by hanging him from the window, only allowing the tip of his feet to touch the ground. They also intentionally opened the door and windows to allow the freezing wind to blow in, and they starved him.

At the beginning of this year, Ms. Sun Zerong from Yijiadun Street was reported to the police by someone and was arrested and sent to a brainwashing center. Li Wei ordered over twenty staff to take turns viciously beating her until she lost consciousness. They dragged her to the hospital to wake her up and then dragged her back to the brainwashing center to resume the torture. Finally when she seemed to be very close to death, they took her to the hospital again. The doctor said Sun Zerong's kidneys were swollen and filled with water due to their beating. The staff from the brainwashing center saw that her situation was life threatening and that she needed an operation immediately, so they left her at the hospital in order to shirk responsibility for their crime.

At the end of May this year, Mr. Yu Zuhong from Ronghua Street was taken from his home and forcefully sent to the brainwashing center. After the staff failed to reach their goal using all their tricks, they tied Yu Zuhong's arms behind his back and kept raising them until only the tips of his toes could reach the ground. His arms were fully covered with mosquito bites. Mr. Yu refused to tolerate this inhumane torture and climbed over a wall to escape from the evil, but he fell and broke his leg. The staff lied to his family that Yu was doing very well in the brainwashing class.

Qiaokou District Party Secretary: Yin WeiZhen
Qiaokou District Assistant Party Secretary: Peng Youwie
Qiaokou District Director: Tang Liangzhi
Qiaokou District "610 Office" Director: Xie Guanchang