Li Chunxia from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, Sent to Forced Labor Camp in 2000

Name: Li Chunxia(李春霞)
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Address: Hongshan District, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions
Occupation: Unknown

Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 29, 2011
Most recent place of detention: Hohhot Women's Forced Labor Camp (呼和浩特市女子劳教所 )
City: Hohhot
Province: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Persecution Suffered: Detention, extortion, forced labor reform, brainwashing, insults, forced to stand for a long time, exposure to the baking sun, being bitten by mosquitoes, forced labor, brutal beatings.

(Clearwisdom.net) Li Chunxia is well-known in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, yet despite her reputation as a good person, she was arrested by the Xincheng District Police Branch on May 29. She was arrested simply because she talked to others publicly about Shen Yun, a performing arts company comprised of Falun Dafa practitioners. Ms. Li is now being detained in a Women's Forced Labor Camp in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Her mother, in her seventies, along with her children, have nobody to take care of them.

During the past 12 years, Li and her husband spent very little time together as both have spent much of those years in detention.

1. Ms. Li Arrested While Walking on the Street in 2000

One evening in 2000, when Ms. Li traveled back home from her mother-in-law's house, she met an old lady. While they were speaking, a police car came up to them and a policeman asked Ms. Li, "Are you a Falun Gong practitioner?" She said yes, and then was taken away by the police for no other reason. She was sent to the Hongshan District Detention Center in Chifeng, just because she practices Falun Gong. Li Chunxia was detained and police would not release her. Later on, Ms. Li's father got very sick and his life was in danger. It was then that Ms. Li's family handed in a large amount of money to get her back.

2. Ms. Li Sent to a Forced Labor Camp For Appealing For Justice for Falun Gong in Beijing

After her father's funeral, Ms. Li went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa. But she was arrested again and detained into Tumuji Women's Forced Labor Camp, Inner Mongolia.

In the forced labor camp, all of Ms. Li's behavior and words were monitored. Ms. Li was detained in the 'strictly managed' team. Guards brainwashed her every day and forced her to write statements to give up her beliefs but Ms. Li refused to be brainwashed.

A guard created all kinds of difficulties for her, forcing her to raise her head so that she could watch the guard while being brainwashed. The guard tortured Ms. Li with the pretense that she did not look at him properly. She was insulted and punished over and over.

One night, Ms. Li passed the guard's office and casually looked inside. She was seen by Wang Guirong. Mr. Wang used this as an excuse to drag around and insult Li, forcing her to stand on the playground for a long time. At that time, there was nobody else outside, it was very dark and windy.

Basic human rights and human dignity were not afforded to anyone in the labor camp. Inmates designated by the guards to do so would watch over Li all the time. When she had a rest, she was not allowed to cross her legs or close her eyes because the guards thought that she might be doing the Falun Gong exercises. Ms. Li had to open her eyes and uncross her legs and was not allowed to talk to others.

One day at noon, Ms. Li sat with her eyes closed and was then dragged to the playground to stand for a long time. Ms. Li refused to cry out negative slogans or watch the videos that denounce Falun Dafa, so she was often dragged back and forth. Sometimes she was punished by being forced to stand in the corridor or on the playground. In the winter she was forced to endure intense cold and in the summer she was baked under the sun. In the evening she left outdoors exposed to be bitten by mosquitoes and other bugs. Since Ms. Li would not give up her beliefs, she and her belongings were frequently searched. Once they found Falun Gong materials so the guards threatened to extend her terms by 3 months.

In the Tumuji Women's Forced Labor Camp, guards utilized all kinds of methods to torture Ms. Li and other Falun Gong practitioners. Guards once tore open all of her bedding and found Falun Gong articles written on pieces of cloth. They forced Ms. Li to wash the writing away.

Ms. Li was forced to perform hard physical labor every day. Since Li Chunxia lived in the city and was unfamiliar with the farm-work she was required to perform, guard Luo Jinfang screamed at Li and always insulted her.

On one evening in the year 2001, many policemen came to the forced labor camp for a meeting denouncing Falun Gong. Practitioners who had been transformed stood up to denounce Master Li and Dafa. Practitioners who refused to participate were dragged into the meeting room. Guards watched over every Dafa practitioner. If someone stood up to oppose the speaker, his or her arms would be forced backwards or they would be dragged outside by the hair. When policemen saw most of the practitioners stand up in opposition, speaking together against the persecution, things got chaotic and the meeting soon ended

Later that night, guards put seven or eight steadfast practitioners into a small black room. There were no blankets or pillows so the practitioners had to sleep on the concrete floor. The guards persecuted practitioners freely both day and night. One day, Ms. Li fell asleep on the floor. Guard Liu Qihua then smashed her head with a stick to wake her up. After 15 days, Ms. Li and others started a hunger strike to protest. Another 15 days passed and Guo Junxiu's life was in danger and was sent to hospital for emergency care. The others were also suffering from the lack of food and water, so the authorities transferred them to other areas.

The next day, guards forced Li Chunxia and Liu Xiurong to work. Ploughing the land in Tumuji is very heavy work because the soil there is very hard and full of weeds. From around 6 am until noon, they were forced to work without any rest. They were served poor meals. It was scorching hot. They were hungry, thirsty and exhausted. It was hard work even for strong men, not to mention women like Ms. Li and others who had just endured a long period of hunger strike

Li Chunxia finally got back home in 2002 but soon after, her husband was sentenced to seven years in prison and was sent to the Fourth Prison in Chifeng. Ms. Li had no stable work and was only able to sustain herself and her children by performing general labor. Their life is extremely difficult. Sometimes she could not find a job and had to sell puffed rice to earn a little income.

In 2009, her husband came back from prison, and their life became better. But on May 29, 2011, Ms. Li was arrested again because she promoted Shen Yun, a show reviving five thousand years of civilization in China.

Chifeng Public Department Director: Zhao Jiannan, [phone], [phone], [phone](Cell), [phone](Cell)

Deputy Director: Dong Degang [phone], [phone], [phone](Cell), [phone](Cell)