The Real Experience in Hewan Labor Camp, Wuhan City, Hubei Province

(Clearwisdom.net) On a cold day at the end of 2000, a police transport vehicle was on the road carrying a few dozen Dafa practitioners. (The majority of them were sent back from Beijing after having been there validating Dafa; there were also those who were kidnapped straight from home, as well as those who were kept long term in brainwashing classes.) At that moment, we did not know where we were heading. Two hours later, we were taken into a courtyard; the police security officers brought a document for us to sign, but they would not let us read the content of it, saying that we would only be allowed to read it after signing. Some practitioners signed only to find that they had been sentenced to labour camp. Here, we were in the infamous Hewan Labour Camp. Some practitioners refused to sign, so the police did not even tell them how long the labour camp term was.

This kind of illegal sentencing does not have any legal proceeding, the person being sentenced not knowing anything before hand, let alone the family being totally uninformed. Some family only found out that their loved ones were being held in a labour camp a long time later, when the practitioners asked the staff member in the labour camp to help them contact home for clothing. When asked why they did not inform the families, the police said uncaringly: "Don't you know it now?" Even the perpetrators would feel embarrassed about this type of secret sentencing, that's why they were covering up and hiding here and there.

Among the dozens of Dafa Disciples, some were being transferred directly from brainwashing classes to the labor camp. In order not to cooperate with the evil, these Dafa Disciples went on a hunger strike. My deepest impression was of a female practitioner who had not had a drop of water for 5 days, her body looked very weak already; even so, police officer Yan from the camp viciously forced dry rice down her throat, without giving her a drop of water. Seeing her pain during the force-feeding, even those criminal offenders who were supposed to be "supervising" us found it hard to bear.

From the first day in labour camp, each Dafa practitioner was assigned a round-the-clock "supervising" criminal offender. Dafa practitioners were not allowed to talk to each other, nor were they allowed to utter anything to themselves (to prevent them from reciting Teacher's articles). If practitioners did not cooperate, the inmate would be punished.

The labour camp is like a military center. Their term of "transformation" in name is "hard labour" in reality. Working over 10 hours everyday, time allocated for meals and for using the toilet were often not enough. This had been especially hard for practitioners as the majority of them were older. As for the "work," some of them were illegal dealings between the centre's police and dishonoured merchants or businessmen in the society, using the free labour force of the centre to enrich their personal pockets. For example, "Gua Yezi," trimming carpet, etc. "Gua Yezi" is to collate the pages of a book on a large piece of paper, to make them even. We discovered that the contents of many books were not good; inmates tell us that some are pornography books. I could not help thinking, since July 22, 1999, millions of copies of Dafa books, which teaches people to be kind and to improve themselves, were destroyed in the city of Wuhan alone. Today we -- people who believe and practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance -- are illegally detained, and are being forced to do work that is unlawful and that is producing something that is harmful to people's morality. How messed up are good and evil today, that even heaven will not tolerate it!

Trimming carpet is another secret deal between the centre's police and unlawful merchants, aimed at personal profit and gain. The work in detail involves carving/trimming to shape the pattern that is woven into the carpet. Two people work in a group, using one electrical scissor, (when the machine is switched on, the hand holding the tool would be shocked; after operating it for a little while, the trimmer turns hot enough to burn.) and a person has to stand with his back bending down.

The supervising policeman -- Xie -- often cheated the practitioners and the inmates saying that they will be allowed to sleep when the work is finished; whereas very often, when the work was finished, he would force everybody to continue.

There was also the unpacking and box-opening job. Unpacking is to be done totally by hand, no tool is allowed. Other inmates said that there were tools (a long handled saw) before. When Dafa practitioners came, all tools were taken away and were no longer allowed to be used. After working more than 10 hours in a day, everybody's hands and finger nails start to become deformed; fingers become stiff and lose control; finger nails grow thicker, and start to separate from the finger tip, which is a frightening sight. The boxes of mail to be handled are big and heavy. They do not even spare the elderly, and allocate them to this job.

In hindsight I realized that we should refuse to participate in this kind of forced labour, because we did not commit any crime. But due to my lack of understanding of the Fa, although I also stepped forward to validate Dafa, my starting point at the time remained at the level of individual cultivation, single mindedly demanding myself to be a good person among everyday people, which inadvertently was an aid to the evil from a certain perspective. This allowed them to take easy advantage of good people's kindness, and they were unable to see the solemnity and majesty of the Fa. Just like Teacher said: "... because these so-called evil beings are in fact nothing. Yet because Dafa disciples' mercy has been taken advantage of by the old forces, the evil beings that are protected by the old forces have been deliberately persecuting, so what Dafa disciples are enduring is no longer their own karma, but something they should not endure under the evil beings' persecution. Moreover, these evil beings are extremely base and filthy, and are not worthy of playing any role in the Fa-rectification." (The Effects of Righteous Thoughts)

The so-called "education" in the labour camp is called a "discussion." During these discussions the Dafa Disciples maintained a righteous mind. Often, practitioners will introduce Dafa and clarify the truth about Dafa with a smile on their face. When female police officer Yan and Xie insulted practitioners with all kinds of dirty and filthy words, Dafa cultivators' hearts were unmoved, displaying the righteous energy of Dafa.

Apart from the forced hard labour, Dafa Disciples were also being forced to give up their cultivation practice. If one refused, he/she would be labeled as stubborn, as well as having a bad attitude, etc. For those who refused to give up the practice, even their normal right of a monthly meeting with family would be taken away. They were also not allowed to write letters to their family. All in all, any rights that can be enjoyed by a normal inmate in a labour camp would be taken away from the Dafa practitioners. Family members were only allowed to bring clothing, bedding, and money. Other things like daily consumables and food were disallowed because they were sold in the centre. People have to buy them even though they are of terrible quality and are very expensive.

Sheets and beddings were to be used, but here, they are called "display sheets" and "display bedding," as they were merely for people to see, not to use. What we use are sheets and beddings brought from home by our family, whereas those we bought here are only used for decoration, for occasions such as visits by national leaders or from international organizations. In the same way we also had a uniform, which the guards called a "school uniform." Two sets for spring and summer time, which everybody was forced to buy but not allowed to wear. They can only be worn during a family visit or an assembly. They were to be left behind when people leave the camp, as the police will profit from them again by selling them to new comers. Thus with "display sheets," "display beddings" and "display uniforms," the centre is kept on the surface bright and new, neat and clean to the outside world, covering up the centre's dismal living conditions in actuality.

At Hewan, Dafa practitioners had to endure mental torture on top of the physical toiling and hardships in the living environment. In order to force one particular practitioner to abandon their faith, 3 shifts of 3-6 people were assigned to bombard this practitioner with "chats," "talks," and "discussions" around the clock from dusk to dawn everyday, pouring evil messages at the person. Once in the labour camp, practitioners lose all contact with the world. Those practitioners who stand firm are not even allowed to see their family. As far as I know, three practitioners were not released when they had finished serving their terms. Their names are: Wang Li, Yao Hui, and Zhou Xia. Due to their determination not to give up cultivation, their terms were extended for 3 months, and then for another 6 months. The supervisor Chen Xia spoke viciously about unlimited extension of the term!! Humanity is totally lost in these people; retribution by heaven will be a sure consequence.

The above are only my first hand encounters, there are of course much much more. I believe there will be other Dafa practitioners exposing the evil in the Hewan Labour Camp. Today I write what I've seen and experienced in order to reveal the evil, and to call for attention from the international human rights organizations, because evil is invading a group of good natured cultivators who dare to stand up and speak of the truth. I am also calling for Dafa practitioners who come across this article to send forth their righteous thoughts, to eliminate the evil force behind the Hewan Labour Camp, in order to save sentient beings.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2001/10/27/18654.html

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