Falun Gong Practitioner Zhang Kemei Relentlessly Tortured at Wanjia Women's Forced Labour Camp in Harbin

Name: Zhang Kemei
Gender: Female
Age: 51
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Unknown

Date of Most Recent Arrest: Mid-May, 2002
Most Recent Place of Detention: Wanjia Women's Forced Labour Camp
City: Harbin City
Province: Heilongjiang Province
Persecution Suffered: Detention, interrogation, extortion, torture, electric shock, physical constraint, denial of toilet use, forced labour

Falun Gong practitioner Zhang Kemei from Yilan County, Heilongjiang Province was persecuted repeatedly because she persisted in practising Falun Gong and talking to people about the truth behind the persecution of Falun Gong. On August 8th, 2002, she was detained at the Wanjia Women's Forced Labour Camp in Harbin City. Ms. Zhang was frequently hung with her hands cuffed behind her back, shocked with electric batons, or shackled to a torture chair. The following relates only part of the persecution experienced by Zhang Kemei.

Ms. Zhang had many diseases prior to practising Falun Gong in mid-May 1999, including diabetes, kidney and stomach diseases, and wore glasses for her poor vision. All these diseases disappeared after she started practising Falun Gong - she didn't even need the glasses. She became a much kinder, happier person and her family was harmonious.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the brutal persecution of Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, only two months after Zhang Kemei started practising. On July 22nd, 1999, Ms. Zhang and local practitioners went to the provincial government to appeal for the right to practise Falun Gong, but were arrested by armed police officers and taken to Harbin Stadium, where they were exposed to the hot sun for a day. Later, they were transferred to the local police department where they were monitored for three days, then were each charged with a 50 yuan¹ transportation fee. The video recording of the monitored practitioners was broadcast on local TV news as part of the CCP's vicious propaganda campaign, causing great anguish to the practitioners and their families.

In mid-July 2000, Ms. Zhang went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practise Falun Gong, and opened a banner in front of the Great Hall at Tiananmen Square. She was arrested by Qianmen Police Station officers in Beijing, then detained behind an iron fence. Later, she was picked up by local political security division head Han Yunjie, and held at the second detention centre of Yilan County for over forty days.

On January 23rd, 2001, Ms. Zhang went to her brother's home (her brother was persecuted to death), then, she and her sister-in-law's colleague were arrested by Yilan County Police Bureau officers because the colleague was being followed by local national security police. They were interrogated until midnight, then released.

In mid-May 2002, Ms. Zhang was arrested at the gate of a resident area by Hu Fanhui of the Dongcheng police station. Her bag containing 200 yuan was robbed. Ms. Zhang was taken to the second detention centre of Yilan County, then to a forced labour camp, although she was rejected once. On August 8th, 2002, she was taken to the Wanjia Women's Forced Labour Camp to serve two years of forced labour.

After her arrival at the Wanjia Women's Forced Labour Camp, a prison guard took her to the training team on the third floor. For thirteen days, Zhang Kemei was forced to squat from 5 a.m. until midnight. As a result, she couldn't move her legs, and her right foot was numb for six months. Those participating in the persecution include: Zhao Yuqing, division head; Wu Hongxun, Yao Fuchang, instructor, Wu Baoyun, guard and others.

On August 21st, 2002, Ms. Zhang was summoned by Zhao Yuqing, then hung with her hands cuffed behind her back by Yao Fuchang and prisoner Bai Xuelian. She was in such pain, that sweat was pouring off of her, yet even under these conditions, guards still shocked her sensitive areas with electric batons. Ms. Zhang refused to give up her beliefs, so the guards switched to a larger electric baton and shocked her head with it, burning her hair. She kept explaining the facts about Falun Gong to Yao Fuchang, but Yao had Bai Xuelian seal her mouth with plastic tape. Yao Fuchang later told Bai Xuelian to tear the tape from her head. As a result, a large amount of hair was torn off of her head. Then, Yao Fuchang shocked Ms. Zhang's face, discharging electricity into the air, which made a sizzling noise and blue light. Ms. Zhang's neck was covered with blisters from the shock treatment.

When they left for the day, they locked Ms. Zhang to an iron chair with her hands cuffed to the back of the chair. She was forbidden to use the toilet, and was forced to defecate on the chair. Her trousers and shoes became wet. When Yao Fuchang came the next day, Ms. Zhang was hung with her hands cuffed behind her back, and tortured three times with airplane-style hanging. As a result, her hands became so swollen that the handcuffs couldn't be removed, and the blood vessels to her hands were blocked. After the torture, she could not move her shoulders or hands normally, as they were completely numb. After being tortured with the airplane-style hanging, she was carried to the toilet, sprayed with cold water, then taken back to the cell.

Since Zhang Kemei was hung frequently with her hands cuffed behind her back, shocked with electric batons or shackled to the torture chair, she developed heart disease. However, Zhao Yuqing persisted on sending Ms. Zhang to the Women's Prison in Heilongjiang Province.

Over forty days later, Zhang Kemei was taken to the seventh team. Since she was forced to sit on a small bench for an extended period, the skin on her thighs festered and her underwear stuck to her body, so she was in extreme pain while using the toilet. Ms. Zhang had a lot of swelling on her body, and had difficulty getting up by herself. Since she had so many bruises on her hands, there was often dead flesh on her clothes after she cleaned them with her hands. She was so weak that the guards didn't dare to torture her again, but they still forced her to do the labour until she was released in mid-December 2003.

Note

1. "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://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/7/9/226695.html