Life and Death in Shanghai/Nien Cheng

 Word Count: 240

Parker Greene

Life and Death in Shanghai, Nien Cheng

" I heard the small window behind the prisoner's chair close with a loud bang. My tormentors waited a little while before opening the door to usher me out, perhaps to make sure the person outside had time to get out of sight." (pg. 111)

Nien Cheng had a very rough time in prison since she was seen as such a high value criminal. She was falsely imprisoned for a crime that she did not commit, but the government at the time was not taking any chances. The crime that Nien Cheng was being falsely accused of and held in prison for was a huge deal, so during her time in prison she was treated very poorly along with many other prisoners; as my quote says above. They also seem to want to isolate the prisoners from each other as much as possible, so the guards could break their will much faster to make them confess to their crimes. Nien spoke of many hardships, but one that stands out is when she had her hands tied behind her for a period of time. No guard cared to let her use her hands when eating or bathing, she had to do everything with her hands behind her back and could barely sleep due to lack of covers. Even if she had committed said crime, why must a human be treated with such belittlement.