Stories from Inside Tianjin Banqiao Women's Labor Camp

(Clearwisdom.net) Tianjin Banqiao Women's Labor Camp is situated in the Dagang Development District of Tianjin. Many Falun Dafa practitioners are held and tortured here and many torture methods are used inside the tall walls of the labor camp. In 2003, there were at least three Falun Dafa practitioners who were tortured to death. The following is a summary of events personally experienced or witnessed by some Falun Dafa practitioners.

Tianjin Banqiao Women's Labor Camp forces those imprisoned to do heavy labor such as sorting beans, making car cushions, sewing military uniforms, and sewing shirts. During the daytime, they have to be on the job for about 18 hours. Very often, they are required to work until it is 3:00 a.m. Basic human rights and protection from harsh physical labor are not guaranteed at all.

The prison guards curse whenever they talk and they are very corrupt and degenerate.

Those practitioners who do not give in are all tortured. It is common for the guards to force those practitioners who have been firm in Falun Dafa to carry heavy bags of beans (each bag is about 120 jin, that is about 132 lb). There was a practitioner who was in her 50's and was less than 1.5 meters in height (less than 4.9ft). When the 120-jin big bag was placed on her, we could hardly see her. In 2004, the guards told the prostitutes and drug-addicts to force heavy bags onto the backs of the practitioners who did not give up their belief. Since these people did not know the truth of Falun Dafa, they cursed the practitioners and even cursed the founder of Falun Dafa.

Starting in March 2002, the guards started viciously persecuting practitioners. Each person who was not transformed (renouncing their practice of Falun Gong) was placed in confinement in the boiler room, which had very bad conditions. Each day they were confined, they were deprived of all sleep and punished by forcing them to stand still for a long time. Later on, the guards took turns beating up the practitioners and cursing at them. They arranged the drug-addicts, prostitutes, hooligans and dregs of society to keep surveillance over the practitioners. They also rewarded these prisoners with reduced terms of imprisonment. The rewards varied based on the way that they tortured the practitioners. A practitioner named Xu Yurong was very determined in her belief. She was not transformed and neither would she give in. Xu Yurong was placed in confinement for over 20 days. Sometimes, there were five to six guards and prisoners who beat her until she couldn't breath. She was tortured very inhumanly.

In April 2003, the labor camp started a new action against practitioners who refused to be transformed which they called "storming of heavily fortified positions". Zhang Yuwen, prison guard, viciously beat a practitioner named Wei Guangli, hitting her repeatedly on the ears. Guard leader, Mr. Ma, forced Wei Guangli to write repentance letters. In order to do this they shut her up by herself in a dark room on the third floor and allowed her only one hour of sleep. Every day, we, both upstairs and down, could hear her miserable cries when she was beaten up.

While Yang Xiuying was in the Fifth Group of Tianjin Banqiao Labor Camp, she would be not transformed, and neither would she write the so-called homework, so the guards ripped off her winter coat and sweaters. They forced her to wear only a thin shirt and stand all night in the icy snow in the freezing temperatures. This torture lasted for several months. When Yang was first sent to the labor camp, she was energetic and healthy. Later she was beaten up by the guards and had bruises all over her body. Those involved in the beating included not only the guard leader but also guard Song Yuzhu, Hang Jinling, Group leader Yang, and some prisoners. Sometimes, they tied up her hands and legs and other times they handcuffed her for several days and nights without giving her anything to eat. For two years, she was tortured in this manner and was reduced to a skeletal figure with grey hair.

Huang Weiling was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Since she was not transformed, her imprisonment term was extended twice. She was a determined practitioner. During this time there was a lot of pressure to try and transform her and she was detained in the boiler room for three weeks. The first day and night she was shut in there, she had both hands cuffed together. It happened to be her menstrual period and she could not change her sanitary napkin. So the guards changed to the handcuff to her right hand and left her cuffed by one arm, most of the time, for over ten days. For the first four days, Huang Weiling was given nothing to eat. For the first ten days, she was not allowed to sleep on the bed (every morning at 4:00am, she was allowed to take only half an hour nap) and her hand was swollen from being handcuffed. They did not allow her to wash herself or change her clothes. At mealtime, they only give her a bun. For 12 days, they gave her only four buns. The guard's Group leaders took turns to beating her up and cursing at her. They also arranged for the prisoners to keep surveillance on her. They chose to beat her on her private parts. Huang Weiling, who is over 50 years old, was tortured almost to death. Guard Gao Huachao, Group leader He, and Zeng yelled at her. They told her that if she would not be transformed, they would not release her handcuffs. Later on, when Huang Weiling could no longer endure the high-pressure torture, some one else wrote a repentance letter on behalf of her against her own conscience. For this, she felt very remorseful. She decided to walk well on her path and not to disappoint Teacher Li for his compassion and saving.

Chen Yumei was sent to the labor camp on February 28, 2003. When she was first sent to the labor camp, she was healthy, looking very rosy. Since she refused to write the Guarantee Statement, and also asked to do the exercises, the police tied up both her hands and legs and restrained her on the bed plank. She called out the Fa-rectification verses every day. The police asked four to five young drug-addicts to stop her by covering her mouth with their hands when she called out the phrases. Since her hands and legs were tied up, she had to release her urine and feces on the bed. No one would wash her underwear for her. Later on several drug-addicts took off her underwear and spread a plastic sheet over the bed. Chen Yumei sent forth righteous thoughts every day. And every day, she could only sleep three to four hours. For the rest of the time, whenever she could call out, she called out loudly. In this way, she able to endure, though on a hunger strike, until it was September 30 when she finally was released due to her righteous thoughts.

On November 6, 2002, Guo Chenru was abducted and sent to Tianjin Tangu Brainwashing Class to be transformed. She went on a hunger strike to protest. On November 18, 2002, she was sentenced to one and a half years' imprisonment and was sent to Banqiao Labor Camp.

In order to force Guo Chenru to be transformed, a dozen guard leaders including Pan, Big Li, and Zhang threatened and insulted her. Guo Chenru continued on her hunger strike. Every day she was beaten up. The police ordered the drug-addicts to force-feed Guo. A prostitute named Chen Qian beat Guo about her ears and yelled: "Even if I beat you to death, I don't need to pay for it. On the contrary, the Group leader will reward me and reduce my imprisonment term." More than once, the labor camp blackmailed Guo Chenru's workplace, asking them pay fines totaling over ten thousand yuan. For the several years of imprisonment, her workplace did not pay her any of salary.

Ru Xiaoping learned Falun Dafa and had previously said she was a practitioner. However, at Banqiao Labor Camp, she was acting in a very cruel manner and betrayed other practitioners. She has renounced the practice as well as assisting the guards in transforming others. She instigated beatings of practitioners that were carried out by criminal prisoners. The labor camp forced the practitioners to do heavy labor. Sometimes they labored for more then 17 or 18 hours. Guo Chenru talked to the guard's Group leader and hoped she could be allowed to stop slaving at the hard labor jobs. After Ru Xiaoing learned about it, she worked with the guards to handcuff her for three days and nights.

No. 5 Group leader Liu Xiaohong, Kou Na, Hang Jinling, Song Yuzhu and Yang Kuimin were committing very serious crimes. They tortured practitioners Li Shumin, Zhao Dewen and others to death.

The other guards who tortured practitioners are: Liang Yan, Guo Ling, Liu Na, Zhang Yuwen, Liu Shiyu and Li Na.

Part of the contact phone numbers in Tianjin:

1. Office of Dagang Banqiao Female Labor Camp: 86-22-63251619, Surveillance and Education Section: 86-22-63251069

2. Dagang 610 Office, Liu Hengcheng: 86-13802043848(cell); Li Quanxin: 86-22-63390890, 86-13920299105 (cell)

3. Deputy director of Dagang Police Substation: 86-22-62093011

4. Secretary General of Tianjin Municipal Government: Wu Fang; Deputy Secretary General: Liu Jian 86-22-28309634

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/9/4/83340.html

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