(Minghui.org) Mr. Yang Wei, 49, is a Falun Gong practitioner from Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province. At the end June 2000, he went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, but he was taken home by Xu Shengli and other officials from the Security Section of Xinjian Coal Mine. After he was detained in the coal mine for 24 hours, he was taken to the detention center. A month later, he was taken to Suihua Forced Labor Camp to serve a three-year term.

Below, Mr. Yang describes the brutal conditions in the labor camp.

Enduring Coldness

After I was admitted to Suihua Forced Labor Camp, I was taken for medical exams. They were thorough and included x-rays, blood tests, an ECG, and an ultra sound. Now I understand that they were collecting data for organ transplants.

After the exam, I was taken to the “Education” Section. The labor camp officials ordered the inmates to give the newly admitted practitioners a “cold bath” with a hose. This cruel form of torture made use of high water pressure. The water jets beat on us like bats, cold and unbearable. When the hoses were aimed at our faces, we couldn't breathe. This lasted about 30 to 40 minutes, or even longer, every time. We were so cold that our whole bodies shook, and our hands and feet cramped. While they were spraying me, they kept asking me if I would give up Falun Gong practice or not. After I told them no, they opened the water hose fully and continued shooting the water on me for another 30 minutes. Afterwards, I was so cold that I was purple and couldn't stop shaking.

Brainwashing

All of us were deprived of sleep. We were forced to stay up all night to watch videos or read materials that defamed Falun Gong. The next day, we were ordered to write Guarantee Statements to give up Falun Gong practice. Any practitioner who refused to would be taken away to solitary confinement. Everyone of us was assigned an inmate to monitor us all the time, and we were not allowed to talk to each other. They reported everything we said to the guards. On hot days, we were forced to do military drills under the scorching sun and forced to stand in one position for a long time. This lasted until all of us were too tired to move or passed out. Guard Diao Xuesong was in charge of the military drill except on Sundays when guard Guo (given name unknown) did it. We were abused this way every day.

Yang Bo, a Suihua Forced Labor Camp instructor, was in charge of “transforming” practitioners. He ordered uards to torture practitioners physically, mentally, and emotionally. One of the guards from the Education Section of the labor camp rented pornographic videos and forced us to watch.

On the morning of October 10, 2000, deputy director Li (female, in her 40s, given name unknown) called me out to talk to me. She asked about my family and pretended to offer help. She told me that she was assigned to “transform” me. If I would not cooperate with her, my term would be extended for another three to six months, I would be tortured, and my family would not be allowed to visit me. If I was “transformed,” I could go home early and my family could visit me. My term could be shortened by half. An inmate monitored me around the clock and could beat me at any time. I lived in fear and often had bad dreams at night.

Before my arrest, my wife was arrested for appealing for justice for Falun Gong. She was taken to Xigemu Forced Labor Camp in Jiamusi City after two months in a detention center. At the labor camp, she was forced to eat food made of chicken feed.

My two children were still in school, and they were left at home uncared for. They collected recyclables to earn some money. Our home was really cold in the winter, but they did not know how to heat up the house. They would wake up in the middle of the night from the cold and cry.

Malicious Method of Transformation

At around 7:00 p.m. on December 15, 2000, under Yang Bo's orders, an inmate made me stand against the wall for two hours. Afterward, he asked me if I would give up Falun Gong. I told him no. Without letting me finish talking, he began to whip me on my head with a belt. I became dizzy, saw stars, and almost collapsed. He treated me the same way every day. The people who came to “transform” me every day were different, and each one used a different method. Some came with a mild attitude, some tried to prod me, some tried to threaten me, and some cursed me. They took turns torturing me every day. I was forced to sit still on a small stool with my hands on my knees. I would be beaten if I moved even a bit. This kind of torture sometimes lasted the whole day. After the persecution of Falun Gong escalated, the officials at the labor camp made things worse in the labor camp, too. They began to strictly limit the time for practitioners to use the restroom and eat.

In 2002, I was transferred to the 2nd section where the newly admitted practitioners were pressured to “transform.” The guards made us watch videos that defamed Falun Gong and made us do forced labor. If we were unable to finish our quotas, we were beaten and cursed and not allowed to take off for the day. My hands were full of blood blisters and my arms ached. I often heard the screams of other practitioners at night while they were being tortured.

To deal with the practitioners who were firm in their belief, the camp officials set up a special “transformation” team to torture them. Sometimes, three or four high-voltage electric batons were used to shock practitioners' sensitive body parts such as their faces, chests, stomachs, arm pits, private parts, anuses, and foot arches. Mr. Pan Xingkun, a practitioner from Shuangyashan City, had the arches of his feet burned so badly from the electric shock that he could barely walk. Guards Yang Bo, Gao Zhonghai, Zeng Liingjun, Chen Xinlong, Diao Xuesong, Fan Xiaodong, Shi Jian, and Jin (given name unknown) all participated in this form of torture.

Other Persecution Cases

Mr. Li Shuwen, who works in a coal mine, is from Shuangyashan. When he refused to renounce Falun Gong, guard Li Chengchun beat him. His mouth bled. Later, guard Gao Zhonghai put him in solitary confinement on an iron chair for seven days and nights.

Mr. Guo Huailin, in his 60s, is from Jixian County, Heilongjiang Province. When he refused to renounce Falun Gong, one inmate was assigned to monitor and torment him around the clock. His blood pressure was as high as 200 mmHg, but camp officials refused to release him on medical parole. One day during breakfast, he passed out spitting bloody foam. He was then sent to the hospital. It was said that he later passed away due to cerebral hemorrhage.

Mr. Liu Zaixiang was a practitioner from the Xinxing District, Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province. Before he was transferred to the labor camp from the Qitaihe Detention Center, he was beaten so badly that he had internal injuries. In 2004, he was forced to run in the morning and passed out. He died on the way to the hospital.

The labor camp also used a horribly inhumane torture on practitioners: They put a plastic bag over their heads until they passed out due to lack of oxygen.

I experienced or witnessed everything I have described above. I wrote them down with tears in my eyes. The pain is hard to describe. Let's all work together to end the persecution.