VERONICA PEDROSA, CNN ANCOHR: Chinese authorities have allowed journalists a rare glimpse into one of the country's infamous re-education camps. Julian Manyon reports.</s>JULIAN MANYON, ITN REPORTER (voice-over): For the first time, Chinese government has allowed foreign journalists inside two of its re-education camps, where supporters of the banned Falun Gong cult are held. These camps, where inmates are supposed to be re-educated through labor, are described by Falun Gong as a living hell, where its supporters are routinely beaten and even tortured. Last year the U.N. human right commissioner Mary Robinson urged China to close the camps. But what reporters were shown was neat exercise yard where prisoners play basketball and clean well-organized kitchen facilities. Inmates were filled in their dormitories with perfectly made bunk beds and were seen watching educational individual videos designed to win them away from their support for Falun Gong. Some Inmates declare that they have indeed changed their minds. A movement that its height millions of supporters and severely rattled the Chinese communist leadership. The visits were tightly controlled. But even so, there were a few inmates that were prepared to discuss at least a little defiance.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think it is not right to accuse Falun Gong of being a cult. It doesn't reflect the truthfulness of Falun Gong's message.</s>MANYON: The visits are part of a two-prong Chinese strategy, with the government that its clamp-down is humane, while tightening the screw on Falun Gong's store further. (on camera): While keeping up the pressure on Falun Gong, the authorities clearly want to refute charges that their reeducation through labor setters are harsh and brutal places. But some may feel that the very use of re-education camps against what is essentially a religious movement is itself an offense against human rights. Julian Manyon, ITN, Beijing.
Glimpse into One of China's Most Infamous Re-Education Camps