Li Zhu can never forget the time he spent at Zhongshan Vocational School in China’s Hunan Province.
“There’s nothing that can’t happen there, only things you can’t think of. It’s hell on Earth,” said Mr. Li, referring to the disciplinary school he attended from January 2022 to May 2023.
He was 22 at the time, and his parents sent him there out of concern for his internet addiction.
“There were a lot of tragic experiences there,” he told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times.
‘Hell on Earth’
In May 2023, a van with a banner that read “Unscrupulous School, Return My Child” was parked in front of Zhongshan Vocational School in Xiangyin county, Yueyang city of Hunan, along with family members holding up a portrait of their loved one who had taken his own life—he was 16.The deceased student was Mr. Li’s classmate who had suffered from depression. A month before he died, he was allegedly beaten by his teacher for stealing snacks.
“We were outside the bathhouse. The instructor told someone to guard the door. We only heard screams coming from inside,” Mr. Li said.
Unable to cope with the abuse, the student reportedly committed suicide by swallowing laundry detergent.
“It is quite common for instructors to beat students, depending on their moods,” Mr. Li said.
He said that some female students were allegedly sexually assaulted by instructors and even sold themselves to the headmaster of the school in order to be promoted to assistant instructors.
“They just wanted to have an easier life in that school and not to be beaten.”
Mr. Li remembers the “dismal” living conditions at the school, where he said more than 30 people shared one dormitory in a humid environment, leading to widespread skin infections. The meals were of poor quality, mainly cabbage, unpolished rice, and no meat except New Year’s Day.
He said he was beaten on numerous occasions.
“There’s nothing that can’t happen there, just things you can’t think of. It’s hell on Earth,” he said.
Reports about the mistreatment of students at the school have circulated on Chinese media in the past few years, but no official actions have been taken.
Multiple Names
In March 2023, an article titled “Transformation Record” circulated on the Chinese social media platform WeChat, which spotlighted Zhongshan Vocational School.The school was formerly known as Ying Gaote Motivational Education School. It focused on addressing issues such as youth rebellion, fear of learning, teen romantic relationships, luxury shopping addiction, familial indifference, low self-esteem, narcissism, runaway tendencies, and various other challenges in youth development. The school employs psychological counseling, ideological education, behavioral correction, quality training, and tutorials to tackle these problems.
In 2019, an instructor was reportedly detained for beating students with a tap hose, and a male student committed suicide at the school. Since then, the reputation of Ying Gaote has been tarnished.
Nevertheless, the school expanded under various names, including Zhongshan Vocational School.
The report caused widespread concern at the time. After Chinese media followed up on the case, local authorities released an announcement “about an online rumor that Zhongshan Vocational School is a special training school.”
Mr. Li confirmed that the school changed its name multiple times, all related to student deaths.
Other Abuses
Wang Yi (a pseudonym), who worked at the school when it was under the name Ying Gaote, shared some of its history with The Epoch Times.He said that students who had just joined the school were not allowed to see their parents. Furthermore, it had a “venting room” where disobedient students were punished.
“Disobedient children were locked in the venting room, with their hands and feet tied up in cuffs and a carrot stuffed in their mouths. They were hung up for three days and three nights to make them obedient. If they resisted [the discipline], they would continue to be hung up. Anyone can be made obedient by this method,” he said.
According to Mr. Wang, the tuition fee for three months was $18,000 at the time. Parents were required to make an initial payment of half the tuition, and the remaining half was to be settled two months later during their scheduled visit to see their child. These meetings had to be held in the presence of a teacher, and students were told to communicate with their parents based on the instructions given by their teachers. The school’s advertising relied entirely on online promotion, with a 60,000 yuan (about $8,451.3) monthly promotion fee.
Between 2018 to 2020, Mr. Wang alleged that four students died and two students were disabled from beatings.
“The one who died in 2018 was a girl, only 13 years old. The one who died in 2019 was 17 years old. The girl was beaten to death. The other one was not beaten to death but was punished by standing [for long hours] and died of heatstroke,” he recalled.
“Since there was no monitoring, no one knows the specific situation, including our insiders. The hospital issued an accidental death certificate.”
The school bought insurance for students. Parents of the deceased, who can get 700,000 yuan (about $98,341) of compensation, can hardly defend their rights.
Whenever there was a death, the school would change its name.
“Whenever a student died, the school immediately changed its name and applied for a new certificate. After investigations, it said that the government department had dealt with the case and canceled its teaching license. In fact, after the cancellation, it got another one,” he said.
The school rented many venues in Hunan. When government officials or parents visited the school, they transferred disobedient students to another campus, leaving only the role model students behind, he said.
Mr. Wang called on parents not to be deceived into sending their children to the so-called disciplinary schools and said that students who come out of such schools will have mental problems.
The Epoch Times contacted Zhongshan Vocational School, Xiangyin County Education Commission, and other relevant departments for comment.
