Qincheng Prison

Entrance of Qincheng Prison in March 2022
Qincheng Prison
Simplified Chinese秦城监狱
Traditional Chinese秦城監獄
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinQínchéng Jiānyù
Wade–GilesCh'ínch'éng Chiēnyǜ
Yale RomanizationChínchéng Jyānyù
IPA[tɕʰǐnʈʂʰə̌ŋ tɕjɛ́nŷ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationcheùhn sèhng gāam yuhk
Jyutpingceon4 seng4 gaam1 juk6
IPACantonese pronunciation: [tsʰɵ̏n sɛ̏ːŋ káːm jỳːk]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJChîn-siâⁿ kaⁿ-ga̍k

The Ministry of Public Security Qincheng Prison (Chinese: 公安部秦城监狱) is a maximum-security prison located in Qincheng Village, Xingshou, Changping District, Beijing in the People's Republic of China.[1][2] The prison was built in 1958 with aid from the Soviet Union and is the only prison belonging to China's Ministry of Public Security. The Ministry of Justice operates other non-military prisons.

Bao Tong was the highest government official to be imprisoned after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He spent 7 years in Qincheng Prison,[3] and lived under tight surveillance for the rest of his life while continuing to be an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party.

Political prisoners have been incarcerated in Qincheng,[4][5][self-published source] among them participants in the Chinese democracy movement and Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Famous former inmates include Li Rui,[6] Jiang Qing,[7] Yuan Geng, Bao Tong,[3] Dai Qing, as well as Tibetan figures such as the 10th Panchen Lama Choekyi Gyaltsen and Phuntsok Wangyal. Other inmates included many communist cadres who struggled during the Cultural Revolution,[8] such as Bo Yibo,[9] Peng Zhen, Liu Xiaobo, Israel Epstein, Sidney Rittenberg[10] and David Crook.[citation needed] More recently, high-ranking officials accused of corruption such as Chen Xitong,[11] Chen Liangyu, Bo Xilai, and Zhou Yongkang were also imprisoned here.

The prison is located at the eastern foothill of Yanshan, facing the North China Plain in the east, north and south. The plain is where Qincheng Farm (Chinese: 秦城农场; pinyin: Qínchéng Nóngchǎng) is located, which is part of the prison.

  1. ^ "秦城：“中国第一监狱”大揭秘(图) Archived August 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." Shanghai Prison. December 31, 2009. Retrieved on February 2, 2011. "秦城监狱位于北京市昌平区小汤山镇附近，[...]"
  2. ^ "10 questions about China's 'luxury' Qincheng Prison answered". Straits Times. August 5, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  3. ^ a b (U.S.), Asia Watch Committee (1990). Repression in China Since June 4, 1989: Cumulative Data. Asia watch report. Asia Watch. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-929692-74-6. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  4. ^ Munro, Robin; (U.S.), Asia Watch Committee (1990). Punishment Season: Human Rights in China After Martial Law. Asia watch report. Human Rights Watch. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-929692-51-7. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  5. ^ Tongson, E. (2013). The First Emperor. Xlibris AU. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-4797-9537-6. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  6. ^ Johnson, Ian. "Li Rui, a Mao Confidant Who Turned Party Critic, Dies at 101". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  7. ^ Kristof, Nicholas D. "Suicide of Jiang Qing, Mao's Widow, Is Reported." The New York Times. June 5, 1991. Retrieved on April 12, 2012.
  8. ^ Ye, W.; Weili, Y.; Xiaodong, M. (2005). Growing Up in the People's Republic: Conversations between Two Daughters of China's Revolution. Palgrave Studies in Oral History. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-4039-8207-0. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  9. ^ Kiehl, E.; Saban, M.; Samuels, A. (2016). Analysis and Activism: Social and Political Contributions of Jungian Psychology. Taylor & Francis. p. pt264. ISBN 978-1-317-36490-0. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  10. ^ Wong, J. (2011). Jan Wong's China: Reports From A Not-So-Foreign Correspondent. Doubleday Canada. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-385-67440-9. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  11. ^ "Daily Report: People's Republic of China". Issues 170-175. National Technical Information Service. 1995. p. 98. Retrieved May 10, 2016.