As we sat in the cafe of a smart hotel, the beefy man beside me disclosed how he beat, brutalised and tortured scores of men and women who had been seized by Chinese security forces. ‘There would be three officers in a room kicking and punching people, using whips on their naked backs. They used belts – which is the cruellest method. People can’t last long and end up being beaten to death.’ The former Chinese police officer demonstrated to me their tactics with kicks and punches to an imaginary victim. ‘Their heads and eyes would become swollen; they could...