Wanjia Forced Labour Camp--A Den of Evil

I am a Falun Dafa practitioner from Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. In November 2001, I was arrested for clarifying the truth (1) of Falun Gong. I was then unlawfully detained in the No.2 Detention Centre. After being brought four times to court, I was sent to Wanjia Forced Labour Camp in January 2002.

Wanjia Forced Labour Camp is a hell on earth. More than half of the practitioners detained there suffer brutal torture, such as force-feeding, being hung up, and shocks with an electric baton. Since July 2002, the guards at Wanjia have abused practitioners daily with beatings and torture. During these last several years, the struggle between good and evil, affecting the practitioners and the guards, has never ceased.

Yao Fuchang, the worst guard there, unceasingly announces, "Let's see who else dares to speak the truth. If anyone else still doesn't obey, ropes, electric batons and the iron chair (2) are waiting for you." In the camp, practitioners are not allowed to speak. Daily, practitioners are forced to watch videos that slander Falun Gong, tell "what they are thinking," and forbidden to speak the truth. Anyone who does not renounce Falun Dafa will suffer continuous persecution. Please, read the following individual cases about the inhuman persecution in Wanjia Forced Labour Camp.

1. After August 27, 2002, the male guards in the women's section initiated coercive management. People were ordered to sit, stand up, walk, wear nametags, wear the camp uniform, and recite and discuss the rules The slightest disobedience resulted in torture, such as being hung up, shocked with an electric baton or made to sit on the iron chair. Such torture was a daily occurrence, from 8:30 a.m. until late at night. The male guards stood in a row in front of the practitioners and there was not a day when practitioners were not tortured.

In mid-September, the male guards ordered me to write the "three statements" (3) twice, but I refused. On September 20, the guard Yao Fuchang sent me to the third floor. Immediately after I arrived there, several collaborators (4) tried to forced me to write the "three statements". Yao Fuchang watched and laughed, holding a rope in his hand. The brainwashing session ended at 8 p.m. Yao took me to my cell and ordered me to put my hands behind my back and squat on the floor. He told me to "think about today." At the same time, Yang Lixia also had to squat and was being monitored by prisoner Bai Xuelian. We were not allowed to move, or the prisoners would abuse us. I had to sit there until 2 a.m. and then again from 5 a.m. the next morning. After 8 a.m., several collaborators mistreated me, but I didn't relent, so they continued to mistreat me.

I refused to accept the persecution any longer. However, seven or eight guards and prisoners beat me. I was beaten to the ground again and again. Blood came out of my eyes and a clump of my hair was pulled out. The guard Zhao Yuqing saw my suffering and said, "How did you get these wounds? Sit on the stool. I will talk with you in two hours. If you still haven't changed your mind, I will make you suffer." After two hours, I told him kindly the reasons why I refused to write the three statements. Zhao said, "I will give you more time to think it over. You may squat for half an hour and then stand five minutes." I felt that this sounded reasonable and agreed, so, I alternately squatted and stood like this until 3 a.m. Then I went to bed for an hour and began to squat again starting at 5 a.m. After 8:30 a.m. Yao Fuchang's workday began. He told me, "I give you five more minutes to think it over. If you don't relent, I will make you suffer." After five minutes, I was sent to the cell and handcuffed to the heating pipes. He used a large-sized electric baton to shock me.

2. Around September 30, Zhao Yuqing ordered all practitioners to write articles criticizing Falun Dafa. The practitioners who refused had to squat. Two large rooms were filled with squatting practitioners. After several days, there were seven practitioners left, and they were sent to a small room. Zhao Yuqing ordered prisoner Bai Xuelian to brutally kick and beat them until they collapsed.

Every day some practitioners were hung up, shocked or tortured on the iron chair. When shocking practitioners with an electric baton, they put adhesive tape over their mouths. After being shocked, practitioners' arms and hands were numb for several months. Their faces, necks and hands became swollen and hurt acutely. No one cared. Practitioners were forced to sit upright on a stool and do the morning exercises. The slightest mistake would result in a beating or torture. Practitioners suffered in an extremely cruel environment. Everyone in the centralized training brigades and the No. 7 and No. 12 brigades were treated alike.

After the centralized training, practitioners were sent to the No. 7 and No 12 brigades for brainwashing. Practitioners were forced daily to watch TV programmes that defame Dafa, discuss what was on their minds and answer questions. If the answers did not meet their "standard," the entire brainwashing class had to squat on the floor. Some elderly practitioners fainted. Sitting on the iron chair was a regular torture. During the cold of November and December, practitioners were forced to stand in line at the windows of the hallway. Liu Tao and the other captains opened the windows, and practitioners wearing thin clothes froze in the cold wind. Liu Xiumao, a 64 years old practitioner, was forced to sit on the iron chair in the hallway for an entire week and then hung up so that she would write the three statements. There are numerous examples like this.

3. In early April, more than twenty practitioners were under centralized control. They were forced to sit on a stool from 5:30 a.m. The authorities required them to sit upright, with both hands on their knees, both feet in a designated square, and eyes facing front. Practitioners had to recite rules, swear three to four times (20 minutes each time), and if they lowered their voices, they had to squat.

A practitioner named Yu Anren, 67 years old, had to squat until midnight for more than one month because he didn't recite the rules and swear. During brainwashing, the collaborators would read the material and then stop suddenly to ask questions. If practitioners didn't answer or closed their eyes, they had to squat. It did not matter what, they always found some excuse to persecute practitioners.

Practitioners were only allowed to use the toilet three times at specific times during the day. It did not matter if they had diarrhoea or any other needs, they still were only allowed three toilet visits. Because of this harsh rule, practitioners didn't dare to drink anything, and some of the elderly soiled themselves. A practitioner named Zhang Dongmei had diarrhoea. She requested to use the toilet more often but was not allowed. Finally, when she couldn't control it, the captain screamed at her and made her squat. Practitioners had to squat close to three hours every evening at set times. Sometimes they found an excuse to extend the time. This centralized control lasted for almost one month.

4. In the middle of November 2003, there were 16 practitioners under centralized persecution. It began with reciting rules, and everyone had to pass a test. If there were some mistakes, they had to squat. There wasn't one practitioner who didn't have to squat for 12 hours with both feet in a designated square. Because Pao Liyun couldn't squat any more, Yao Fuchang shocked her with the electric baton. Song Yinjie didn't recite the rules. Therefore, she was hung up and shocked with the electric baton. Her mouth and face were swollen and she couldn't eat for several days. Besides the brainwashing and squatting, four hours of torture was often extended to seven or eight hours. Once, guard Yang Guohong was in charge of the torture and there were only a few more minutes. Because he saw Hao Peijie touch her hair, everyone had to squat for another 40 minutes. Everyone hurt so much that it was almost impossible to pass the minutes and seconds. They had to squat from 5:30 a.m. until midnight for more than two weeks. The pain they suffered can't be described in words.

Yu Anren was forced to sit on an iron chair for 17 days, and Jia Zhihong, Hao Peijie and Wen Guizhi for five days each. When sitting on the iron chair, both hands were handcuffed to the back of the chair, their mouths were sealed with adhesive tape, they were deprived of sleep, and they were allowed to use the toilet only rarely. Yu Anren wore thin clothes, and a practitioner named Dai Chong gave her a sweater. Yao Fuchang beat this kind practitioner and made her squat until midnight. During these seventeen days, Zhao Yuqing also shocked Yu Anren with the electric baton continuously. Her hands and face became numb. Prisoners Zhang Guiyun and others monitored her day and night. To keep her eyes open, they tied her hair to the bed or used needles to poke her face. She was not allowed to use the toilet for 24 hours. This centralized control lasted for 36 days.

In the afternoon on May 12, 2004, Zhao Yuqing and all the other guards tested the practitioners. Every practitioner had to swear and recite the rules. Because 16 practitioners refused, they were hung up and shocked with electric baton. The methods were extremely brutal. Li Hongmei and Hao Peijie were cross-hung between two beds. Guard Wu used two large-sized electric batons to shock them. Feng Lanying, Yangjing and others were also hung up and shocked. No one was spared. The most brutally tortured was Li Hongmei. She could no longer be recognized after the torture.

Then they held a strict control class. Practitioners had to sit, participate in discussions and squat. The shortest squatting time was four hours. Sometimes practitioners had to squat until midnight. Practitioner Yu Yuejin has hypertension and heart disease and lost conscious several times when squatting. The captain, Yang Guohong, accused her of pretending. After she was revived, she had to sit on the iron bench or squat the next day. Xiao Renping had to squat, although one leg had been disabled from the torture. Jiang Xieqing, who couldn't squat any more because of the pain, was hung up on the bed. After half a month, Yao Fuchang ordered all practitioners to stand with two feet together, chest straight, head raised, and no movement. Then he used batons to beat their backs. Finally, these practitioners could no longer endure such treatment and wrote the three statements. The aforementioned is only the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to recount from the two years of persecution.

5. Practitioner Zhang ChunYu was caught reading new articles. She was tortured inhumanly. She was hung up, forced to sit on the iron chair, shocked with an electric baton, deprived of sleep, and so on, for more than twenty days. She fell unconscious several times, and the scars from the torture can sill be seen.

Thursday is called black Thursday among practitioners, because on Thursdays more practitioners arrive at Wanjia Forced Labour Camp. Torture begins from Thursday. Everyone who enters this camp will have to squat, be hung up, get shocked with electric batons, and so on. For example, the elderly practitioner Shi Liqin had to sit on the iron chair for 25 to 26 days during the Chinese New Year. Finally, she could no longer endure it and wrote the three statements. Practitioner Zhang Hong was tortured to death within nine days during July. Wanja's torture methods are extremely brutal.

Note:

(1) Clarifying the Truth: Because of the nationwide persecution of Falun Gong in China, and the fact that the unrelenting hate -campaign carried out by China’s state-controlled media, Falun Gong publish and broadcast nothing but false and slanderous reports about Falun Gong and cover up the brutal persecution taking place in China, practitioners inside and outside of China have been actively engaged in what is referred to as "clarifying the truth" – explaining to the public the facts about Falun Gong and exposing the evil persecution. Truth clarification activities include face to face conversations with people, posting notices and posters, handing out flyers, and hanging banners explaining the truth about Falun Gong. Outside of China, where Falun Gong is freely practised, practitioners further expose the persecution in China through anti-torture re-enactments, art exhibits, Internet websites, books, magazines, newspapers, movies and letter writing. The goal of clarifying the truth is to help people understand what Falun Gong is and, to raise public awareness and support, in order to dispel the lies of the current communist regime in China and to raise public support to to bring about the end of the persecution. (Variations: "clarifying the truth", "truth clarifying", "truth-clarifying", "truth clarification", "truth-clarification", "clarifying the facts", "clarified the truth", and "clarified the facts")

(2) Iron Chair: The "Iron chair" is made of iron pipes. Victims are restrained on the iron chairs with both arms and legs tied for a long period of time, see illustration at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/1/9/17577.html

(3) "Three Statements": Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write "Repentance Statement," "Guarantee Statement" or 'Dissociation Statement" as proof that they have given up their belief. In the statement, the practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practising Falun Gong, promise to give up Falun Gong, and never again associate with other practitioners or go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.

(4) "Collaborators": Former practitioners who have turned against Falun Gong under brainwashing and torture. They are then made to assist in brainwashing and torturing practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/2/10/95246.html