My Slave Labor Experience at Tuanhe Prisoner Dispatch Center and Xin'an Forced Labor Camp in Beijing
By Chen Ying (a practitioner from Beijing, China)
(Clearwisdom.net) I was imprisoned between November 2000 and November
2001 for refusing to give up Falun Gong practice. During that period of time, I
was held in servitude at the Tuanhe Prisoner Dispatch Center and the Xin'an
Forced Labor Camp in Beijing. Products Made (1) Beijing Tuanhe Prisoner Dispatch Center
The Sanitation and Living Conditions of the Forced Labor Camp I was locked up with over a dozen Falun Gong practitioners in a cell that was
about twelve square meters (130 square feet) in size. There were only eight bunk
beds in the room; thus, some of us had to sleep on the floor. While we were
sleeping, we had to keep our heads visible to the guards. We did everything in
this cell including working, eating, drinking, and using the toilet; therefore,
there were many flys and mosquitoes. At the dispatch center, we were only
allowed to eat at certain times. Water was rationed; drinking water was limited.
The prison guards never allowed us to wash our hands before meals. After a meal,
we had to get back to work immediately. Twice a day, we were given five minutes
for personal hygiene. When the time was up, we were forced to stop and drain the
water. We were not allowed to take any water back to our cell. If we could not
finish the work assigned to us, we were not allowed to clean ourselves. When
there was a rush to get products out, we had to work late and go to sleep
without washing. There were fixed times for the whole group of practitioners to
go and use the toilet. Even then, we still had to ask for permission from the
guards. We were allowed two minutes to use the toilet each time; thus, many
people did not even have enough time to have a bowel movement. Those who had
constipation could only have bowel movements several times a month. We could go
to bed only at the specified time; otherwise, we would be scolded and not
allowed to sleep. At night, the guards locked up all the cells; a small bucket
in each cell was used for a toilet. We were watched even during sleep. Several
times, I was woken up because I propped up my legs while I was sleeping. They
thought I was doing Falun Gong exercises, so I had to keep my legs flat. We were allowed very little sleep each day; we were forced to start working
the moment we opened our eyes. My hands had blisters and thick calluses from
working long hours to finish the assigned quota of packaging disposable
chopsticks. I often worked until midnight. We were not allowed to sleep unless
we finished the quota. We were forced to work over 16 hours every day, and
everything was done in our cells. The sanitation condition was extremely poor.
Even though we were packaging disposable chopsticks and the label said the
chopsticks were disinfected at a high temperature, the entire process was
unhygienic. We could not wash our hands, and we had to package those chopsticks
that had fallen on the floor. In order to seek a huge profit, Tuanhe Prisoner
Dispatch Center and Tuanhe Labor Camp disregarded the health of the general
public and knowingly committed such wrongdoings. Many restaurants in Beijing are
currently using these chopsticks. I heard they are even being exported. Female practitioners are forced to perform excessive physical labor. We were
forced to unload trucks full of bagged materials that weigh over 100 pounds
each. We had to carry the bags on our shoulders from the truck to our cells.
Other physical labors included digging pits, planting trees, and transporting
fertilizers. The police exploited our labor to create illegal income for
themselves. The dispatch center did not compensate us for any of our work. In
fact, we were forced to do long and hard labor without any compensation. Both our bodies and minds were imprisoned and severely persecuted under the
excessive workload. The police often kept us from sleeping at regular hours.
When there were work orders, we had to work day and night to produce the best
product with the shortest amount of time. The police even said, "You are
trying to be good people, you should do the best under every circumstance." All the work in the labor camp is labor intensive. Falun Gong practitioners
are forced to work until midnight under dim lights, and everyone has a quota to
meet. If a practitioner cannot finish the quota, he/she is not allowed to sleep.
One time we were making gift items for Nestle; these items included knitted
products and crocheted cushions. In order to meet the shipping deadline, we were
forced to work in the hallway or lavatories until one or two o'clock in the
morning; we sometimes worked through the whole night. The police used this
method to control our thoughts. They would not let us have a single moment of
idle time to think calmly, and we were not allowed to talk to each other. They
had drug addicts and ex-practitioners monitoring us. They only wanted us to
work. In order to evade people's attention, the labor camp required us to sleep on
time every night. We got up very early in the morning to work. During summer
time, our cells were so hot that people sometimes collapsed from heat
exhaustion. Many practitioners developed symptoms of hypertension and heart
disease from overwork. Their entire bodies twitched. (1) "Florance" is a manufacturer of cosmetic products in China. (2) Yuan, Chinese currency, 500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an
urban worker in China.
(2) Beijing Xin'an Labor Camp
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/3/2/68993.html
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