Firsthand Experience of the Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners Held in Jinzhou City Labour Camp

By A Practitioner in China

I am a Falun Gong practitioner who was released not long ago from the Jinzhou City Labour Camp in Liaoning Province. In late February 2000, I signed my name on a letter to the Parliament representatives and on February 29, I was illegally arrested by people from the Lingan Police Station in my residential area. On the second day after my arrest I was sentenced to 30 days of detention. Later I was transferred to a "learning class" [in fact, a brainwashing class]. After that, I was detained for another 50 days in Jinzhou City's No. 2 Detention Centre. In the end, I was sentenced to 1 year of detention in Jinzhou City's Labour Camp. On the second day after I was transferred to the labour camp, together with other prisoners, I was forced to start doing heavy physical labour. After the one-year term was over, I should have been released. However, the labour camp personnel did not release me for another half year beyond my detention time.

I will not go into detail about my painful experiences in the police station and the detention centre. On May 17, 2000, I was sent to Jinzhou City's labour camp. On May 18, I was assigned to No. 2 sub-team of No. 5 Unit. The guards there assigned two of the most vicious prisoners to take sole responsibility in closely watching me. I was often beaten and cursed and was under surveillance day and night. The labour was very heavy and the longest stretch I had worked was 24 hours without stopping. There were a total of 5 Falun Gong practitioners in No. 2 sub-team. Two of the practitioners gave in to the labour camp's demands and stopped practising Falun Dafa. Li Kai was one of two practitioners who did not surrender. The sub-team chief, Gao Yang, a vicious guard, burned Li's fingers with cigarettes. As result, Li's 5 fingernails were discoloured from the burns and his fingers were swollen for several months. Even though he was not allowed to miss one day of work. Another practitioner was Xiang Ying, who was also badly tortured many times by the thug Gao Yang. During one of the torture sessions, after Gao and a lead prisoner, Hu Yufu beat me, I witnessed that Gao tortured Xiang Ying with a specially made leather whip, as thick as a thumb. They did not stop beating him until Xiang Ying could not endure anymore. These two practitioners are still in detention although Xiang's term had expired over half a year ago.

On October 5, 2000, 48 practitioners in Jinzhou City's Labour Camp asked the labour camp authorities to stop the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. On October 6, several of us were put into solitary cells for strict discipline. At that time, most of the 48 practitioners went on a hunger strike and refused to eat and drink to protest the persecution. After 3 practitioners in my cell went on a hunger strike for 3 days, that is, after I went on hunger strike for 2 days, several major labour camp leaders came to instruct the guards, the labour camp doctors ( who wore police uniforms) and the prisoners to tie each of us to a special big metal chair and force-feed us. We did not want to open our mouths to allow them to insert the feeding tubes, so they used pliers to open our mouths. The labour camp medical department chief Shi used a pair of pliers to open my mouth to the maximum, which in the end loosened my teeth and caused severe bleeding. They repetitively inserted very thick tubes into our throats, which were used in hospitals for cleaning and pumping out the stomach. They moved the tubes back and forth for a long time in order to cause us the maximum amount of pain. The noises from the practitioners who were vomiting and painfully sobbing were really awful. Every time when the tube was inserted it made the practitioner shed a lot of tears in agony and the liquid food was splashed all over the face. This suffering far exceeded the pain from the beatings. Half an hour after the force-feeding we started to vomit and have diarrhoea. Over a period of several hours we had diarrhoea several dozens of times. Three practitioners had to stop the hunger strike. Only Shi Baodong continued the hunger strike. Three days later, he was secretly transferred from the labour camp to a different location.

Later, those practitioners and I who had recently gone on a hunger strike were sent to solitary confinement cells for the maximum discipline. These practitioners suffered even more. Their hands were put behind their backs and cuffed to small chairs. They had to sit this way continuously for 18 hours every day, with the longest being 44 hours, without allowing the practitioners to go to sleep. Every day each of them was force-fed half a liang [1 liang is about 50 gram, less than 1 ounce] of an extremely salty corn soup. The force-feeding went on for several days and then off for several days. Anyone who was in a dangerous condition due to the hunger strike would receive some type of injection for resuscitation. After that, the force-feeding was resumed. The labour camp loudspeaker system also repetitively played the audiotapes that slandered Li Hongzhi [Founder of Falun Dafa] and Falun Dafa at an extremely loud volume. Several practitioners went on a hunger strike for about 1 month, I did it for over a dozen days, the guards thought that we were near death. So the labour camp urgently asked the medical department chief of Masanjia Labour Camp [a labour camp in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, notorious for its cruelty in treating Falun Gong practitioners] to come to give us an examination. After the examination they said that we are all right, and that someone in Masanjia Labour Camp did not die who had been on it for 84 days. My throat was swollen and it was difficult to insert the feeding tube into my throat. However, they did not care and inserted it anyway.

I could say a lot more. These were just some of my own experiences. Those determined practitioners are still not released, even though their terms were over. They are forced to sit on small chairs and are not allowed to see any outside visitors or visiting family members. They are not allowed to go outside and have not seen the sunlight for almost 1 year. Many of them are in very poor health.

My health and spirit were ruined this way. My mind is hazy and my body is numb. When the symptoms are bad, I cannot move at all. When the symptoms are mild, I cannot walk steadily and easily stumble. Every day my mind is cloudy and unclear. I cannot recognize most of my relatives and friends or remember their names. I even cannot remember my home phone number. Of course some practitioners have suffered even more than I. For example, practitioners Xiao Peng and Dou Guojun were sent to a mental hospital. Xu Xingmin lost consciousness. Zhang Shuyuan and some others could not walk without help for several months. Those who were tortured include Yan Li, Zhu Feng, Shi Zhongyan, Wang Wenqing, Wang Yuqing, Li Baoqing, Ma Cao, Tian Shu, Liu Changping, Li Kai, Liu Yongsheng, Liu Pin, Xiang Ying, etc.

Due to the extreme torture and pressure I surrendered to the evil persecutors later in February 2001 and wrote the "Three Letters" [indicating giving up cultivation of Falun Dafa] as well as many reports about my thoughts and other letters of betraying Teacher Li Hongzhi and Falun Dafa.

Over the past half a year my health and spirit have not recovered. The condition of my mind is especially bad. I noted down the experience when my mind was sometimes clear. I want to tell the truth to my loved ones, friends, and all kind-hearted people, and all those who can differentiate good from the bad. I want to let them know who is evil and vicious, who is righteous and compassionate.

My loved ones: quickly wake up and get to know what Falun Dafa really is! Do not just listen to one-sided propaganda. Also listen to or read the opinions of Falun Dafa from all other places around the world. You should certainly think it over with a calm mind why hundreds of thousands of people are willing to give up everything and endure unprecedented suffering in order to protect Dafa. What did those who were killed by torture die for?

August 23, 2001

Source: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/9/30/14273.html