This article recounts the experiences over the last two years of just one of the many labor camp prisoners in China.

Ms. Qi Jinling Tortured at Wanjia and Qianjin Forced Labor Camps

Ms. Qi Jinling, 43, is from Acheng in Harbin City. Despite the pressure of the persecution, she firmly practices Falun Gong and follows the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Simply for striving to be a good person both in society and at home, she was captured by the police in August 2006. She was sent to a forced labor camp and suffered brutal persecution for over two years.

On August 3, 2006, Liu Hongtai, Zhang Tao, and Mr. He (his given name is unknown) from Xinhua Township Police Station and Domestic Security Team in Acheng suddenly broke into Ms. Qi Jinling's home. They ransacked the place and illegally arrested her and her husband. Mr. Yu Zhanyuan, also a practitioner, and took them to the 1st Detention Center of Acheng , where they were detained for a month. The police then took her daughter to the 2nd Detention Center and held her there for two weeks. Her son was also taken to the police station.

On September 7, CCP members sentenced Ms. Qi Jinling to two years of forced labor and sent her to Wanjia Forced Labor Camp. When she was first sent to the labor camp, she was beaten by a group of guards. On October 4, the guards forced all Falun Gong practitioners detained at the 12th Team to curse Master Li and slander Falun Gong. Ms. Qi refused. Guards Liu Baibing and Guo Qiuli beat her with batons and forced her to squat for over four hours.

On November 6, guards Liu Baibing, Sha Yujin, Zhao Shuang, Guo Qiuli, and Wang Nana ordered Ms. Qi to come to the office. There, they beat her on the head and back, swearing at her all the while. Then the guards tied her hands behind her back and ordered her to squat with her legs pressed together. Ms. Qi refused to comply. Liu Baibing and Guo Qiuli beat her again and pushed her to the floor. After midnight, Sha Yujin grabbed her by the hair and dragged her around on the floor, twisting her around. Ms. Qi's hair was left all over the floor.

Afterwards, Ms. Qi Jinling was forced to squat all night and not allowed to use the restroom. The next morning, Liu Baibing, Sha Yujin, and four others took Ms. Qi to a larger room and continued to physically abuse her. They used all kinds of torture methods such as the "Big Hang Up"(1), electric shocks, and beating her with electric batons. The guards grabbed Ms. Qi's head and hit it against a metal bed, raising big lumps on her head. Sha Yujin threatened, "I have seen many people die here. It does not matter if we add one more to the list."

Ms. Qi started to get headaches, but the police said she was faking it.

On April 20, 2007, the guards again tried to force practitioners to slander their Teacher and Falun Gong. Practitioners Ms. Qi Jinling, Zhang Cuijuan, and Wang Xiuyan refused to cooperate, so they were again physically abused. The guards handcuffed Ms. Qi to a metal chair, and then handcuffed Zhang Cuijuan to the back of the chair for an entire night. Wang Xiuyan was forced to stand for half the night.

On May 29, 2007, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) staff members transferred Ms. Qi Jinling and other practitioners from Wanjia Forced Labor Camp to Qianjin Forced Labor Camp. In order to get ready for an inspection from higher-ups, Qianjin Forced Labor Camp made practitioners work in hot weather, preparing brick floors. They were ordered to work from 3 a.m. until 8 p.m. Practitioner Ms. Niu Guixia was persecuted until she had high blood pressure. Since she could not work at a fast pace, guard Zhao Shuang loudly cursed at her. Huo Shuping beat Ms. Niu and threw her to the ground.

The night of July 10, the forced labor camp ordered practitioners to recite the rules of the camp. Ms. Qi Jinling did not cooperate. Guards Guan Yanli and Zhang Aihui slapped her face twelve times. Three days later, Ms. Qi still would not cooperate. Huo Shuping assaulted Ms. Qi again by kicking and punching her. Ms. Qi's head was covered with big lumps and her body was severely bruised. She could not move her back because of her injuries.

Due to the long-term, severe persecution, Ms. Qi Jinling suffered chronic headaches and dizziness. She could not do any work. The forced labor camp did not give her any medical treatment and even said she was faking her symptoms. The camp extended her term by 21 days.

On January 20, 2008, guard Cong Zhili used the excuse of a security check to illegally search Ms. Qi Jinling. The guard forcibly took off her pants, cursed at her, slapped her face seven times, forced her to sit on a little stool, and would not allow her to go to sleep. Ten days later, Cong Zhili did not give up and persecuted Ms. Qi Jinling again, beating her and severely injuring her head. Ms. Qi lost consciousness and could not work anymore.

In early April 2008, Ms. Qi Jinling distributed Teacher's articles among Falun Gong practitioners and was discovered by Wu Baoyun. Team Leader Huo Shuping, Wu Baoyun, Qiu Yang, Sui Xuemei, Li Peihuan, and criminal inmate Li Yingjie hung Ms. Qi up by her hands. Her hands were behind her back and attached to the upper bunk of the bed, and her feet were slightly touching the floor, with a washboard under them. In the break room on the second floor, she hung there for over four hours and was only let down when she fainted. During that time, Huo Shuping and Qiu Yang slapped her and poked her armpits and ribs for over ten minutes. She was in so much pain that tears ran down her face. The police also touched her breasts and made obscene gestures. Ms. Qi tried to stop them, but they threatened, "Not only will we touch you, we will ask some male police officers to come and touch you, too."

Ms. Qi's hands became numb due to swelling from being hung up for so long. Up to the day of her release, her hands were still numb. On June 20, the forced labor camp ordered practitioners to do some physical exercises. Sha Yujin and Cong Zhili punched and kicked Ms. Qi, using the excuse that her movements were not accurate. They also slandered Falun Gong and swore at Falun Gong practitioners.

Ms. Qi Jinling's term in the forced labor camp came to an end on August 2. However, the labor camp extended her term for another 21 days and released her on August 23. At present, over 30 practitioners are still illegally detained in Qianjin Forced Labor Camp.

(1) The "Big Hang Up" -- there are two forms of this torture: (a) With both hands cuffed behind the back and only the toes touching the ground, one is hung by a rope that is tied to the metal window frame; (b) One hand of a practitioner is cuffed to one bunk bed and the other hand to another bed, and the two beds are pulled in the opposite directions. It is extremely painful as the body is pulled apart. See illustration on /emh/articles/2004/11/17/54624.html.