Kind Villager in Hebei Province Dies as a Result of Persecution in Handan Labour Camp

Name: Wu Ruixiang
Gender: Male
Age: In his 50s
Address: Nanguan Village, Li County, Baoding City, Hebei Province
Occupation: Farmer
Date of Death: January 18th, 2013
Date of Most Recent Arrest: April 23, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Handan Forced Labour Camp
City: Baoding
Province: Hebei
Persecution Suffered: Brainwashing, forced injections/drug administration, imprisonment

Mr. Wu Ruixiang lived in Nanguan Village, Li County, Hebei Province. The villagers regarded him as a hard-working, honest, down-to-earth, and kind person. He always helped others wholeheartedly no matter how tiring or how dirty the work was. He began practising Falun Gong in 1998 and quickly got rid of his bad habits of smoking, drinking, gambling, and fighting. He was strict with himself in becoming a better person. He had been healthy for the past ten plus years.

Mr. Wu was taken to the Handan Forced Labour Camp on April 24th, 2012. He was originally sentenced to one year of forced labour. However, four months later, the camp authorities called his family and urged them to take him home. Mr. Wu died on January 18th, 2013.

Arrest and Sentenced to Forced Labour

More than a dozen officers from the Li County Police Department, 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), and Chengguan Police Station went to Mr. Wu's home and arrested him on the evening of April 23rd, 2012. The police later ransacked his home. They also arrested Ms. Xie Aman, Mr. Li Ergang, and Mr. Li Baoheng.

Mr. Wu and Mr. Li were taken to the Handan Forced Labour Camp the next day, without any legal procedures being followed. Ms. Xie was taken to the Hebei Province Women's Forced Labour Camp.

Before taking Mr. Wu to the labour camp, officer Han Jinsuo and several other officers from the Li County Police Department took him to the Li County Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine for a physical exam, and Mr. Wu was deemed healthy. Mr. Wu had another exam before being admitted to the labour camp, which also showed that he was healthy.

Mr. Wu's wife went to the police department and asked about Mr. Wu's whereabouts. Wang Junchang, chief of the Li County Domestic Security Division, lied to her, “It wasn't us who arrested him. We don't know his whereabouts.” Mr. Wu's wife cried and said, “Even if you did not arrest him, it was your order. He had never gambled or had a fight since he started practising Falun Gong. Since he was taken away, nobody is there to take care of the household chores and the field work, and his 80-year-old mother also needs his care. If you don't tell me where he is, I will not leave.” Wu Junchang reluctantly gave her Mr. Wu's forced labour order, which should have been handed over to the family when Mr. Wu was taken to the labor camp.

Tortured at the Handan Forced Labour Camp

Mr. Wu was held at the No. 2 Ward of the Handan Forced Labour Camp. In order to achieve a 100% “transformation” [forcibly renounce Falun Gong] rate, the camp authorities established a “specialised ward” to do whatever it takes to force practitioners to give up their belief. Zhang Xiuping, director of the labour camp, hired a thug by the name of Gao Fei to torture Falun Gong practitioners at will and with no limit. Gao said, “The army is to kill people, and the labour camp is to hurt people. You have to 'transform' no matter what. If you don't, we will use every torture device on you, such as the tiger bench and tying up with ropes. We will see whether or not you will transform.”

Mr. Wu was taken to the “specialised ward” because he refused to “transform.” He was subjected to brutal torture there. Gao Fei deprived him of sleep and ordered the inmates to monitor him around the clock. Mr. Wu was forced to stand or sit on a small stool. He was verbally abused and threatened. He was forced to attend brainwashing sessions. The guards did not allow him to take showers, change clothes, or have family visits.

The guards threatened Mr. Wu with electric batons and ordered him to write a repentance statement¹, but he refused. The guards wrote the statement and attempted to force him to fingerprint it. Mr. Wu did not cooperate and was pushed down to the ground. A guard pulled his finger to an outlet to shock him.

Mr. Wu was administered with forced injections and unknown drugs for over ten days, and his health kept deteriorating. The camp authorities later called his family several times and urged them to take Mr. Wu home.

Mr. Wu's family went to the labour camp the next day to take him back. The camp authorities even called them while they were on their way. A guard once told a Falun Gong practitioner, “Do you know who is allowed to be released on medical parole? Other than those who pay a large amount of money, this person must have failure of all his organs, and they know you are going to die. They let you go home so you won't die at the camp. You won't be able to survive even if you go home.”

Mr. Wu returned home on September 5th, 2012 and died on January 18th, 2013, while still in his 50s. A good person was killed, as his friends, family, and villagers wept for him.

Mr. Wu did not talk much about the torture he was subjected to in the labour camp, because he did not want his family to suffer. However, we know how brutal the persecution is from accounts about other practitioners. Mr. Yang Baochun, 44, was injected with drugs that damaged his central nervous system, and suffered a mental collapse. He lost his right leg as a result of being tortured in the Handan Forced Labour Camp. Mr. Hao Wenmin was subjected to numerous torture methods, such as force-feeding, shocking with electric batons, beatings, being hung up, long term standing, and sleep deprivation. He died in 2005. Mr. Zhang Liguo, 42, was injected with toxins, his limbs became stiff, and he had difficulty walking.

Parties involved in the persecution:
Zhang Xiuping, director of the Handan Forced Labour Camp: +86-310-4010518 (Office), +86-310-8125219 (Home), +86-13903103000 (Mobile)
Wei Yongsheng, deputy director of the Handan Forced Labour Camp: +86-310-4010118 (Office), +86-310-8129158 (Home), +86-13603105959 (Mobile)
Gao Fei, guard: +86-310-8052898 (Home), +86-13930068442 (Mobile)

Note

Repentance Statement: In this 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.