The Brutal Inside Story of a Jilin Province Women's Forced Labour Camp

The Fourth Division of Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp in Jilin Province was specially commended by the labour camp authorities as the “Most Advanced Division” because it came in first in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. It was also first in production levels from forced labour and in the intensity and length of time forced labour is carried out.

Falun Gong practitioners detained in this division have to get up and start working at 5:30 a.m., and must work until 6:45 p.m. There are no breaks in between. The little bit of time allowed to have meals and use the toilet is considered rest time. The detained must make items with toxic plastic. The guards strictly forbid them from telling anyone that the plastic used there is poisonous.

The supervisor summoned Song Baoqin to the warehouse on January 4th, 2013, and demanded that she tell them who reported that the plastic was toxic. When Song Baoqin refused to answer, she was viciously beaten. Her face became swollen and her left eye was badly bruised from the beatings. Prisoners are routinely mistreated in the Fourth Division, however the mistreatment of ordinary inmates is no comparison to the severe torture inflicted on Falun Gong practitioners.

Ms. Liu Ju, a practitioner from Changchun who is in her fifties, was sent to the labour camp for one year on May 8th, 2012. She was often mistreated by guards because she refused to write statements slandering Falun Gong or give up her belief. She was beaten, made to stand for long hours, and deprived of sleep. Ms. Liu was once forced to stand in an empty room for a month, and made to sit on a small plastic stool for a month. It is very painful to sit on this kind of stool for any length of time, yet in order to make it even more painful, she was only allowed to sit on one-third of it. Liu Jun sat on the stool from 5:30 a.m. until midnight daily, and only then was she allowed to sleep.

Ms. Liu Jun was also subjected to the “stretching torture” for more than thirty hours. In this torture, one's four limbs are tied to a bed and one's body is suspended in the air. The entire body's weight is thus put on the limbs and joints, causing excruciating pain.

When the guards tortured Ms. Liu by stretching, she had a heart attack. Her body was having spasms, yet the prisoners, including Jin Yingshu, claimed that she was fine and tried to force her to write statements promising to stop practising Falun Gong.

They again began to torment Liu Jun again later, when she refused to watch programmes that slandered Falun Gong. During the day, she was hung up on a high railing. After midnight, she was handcuffed to the bed. This severe abuse went on for more than 40 hours.

Guards in the Fourth Division often used the “stretching torture” to persecute practitioners who remained steadfast in their faith. Convict Zhang Xiaohui spoke in private to the guards in late August 2012, recommending that they recruit other prisoners to torment practitioners. This idea was approved by head guard Li Hong. On September 2nd, a prisoner named Jin Yingshu arrived at the prison, and another, Wu Huimin, arrived on September 4th. Along with guard Zhu Dan, Jin Lihua, and Zhang Xiaohui, they began to carry out the “stretching torture” on practitioners. Ms. Liu Jun was tortured like this for over 30 hours while Ms. Fei Guiling was tortured for 24 hours.

Changchun practitioner Ms. Wang Lanying, 56, was subjected to the “stretching torture” twice, for 50 hours each time. As a result of this torture, her legs were in severe pain for a long time.

Ms. Piao Taishu, 39, Ms. Ming Yanpo, 64, Ms. Zhang Jianying, 52, Ms. Xu Hui, 54, and Ms. Lei Xiuxiang, 56, were tortured with the “stretching torture” method as well. Under intense pressure, against their will, they wrote statements renouncing their faith. The guards knew that these statements were extorted under torture and were not the true intentions of the practitioners. Therefore, after using the “stretching torture,” convicts were ordered to monitor these practitioners closely. During their detention, Ms. Ming Yanpo, Ms. Lei Xiuxiang, and Ms. Zhang Jianying became severely ill as a result of the torture. Their family members applied for medical parole.

Lei Xiuxiang had been sentenced to one year and nine months of forced labour. Her sentence was extended for another month and she was not released until January 7th, 2013.

Ms. Zhang Jianying, from Jilin, was sentenced to one year of forced labour in mid May 2012. While detained in the labour camp, she developed severe diabetes, and her blood pressure reached 180. Despite her high blood pressure, the guards continued torturing her. She was made to stand and sit for long hours, and subjected to long-term sleep deprivation. The guards tortured Ms. Zhang this way for over five months.

Ms. Ming Yanpo , also from Jilin, was sentenced to one year of forced labour in late May 2012. Despite her age (64), the guards continued to force her to stand, and wouldn't allow her to sleep. They often beat and kicked her. This abuse went on for over two months.

Ms. Piao Taishu from Changchun was sent to the labour camp on July 20th, 2012. The guards abused and beat her viciously because she refused to report her name [Note: due to the Chinese regime's implication policy, Falun Gong practitioners often refuse to give their names in order to protect their family members and work colleagues].

One Saturday when most of the guards were off duty, guard Zhu Dan specifically came to work to abuse Ms. Piao. He shocked her viciously with an electric baton. The following Monday, several guards brought Ms. Piao to the office. Guards Jin Lihua, Zhu Dan, and Zhang Xiaohui each took an electric baton and shocked her simultaneously. When they were done, there wasn't a piece of uninjured flesh on her body. She was forced to stand every day from 5:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. She wasn't even allowed to sit while taking her meals.

Ms. Piao was summoned to the changing room on August 2nd. Her hands were shackled to the highest railing of a two-level bunk bed. She was then shocked with electric batons to force her to reveal her name. Everyone in the factory could hear her screams. She was then made to stand until September 3rd.