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How Falun Dafa Practitioners Are Tortured at the No. 2 Women's Ward of Masanjia Forced Labor Camp

January 17, 2005 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner from Liaoning Province

(Clearwisdom.net) More than one thousand Falun Dafa practitioners have been held at the No. 2 Women's Ward at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. They are divided into three brigades, each further divided into six sub-groups. Falun Dafa practitioners undergo hard labor and intensive brainwashing every day.

1. Hard Labor

Masanjia accepts external contracts and does anything to make money. They use toxic materials such as lime putty nuggets to make artificial flowers. The paint used to color the flowers is also toxic. The nuggets are connected with a fine metal wire. Practitioners have to use their thumbs and index fingers to pinch the lime nuggets and the metal wires into small flowers, which in turn, are grouped into branches. It was said that these flowers were for export. Practitioners have to work deep into the night and their fingers hurt from the long hours of pinching the lime putty nuggets.

Many practitioners are allergic to this toxic material. They have breathing problems when they are working with it, and develop rashes. Even wearing a mask does not help. As they have to do this every day, their symptoms are persistent.

2. Brainwashing

The steadfast practitioners are monitored by at least two inmates, who follow them everywhere. The practitioners are not allowed to say anything or move around on their own. They are subjected to brainwashing every day. At least two dozen staff members bombard the practitioners with words defaming Teacher and Falun Dafa.

When practitioners were doing forced labor, the authorities broadcast speeches attacking Falun Dafa. Every now and then, practitioners have to attend lectures that smear Falun Dafa. Two "collaborators", Zhao Yonghua and Wan Shuzhen, said that they used to be Falun Dafa practitioners in order to try to lead practitioners astray. They gave practitioners "assignments" to write essays attacking Falun Dafa. The guards scrutinized the essays to find out whether practitioners had truly turned against Falun Dafa or not. They were especially harsh with those whose terms were coming due.

3. Physical Torture

  1. Hanging Up
  2. Usually at the end of the year, the authorities would step up their efforts to force practitioners to give up Falun Dafa. Wang Xiaofeng from the No. 1 Brigade led the staff to "work on" the practitioners. As practitioner Liu Baohong in the No. 6 Subgroup remained very firm in her belief in Falun Dafa, Wang Xiaofeng hung her up by her arms in the warehouse where they keep the lime. Wang assigned two inmates to watch Ms. Liu and make her write the "Three Statements." After a whole night of torture, Liu Baohong could not stand it any more and agreed to write the letter. However, as soon as she was let down, she decided not to write the letter. Then she was hung up again. Even after another 24 hours of torture, Ms. Liu did not yield.

    These kinds of torture happen every day. Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Sun Jinjun suffered a mental breakdown due to the torture. The authorities said that she was just pretending.

  3. Forced feeding
  4. Falun Dafa practitioner Wang Yan was held in the No. 6 Subgroup of the No. 1 Brigade. She went on a hunger strike to protest the illegal treatment. After five days, the authorities force-fed her. When Wang Yan refused to be force-fed, several people held her arms and legs down and used spoons to force her mouth open until it bled, but to no avail. Then they force-fed her through her nose until her esophagus was injured by the feeding tube. These kinds of forced feedings happen frequently. Wang Yan had to be carried home by her family in September 2003. She died on October 1 as a result of the torture she endured at Masanjia.

  5. Corporal Punishment

By the end of 2002, the practitioners had undergone all types of abuse, including forced squatting, forced sitting in a lotus position for prolonged periods of time, being forced to watch speeches and videos attacking Falun Dafa, being forced to attend seminars after the videos, and being forced to write essays on the slander. Those who refused to cooperate were persecuted brutally with methods such as squatting without moving the feet for hours, even though their legs were swollen and hurting, sleep deprivation, and being monitored by at least two guards. Usually, practitioners who had undergone the physical punishment could not walk afterwards.

4. Police Brutally Torture Practitioners

The police in Masanjia are generally very brutal and vicious. Among them was a 26-year-old female guard named Zhang Lei, from the No. 3 Brigade, No. 6 Subgroup. She was extremely brutal in torturing Falun Dafa practitioners.

a. Pretending to be nice and caring towards the practitioners

Zhang Lei said to all those who were sent into the camp, "You have to eat well and rest well." Then she sent guards to brainwash the practitioners. On the second and the third days, she would feign concern and ask the practitioners, "Did you eat well last night? How much did you eat? How well did you sleep?" Behind the practitioners' backs, she would ask how the brainwashing went.

If a practitioner did not give up Falun Dafa after a few days, Zhang would call the relatives of the practitioner. She would intimidate the family members and ask them to come to the camp to see the practitioner. When the relatives arrived, she would bring the practitioner out and say, "I am giving you special treatment. Usually new people only get to see their family once. I am giving you two opportunities." In fact, she was trying to intimidate the family members so that when they saw the practitioner for the second time, they would try to get the practitioners to give in and give up practicing Falun Gong.

b. Physical punishment

In the No. 6 Subgroup of the No. 3 Brigade at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, practitioner Du Suhua went on a hunger strike to protest the illegal treatment. She became very weak after being brutally force-fed many times. In October 2002, she was sent to work in the field to harvest corn, but she could barely move. Zhang Lei had a group of guards carry Ms. Du Suhua down the stairs and onto a truck, and had them drive her to the field. It was very cold and drizzling. Ms. Du was left there until the end of the day, when everybody finished. In the winter, when Du Suhua was too weak to go downstairs to do the morning exercises, Zhang had people carry her out to the field. Because Ms. Du refused to cooperate with the authorities and renounce Falun Dafa, her sentence was extended several times.

In December 2002, in order to force Ms. Du Suhua to "transform," Zhang Lei used two inmates to monitor her, and locked her up in a room for several days. Ms. Du was brutally tortured and became very weak. She could barely walk, had a blank stare, and hardly spoke. The mental and physical torture left Du Suhua physically and mentally damaged.

Practitioner Sun Liyun was subjected to similar forms of torture for remaining firm in her belief in Dafa. She was not allowed to go to the bathroom even when she had her menstrual period and her pants were wet from blood. She was also forced to sit in the lotus position for hours. She was injured to the extent that she had to pull her legs along when she walked. It was extremely hard for her to walk, even with assistance.

Zhang Lei also used shackles to torture the practitioners. Practitioner Chen Guixiang was shackled under a metal bed for several days in the same position and could not move. Her wrists were swollen and the shackles dug into her flesh, causing bleeding. She was not allowed to sleep or even to close her eyes, or go to the toilet during that time.

Older practitioners are not spared either. Ms. Guo Minglan is over 50 years old. She was tortured for days inside a dark room. She was made to squat while her arms were tied with rope, and she had to keep her feet within a circle drawn on the ground. Meanwhile, inmates slapped her face. Several days later, when Ms. Guo was carried out by two people, she was beyond recognition. Her hair was unkempt, her clothes were covered with dirt, and her legs were swollen. She had to drag her legs to walk. Her eyes were bloodshot and she could not see properly. Later on, she lost her eyesight.

Practitioner Hou Guiwen was forced to squat by the stairs for more than two days. At least two inmates took turns watching her. They would not allow her to sleep or close her eyes, or even move. After that, her legs were swollen and she could not walk properly. Practitioner Li Jinqiu was also subjected to similar torture.

The authorities took Chen Shujuan to the first floor to be tortured. They made her sit in the lotus position for several hours and did not allow her to move or sleep. When Chen Shujuan and Han Suzhen refused to say things to defame Falun Dafa, they were tortured even more. They were made to hold their arms up over their heads for hours. Once when Zhang Lei said something to defame Falun Dafa, Ms. Chen Shujuan stopped her. Then Zhang ordered, "Stick some rags in her mouth." Fortunately, another Falun Dafa practitioner stepped in to stop her. Once, at a so-called Tai Chi competition aimed at transforming practitioners, Chen Shujuan shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" For doing that, Zhang Lei sent her to solitary confinement for ten days. When Ms. Chen was released, she could barely walk.

Relevant personnel and contact information

No. 2 Women's Ward of Masanjia Forced Labor Camp
Address, No.2 Women's Ward, Masanjia Educational School, Liaoning Province,
Postal Code 110145

No. 1 Brigade: 86-24-89210406
Head of No. 1 Brigade: Wang Xiaofeng (female)
Associate Head: Wang Shuzheng (in charge of labor work) 86-13998207608 (Cell phone)
No.1 Subgroup Head: Shi Yu (female)
No.3 Subgroup Head: Huang Haiyan, 86-13066610598 (Cell phone)
No. 4 Subgroup Head: Cui Hong (female)
No.5 Subgroup Head: Zhang Chunguang (female)
No. 6 Subgroup Head: Ren Hongzan (female)

No. 3 Brigade: 86-24-89212252
Head of No. 3 of Brigade: Qiu Ping (female)
Associated Head of No. 3 Brigade, Li Mingyu (female)
Head of No. 6 Subgroup of No. 3 Brigade: Zhang Lei (female)

December 27, 2004