(Clearwisdom.net) The Hebei Province Women's Forced Labor Camp is located on Shitong Road in Shijiazhuang City. The Falun Gong practitioners held here are being subjected to many forms of persecution.
Brainwashing
Several hundred women practitioners are being held at this labor camp. They are first locked in the storage room, where they are coerced to slander Falun Gong and its founder. Those who refuse are then subjected to violence.
Ms. Feng Xiaomei from Shijiazhuang City is being held at Ward No. 1. Ward head Liu Ziwei ordered inmates Zhu Liying, Liu Zongzhen and Qi Xiaolu to tie her legs in the double-crossed position for six hours. Ms. Feng cried out from the excruciating pain, but several guards who sat close to the door ignored her. Guard Gu Hongye even told the inmates to shut the door tightly. Ms. Feng's legs were severely swollen after this torture. The guards also forced her to stand overnight and forbade her from using the restroom. She could not walk for months and had blood in her stool. The guards denied her access to medical treatment, as well as family visits.
Practitioners who persist in their beliefs are handcuffed, forced to stand for extended periods of time, subjected to sleep deprivation and denied access to food and water. Some practitioners who could no longer endure the brutality write a guarantee statement under duress. The guards then force them to watch videos and read books that slander Falun Gong, to prevent them from recanting. Around-the-clock brainwashing lasts for days, or even months. Practitioners who renounced their beliefs are transferred to the No. 2 or No. 3 Ward to do hard labor, so that they have no chance to recant.
Hard Labor
The guards divide the profits made from the practitioners' hard work. Labor camps receive funding from the Chinese Communist regime based on the number of detainees who serve as a free labor force.
As many as eighty percent of the labor camp detainees in 2008 and early half of 2009 were Falun Gong practitioners. The detainees grow most of the vegetables consumed there, which saves the camp money. Meat is rarely provided, except when inspectors come. The diet consists primarily of boiled vegetables with little oil.
The detainees eat breakfast for 15 minutes at 7:00 a.m. and begin working immediately afterward. Lunch is at noon, and sometimes they would take a small break, more often than not returning immediately to work and toiling until dinner, followed by more work. Detainees at Wards No. 2 and No. 3 usually work until 9:00 p.m., and sometimes until well after midnight. Detainees at Ward No. 1 worked until 3:00 a.m. in the summer of 2009, and sometimes overnight. If they did not meet the quota, everyone in the group would have points deducted and would be physically punished, for example, by having to stand for long periods of time. No. 1 Ward heads Wang Weiwei and Liu Ziwei ordered detainees to turn off bright lights and use only small, dim lights at 10:00 p.m. Inmates had to continue working in the dim light. The detainees strained their eyes to fold bags. Many of them suffered from swollen eyes and blurry eyesight that deteriorates rapidly over time.
Torture
Practitioners who resist persecution and abuse and refuse to do hard labor are locked in solitary confinement, so as to prevent them from influencing others to do the same. Two or three inmates who are ordered to torture practitioners monitor them.
Ward heads Liu Ziwei and Wang Weiwei ordered thugs Zhu Liying, Liu Juan, Liu Zongzhen, Wu Haixia and Li Lijuan to strip practitioner Ms. Zhang Yanchun naked and beat her until she had black eyes and injuries all over. The bruises around her eyes were still there by the time her term had expired. The officials then extended her sentence by two more months to prevent her from filing a lawsuit, since her injuries could serve as physical evidence. Zhu Liying incited inmate Zong Dongrong, who shared a cell with Ms. Zhang, to beat her on a daily basis. She told Zong Dongrong, "The division head said beating Falun Gong practitioners is nothing. We should spare no effort to 'fix' them."
Ward head Liu Ziwei gave inmate Zhu Liying and others the power to do whatever they wanted to the practitioners, while he ignored the abuses. If any practitioner reported the abuse to him, Liu Ziwei would back up Zhu Liying and escalate the gross abuse and mistreatment.
Practitioner Ms. Chen Xiumei from Baoding City looked radiant when she was first brought to the labor camp. While held in the No. 1 Ward, all of her teeth were knocked out. She was stripped naked, including her underwear. The labor camp experienced a winter coat shortage to issue to detainees. Ward head Wang Weiwei said that practitioners who refused to work would not get a coat. Ms. Chen Xiumei, who was in her fifties, shivered in her shirt. The guards later took all of her bedding, blanket, and cover because she did the Falun Gong exercises, and she was forced to sleep on a bare, wooden board. Since it was very cold, she went to the room where her belongings were taken to retrieve them. Guard Wang Weiwei handcuffed her for several hours and then handcuffed her to a bed for several days. Zhu Liying was assigned to monitor her.
People heard Ms. Chen Xiumei screaming from being beaten late at night during during that period of time. Zhu Liying would awaken, jump up from her bed and violently hit Ms. Chen if she heard the clicking sound of the handcuffs. When Ms. Chen groaned from pain, Zhu Liying would gag her with a towel. Zhu Liying assaulted Ms. Chen during the day once, and Ms. Chen shouted. Guard Chuan Wei heard it, took a look, turned around and immediately walked away, as if nothing had happened. Zhu Liying was eventually rewarded for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners with a four-month sentence reduction.
In early 2009, guard Liu Ziwei forbade all practitioners from eating vegetables or congee. They were instead each given only a steamed bun at each meal, and when no fresh buns were prepared they ate leftover buns. The practitioners began to suffer from severe constipation after a chronic lack of vitamins and fiber. They went on a hunger strike to protest the abuse, yet guards Liu Ziwei and Wang Weiwei said cheerfully, "Go ahead with your hunger strike. We'll fine you 60 yuan each time you hold a hunger strike, and we'll see how long your money will last!" Inmate Zhu Liying said, "Now we'll have some money to spend."
Practitioners Ms. Liu Binglan and Ms. Wang Lixia hid their debit cards that let inmates buy items in the camp canteen. Zhu Liying could not find them. She was furious and brought Liu Zongzhen and Li Lijuan to severely beat the practitioners and forbade them using the restroom. Ms. Liu was denied restroom use for two days and was unable to urinate when she was finally allowed. Inmate Li Lijuan kicked her in the abdomen, causing severe pain. Zhu Liying eventually found Ms. Chen Xiumei's debit card, to which her family had added 400 yuan. Zhu Liying and Li Lijuan took the card and went on two shopping sprees, spending all but 80 cents on the card. Ms. Chen Xiumei could not afford even toilet paper with the remaining money. Inmate Yang Xiulian gave Ms. Chen a roll of toilet paper. Zhu Liying saw it and struck Yang Xiulian in the chest. She reported her to the guards, who extended Yang Xiulian's sentence by two weeks for sympathizing with Falun Gong practitioners.
Zhu Liying often bribed the guards with money she took from the practitioners and other inmates. She bought food for the guards so that they would ignore her crimes. Sometimes the guards demanded food purchases from her. When Zhu Liying was released, she claimed that guard Liu Ziwei alone ate food she paid for worth 6,000 yuan. Zhu Liying and the guards collaborated with one another to profit from the persecution of Falun Gong.
Persecution of Elderly and Sick Practitioners
Some practitioners held here are over sixty years old. According to labor re-education laws, they are exempt from manual labor, but are forced to work anyway.
Practitioner Ms. Feng Xiaomei from Shijiazhuang City had intestinal disease and blood in her stools. Despite that, the guards assigned her the workload of a strong man. Practitioner Ms. Zhang Guiqin, 61, from Shijiazhuang City, worked daily on the fourth floor of the North Building and also worked overtime. Practitioner Ms. Zhang Ruihua is in her sixties and is made to work despite having heart disease and high blood pressure. The officials refused to release her on medical parole because she refused to renounce Falun Gong. She works alongside other detainees. Practitioner Ms. An Jinting, in her forties, has low blood sugar. She often suffers from the symptoms in the middle of the night. Her condition is well known in the No. 1 Ward. Yet, Liu Ziwei assigned her a full work quota. Even the inmates say that the guards are completely heartless. A practitioner in her fifties was found to have a blood pressure reading exceeding 300 in 2008 and was in critical health condition. When she said, "Falun Dafa is good," guards Liu Ziwei, Shi Jiangxia, Wang Weiwei and others dragged her into a small room and beat her. They yanked out much of her hair, and it was all over the floor.
Deception
The Hebei Province Women's Forced Labor Camp has been used as a persecution facility since its inception. Certain cases have been reported, yet the persecution has continued. The labor camp even received the title "Province-Level Advanced Work Unit," as well as a series of other proclamations and awards.
When the labor camp received prior notice for each planned inspection, a thorough round of cleanup and staging would then begin. The cafeteria food would improve dramatically, and even include chicken or fish. The officials would arrange for detainees to take "happy pictures" on the day of inspection, so the inspectors could take the photos back with them to report to their superiors. The inspectors were only too happy to play along. After being treated to a feast, the inspectors leave without ever trying to find out the truth of what really goes on behind the scenes.
The persecution at the labor camp is typical of what goes on inside the prison and labor camp systems throughout China. More persecution and gross abuse will be exposed as more people of conscience step forward.