Shayang Labor Camp in Hubei Province

November 17, 2001

(Clearwisdom.net)

The extent of persecution in the Shayang Labor Camp in Hubei Province is beyond imagination. Everything is done against one's will. Wicked police officers threaten practitioners while conducting "brainwashing": "Don't want to give up cultivation? No way to change your mind? How about the road that leads to your tomb? You won't be released even after you have served your term." Falun Gong practitioners illegally held in custody are sent into three teams: Team 2 (female practitioners), Team 3 (male practitioners), and Team 9 (female practitioners). All practitioners are watched around the clock by inmates convicted on drug charges acting as hired thugs for the camp guards.

In January of 2001, four female practitioners, Liu Hengzhi, Liu Hongying, Zhou Ping, and Liu Xiuying, were severely beaten by drug addicts for practicing Falun Gong exercises. Later, these four practitioners were ordered by guards to stand outside, in the cold, as a "penalty." This "penalty" lasted for over half a month. In March, practitioners demanded their "release on the grounds of innocence" and demanded "a legal environment for cultivation practice." Since this was denied, the practitioners went on a group hunger strike. During the hunger strike, female practitioner Zhou Li was force-fed. Since she was not cooperating, all her teeth were loosened as guards pried her teeth apart with iron pliers.

Between March and April, almost all of the practitioners were beaten for practicing Falun Gong exercises. Among them, Chen Meifang (female) was beaten by drug addicts to the point where she threw up blood. He Zuojun (female) was also beaten by drug addicts and was bruised all over her body. Wang Fengling (female) was dragged out of the cell by drug addict Liu Aijun and was beaten for over half an hour. Other practitioners were locked in the cell and couldn't get out. Many practitioners were beaten and sustained injuries to their bodies. Team leaders (criminal inmates) Gong Shanxiu (female) and Ouyang Daixia (female) as well as guards with the last names of Zhang and Guo, not only did not intervene, they also rewarded these inmate thugs with eggs and other food [Note: a valuable commodity in the forced labor camp where the food often old, spoiled and of extremely poor quality and is made in unsanitary conditions.] On April 9^th, Dafa practitioners decided to go to the officials of the labor camp to end this abuse. They pushed all three iron gates down to the ground, demanding that officials "take away drug convicts, unconditionally release Dafa practitioners, and punish the criminal guards." Due to the pressure, the guards handcuffed all of the drug convicts and took them, as well as those who were sent to brainwash practitioners, elsewhere. Since practitioners were not released, practitioners then shouted, "Law enforcement officers breaking the law is prohibited by the heavens," "Suffocate the evil," "Falun Dafa is good," and "We want to go home..."

After April 14th, the labor camp guards displayed their anger at being humiliated, hardened their attitudes, and started a new round of cruel persecution with comprehensive and thorough tortures. The guards brought back the drug convicts and even brought some additional ones. In the past they had ordered inmates to beat practitioners. Now they called in thugs from a special security team to torture practitioners. They tortured practitioners by making them "carry a sword" (bending one's arms in the back, one from above the shoulder and one from under). They also pressed practitioners down to the ground and forced them to kneel down for an extended period of time. At the same time, they used shocks from electric batons to shock the sensitive parts of practitioners' bodies. This included armpits, the bottom of the feet, hands, face, upper legs, and other exposed areas.

Prior to April 14th, practitioners had to do labor every afternoon. This included weeding, digging peanuts, and digging sand and pebbles out of a riverbed. After April 14th, there was no more forced labor. Instead, practitioners were forced to undergo brainwashing. Besides attacking and defaming Falun Dafa, authorities also tried to force practitioners to tarnish Dafa's name by "singing songs and shouting slogans." Many practitioners were able to "take the Fa as the Teacher" and firmly refused to comply. The guards would then drag practitioners out to be handcuffed and beaten with electric clubs. Practitioner Wang Zhixiu (female) was shocked with an electric baton in May for refusing to sing the songs. She had large blisters in her mouth, on her torso, and on her legs as a result of the electric shocks. A yellowish liquid was coming out of her mouth from the blisters. Her lower back and legs are still numb even to this day. It is now hard for her to walk.

In the labor camp, no matter how cold it was, practitioners had to take showers in cold water (no hot water was supplied). Only 10 minutes was allocated for showers, which ended before most practitioners could take their turn. During lunch break, practitioners were forced to recite 55 articles of labor camp regulations. Practitioners didn't take themselves as prisoners and refused to recite. The guards would then torture the practitioners by forcing them to squat down on a single leg without changing the legs. Each torture session would last for 2 hours. The average person has trouble bearing even 10 minutes. At night, practitioners were not allowed to sleep, and they had to continue to squat. Sometimes practitioners' legs would swell up as a result. Yet, the guards still would not stop.

In June, wicked guards stepped up their pressure on practitioners by forcing them to write "statements of guarantee." Those who refused to do so would be struck with electric clubs, handcuffed, or otherwise tortured. Many practitioners held up their righteous belief in Dafa and refused to cooperate with the evil demands. With no exception, they were all brutally persecuted. Among them, Zhou Li (female) was hit on her arms by guards with electric clubs. Her arms were full of blisters, with yellow liquid oozing out. In July, practitioner Li Yingxin (female) took the lead in tearing down paintings in an exhibition that defamed Dafa. A dozen or so practitioners joined her in tearing all the paintings down in the exhibition. Vicious guards dragged all of them out for a brutal beating. Practitioner Li Yingxin was then required to do a one-hour military drill every evening for over half a month. Practitioner Liu Fengying (female) was hit with electric batons the same time that she was forced to be hancuffed in the "carry a sword" position. Her two arms were too painful raise up, yet the guards still ordered her to do morning exercises.

On August 1, the guards forced practitioners to "sing the songs". Those who refused were dragged out for electric shock. Some practitioners were so bruised on their faces that the others couldn't even recognize them. On August 2nd, the guards viciously forced practitioners to shout slogans that defamed Dafa. Practitioners Wan Lihua (female), Zhang Huiyun (female), Liu Guangfeng (female) and most of the other practitioners were determined not to comply. The guards then handcuffed them, brutally beat them, and applied electric shocks to them. Many practitioners were injured all over their bodies. The marks left from the handcuffs stayed on some practitioner's wrists for a long time before disappearing.

On August 3^rd, the labor camp guards conspired to punish practitioners who refused to shout slogans. However, practitioner Zeng Xiane (female) in Team 9 Sub-team 1 unexpectedly died in this round of brutal persecution on the morning of August 3rd. (See http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/8/8/12789.html). To prevent protests from the families of the practitioners, the guards had to give up this round of persecution. A few days later, the police substation sent in a police officer named Zhang to be the director. Zhang stepped up the already tight control over the practitioners. Although the frequency of beatings had decreased, the number of other physical punishments increased. Everyday, practitioners were inundated with talk attacking Dafa. During their lunch break, practitioners were forced to recite the 55-article labor camp regulations. Whoever refused was deprived of a nap, and punished by being forced to squat down. Then, they wouldn't be allowed to sleep in order to continue the punishment. The forced squatting would last half a day, a day, or at a minimum of 2 hours. Some practitioners have been tortured this way since mid-August. Their legs have been injured. They limp while walking, and they cannot run. While running, some practitioners were slow, and couldn't keep up with the others. The guards would then use this as an excuse for more squatting torture.

Practitioner Liu Guangfeng (female) in Team 9 Sub-team 2 refused to recite the 55-article labor camp regulations. Guards then beat her with two electric clubs simultaneously. The five or six blisters on her arms and legs were the size of eggs. Practitioner Liu Guangfeng didn't comply. The guards then punished her with the squatting torture everyday. Due to continuous sun exposure, her injuries became infected. Out of fear that the infection could be life threatening, Liu was forcibly sent to the hospital for "treatment." Practitioner Li Mingzhen, 62 years old, demanded to clarify the truth in a classroom. She was dragged out for a brutal beating. The areas around her eyes turned purplish black. She was then forced to stand all day and night until 2:00am, every day.

Above are just some of the examples. In the labor camp, there is no guarantee of practitioners' safety or life. There is not a single free moment for practitioners. The guards are doing everything they can to control the practitioners thoughts and personal freedoms. They don't allow practitioners time to think, let alone time to recite the Fa or do Falun Gong exercises. The goal is to destroy practitioners' righteous belief in Dafa. But most practitioners have long ago put aside their own life and death. To awaken the righteous minds and conscience of people, they are pouring out their blood and their lives. In so doing, they bear no grudges or hatred. Everyday, they are waiting for people to be awakened. Kindhearted people, have you seen this?! People that uphold justice, please extend your hands of assistance, and stop this wild persecution and inhumane killing.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2001/11/17/19796.html

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