Witness the Atrocities of Evil Police in Four Forced Labor Camps - Witness the Greatness of Dafa Practitioners During Two Years of Prison
(Initially written in late April 2003, edited on May 28) (Clearwisdom.net) I was kidnapped and taken to the local police station when I was visiting a
fellow practitioner at his home in October of 2000. Later I was illegally
sentenced to two years of forced labor and successively confined to four forced
labor camps in Jilin City, Liaoyuan City, the Fenjin and the Chaoyanggou forced
labor camps in Changchun City. I will never forget the scenes of the vicious
police officers at their stations, detention centers, and forced labor camps,
brutally and inhumanly persecuting Dafa practitioners, and Dafa practitioners
rationally protesting and steadfastly safeguarding Falun Dafa. The following are
several typical events. Police Station Head Says, "Let's Do It 'One to One' Tonight. There will be No
Evidence Left if You Die." Three of us went to a fellow practitioner's home at 3:00 p.m. on October 24,
2000. As soon as we entered the door, four or five police officers broke in and
took us to the local police station for interrogation for the entire night,
without telling us why. They tried to force us to acknowledge that we had done
something wrong. When we refused, they used all their methods of brutal torture
to force us. The following are just two examples. Ms. Li Shumei, a 53-year old primary school teacher, was the volunteer
assistant for the exercise site in the Longdong community. The police handcuffed
her on a "Tiger Bench"1 alone in the basement for a day and a night,
denying her drinking water and restroom privileges. Mr. Zhang Shousheng is a
48-year old worker. At 3:00 a.m. on the 26th, the head of the police
station took over the interrogation. The first sentence he said was, "Let's have
'one to one' tonight. If you refuse to acknowledge your guilt, you will die in
vain if you die. You think it over, to admit your guilt or not!" Zhang Shousheng
said, "Don't you force me to falsely make up stories!" The officer grabbed his
head and thumped it against the wall, causing Zhang Shousheng to lose
consciousness. Then he kicked and trod on Mr. Zhang with leather shoes after he
fell to the floor. When he got tired of this, the officer asked, "Do you want to
confess?" Zhang Shousheng shook his head. The officer became enraged. He opened
the window to let in the cold air. Then he took off Mr. Zhang's clothes and
poured water on him, saying, "You want to be stubborn, I will let you freeze."
Zhang Shousheng curled up on the cold concrete floor. It was November, and the
temperature in Jilin City that night had already dropped to below -20 C [-4 F].
The officer went to bed in his room after pouring water on Mr. Zhang. When he
woke up about five in the morning, he suddenly realized that Mr. Zhang was naked
and exposed on the concrete floor. At about six o'clock in the morning, Mr.
Zhang was released. He almost lost his shape, with his face nearly blue and his
movements almost robotic. According to the law, a police station has the right to detain a person for
only 48 hours. But this police station intimidated and interrogated seven of us
for at least three nights and two days. When they could not postpone it any
longer, they sent us to detention centers and custody centers after carelessly
fabricating evidence. The Death of Wang Lixin One afternoon, after I had been detained in the Jilin City No. 3 Detention
Center for more than ten days, the police pushed in a Dafa practitioner in
handcuffs. His name was Wang Lixin. This fellow practitioner had refused to eat,
drink, or answer police questions from the very moment he was arrested. On the
third evening, he still refused to eat. The group leader of the prisoners said,
"Aren't you making trouble for us?" The leader's assistant added, "If you were
in any other group, you would have been beaten half to death by now. Then you
would eat for sure!" Wang Lixin said with a smile, "We practice Falun Gong and
to be good people, yet we are arrested. I don't understand. I feel blocked in my
heart, so I cannot eat." His compassionate expression and words won him
approving glances from other Dafa practitioners. One fellow practitioner asked
him while washing his face for him, "Do you need any help?" He said, "As long as
I have Master and the Fa, I don't need anything else." Wang Lixin was sent to No. 6 group on the fourth day, immediately after he
was force-fed. Someone heard the guard talking to the No. 6 group leader, "Beat
him to death if he still refuses to eat. I will be responsible if anything
happens!" Consequently, when Wang Lixin refused to eat that night, the No. 6
group leader and his two assistants beat him up. He was beaten so severely that
he was rolling on the floor with his hands hugging his head. On the fifth day,
two criminal prisoners carried him to be force-fed. While they were passing by
the door of the No. 5 group, I could see Wang Lixin's eyes were swollen shut. He
could barely stagger, needing assistance to walk, and was moaning. But Wang
Lixin shouted, "You torture Dafa practitioners inhumanly, and you will be
punished for that!" although his voice was hoarse and the words unclear due to
force-feeding with too much salty water or a misplaced forced-feeding tube. At
night, we could hear Wang Lixin's dry coughing and gradually weakening murmurs.
The murmurs stopped at dawn, and then came the nervous and disorganized steps in
the corridor. Later on, we heard that this young Dafa practitioner had been tortured to
death. Wang Lixin, 32-years-old and unmarried, was a laid-off worker of a Jilin
City Factory. He bought a computer to collect and send articles to Minghui Net
and to read Master's articles. He was arrested while distributing truth
clarification materials on the street. In order to cover up the truth, Jilin
City Justice Bureau re-assigned the head of the police station and the guard of
the No. 6 group to other work units. The No. 6 group head and his two assistants
had already been transferred. In January 2001, I was notified to pack my bags and was sent to the
Huanxiling Forced Labor Camp. I was detained in a team that specialized in
torturing Falun Gong practitioners. "3.14 Atrocity": Over 50 Practitioners Severely Wounded and 15 Practitioners
Fainted from Torture In order to make the persecution easier to organize, on March 7, 2001, Jilin
City Labor Camp authorities assembled 198 Dafa practitioners from different
divisions into a division specializing in the persecution against Falun Gong.
They divided us into three teams: strict control, general control, and loose
control. The loose control team was on the ground floor, strict control team on
the second and general control team on the third floor. The day after the division was established, Falun Gong practitioner Pan
Jingwen from the No. 2 group of the strict control team was beaten and detained
in solitary confinement because he didn't straighten his legs when sitting on a
plank. Because of this unreasonable punishment, the No. 2 group held a hunger
strike. We also heard the news and decided to hold a hunger strike too, to
support the No. 2 group in their act of justice. On the third day of the hunger strike, Division Chief Liang and the Judicial
Bureau Chief showed up. They told three representatives from each of the two
groups to go to the division office. Liang is in his 50's and used to be a
soldier. He has a quick temper and a loud voice. He first admitted the strict
control team officials made a mistake by beating the practitioner. Then he asked
the representatives, "Whatever opinion or request you have, you can tell me." We
said three things: first, immediately stop the unreasonable torture of Pan
Jingwen; second, from now on, no more beating of practitioners; third, change
the rule about straightening up the legs when sitting on a plank. Liang agreed to the first two requests; regarding the third request, he said,
the rule was made by the judicial bureau and he dare not change it before he
asks about it. We saw his standpoint was not clear so we sat on the floor and
showed him, saying, "when we straighten our legs, the center of gravity of our
body moves back; our bodies lean backward, yet we have to keep our back and
waist straight as required. No one can tolerate this for a long time. This is
cruel torture in disguise." The issue of straightening the legs is the core reason for our hunger strike,
so Falun Gong practitioners had to say it even if Liang didn't want to hear it.
Liang pondered for a while and said, "As long as you don't do the meditation or
Dafa practice, you can relax your legs or straighten them as you wish. This is a
temporary decision. We'll make further announcements after I consult about it."
The head of the judicial office said, "How is this? Chief Liang agreed with you.
Now go back and ask everyone to start eating!" This first hunger strike lasted
three days. Three or four days later, fellow practitioners on the third floor heard about
the hunger strike held by the strict control team, so they also held a hunger
strike to support us. The guards originally thought the practitioners of the
general control team were "well-behaved." Chief Liang discarded his promise of
no more beating; he directed the guards to brutally beat practitioners. A dozen
guards in the whole division began beating the practitioners. We heard the
beating and the practitioners' screams from the floor above, and our hearts
sank. We shouted, "Don't beat people! It's against the law!" We shouted and stomped
on the floor to let the practitioners on the first floor know something had
happened. We asked to see the division chief, but were refused. In the following
two to three days, no one showed up. We decided to hold another hunger strike.
We notified the practitioners on the first floor, and began a uniform hunger
strike. Beginning on March 13th, the entire division began the hunger strike.
The whole building was dead silent. It turned out the officials were holding a
meeting to come up with a new persecution tactic. At 9:00 a.m. on March 14, the beatings started again on the third floor, and
the sound was louder than during the two previous days. The fellow
practitioners' screaming was miserable. We saw these fellow practitioners from
our window. Their heads bled. They were carried into a van by several people and
were taken to a hospital. We could no longer keep quiet and shouted for them to
stop these atrocities. Right after the third floor grew quiet, the metal door on our floor flung
open. The Administration Section Chief Zhen, and Zhao Kezhuan, from the
education section entered. They brought officers from the two sections, along
with a dozen guards, each person holding an electric baton or a mace club (this
is a rubber club, filled with lead, with spikes on the surface. This club causes
internal organ damage and has been listed as abolished torture tool, however the
labor camp is still using it). They were followed by Division Chief Liang. He
brought more than twenty additional guards, each one also holding electric
batons and a mace club. They acted like fanatics and beat everyone while
shouting, "I'll let you shout! I'll let you knock the pipeline! I'll let you
hold a hunger strike..." More than 30 thugs brutally beat unarmed Dafa practitioners for nearly an
hour, although none of us returned the blows. Then they called roll and each
practitioner called was dragged to the office by two guards who stripped the
practitioner naked, pinned him down, and beat him. They beat the practitioner as
long as he refused to give up the hunger strike. Seven practitioners became
unconscious on the spot, and two practitioners' heads bled, they sustained
fractures and fainted. They were sent to a hospital. Afterwards, around 90
practitioners in the whole division were beaten, more than 50 were severely
wounded and 15 became unconscious. Five practitioners were sent to clinics and
hospitals for emergency treatment. Afterwards, the officials enforced martial law on all detainees including the
criminals, and forbade all visits. Truth cannot be kept hidden. Many of the 500
workers at the labor camp were relatives and friends of Falun Gong
practitioners, and many of them sympathized with Falun Gong. Several days later,
the whole Jilin City learned the news. Some people said, "The labor camp people
beat and killed many inmates..." The labor camp is built at the foot of a mountain, and people can see the
courtyard of the labor camp when standing on the hill behind the wall. Everyday,
hundreds of people stood outside the wall and condemned the labor camp
authorities asking, "Why not allow visits? Did you do something shameful?" Some
people went directly to the City Judicial Bureau and some threw rocks into the
courtyard. The labor camp officials hid in their offices and dared not face the
people. This is not the first time the enforcers in Jilin City Labor Camp have
persecuted Dafa practitioners. In year 2000, Dafa practitioner Li Zaiji was
tortured to death. It was exposed on Minghui.net and caused great disturbance in
the international community. An American journalist came to Jilin to interview
people. If the news is exposed this time, the enforcers won't be able to stand
it. So they divided the one hundred practitioners who were beaten into two
groups of fifty people, and the first group of Dafa practitioners who were
severely injured was sent to Liaoyuan, Siping, and Tonghua, while the second
group was sent to Heilongjiang Province. They did this in secret and notified us
to pack up ten minutes before taking off. They told us nothing about the
destination or what they were going to do with us. Several practitioners had to
be carried into the cars because they were terribly wounded. Practitioner Huo's
back was beaten with a mace club, he had a fever, and he coughed ever since
being sent to Liaoyuan. An x-ray revealed that he had punctured lungs and his
life was at risk. The Liaoyuan Labor Camp was afraid of taking responsibility
and immediately notified his family to pick him the next night. Co-Signed Names to Appeal Twice In the Liaoyuan City Forced Labor Camp, fifteen Dafa practitioners from Jilin
City were labeled as the "stubborn individuals." The labor camp used different
methods to prevent us from contacting the practitioners who had been forcibly
brainwashed. Eating our meals in the canteen gave us opportunities to
communicate. Our fifteen Dafa practitioners was an individual group. They had four persons
to watch over our group. One of them was named Dong Zhe. He had once been a
Falun Gong practitioner but had gone astray under the high-pressure of the
persecution. We were quite close in our ages and communicated well. Although he
was temporarily muddleheaded, his heart belonged to Dafa, and he secretly helped
me a lot. Thus, we were able to quickly open up a good environment to validate
Dafa. After he read Master's article "Coercion Cannot Change People's
Hearts," he cried and openly announced his deep regret for his past wrongdoings.
In order to make his work more convenient, practitioners and I persuaded him not
to make the announcement immediately, but wait until all the practitioners who
had gone astray knew the truth as well. He expressed his willingness to
withstand the burden for the sake of Dafa. I hand copied a few of Master's new
article and Dong Zhe helped to distribute them to practitioners in other
divisions. After Zhang Youwen and five other Dafa practitioners in the No. 3 division
read Master's new article, they immediately wrote their solemn declarations.
Some other practitioners were also thinking of writing their solemn
declarations. Han from the No. 3 division used rope made of fine cable wire to
whip Zhang Youwen. It was believed that even the strongest Falun Gong
practitioners could not endure three whips. Han wanted to use this torture
method to persecute the awakened Falun Gong practitioners. Later Zhang Youwen
said that he had used righteous thought to face the torture. He had felt only a
little bit of pain during the first three whips, but after that he did not feel
any pain at all. After 15 severe scourges with the whip, Zhang's back hip was
severely injured. The vicious team leader was afraid of any serious injury or
disability being inflicted, so he called a stop to the whippings. People from
the No. 3 division had run out of tricks, so they transferred Zhang Youwen to
the education section. Section Chief Kong, under the influence of alcohol, hit
practitioners violently. After he became tired from hitting practitioners, he
asked the guards on duty to wipe the blood and wrap up the wounds. He once
threatened Zhang Youwen. Zhang replied: "I am determined; I will not change even
you beat me to death." The answer made Kong's face turn white; he cruelly
tortured him for more than half an hour. They had already tortured him for more
than two hours on and off. Zhang Youwen did not give in, so as punishment they
locked him in a cage-like cell for 15 days of confinement. I found the opportunity during recess, washing, bathing, and bathroom breaks
to check on Zhang Youwen's injury and learn about his experiences of being
tortured after he announced his solemn declaration. At the time, a practitioner
who was transferred to the education section as an official clerk,
and who had, against his will, compromised under the cruel persecution,
handed me a booklet called "The Civilized Execution of Laws." This little book
contains information about laws related to the constitution, criminal law,
forced labor education, and international human rights agreements--especially
the human right laws that related to policemen. It was extremely useful. We
decided to punish those evil policemen by law, since we had all the evidence
needed to prosecute them. We drafted a "Punish the evildoers and release Zhang
Youwen" appeal letter. All practitioners actively signed their names and Dong
Zhe delivered the letter to the labor camp chief. The chief immediately verified
the accusation with Kong and criticized him. Since then, practitioners have
continuously publicized their solemn declarations and have no longer been
tortured. In about two months, nearly all the practitioners who had gone astray
awakened and rejoined Dafa practitioners. Dong Zhe was the last one to hand over
to Kong his solemn declaration that had been written a long time ago. Kong
realized that his control was gone. He had no choice but to make Dong Zhe the
second group leader. Fa-rectification has been progressing extremely fast; those Falun Gong
practitioners who had gone astray have been quickly awakening. This was really
because of direction from Master's article. The second appeal letter was written in mid-July of the same year. A criminal
prisoner had discovered that a practitioner had Master's new article in his
pocket. Without permission, the prisoners forcibly searched his pocket. The
practitioner safeguarded Master's article. However, the policeman who was on
duty punished the practitioner in confinement, and those prisoners who had
searched the practitioner's pocket were at ease. Although this incident was not
too big and did not have much of an effect, we could not let them making use of
the criminal's conduct to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Therefore,
practitioners quickly drafted an appeal letter entitled "Immediately Release [name
withheld]." All practitioners cosigned the letter and gave it to the camp
chief. After the chief understood the details, and under the pressure from Dafa
practitioners, he released all practitioners from confinement. The co-signed appeal letters have shown us: Dafa practitioners are one whole
body. Only when Dafa practitioners unite together can we overcome all evil and
effectively validate Dafa. Unlocking a Better Environment In August 2001, the Liaoyuan City Forced Labor Camp sent me to the Fenjin
Forced Labor Camp in Changchun City. The Fenjin Forced Labor Camp is an
"advanced camp" of the judicial department of the state. The persecution of
Falun Gong practitioners there was worse than in Liaoyuan Forced Labor Camp,
especially because of the "clippers." When I first heard about "clippers," I
asked them "What are 'clippers'?" Gao answered, "We will arrange for four people
to watch you day and night. You have to listen to and follow all the orders of
the 'clippers'." I angrily answered, "What crime have I committed that I require
day and night supervision? You wouldn't even treat a prisoner who has received
the death sentence in this way!" Gao said, "This was the order from the bureau,
we just follow the rules." At the beginning I was not used to the arrangement, and I ate and got water
by myself. The guards saw me doing this and said nothing, but they scolded the
"clippers." The clippers talked to me earnestly, "We do not want to give you a
hard time, however, if we do not follow our orders, the officers will criticize
us and take away our privileges. Maybe you could just cooperate with us. Once
you get used to it, you will feel better." The labor camp knows that Dafa
practitioners always think of others and they make use of this and arrange the
"clippers." When they pressure the "clippers," it is just like giving me
pressure. As Dafa practitioners, we do not pick our environment. However, it is
our responsibility to make the best of our environment. We use our wisdom in
dealing with the "clipper." We should take every opportunity to clarify the
truth and vigorously defend Dafa. First of all, I have built up a closed relationship with the "clippers," and
am considerate of their worries and needs. Secondly, under a harmonious
atmosphere, we talked more about the principles of life, and cultivation
stories. We have helped them understand the true meaning of life as well as the
purpose of being alive, and we explained the consequences of kindness and evil
as initiative to be a good person. This way, the "clippers" have become my
allies; if any people did not respect Falun Gong, they would defend it; if
anyone tried to take advantage of me, they would stop them. When I was copying
the Fa or studying the Fa, they neither interfered nor questioned me. When I
practiced the exercises, they watched out for me; at night when I meditated, the
clippers would sleep. If someone comes to check on the clippers, I would wake
them up. Basically, I have not stopped practicing the exercises; I have even
memorized more than 20 of Master's new articles. Inside the labor camp, telling the truth was very difficult. Most prisoners
in the labor camp had committed burglary or robbery; they did not care about
anything other than money and women. If you tell them about Dafa when they
didn't ask about it, they would say you're trying to publicize Falun Dafa.
Because of this, I used different approaches and let things happen naturally. I
would find the most suitable time to talk or cut-into conversations with
different individuals, to tell them the truth or spread Dafa. I would also pay
attention to any articles in newspapers and magazines that I could relate to the
principles of Dafa, and either copy them or cut them out for the purpose of
telling the facts. I have not only told the facts to the guards but also to the
policemen of the military unit, effortlessly introducing the principles of Dafa
to them. I also took opportunities to draft letters to my son and daughter to
spread Dafa. I have prepared three reports of about 500 words each, to show to
the guards and team leaders. I have also written 2 long letters to my children.
After submitting the first letter to be sent, because they found the word "Falun
Gong," the letter was confiscated. In the second letter I included all the Dafa
principles that I understand. Not one time did I directly mention "Falun Gong,"
but the whole article was written about Dafa's principles. I let the "clippers"
read them first, and I also let those nice people read them. Because these are
the letters to my children, they are all willing to read them. Because these
prisoners have learned the truth, our relationships have improved. After I
finished circulating the letter, I gave it to my wife when she came to visit me
and she mailed the letter to my son and daughter. This letter will be the most
valuable spiritual treasure that I leave with them. Just like that I have spent a year of telling the truth in the Fenjin Forced
Labor Camp, and lived with "clippers." I find that I have more freedom with the
"clippers" than without them. It has helped in spreading Fa, telling the truth,
studying the Fa, and practicing the exercises. "The Third Battle for the Reformation of the Steadfast" Fizzled Out In October of 2002, I was transferred to the Chaoyanggou Labor Camp in
Changchun City again. The "new life class" found the new Master's articles that
I had, over twenty of them, which caused quite a stir in the labor camp. I was
beaten so bad that my eyes were swollen and I lost my hearing completely. They
also extended my term one extra month. Within 20 days I was allocated to No. 2
Class of No. 2 Division. The labor camp had a total of 7 divisions. No. 1 and
No. 2 Divisions were the most vicious towards Falun Gong practitioners. I made
up my mind, "I would rather die than betray Dafa or say bad things about Master;
I absolutely would not do it no matter what." In the lobby of the first floor, a red electronic banner constantly flashed
the slogan, "Fight the re-education transformation battle well." It was the
authority's psychological warfare. Soon, all the Falun Gong practitioners who
were resolute were gathered at the meeting room in the No. 4 Division for a
class. On the first day, labor camp chief Wang gave a speech. His words bespoke
of bloodshed and were filled with venom and butchery. He declared the
commencement of "the third battle for the reform of the steadfast." The first two rounds of large-scale persecution took place at the end of 2001
and during the first half of 2002. In our No. 2 Class, there was a college
student who had been through the two rounds of cruel torture. He was beaten
until he passed out, and was taken to the clinic and brought back to
consciousness. They asked him straight away, "Are you going to reform?" He shook
his head, uttered the word "no," and passed out again. During the second
large-scale persecution, No. 1 Divisions came upon a very steadfast Dafa
practitioner. All the torturing methods, including electric baton, leather whip
and tiger bench, were utilized to no avail. Finally steel needles were inserted
beneath all ten of his fingernails; he passed out a number of times from the
pain but refused to say what they wanted him to say. The infamous cruel division
had exhausted its bag of tricks. The persecution began with brainwashing by forcing us to watch slanderous
materials. At night when going back to the class, the targeted practitioners
must sit on the cement floor and were monitored by the guards on duty. No one
was allowed to close their eyes, and if anyone was caught napping or with their
eyes closed, they would be yelled at, or worse, punched and kicked. During the
day, as usual they had to attend the brainwashing class. In the brainwashing
class, the police patrolled back and forth. Anyone caught falling asleep would
be dragged out and dealt with by their division. Later on, due to practitioners'
strong opposition, they had to cancel the sleep deprivation torture. The brainwashing class went on for a total of six days; the overwhelming
majority of the Dafa practitioners did not relent to the evil. The brainwashing
class did not conclude with a closing ceremony or a formal announcement for its
demise; it just fizzled out. They had exhausted their bag of tricks. Ever since I was placed in the Chaoyanggou Labor Camp, all I heard from the
vicious police were, "If you don't change, you can't get out of here." "If you
don't reform, it is a life sentence for you." "So-and-so has exceeded his term
for over seven months and he has not been released." For these, I was well
prepared mentally, so my heart was not moved; I no longer agonized over the slow
passage of time. In January 2003, unexpectedly, my wife came to visit me and
received the "notice of release" in the visitor's room. She took care of all the
paper work and took me home. The guard from the No. 2 Division remarked, "No one
had ever been released from here without either being reformed or being picked
up by the local '610 Office!' You are the first." I knew why without the
slightest doubt: It was all from the guidance of Dafa and the compassionate
protection by Master! 1
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/6/14/52223.html
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