October 19, 2002

1. Selling practitioners' belongings: In September 2001, the seventh team of the Beijing Tuanhe Labor Camp sold the belongings of more than ten jailed practitioners totaling tens of thousands of Yuan [Chinese currency, the monthly salary for an average Chinese urban worker is about 500 Yuan]. The custodians with a sense of justice mentioned this issue and wanted to find those responsible for selling the belongings; however, there has been no reply from the labor camp.

2. Covering up poor conditions: The food at Tuanhe Labor Camp is of very poor quality. The Government allots four Yuan for food expenses per person; however, each person is given food that is not even worth two Yuan. In an effort to cover up the truth, whenever high-ranking officials come to inspect or foreign journalists come to visit, the quality of the food temporarily improves. Those interviewed by the journalists were carefully selected while others who dared to speak out were detained at another secret location. Sometimes, in order to cover up the brutal torture, police would make detainees fill out surveys. However, the detainees who fill out surveys were already preselected and police warned them not to tell the truth. If they do, their jail terms will be extended and they will receive worse punishment. The labor camp can also make people disappear. In China, there are large numbers of people who are suddenly missing.

3. Brainwashing: Every day, police order a group of inmates to surround practitioners and read evil things to them and force practitioners to watch videos that slander Falun Gong. They deceive and lure practitioners, do not let them have enough rest, and insult, harass and physically torture them.

4. Hard labor: In the freezing wind, practitioners are forced to pick cashmere. During the autumn and winter of 2001, Tuanhe Labor Camp accepted a few deliveries of wool and ordered practitioners to pick the cashmere out of them. In the midst of flying sand, howling wind and flying snow, practitioners had to open their eyes wide and pick out cashmere from a pile of strange smelling wool. Those practitioners who were detained in the fifth team were not even given protective facemasks.

In the scorching sun, the labor camp would order practitioners to plant and water the grass. In order to make sure practitioners are doing something, every year the Tuanhe Labor Camp would re-plant the grass a few times and they would often force those determined practitioners to work on the grass during the worst weather conditions.

During winter, Falun Gong practitioner Zhang Xiangyu's (detained at the fifth team) hands were frozen, cracked and bleeding from the cold. By spring 2002, his hands had not healed. However, the police still force him to perform hard labor. When he came back to the team, his hands and feet were covered in mud. During the winter while it was snowing, police would drag practitioner Zhang Xiangyu outdoors to torture him.

5. Restricting basic personal freedom: Practitioners are forbidden to talk to one another and practitioners being tortured are isolated from the rest. All practitioners are kept under 24-hour surveillance.

6. Using all kinds of underhanded means to make money: Tuanhe Labor Camp manufacturers many fake products and uses products beyond their expiration date. These products are also sold at a higher price than the market price. The labor camp would also hold some so-called training classes and collect money. In reality, nothing was taught. For example they held a "Computer Training Session" yet no classes were held but certificates were given to those who paid the money. They also held a "Cooking Class" and all they did was play some videos. After doing some homework, people were considered to have successfully completed the class.

Posting date: 11/2/2002
Original article date: 11/2/2002
Category: Eye Witness Accounts
Translated on 10/26/2002
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/10/19/38266.html

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