Group Suicide in Wanjia Labor Camp "Impossible" According to Futian Detention Center Survivor

A female practitioner in China

[Clearwisdom Net] I was so shocked to hear that 15 female Falun Gong practitioners died in the Wanjia Labor Camp in Heilongjiang Province. Jiang Zemin's regime said they committed suicide. I felt so sad on hearing this that I found it is necessary to publish my own experience of being detained in Shenzhen (a city in Guangdong province) City's Futian Detention Center. Everyone can make their own judgments as to how much they can believe the words from Jiang's regime.

We had to pass through three gates before we entered the detention center. At the first gate, we were required to take off our clothes and shoes. We also had to turn in watches, toothpaste, belts, wallets, cell phones, pagers, combs, pens, books, papers and so on. Even sanitary pads were not allowed for female practitioners. Only underwear was allowed for male practitioners, and thin clothing for females.

At the second gate, we were taken to a room where all clothing had to be taken off for checking. They checked everything carefully, including the collar, underwear, and bra.

At the third gate, after entering the cells, the guards would order the head inmates to check us. Clothing had to be taken off again. The head inmates even checked our mouths to see if practitioners had hidden something.

In addition to the cameras on the wall, inmates were also mobilized to watch us. The condition in the cells was very bad. Thirty people lie on their sides in a line, with one's head touching another's feet. It was difficult to even turn around. From 7pm to 10:30pm every night, we were forced to watch the TV program made by the CCTV. The light was left on all night until 7:00am the next morning. Starting from 11:00pm, two persons, one standing on each end of the beds, would be on duty. They would be rotate every hour. It was said that this was to prevent us from committing suicide. After midnight, the guards would inspect the cell every hour. They would stretch their heads from a window on the wall into the cell to watch. We were asked to sign the record to prove they had come and inspected. It was very cold. The buttons and zippers on the clothes that relatives had sent in were all cut off. So we had to cover our bodies with the clothes. We could not wear the pants with no buttons.

We would be handcuffed or punished if we disobeyed even a little. Jiang Zemin visited Shenzhen City in November 2000. Some female practitioners in Cell No. 12 were stripped by other inmates (under the command of the guards) in front of a couple of male guards, just because they sat on the bed to do meditation. They were forced to wear criminal's uniforms, and ladies in their 60's were not exempted. A young female practitioner did not cooperate, so the guards grabbed her hair and hit her head against the wall. Another female practitioner was stripped and forced to stand at the center of the playground for 15 minutes. Everyone from the surrounding cells could see her.

Every little movement was under such tight surveillance. Think: would it be possible to commit suicide, let alone "group suicide?" One more important thing to remember is that Falun Gong prohibits suicide and sees it as a sin.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2001/7/9/13126.html

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