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Liaoning Province's Panjin City Forced Labor Camp Could Not Shake My Firm Belief, Even with Two Years of Brutal Persecution

November 12, 2002 |  

(Clearwisdom.net)

I started practicing Falun Gong in February 1996.

I went to appeal in Beijing on July 21, 1999. Six Beijing policemen took me away by force the next day. After searching me several times, they took me to the Central Stadium in Fengtai District, Beijing. The temperature was about 30 C [86 F], and I was forced to stand exposed under the scorching sunlight for the duration of an entire day. Countless police and armed soldiers were guarding several thousand Falun Dafa practitioners. At times, I witnessed police grabbing male or female practitioners by their hair or arms and dragging them out of the crowd. The practitioners' arms were twisted tightly behind their backs in a painful position and they were simultaneously beaten and kicked. At 11pm I was taken home, but then agents from the municipal public security bureau and the local police station harassed me constantly at my home. My phone was tapped, and officials from my work place frequently came in an attempt to subject me to brainwashing tactics.

On September 10, the director of the local police station deceived me into getting into his car and then had me detained into the No.3 Detention Center for 15 days of illegal detention because I had called a fellow practitioner the night before.

On December 12, 1999, I went to appeal in Beijing again. On December 17, I participated in a Falun Gong group practice at the Badaling section of the Great Wall. The police rounded us up and sent us to Yanqing Prison for further detention and where we received beatings. At 4am on the18th, 12 female practitioners in Prison Cell #1 started practicing Falun Gong exercises. A policeman about 50 years old used an electric baton on our heads, faces, necks, and temples. Even now, on my temples and in front of both ears, I still bear over 10 dark scars caused by the high voltage electricity. On the18th, agents from Beijing's No.1 Public Security Bureau interrogated us while our hands were handcuffed. They grabbed our hair and threw us against the wall. They slapped our faces and punched and kicked us repeatedly. On the morning of the 21st, the local police station agents took me back to the No.3 Detention Center to be detained for 40 days. My family was not allowed to visit me. While police agents interrogated me, Director Shen slapped my face twice really hard and kicked me forcefully with his big boots, yelling, "I'll throw you into a labor camp!"

On February 2, 2000, I was taken to the Panjin Labor Camp by force to serve a two year sentence that was handed down summarily without trial. Another practitioner and I were copying Teacher's articles by hand when Agent Huang Liang spotted us. So he handcuffed our hands behind our backs to one side of a bed, and we had to stand for the entire night. Yi Xiuyan (the cell guard) stood in front of our cell, cursing loudly. Her epithets were so disgusting that nobody could bear to listen. Starting in late March, each night when we were about to practice Falun Gong exercises, labor camp agents like Yi Xiuyan, Liu Jing, Gu Juan, Liu Min, Huang Liang, Luo Yalan, Wang Yan, Cai Li, Tong Dan, Yan Lina, and Qi Xia would handcuff us to the upper part of a double-decker bed to force us to stand as punishment. When we recited Teacher's articles, these agents would then slap our faces.

On the night of April 13th, under Yi Xiuyan's order, Gu Juan, Liu Min, and Huang Liang handcuffed all practitioners' hands behind our backs and forced us to stand in the hallway and classroom with our toe tips closely touching the walls. Whoever had even a little gap between the wall and the tips of their toes would be beaten up. They ordered everyone to keep their eyes open wide and not let their heads touch the walls. After we stood there for an hour, we started to recite Teacher's articles. Liu Min and Huang Liang then started to shock us with high-voltage electric batons on our heads and faces. They also slapped and pummeled our faces, heads, ears, and necks. They slammed our heads against the wall by grabbing our hair, kicked our legs, and attacked our chests. Afterwards, they turned the volume of the cassette player to the maximum, and everyone's ears started to roar. Even when we talked very loudly we could not hear each other. The next day, they forced us to run continuously around the exercise yard. Administrative staff also came to announce a one-month jail term extension for me and 5 other practitioners. On April 20th, in order to force us to give in, Yi Xiuyan made all 20 of us women practitioners run nonstop for over 6 hours. If a practitioner was in her menstrual cycle, the team leader would drag her into the bathroom to check for blood and then force her to walk for over 6 hours.

In October 2000, Yi Xiuyan started using the so-called "Wheel Tactic" (the tactic of several persons taking turns) to brainwash steadfast practitioners. One time she slandered Falun Dafa with fabricated lies and tried to trap me into criticizing Teacher. I said, "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance is the absolute truth, and our Teacher is not wrong." Then she struck the table and cursed loudly, saying my "attitude is bad" and I "resist re-education." I was immediately handcuffed and punished with 7 days' confinement, during which time I was only given one piece of rice cake for each meal with no soup or vegetables. Their purpose was to force me to accept their brainwashing and renounce my belief.

During the Spring Festival of 2001, Yi Xiuyan tried to pick a quarrel in order to curse us publicly and was using even "Intensive Reform" tactics on 3 practitioners. I was thrown into a small cell for two weeks. The night I was put in confinement, I started a protest hunger strike. When many other practitioners also did the same thing that same night, Yi Xiuyan reported to her supervisor that I "had organized the hunger strike." The administration announced another six month extension of my jail term and an additional two month extension for yet another practitioner. After we were released from special confinement, that practitioner and I were put in the "Intensive Reform" program without any form of personal freedom.

In April 2001, Zhang Shoujiang, Director of the Labor Camp, wrote a so-called "repentance song" and tried to force us to sing it. Another practitioner and I refused to sing. Yi Xiuyan and Liu Jing cursed us and ordered us to stand in front of the classroom blackboard. Then they handcuffed us behind our backs and hung us onto the bars of the classroom windows. They then started to curse and insult us while over 70 practitioners were watching. At noon, they transferred in four male policemen from the Men's Labor Camp including Liu Minghua. Within a small dark room they made an iron net enclosure like a birdcage. Then they hung the other practitioner and me on the iron cage with both our hands handcuffed and tied to the cage and our feet not touching the ground. After over two hours, our hands were swollen and purple with no feeling at all. In addition, they opened the door and ordered everyone to watch. After we were released, we still refused to sing. Yi Xiuyan and Liu Jing then asked the male officers, including Liu Minghua, to hang us by our handcuffs onto the iron cage with our arms outstretched on either side. Liu Minghua then laughed at us. We were hung like this for 16 days. Every 24 hours they gave us just a shot glass of water to drink; our three daily meals together were less than 50 grams. On May 1st, one officer added a little vegetable in our meal and was badly criticized by Yi Xiuyan. For 16 days we were not allowed to brush our teeth, or wash our faces, feet, clothes, pants, or socks; we could not comb our hair; we could not go to the restroom; we were not given toilet tissue. They stationed two collaborators [former Falun Gong practitioners who have gone astray due to brainwashing and torture]in front of our doors to stand watch over us 24 hours a day. After we were released from this torture, they still locked us in the small, confinement cell to continue our "Intensive Reform". For over two months, they didn't allow us to take a shower or change our clothes.

On April 17, I was taken with 9 other practitioners (5 of them men) to Fushun Labor Camp for brainwashing. In the restroom some practitioners there warned us, "You will be beaten up by prisoners or policemen if you don't give in by the 4th day after entering the labor camp. A dozen agents beat up on just one practitioner. One practitioner has already been beaten to death, one was seriously injured and locked in with other prisoners." One policeman whose last name is Jiang told us, "An engineer from Handan General Steel Plant refused to be brainwashed and shouted 'Falun Dafa is good' while he was being criticized. We beat him up even if that meant losing our jobs." We were sent back to Panjin on May16th.

On May 25th, 2001, the first round of violent brainwashing began. Cursing and scolding, Yi Xiuyan, Liu Jing, Wang Yan, Cai Li, Huang Liang, Liu Min, Qi Xia, Zhao Hongyan, and Li Jie pushed and dragged over 20 of us older women (the oldest was over 60), with everybody carrying our own quilts and clothes, to the second floor of the lodge of the Labor Camp. We were thrown into different rooms, all of which had their windows covered with newspaper. They forced us to bend our backs or legs into extreme positions with our hands holding our heads to stand in a squat position (both legs bent at a very uncomfortable position). Or, again with both hands on our heads, we were forced to squat and move at the same time or to kneel down with our hands behind our backs. The police agents held rubber hammers wrapped in dirty rags and struck whoever could not maintain these punishing positions. They also used the dirty rag to forcefully wipe the sweat off practitioners' faces. They laughed and loudly insulted us with curses. When they got tired, they would lie on the double-decker beds and put fans in front of them. They made a rule that we could only use the restroom three times within 24 hours. If we refused to be brainwashed, then we had to urinate in our pants. They cursed and beat us repeatedly. Sometimes they forced us to stand on one foot with both arms lifted as high as possible; sometimes they forced us to move around in circles in a squatting position. They came up with all kinds of outrageous torture techniques. Then they called us to the dining room on the first floor. All the windows were covered with newspaper. They started to beat and kick vital organs on our bodies and slammed our heads against the wall by our hair. They used police batons or electric batons to beat and shock us cruelly. They would hit us at least 30 or 40 times Then, if we still didn't give in, they worked together to cruelly twist and pummel us. Finally they handcuffed us in very extreme and uncomfortable positions in order to force us to compromise. As a result, on May 29th, two practitioners totally lost consciousness. The Director of Panjin Labor Camp Zhang Shoujiang and Vice Director Zhou X were giving orders while lying in their beds. Female guards Tong Dan, Luo Yalan, and Liu Min stayed with their team to brainwash practitioners. They cooperated efficiently to persecute Dafa practitioners. The people who beat me first were Yi Xiuyan and Liu Jing. They took us to the dining room on the first floor and blamed me for damaging their job performance. As they were threatening us, they grabbed our hair and slammed our heads against the wall. They punched our heads, ears, necks, chest, and back, tried to pull our hair out, kicked our legs and abdomen with their heavy boots, stepped on our hands, and so on. Yi Xiuyan also pinched my nose really hard with her hand. Afterwards my neck felt rigid and would hardly turn, and I could barely lift my arms. My whole body was black and blue, and my right ankle and foot were blue and swollen. My ears hurt. I felt extreme pain when walking and could hardly squat down.

On May 27th I was taken to the dining room alone. Agent Huang Liang said I didn't stand in place, so Wang Yan, Liu Jing, Cai Li, Huang Liang, Qi Xia, and Yan Lina first kicked and struck me with their hands and feet, then beat me with a truncheon and electric baton. Cai Li said with a hideous grin, "First, each of us hit her with the truncheon three times, then you can hit at will. Come on, me first!" In a row, the six of them took turns hitting me more than 30 times on the back, thighs, legs, and every other possible place. My back and hips were hit almost 20 times, the black and blue marks on my skin quickly merging into even bigger areas of tissue damage. I was black and blue all over. (The next day, my entire back was swollen and as hard as a board.) Afterwards again, these six people together pinched my neck, abdomen, and my inner thighs, damaging my skin. Then they hung me up in a painfully awkward position. One hand was manacled to the iron bar above the window; the other was tied to a leg of the double-decker bed. I could neither stand up nor squat down. At night Yi Xiuyan said, "You are the only person we're going to work on at this time. Let's see how long you can resist." Then she ordered, "Pull the bed frame farther away!" Liu Jing and Cai Li immediately jerked the bed frame away, stretching my hands even tighter. Yi Xiuyan again pinched my nose and neck, while Liu Jing took the electric baton and beat me on the back heavily twice. While beating me she said, "My hatred will never cease, even after I beat you to death." Cai Li said, "I'm not afraid to go to hell. I have been a ghost of hell for a long time. I can't wait to peel your skin." Consequently, my hands were swelling worse and worse; the veins in my wrists were all swollen, too. My fingers could not feel anything. I had not been allowed to use the bathroom. My fingers felt cold and numb, and my palms ached; I could not climb up to the upper level of the double-decker bed. I urinated blood for over ten days. There were small blood clots in my urine. One spot on my back gave me such excruciating pain that I could not even breathe when I turned over trying to get to sleep.

In mid June 2001, the local Procuratorate and Labor Camp sent two questionnaires for us to fill in to express our opinions. Two other practitioners and I wrote in unison, "Brutal beatings and violence can't change people's minds!" Yi Xiuyan and Liu Jing stood in front of the door and cursed loudly. Liu Jing said, "Who saw us beat you? Who saw? Such a bunch!" Yi Xiuyan said, "If you are not transformed, beating is right. I think the beatings are too light! We received orders that beating you to death would be counted as suicide. You will die for nothing; nobody will say you're good. Violence does change people's minds!"

On June 22nd, we were moved back to the Detox Center on the first floor. On the 23rd, those practitioners who had compromised under coercion wrote solemn statements. So after just four days we were moved back, the police again herding over ten of us elderly women back to the second floor to begin the second round of violent brainwashing that lasted until the end of September. This time they didn't beat us with iron batons, but they used their hands to strike and their boots to kick. We were only allowed to sleep two hours, from 2am until 4am. We were only allowed to go to the bathroom 3 times daily. Besides washing our face and eating meals, we were made to stand "mabu" squat, or be hung up handcuffed for as long as over 20 hours. These kinds of tortures lasted for several months. Yi Xiuyan said, "If you don't transform this time, you will never get out of here. We got orders from above that we can beat you as much as we want. All deaths will be counted as suicide, and you will die for nothing. If you don't transform, you can squat like that with no time limit. During this "Intensive Reform" period, for each day you don't transform, your jail term will be extended for another day; for each month you don't transform, your jail term will be extended for another month; for each year, another year; there is no end. Let's see how long you can resist." She also told the other agents, "If you're not happy, just beat them at will." Consequently, our feet became so swollen we could not fit into our shoes. We even had to cut out the front part of the one-size-larger shoes in order to fit our swollen feet. Our legs became as thick as our thighs. Our knees were swollen, too. At the beginning of July, I found nine out of ten veins in my wrists had collapsed. The muscles in my hands had withered, leaving only skin covering the bones. My ten fingers were weak, numb, and cold, especially my right hand. For four months I could not use my right hand to brush my teeth, comb my hair, wash my face, or dry myself with a towel. For the next ten months I could not use it to cut my nails or sew my socks. On September 7th, I was hung handcuffed for another 5 days. In November, I was hung for 7 days and 7 nights. My hand would never write again. Those police agents who participated in the second round of hideous brainwashing and tortures are: Yi Xiuyan, Liu Jing, Wang Yan, Cai Li, Huang Liang, Qi Xia, Liu Min, Zhao Hongyan, Li Jie (didn't beat people), Tong Dan, Luo Yalan, Yan Lina and Wang Xiaomei.

The third round of forced brainwashing started November 17, 2001. From the 17th to the 20th, the prison guards shut Li Shujuan, Su Ying, Qu Jiaying, and me in a small cell with its windows covered up with newspaper, forcing us to urinate and defecate in the same place. On the 20th, they threw four of us into a small cell in the Detox Center on the second floor for a total of 52 days. Once again the windows were covered with newspaper, but we were under bright electric lights 24 hours a day and were again forced to urinate in the same room. Other practitioners were also thrown into those small cells in the Detox Center on the second floor for 48 days from November 20, 2001 to January 6, 2002. First, they were punished by being forced to squat halfway with both hands on top of their heads, then to stand straight, in place, from 4:00am to 12:00am. Later they had to stand from 4:00am to 10:30pm. There were a total of 11 prison guards who beat up the 51-yr old Liu Qing. The 11 prison guards are: Yi Xiuyan, Liu Jing, Wang Yan, Cai Li, Huang Liang, Qi Xia, Liu Min, Zhao Hongyan, Tong Dan, Luo Yalan, and Wang Xiaomei. On the afternoon of January 6 of 2002, they were sent back to their respective original cells to be "monitored in place," with everything controlled tightly.

Yi Xiuyan would not release me on December 22, 2001, the last day of my 2-year term. In the afternoon of January 6, 2002, Yi Xiuyan said to me, "If you guarantee orally that you will not go to Beijing to appeal, not practice the Falun Gong exercises, and not participate in any Falun Gong activities, I can cancel the additional one and half year jail term extension and release you." I did not guarantee anything. On January 8th in the morning, Yi Xiuyan tried to force me to read a book, but I did not comply. Even when I was shut in a dungeon cell and forced to squat on the ground, I did not comply. Cai Li then slapped my face. I shouted three times: "Stop beating me!" Yi Xiuyan went up to help Cai Li by grabbing my hair and slamming my head against the wall. They were both hitting and kicking me. I yelled again, "Help! Stop the evil people from beating me!" They then hit my head, ears, and neck forcefully. They hung me in painful positions and forced me to squat with one hand tied up to the window and another to the heating pipes. Because I sat on the ground, in order to further punish me, Cai Li had the window wide open with the outside cold weather blowing into the cell. I was not allowed to use washroom. Next day morning, Yi Xiuyan let agents from the Security Section and the local Procuratorate interrogate me, threatening to extend my term and send me to the Labor Camp. After I clarified the truth, the agents from the Procuratorate stopped their interrogation. On the 4th day, they unlocked my handcuffs. After 7 days of shutting me up in a small dungeon cell, I was still tightly "monitored in place."

On the afternoon of February 6, 2002, Yi Xiuyan, together with Tong Dan and Yan Lina, took me to the Municipal Hospital for a physical checkup. When Director Song of ER was checking my back, legs and hands and asking me questions, they did not want me to tell the truth. I ignored them and took this opportunity to tell the truth and expose the evil right in front of 4 doctors and 2 patients. They later forced Doctor Wu to write a false report.

On February 27th, 2002, two officials from the Administration talked with me, saying that if I could guarantee two conditions, they would release me. I did not comply. On March 18, they transferred me, together with other 24 other women practitioners, to Masanjia Labor Camp, notorious for its brutality against practitioners. Because they knew it was illegal for them to extend my term for an additional year and a half, they changed my jail term extension to just a half a year before they sent me to the Masanjia Labor Camp. After I was transferred to the Masanjia Labor Camp, I was assigned to Group #3 of Brigade #3. On the same day, the guards put us in the Guest House building where members of the "Tough Brainwashing Team," using the "Wheel Tactic," could deceive, threaten, attack, and deceive us into compromising. They were "getting tough" with us from 5:30am until 11:00pm. We were monitored "in pairs" while eating, using the washroom, washing up, and even sleeping. Their longest "getting tough" period was more than 50 days. After they found out that their 16-days of "getting tough" with me was in vain, I was sent back for half day labor and half day "political study," all tightly controlled. There were "sifang" (tough criminal inmates) and "staff on duty" watching us 24 hours a day. We were allowed only 4 minutes a day to wash up and 20 minutes a week to hand-wash clothes. In the first floor small cells were many senior practitioners, who were deemed to have "mental" problems but had no money to be sent to a mental hospital. Special staff to took care of them, totally segregated from the outside. It was said that there were those who "wear white blouses" [alluding to doctors or medical workers] from the Labor Camp administering sedative injections to these practitioners. Those staunch practitioners were even more tightly controlled. Agents in pairs monitored all their labor, political "study," sleep, etc. It is "illegal" for practitioners to talk to each other. But those staunch practitioners all believe in Teacher and Dafa. They would not cooperate with the evil, would not recite prison rules, would not watch TV programming that defamed Teacher and Dafa, and would not sing any evil prison songs.

June 22 was the last day of my additional half-year term. In the end, I did not write any guarantee letter and got released only because I could always keep righteous thoughts. For two and a half years the evil used all kinds of disgusting and vicious means to persecute me. But vicious beatings can never change one's heart. Evil is doomed to end up in failure and total destruction.