A review of conditions at this camp including the experiences of several recent prisoners. Unpaid forced labor is exploited for profit on exported goods.
Falun Gong Practitioners Suffer Continual Torture at the Heizuizi Women's Forced Labor Camp
Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang Pingrui, 21, from Nong'an County, Jilin Province, was illegally arrested along with her mother in Baicheng City, Jilin Province in May 2008. She was sentenced to two years of forced labor and taken to the 5th Ward of the Changchun City Heizuizi Women's Forced Labor Camp, where she was tortured beyond her physical and emotional endurance. The forced labor camp officials did not allow her family to visit her.
Ms. Wang Pingrui started practicing Falun Gong with her parents at the age of eleven, and maintained a steadfast belief in Falun Gong. The guards tortured her and tried to force her to renounce her beliefs in writing. She refused, and a group of guards cursed and threatened her. Director Wang Limei of the 5th Ward shocked her with an electric baton. Ms. Wang Pingrui shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" She shouted to other practitioners who were forced to perform slave labor, "Ladies, let's not do this work for them. Let's talk to them about our rights and go home."
The guards locked Ms. Wang in an isolation cell. She shouted "Falun Dafa is good" through the window and sat down with her legs crossed in the lotus position to meditate. Guard Xiao Aiqiu handcuffed her to a bunk bed with her feet not touching the floor, then ordered inmates Li Gongju and Yu Xiuming to beat her. They brutally beat her and repeatedly threw her to the floor. They also kept striking and bruising her eyes.
Inmate Yu Xiuming stripped her clothes off and touched her body improperly. Yu Xiuming did not allow her to use a blanket at night.
Ms. Wang Pingrui was hung on the bed and not able to move for days. She was also beaten frequently. She periodically suffered blackouts due to this torture. Once, the Section Chief of the Living Section asked her, "Do you have a psychosis?" She said "No." Some inmates told her, "Just pretend to be psychotic, and you will be released." She replied "No. As a practitioner, I can't ruin the reputation of Falun Gong." Sadly, the long, inhumane torture eventually drove Ms. Wang to a mental breakdown.
Practitioner Ms. Qiao Hongyan from Shulan City, Jilin Province has been illegally imprisoned in the 5th Ward since the spring of 2008. She was beaten by several guards, including Zhang Lihong because she refused to perform forced labor. She was shocked with electric batons and beaten, which rendered her unable to speak or move for several days. To prevent others from seeing the results of their torture, the guards locked Ms. Qiao in a separate cell. Other practitioners were not allowed to contact her, nor was her family allowed to visit her.
Director Wang Limei and Deputy Director Su Guiying of the 5th Ward used practitioners for slave labor. They forced the practitioners to produce most of the airline meal boxes for airlines departing from Changchun City and Yanji City, Jilin Province. Su Guiying obtained several contracts that required manual labor, such as creating large quantities of butter for export to America, Canada, Venezuela and other countries. The fur that was used as a tool to make the butter was soaked in poison. In the spring of 2007, many practitioners showed symptoms of illness, including vomiting, vertigo, and fainting.
To increase their profits, the forced labor camp officials and guards increased the workload and hours of the practitioners. Practitioners had their work quotas increased from 30 butter sticks to 130. Practitioners were forced to work fourteen hours daily, from 6:00 a.m. To 8:00 p.m. Their only breaks were five minutes for the restroom and fifteen minutes for meals. The guards closely monitored practitioners and frequently scolded them for "working too slowly" or "moving slower on purpose." The guards even added additional work in between their regular tasks. They forced practitioners to work overtime, sometimes until midnight. When Wang Limei or Su Guiying were on duty, they forced practitioners to work even longer hours. Some older practitioners over 60 years old often fainted due to the intensive labor.
Practitioners Ms. Niu Ling from Nong'an County, Jilin Province and Ms. Liu Fang from Baishan City, Jilin Province refused to wear the prison name tags on their clothes because they believed that practicing Falun Gong was not a crime and that they were not criminals. They also refused to perform slave labor. Guards shocked Ms. Niu Ling with electric batons and put handcuffs on her before her meals. They also forced Ms. Niu and Ms. Liu to stand for fourteen hours without rest, wrote their names on their shirt in black ink, cursed at and insulted them, extended their terms at the forced labor camp, used various excuses to fine them, and did not allow their families to visit them. Ms. Liu Fang was sentenced for one and a half years of illegal forced labor. She refused to sign the "Five Statements." When her term was completed in August 2008, the forced labor camp refused to release her. They asked her to sign the Guarantee Statement, but she refused to comply. The forced labor camp officials then extended her term for an additional three months.
It was reported that Heizuizi Women's Forced Labor Camp guards frequently use electric batons to torture practitioners and continue to subject them to illegal forced labor.