Two Hundred Practitioners on Hunger Strike to Protest Severe Torture and Inhumane Treatment at the Masanjia Forced Labour Camp

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More shocking events, on top of earlier reported events, are occurring at Masanjia Forced Labour Camp in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. To "transform" practitioners, the camp is notorious for torturing Falun Gong practitioners, who are good people and live by the principles of "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance." To protest the persecution, almost 200 practitioners went on a hunger strike demanding to be released unconditionally. On January 8, 2005, practitioners had been on hunger strike for 10 days. The police in the camp were fearful of the outcome and strictly blocked this information. They forbid family visits for all practitioners.

The lives of nearly 200 practitioners in Masanjia Forced Labour Camp are in danger. We ask again that justice be served. We hope that all people of conscience worldwide will come forward and do everything in their power to help these practitioners.

The Masanjia Forced Labour Camp uses brutal and inhumane means to brainwash and torture the unlawfully imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners. Over the past several years, since the beginning of the persecution, there were never less than 1,000 female practitioners imprisoned at any one time in the camp. The most practitioners the camp had illegally imprisoned at any one time was about 1,500. The guards have relentlessly tortured and abused practitioners cruelly, and the crimes, which range from physical to mental abuse and torture, are too many to be counted.

1. Cuffed and hung up: This torture is used on practitioners who refused to be "reformed" (1). With both hands cuffed, both feet elevated with only the toes touching the ground, one is hung from the ceiling, on the upper level of a double bed, or on a hot-air pipeline by handcuffs. The hands and arms will soon become paresthetic and numb.

The hot-air pipes burned the hands of some practitioners and left big scars. Both hands will go numb from lack of blood circulation and often will become paralyzed. The guards strip the practitioners and handcuff them to the hot-air pipes, with the feet off the ground. The guards then beat the practitioners, often with wooden boards.

Some guards cuffed the practitioners' hands behind their back and hung them up by a rope. The hands and arms will soon lose feeling. In addition, the hands will atrophy from lack of blood circulation. Even older practitioners were not spared.

For example, Ms. Liu from Huludao City refused to be "reformed" and was cuffed and chained on a column for long periods of time. Her wrists and ankles were bleeding. The guards didn't let her use the toilet, causing her to relieve herself in her pants. To cover up the stench, the guards wrapped her up in a big plastic bag. Then they hit her head with a stick and said, "This is good for you."

A practitioner from Jinzhou, Ms. Huang Shumei, was treated similarly. She was hung up in a small room and was not allowed to go to the toilet. The guards would not even release her from this torture during her period.

2. Prolonged cross-legged sitting, standing and squatting : The practitioners are tied up when sitting cross-legged, which is followed by prolonged standing and squatting. Practitioners sit on the floor with legs crossed. The legs are tied up with ropes and their hands are cuffed to hot-air pipes for 12 hours. Some practitioners vomited blood. After that, these practitioners were forced to stand and then squat for a long time. After that the guards again tied their feet during cross-legged sitting. At times, the guards would stand on their legs to make it more painful.

Many people were tortured to paralysis with this method. Practitioner Ms. Ma Yanhua refused to be "reformed" and was forced to squat for a total of three days. Ms. Ma's legs and feet were so swollen that she could not put on her shoes. Her legs were in extreme pain and she was bedridden. Practitioner, Ms. Guo Minglan was over 50 years old, yet she was physically abused night and day. The guards tied her arms and ordered her to stay within a small area. If she moved, the guards would brutally beat her. For many days, the police would not let her sleep, close her eyes, or go the toilet. After that, the guards had to carry Ms. Guo. She had become disabled and could no longer walk. Her eyes were red and swollen and she went blind due to the torture.

3. Long term sleep deprivation: At times, the camp broadcasts from 4 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next day at very high volume, to disrupt practitioners' sleep. This caused many to suffer a mental collapse. The police then accused practitioners of having a mental illness and tried to avoid responsibility.

Practitioner Ms. Li Fengjun from Jinzhou was locked in a small room and prevented from sleeping for 4 days. Practitioner Ms. Hou Guiwen was forced to squat by the stairway for over 2 days, and was not allowed to sleep, shut her eyes or move.

4. Freezing and heat tortures: The guards used adverse weather conditions to torture practitioners around the clock.

Practitioner Ms. Gao Yaxian from Shenyang was locked in a small room 6 times, from10 days to 3 months. During the summer, the guards closed the door and windows. At times, the temperature reached close to 95ºF. The guards often beat her and at times blindfolded her. The heat almost suffocated her. In winter, when temperatures reached -5 to -15ºF, the guards would not let her wear winter clothes and opened the windows throughout the days and nights. As a result of the tortures and harsh conditions, her lower body became paralyzed.

5. Isolation in a room. There is a so-called "emotion management room" on the 4th floor of the general building in the camp. The walls and door in that room were covered with styro-foam and there was no window or ventilation. The room is very smelly. Being in this room for a long time makes one feel dizzy, nauseous and suffocated.

6. Force-feeding : The police used thick tubes to force-feed practitioners who were on a hunger strike. The police force-fed them with very salty corn porridge or salt water and charged them 30 yuan (2) for the "food!" This is a common occurrence at this camp.

Practitioner Ms. Wang Yan was force-fed 5 days after she began the hunger strike. Several people held her down by her arms and legs and sat on her. They used a spoon to pry open Wang's teeth, which injured the inside of her mouth. They did not succeed in inserting the tube, so they switched to feeding through her nose. The plastic tube punctured her trachea. Wan Yan was sent home, where she died within half a month as a result of this torture.

7. Slave labour: In order to make money, the camp would accept any kind of work. Practitioners were tortured and abused through slave labour. They worked until late or through the night to make plastic flowers used in funeral services in foreign countries. The materials used to make the plastic flowers were toxic and had an irritating smell. A lot of practitioners suffered allergic reactions to the materials. They had difficulty breathing and their skin was itchy and broke out with red spots. This further endangered their health.

8. Brainwashing : Every steadfast practitioner was monitored by at least two people. Practitioners were not allowed to talk and had no freedom. There were at least two people taking turns to brainwash a practitioner. Periodically, there was a "reform class." The practitioners' were bombarded with blatant lies that slandered Falun Gong. If the practitioners refused to be "reformed," they would be stripped and searched, forced to squat, cuffed in a torturous position, forced to sit on an "Iron Chair", not allowed to use the toilet for 16 hours a day and were beaten and scolded. Many practitioners were mentally traumatized because by the inhumane brainwashing and brutal tortures. They were injured, disabled and suffered a mental collapse. Many died soon after they were sent home.

Above are only a few of the crimes committed at Masanjia Forced Labour Camp. We call on all just and kind people worldwide to help stop the atrocities and stand up for these innocent people. Your phone calls or letters will help decrease the inhuman tortures suffered by the practitioners imprisoned in this camp. Please help rescue these people from this living hell!


Phone numbers of responsible people:

Masanjia Forced Labour Camp general line: 86-24-89210074;
Director of the camp: Su Jing; Political committee member: Wang Naimin
The First Brigade: 86-24-89210406
Captain of the First Brigade: Wang Xiaofeng


(1) "Reformed" refers to a practitioner having publicly renounced Falun Dafa.

(2) "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.


Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/1/27/94353.html

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