How a Former Labor Camp Guard Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners

(Minghui.org) Sanctioning human rights abusers has become a consensus among democratic countries. After the U.S. passed the Magnitsky Act in 2016, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the 27-member-country EU enacted similar laws. Australia and Japan are working to pass their own laws.

In accordance with these laws, Falun Gong practitioners have compiled lists of perpetrators involved in the persecution of Falun Gong. Every year they submit several lists to democratic governments, urging them to sanction the named perpetrators.

This report summarizes the persecution perpetrated by Liu Ziwei, a former labor camp guard in Hebei Province, against Falun Gong practitioners.

Perpetrator information

Full Name of Perpetrator: Liu (last name) Ziwei (first name) (Chinese: 刘紫薇)Gender: FemaleCountry: China

Title or Position:Liu was a guard at Baoding Forced Labor Camp from 2001 to 2007, before she was transferred to Shijiazhuang Women’s Forced Labor Camp (also known as Hebei Province Women’s Labor Camp) in July 2007 and was promoted to captain. China’s labor camp system was abolished in 2013.

Main Crime

Liu Ziwei was directly involved in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Some of the persecution methods used by her included corporal punishment, beatings, sexual abuse, handcuffed, jabbing with needles, shocked with electric batons, sleep deprivation, and pulling the hair. The torture caused practitioners to become injured, disabled, or even lose their lives.

Select Death Cases

Ms. Li Ruiying

Ms. Li Ruiying, 54, lived in Dingxing County, Hebei Province. She was arrested in 2003 for posting Falun Gong informational materials. She was later given two years of forced labor in the Baoding City Forced Labor Camp, where she was once tied up for four whole days and later cuffed onto a bed for four days in 2004. She was forcibly injected with drugs, force-fed, and given intravenous injections.

Torture illustration: Tied to a plank

While forcing her to receive IV drips, the guards beat and shocked her. Ms. Li was tortured until she was near death in the labor camp, and she was bailed out on medical parole in September 2004. Because she was severely injured both mentally and physically, she suffered a stroke and died on December 19, 2005.

Torture re-enactment: Shocked with electric batons

Ms. Zhao Ye

On May 8, 2011, Ms. Zhao Ye, 42, was transferred from the Kaiping Forced Labor Camp to the Shijiazhuang Women’s Forced Labor Camp. Ms. Zhao refused to perform forced labor. Several guards from the third brigade then tortured her. They forced her to stand in the workshop all day long until everyone finished work, and then she had to sit on a small stool in the lobby over a one-week period.

From August 15 to 17, 2011, guards Lyu (first name unknown) and Liu Ziwei mobilized several male guards to take turns taking the practitioners to separate dark rooms, shocking them with electric batons and beating them for two days. They cut Ms. Zhao’s right arm with a metal blade, causing severe injury and muscular atrophy in her right arm. The damage was permanent. Due to diarrhea and malnutrition, Ms. Zhao became dehydrated and experienced fainting spells. Once, she lost consciousness in the bathroom.

Liu and other guards started shocking Ms. Zhao with electric batons for a long time, before changing to high-voltage short electric batons. Ms. Zhao was also beaten at the same time, resulting in bruises all over her body. Ms. Zhao was severely injured twice by Liu. Her arm and shoulder became severely swollen, and she couldn’t bend her fingers on her right hand or move her hand. For a long time, she couldn’t wash properly. To cover up the crime, the guards locked Ms. Zhao in a separate room and forced her to stand in the lobby until September, when it was arranged for her to do unpaid labor.

On March 1, 2012, Ms. Zhao was in critical condition and the labor camp allowed her to get intravenous drips in the medical room. On March 14, Ms. Zhao’s family members were notified to come see her and they rushed to the labor camp. At that time, Ms. Zhao was in a half-conscious state and could not care for herself. She had a persistent fever of over 40 degrees Celsius and her weight was only about 60 pounds. The labor camp finally allowed her family to bail her out for medical treatment, pushing the burden to Ms. Zhao's family members. Ms. Zhao died shortly after returning home.

Torture Cases

The following cases all took place in Shijiangzhuang Women’s Labor Camp.

1. Ms. Shi Zhenlou

In 2002, several guards, including Liu, and inmates dragged Ms. Shi to a small room and took turns slapping her. The slapping stopped after Ms. Shi fell to the ground. Next, they tied Ms. Shi to a metal chair and continued to slap and hit her. They also shocked her with electric batons. Afterwards, they taped Ms. Shi’s eyes and mouth before continuing to beat her. The pain caused Ms. Shi to struggle and flip the chair over. The torture lasted from afternoon to 2 a.m., and Ms. Shi’s face became deformed, swollen and bruised.

2. Ms. Gao Chunlian

On July 25, 2002, Ms. Gao Chunlian refused to watch videos slandering Falun Gong. Liu thus pulled her into a small office and handcuffed her hands onto a chair. Guard Bai Jie also ordered someone to handcuff both her legs to the chair. During the night, mosquitoes were all over Ms. Gao’s body. Liu ordered several detained criminals to take turns beating her. The inmates grabbed Ms. Gao by the hair and knocked her head against the wall more than 40 times. They also slapped her face over 100 times and hit her in the mouth and jaw. They took turns kicking her legs. Liu kicked her in the stomach. As a result, Ms. Gao’s hair was all over the floor, and both her mouth and nose were bleeding. Her jaw was fractured and her face was swollen and deformed. After the beating, Ms. Gao’s head was swollen with a severe headache and it hurt to lay her head on the pillow.

3. Ms. Chen Xiumei

Ms. Chen was thrice given forced labor for upholding her faith in Falun Gong. She was sent to Baoding Forced Labor Camp the first two times, and Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp the third time.

On October 1, 2002, the guards at Baoding Forced Labor Camp searched everyone’s belongings and found a Falun Gong book on Ms. Chen Xiumei. Ms. Chen tried to grab the book back when a guard took it away. The guard and inmates then punched and kicked Ms. Chen, and Liu hit Ms. Chen’s head with a shoe, causing her to faint. Afterwards, Ms. Chen was carried into another room and tied down on a bed. She was injected with unknown drugs. The guards, who had no medical training, randomly jabbed needles in her arms and legs and bruised her. When she struggled, they beat her. Towards the end of her stay in the facility, she was covered in wounds and looked emaciated.

Ms. Chen was released ahead of time on February 19, 2004, when she was on the verge of death. She was arrested again in 2007 and sent to Baoding Forced Labor Camp. In March 2007, The guards put her on a bed and cuffed her hands and legs to the bed frame so that her limbs were stretched to the fullest. Her wrists blistered and festered as the handcuffs cut into her flesh. Her hands were swollen like little balloons. Her heart rate sped up, and she was dizzy and couldn’t focus. The torture lasted for 18 days.

Ms. Chen was arrested again in January 2009 and taken to Hebei Women’s Forced Labor Camp. Guard Liu instigated the inmates to take away Ms. Chen's clothes, including her underwear, and tore them. Ms. Chen could only wear thin clothing for nearly one month during the winter time. As she refused to wear the labor camp uniform, Liu instigated others to beat Ms. Chen, slap her, pull her hair, and kick her. After half an hour of beating, they opened the window, handcuffed Ms. Chen to a radiator, and forced her to stand. She was restricted from using the restroom. The torture ended at noon.

Once, Ms. Chen was sitting on the bed and had her hair pulled very hard by Liu. Ms. Chen resisted by holding onto the bed. Liu forcibly pulled Ms. Chen off the bed. Ms. Chen’s hair was pulled out and she was thrown to the ground. Then she was dragged out to be beaten for more than an hour until her face became swollen and Liu was exhausted. Ms. Chen was then handcuffed to a radiator.

In February 2009, Liu handcuffed Ms. Chen to a metal railing for over a month. During that period, Ms. Chen could not stand upright or sit down, and was released only when she needed to use the restroom or eat. One day, she was allowed to use the restroom only twice a day, causing her to wet her pants. Liu also instigated other inmates to beat Ms. Chen freely. This torture caused lumps in her legs and she couldn't straighten her right shoulder. An inmate scratched Ms. Chen’s face with ten fingers, leaving patches of scars on her face. Ms. Chen was also slapped by the inmate until her face was deformed.

On March 23, 2009, Ms. Chen began a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Liu ordered the inmates to shock Ms. Chen in the chest, vaginal area, and buttocks. She was slapped and kicked. There were bruises all over her body. She endured this torture every day. On April 23, 2009, her husband came to the labor camp. Liu came out and told her husband that Ms. Chen had a mental problem and denied beating Ms. Chen.

4. Ms. Li Yunxia

In September 2004, Ms. Li Yunxia refused to give up her practice of Falun Gong when asked. She suffered all kinds of torture imposed by the labor camp guards. To protest the torture and persecution, she went on hunger strike several times. When the guards force-fed her, they stretched her arms and cuffed her hands upwards to both sides of the bed frame. One time she asked to use the toilet, and Liu refused to remove the handcuffs and shocked her with an electric baton instead. As Ms. Li refused to do the prison exercises, she was forced to run around the field and not allowed to sleep. She was beaten, shocked with electric batons, handcuffed, causing her to develop slurred speech and became slow in her response.

5. Ms. Gao Yuzhen

In July 2001, Ms. Gao Yuzhen was reading Falun Gong book when she was discovered by the inmates on duty. The inmates dragged her to the office and interrogated her. Liu and another guard instigated two inmates to slap Ms. Gao in the face. The interrogation continued after the slapping stopped.

6. Ms. Lu Suhua

In July 2008, Ms. Lu Suhua was handcuffed between a radiator and a window by five or six guards, including Liu and a labor camp prisoner Liu Juan, because she was seen doing Falun Gong exercises. Ms. Lu’s arm was stretched to the extreme. Guard Liu said, “Don’t let her get too comfortable. Make it so that she can neither stand up nor squat.” Ms. Lu protested the abuse, exclaiming, “Falun Dafa is good.” Then they sealed her mouth with a towel and tape. Next, guard Liu and prisoner Liu punched Ms. Lu’s face so hard that she was not able to see clearly for the next six or seven days.

In mid-September, guard Liu once again forced Ms. Lu to wear a prison uniform. Otherwise, no bathroom use was allowed. Ms. Lu had no choice but to go on a hunger strike to reduce the need to use the bathroom. After this continued for six days, Liu beat Ms. Lu so severely that she had countless bruises and her left arm was fractured. She couldn’t move it for a long time.

7. Ms. Zhang Yanchun

Ms. Zhang Yanchun is an unmarried practitioner. On September 19, 2008, Liu forced Ms. Zhang to have her hair cut. When she resisted, Liu and other guards took off Ms. Zhang clothes and shocked her with electric batons for 40 minutes until her face turned pale and her body was trembling. Hiding their criminal deeds, they confined Ms. Zhang in a separate cell and handcuffed her to the radiator, forcing her to sit in the same position for 48 hours. She had to eat and relieve herself in that small cell.

The second day, Liu forced Ms. Zhang to wear the camp uniform. After her order was ignored, Liu began punching Ms. Zhang in the face, which was already seriously swollen, until she was exhausted. Ms. Zhang’s face was deformed from the abuse. Moreover, Liu instructed the two inmates to strip all of Ms. Zhang’s clothes off to beat and sexually abuse her. They not only tore the hair out of her head, but also tore out her pubic hair. On one occasion, Liu used a sharp metal object with teeth to puncture Ms. Zhang’s arms, causing her body to have numerous small holes on top of scars she already had from the electric baton shocks. The wounds oozed blood that a roll of bathroom tissue couldn’t stop.

8. Ms. Wang Lixia

Ms. Wang Lixia was given one year of forced labor in Shijiazhuang Women's Forced Labor Camp on September 25, 2008. When the guards ordered to maker her wear the prison uniform, she resisted. Two inmates stripped her, put the uniform on her, and locked her in a monitored room.

One day Ms. Wang was discovered doing the Falun Gong exercises. Liu and another guard immediately took her to a secret room, closed the curtains, and brutally beat her. After Ms. Wang fell down, Liu pulled her up by her hair with one hand and slapped her head and face with a shoe in her other hand. The other guard shocked Ms. Wang’s genitalia, breasts, and body with an electric baton. They didn’t stop until they were exhausted from beating her.

Ms. Wang’s face was covered with blood, and her clothing was soaked with blood. Fearing others would see it, Liu changed Ms. Wang’s clothes to conceal what they had done to her. Ms. Wang was then locked in a monitored room. Her right hand was cuffed to the upper bed rail, and she could not sleep for two days and nights. The handcuff was kept on even when she had to use the restroom. Later on, the handcuff was unlocked at night when she slept. She was restrained like this for about a month.

Whenever she did the Falun Gong exercises, Liu hit and slapped her head and face with a shoe. Ms. Wang was frequently beaten until her face was so swollen that she could not open her eyes, and her hair had been pulled out in clumps.

On one occasion when Ms. Wang refused to do forced labor, Liu and inmate Zhu Liying took off her cotton jacket and whipped her back with a shoe. Ms. Wang’s back turned black and purple, and she was later locked in a small cell for an entire night. Liu ordered two inmates to watch her. She was not given enough food, only a bun and two cups of water each day. She was allowed to use the restroom only twice per day. To resist the persecution, Ms. Wang started a hunger strike and was subsequently force fed. Previously weighing over 70 kg (154 lb.), she then weighed less than 35 kg (77 lb.). She was released after being on the brink of death.

9. Ms. Liu Binglan and Ms. Liu Li

In November 2008, Ms. Liu Binglan and Ms. Liu Li were detained in solitary cells for long periods of time, because they refused to perform forced labor. They were handcuffed to a bed and beaten by guard Liu and inmates. They were not allowed to use the restroom and wet their pants. The torture lasted half a month. They couldn't move their arms by the time they were released from the cells.

From November 3 to 12, 2008, guard Liu handcuffed Ms. Liu Li to a window and radiator. Afterwards, Liu shocked Ms. Liu Li’s nipples and head until her face and nose broke, and blood dropped to her stomach and the ground. The beatings and torture caused Ms. Liu Li to lose her hearing, have teary eyes, poor vision, headache, swollen face, hands and legs, coldness on the left side of the body, cramps in the hands, and difficulties in breathing. As she was not rendered any medical attention, the injuries left a permanent scar on the left side of her face.

Fifteen days later, both practitioners were punched, kicked, and shocked when they refused to wash bed sheets for Liu.

10, Ms. Feng Xiaomei

Beginning in May 2009, Liu ordered inmates to deprive Ms. Feng Xiaomei of sleep and make her stand the whole night. The inmates made her sit with her legs put on top of each other for hours at a time, and then they trampled on her legs, knees, and ankles. Ms. Feng cried because of the pain. Ms. Feng could not walk because of how badly swollen her legs were as a result of this torture. Liu kept forcing her to stand the whole night without sleep or being allowed to use the bathroom. She developed severe bloody stool after long term mistreatment.

Liu told her, “I do not want you to die. I just want you to suffer.” Liu deprived her of any family visits or the opportunity to take showers. As a result of the physical abuse, there was blood in her stool for over a year and she became extremely weak. However, she was forced to make 500 clasp envelopes a day. If she did not finish, she and her whole group were forced to stand.

11. Ms. Wang Haixu

Ms. Wang Haixu is an unmarried practitioner. Liu stripped Ms. Wang of her clothes and instigated other inmates to beat her and twist her arms and legs. Liu instigated others to sexually assault Ms. Wang, and also called a male guard over and locked Ms. Wang together with the guard in a small room.

12. Ms. Chen Jianhua

Ms. Chen Jianhua of Shijiazhuang City was often beaten up by instructors at the labor camp. Two instructors took her to the bathroom and used a toothbrush to scrub her vaginal area. This happened between July 2008 to July 2009.

13. Ms. Xie Cuixia and Ms. Luo Meiling

Liu called Ms. Xie Cuixia and Ms. Luo Meiling to her office when both practitioners refused to participate in the prison exercises. Liu grabbed Ms. Xie’s hair and smashed her head against the wall. Afterwards, she slapped Ms. Luo, shocked her with electric batons and kicked her stomach, causing her to have urinary incontinence on the spot.

14. Ms. Feng Ruixue

On August 15, 2011, Liu and several guards called out Ms. Feng Ruixue and four other practitioners, and took them to a room. They were shocked with electric batons for more than 40 minutes, while being asked if they would agree to do forced labor and sing songs praising the Chinese Communist Party. The practitioners refused. Ms. Feng, a university professor, was shocked and beaten, which left her face, legs, arms and feet covered with dark blisters. She was shocked and beaten again by Liu that afternoon.

15. Fined for Possessing Falun Gong Books

On November 16, 2008, Liu told all Falun Gong practitioners to gather at the lobby after lunch while she assigned someone to search every practitioner’s bed for Falun Gong books. When they couldn’t find the books, they instructed the practitioners to remove their clothes for a body search. After Falun Gong books were discovered in one room, ten practitioners were fined 50 yuan each, while nine other practitioners were fined 250 yuan each. Practitioners in another room were fined 190 yuan each.

16. Ms. Zhang Junmei, Ms. Meng Shufang, and Ms. Liu Yuekun

On August 21, Liu ripped the clothes off Ms. Zhang Junmei, Ms. Meng Shufang, and Ms. Liu Yuekun. Their underwear was also cut and they were forced to stand naked for a long time. The following day, Liu beat these practitioners again, one by one, and much of their hair was pulled out. The practitioners were beaten so severely that there were bruises all over their faces, and they could barely open their eyes.