Guangxi Forced Labour Camp Accounts for Over 1,000 Cases of Illegal Detention

In the Guangxi region, the police have detained a large number of practitioners. They are incarcerated mainly in the No. 1 Men's Forced Labour Camp and the Women's Forced Labour Camp in Nanning City. Based on my three-year experience in the men's forced labour camp, I estimate that about one thousand Falun Dafa practitioners were detained there. During this time, I saw and experienced how Dafa practitioners opposed the illegal detention by various means. They were effective by holding strikes, and as a group, restraining the prison police by means of their words and actions. They also held hunger strikes, wrote appeal letters, and used many other methods to protest the illegal detention.

There have been over 1,000 cases of detention of male Dafa practitioners in the forced labour camp over the past three years

On July 1, 2001, most Dafa practitioners detained in the men's and women's forced labour camps were required to assemble in the large hall at the men's forced labour camp. While there, they were required to watch a "performance" slandering Dafa. There were approximately 180 male Dafa practitioners from the men's camp and over 500 women from the women's forced labour camp. During the period between the beginning of 2002 and March 2003, the number of Dafa practitioners detained there increased greatly. My estimation was that there were about 1,000 Dafa practitioners detained in the men's forced labour camp during the three-year period. A substantial number of them were abducted after their first release and returned to the forced labour camp. At that time, Dafa practitioners were mainly detained in Section One and Section Six in the men's labour camp. However, after 2003, Section Ten and Section Eight were added to hold practitioners who were "transformed" and gave up their belief in Dafa. The steadfast practitioners were scattered throughout the rest of the sections of the camp.

The forced labour camp persecuted resolute Dafa practitioners by instituting slave labour

Practitioners Su Guangye, Jiang Ning, Lu Zhonglei, and Zhong Longji, detained in Section Six, were steadfast during their entire detention. The policemen used the other prisoners in the forced labour camp to strictly monitor them individually and slandered and ridiculed them many times in public. They also assigned heavy workloads to these practitioners. In March 2001, having exhausted their normal "transformation" methods, the guards still failed to force them to give up their beliefs. The practitioners were then forced to work beyond 2:00 a.m. for several nights in a row, with the excuse that they did not finish their daily quotas. However, this still did not shake these practitioners' righteous thoughts.

Later on, some of those who once compromised with the evildoers became aware of their mistakes and returned to Dafa. Others still hesitated to take that step due to fear. In June 2001, a flu epidemic spread throughout the whole section. Many detainees had a fever and became very ill. Many of those who had compromised with the evil also developed similar symptoms. Meanwhile, none of the steadfast practitioners and those who resumed practicing Falun Gong (more than ten people in the section at that time) developed such symptoms. This left a strong impression with many people in the section.

In July and August 2001, Jin Hualiang, head of Section Six, often forced Dafa practitioners to work continuously for several days from 7:30 a.m. to as late as 3:30 a.m. the next day. The excuse he used was that it was the peak season for colored lanterns, so they needed to work hard to meet the delivery deadline. He only allowed the detainees very short toilet and meal breaks, without compensatory leave the next day as required by law. The workload was very heavy. Those practitioners who could not finish their work quotas on that day would be punished by having another day added to their detention terms. If any Dafa practitioner refused to work the additional hours, his detention term would be extended two more days. At that time, more than ten of us who resumed our cultivation experienced this abuse. None of us gave in, including one elderly Dafa practitioner. We were concerned about whether he could make it through such a hardship, but he persevered.

Not long after that, we came to know that the "Implementation Procedures of Forced Labour Reform" issued by the State Council on January 21, 1982, stipulates that detainees should work for six hours a day and that it is illegal to force detainees to work additional hours. From that time on, we resolutely opposed being forced to work extra hours.

Dafa practitioners oppose slave labour and request unconditional release

In December 2001, news from the outside indicated that Dafa was spreading broadly overseas and that its growth into other countries was accepted as completely legal. Dafa practitioners detained in Section One were the first to hold strikes requesting unconditional release. The eight practitioners detained in Section Six also started a strike, protesting the guards' arbitrary punishment of practitioner Liu Jinliang. Practitioner Wei Juzhen wrote an article to call on both the section and the forced labor camp to release all detained practitioners immediately and unconditionally. The prison guards were enraged and nervous, singling out practitioners who were on strike one by one. But this did not work. In the end, they gave up their abuse of Liu Jinliang.

At the beginning of July 2002, the authorities illegally extended the detention term of practitioner Wei Wei from Hubei Province for three months, with the excuse that he did not finish his work and refused to give up practicing Dafa. After this incident, the detention terms of many practitioners were extended by seven to eight months. The detention terms of Su Guangye, Zhong Longji, and others were prolonged by a year. The prison police in the section had documentation that Wei Wei's official release date should occur at the end of June. However, they refused to release him, saying that no one from either the local police station or his work unit came to pick him up. Practitioner Zhong Longji, Lu Yonghe and about eight others immediately held a strike to protest this action. Soon after, these practitioners jointly wrote a letter to the head office of the forced labor camp strongly requesting the immediate release of Wei Wei. During the strike, practitioners Wei Juzhen, Wang Qifeng, Lu Yonghe and Wu Guibin wrote letters of accusation based on what they knew. They exposed, from various aspects, the persecution suffered by practitioners detained in Section Six of the forced labour camp. This made the policemen all the angrier. They took these practitioners individually to the office many times to intimidate them. We could even hear, from far away, the policemen's loud voices reproving them in the office. After the policemen read a letter written by Wang Qifeng, they became extremely angry. All letters sent out by practitioners and other detainees are reviewed by the guards. During that period, when Wang Qifeng went to the office to receive his living expenses sent by his family, the Section Head, Jin Hualiang, refused to give it to him.

Exposing the persecution at a so-called symposium

Wei Wei was released ten days after the due date, when three people from his work unit finally came to pick him up. Practitioners, however, were still on strike and demanded that the labour camp authorities provide an explanation for the illegal treatment and persecution against the practitioners at the labour camp. Chen, the head of the labour camp, reluctantly went to Division Six and held a "symposium meeting," during which he talked to over a dozen practitioners on strike. He used all kinds of excuses to defend the labour camp's persecution of the practitioners. The practitioners refuted these excuses. Aside from the fact that it is illegal and unconstitutional to send practitioners to a labor camp because of their belief, the slave labor, mistreatment and willful extension of their terms are also unlawful. Practitioners exposed the persecution, bringing up the following points:

1. Practitioners are required to be released when their terms expire, and they requested to be picked up by people from their work units or from the local police station. Some practitioners were sent directly to custody centres or brainwashing classes right after they left the labour camp, which is further deprivation of their personal freedom. Such violation of practitioners' human rights stands on no legal ground.
2. The guards extended the term of determined practitioners, claming they "refused to reform," without any due legal procedures, and they never gave any written notice to the practitioners concerned, nor did they give the practitioners any legitimate reasons for the extension, such as which law or rules they broke. Laws governing forced labour are not being followed here at the labour camp.

3. Article 33 of the Regulations for Re-education-Through-Labour published by the Judicial Department on August 9, 1993 clearly states the basic re-education-through-labor consists of in-class education and requires credit hours of study, with a total number of 230 hours per year, including 60 hours of legal education. On January 21, 1982, the State Council published the Trial Methods for Implementation of Re-education-Through-Labour, of which Article 23 and Article 32 state that people in a re-education-through-labour program should have six hours of work time and three hours of study time per day.

The reality in the labour camp is completely different. Detainees are forced to work from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. or midnight, and the labor camp doesn't allot time for legal and other studies. The authorities occasionally even force the practitioners to work until 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 a.m. to meet a deadline, and no extra break time is allowed the next day. Obviously, the labor assignments far exceed what the law permits. It's difficult for the majority of the detainees to finish these heavy assignments. Many of them had their sentences extended because they failed to meet the quota or deadline. The extension of their term is also illegal. (One year later, the length of work time was shortened but the detainees still had to work at least until 10:00 p.m.)

The Methods for Work Points and Assessment System for Labour Camp Detainees clearly states, "People who receive re-education-through-labour are entitled to two-day weekends," which is not followed here. Despite this law, labour camp detainees are forced to work for long periods of time while having little time to rest.

4. The punishment for practitioners is unreasonable and vicious. Every time practitioners talk to each other, their term would be extended by two days, or five days if they were found to be doing the Dafa exercises or passing written words. The guards said they were following orders from "higher up" but when we asked to be shown these orders, the guards refused with various excuses.

The guards isolate and monitor determined practitioners and do not allow them to talk or get in contact with each other. For a while, the practitioners were not even allowed to say hello to each other.

5. When practitioners' family members come to visit them, the guards use various excuses to prevent them from seeing their family members. Wu Yongcheng, a deputy division head, said to the practitioners, "No reform, no visits [with family]." The law states that detainees are guaranteed certain legal rights, and it is reprehensible to force practitioners to "reform" through deprivation of family visits. Later the guards loosened the rules and allowed visits, but they would sit next to the family members and observe them. If the practitioners mentioned anything about the labor camp or Dafa, the guards would stop them.

6. The guards also confiscated practitioners' books, magazines and newspapers. Liu Jinliang and some other practitioners also had their pens taken away from them, which is a violation of Item 4 of Ten Prohibitions for Labor Camp Guards. Practitioners were simply reading books and magazines officially published by the government. All officially published books are open for reading by all labor camp detainees, why not for Falun Gong practitioners? Guard Wu Yongcheng said, "If you don't reform, you can't read anything other than brainwashing materials." They forced practitioners to read Dafa-slandering materials, and those who refused would have their jail terms extended by one or two days. This is a deprivation of freedom of thought and brainwashing. After we protested, some books were returned.

7. According to our knowledge, there was a practitioner from Baise called Huang Deli in Division Six. He suffered from stomach cancer five years ago before he started practicing Falun Gong. Because of the terrible conditions and the huge pressure at the labor camp, he suffered a severe relapse and could not eat for over ten days. His family brought his previous diagnosis and showed it to the authorities, asking for medical parole, but Wu Yongcheng said, "He must reform before he can be granted medical parole." Several practitioners solemnly pointed out that Huang Deli's condition required immediate medical attention. While Wu Yongcheng tried to deny his previous words, Division Head Jin Hualiang became furious and roared at the practitioners. The practitioners remained calm and undaunted. Later, Huang Deli gave up Dafa practice against his will in order to obtain medical parole. His whereabouts and current condition are unknown. We sincerely hope he can overcome such a tremendous tribulation.

8. All determined practitioners are designated as "Level C," the lowest rank among labor camp detainees, who are given the worst food and only 10 yuan for living expenses per week. (The money was sent to the practitioners by their families.) The deputy division head who is in charge of the ranking said in public, "Regardless of whether one can finish his assigned work or not, all Falun Gong practitioners who refuse to reform will be designated as Level C."

The head of the labor camp used bureaucratic tactics to avoid practitioners' questions regarding the persecution. In the end he said, "Don't talk about the law. We are following our superior's orders. It's purely political and doesn't have anything to do with the law."

Collective resistance to the persecution frightened the police officers

A few days later, it was July 22, 2002, the third anniversary of the persecution of Falun Dafa. Some practitioners discussed the issue together and wrote an appeal letter to the National People's Congress. In the letter, they protested the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The letter was circulated secretly among practitioners to collect signatures. More than ten practitioners who had given up under pressure declared openly that they would go back to Dafa practice. Some of them also signed the letter. About twenty practitioners signed the appeal letter. Back then, many practitioners were isolated under strict control, and they did not see the letter. Since the camp searched for and tightly controlled letters, it was not known if the letter would reach the National People's Congress.

Several days later, those practitioners who declared that they would go back to practicing Dafa went on a strike. One morning they sat cross-legged in groups on beds in the cell to send forth righteous thoughts. Monitors and the on-duty detainees tried in vain to stop them. Hearing the news, several police officers came and forced three practitioners into an office and threatened to punish them. The three practitioners were not cowed. One police officer tried to coerce them to squat down, but they refused. (The camp has a "rule" that when talking with police officers, detainees are required to squat down in front of the police officers.) Police officer Li, who is notorious for beating detainees, rushed angrily toward a practitioner and dragged his arms to force him to squat down. Another practitioner shouted: "No beating people!" Hearing the voice, other practitioners who were working in different isolated rooms joined in and shouted: "No beating people!" Some practitioners who had yielded under pressure also joined in. Some practitioners who did not go to the office also shouted towards the direction of the office: "No beating people!" One shout followed another.

The police officers were scared, and three of them came out to guard the office door. Police leader Jin Hualiang also came. With fear on his face, he explained to the practitioners, "We did not beat them, we really did not beat them." Police officer Li roughly pushed anyone in front of the office, but Jin Hualiang stopped him from beating people. Police officers from other brigades also came to the office. They persuaded the practitioners to go their rooms after promising that no beating would occur.

Thinking back on that event, we were concerned for the safety of the three practitioners, but we didn't intend to break into the office. But, it looked like the police were very frightened by that prospect.

In 2002, around the period of July 20, to support the righteous actions of practitioners who resisted the brainwashing, more practitioners joined the strike. This was the longest strike yet, with the largest number of practitioners I had seen. Police officers monitored and isolated the practitioners who joined the strike more strictly. They were confined to their rooms without any freedom, and bath and toilet times were staggered. Those practitioners who were considered "leaders" by the police were transferred to other brigades. Police officers brought those who continued with the strike to the office to threaten them. Some of those practitioners' terms were extended. Police also reduced the quality of practitioners' meals, but the practitioners did not give up. Then the police officers did not allow practitioners on strike to accept money mailed to them from their families, so the practitioners helped each other to overcome this difficulty. Later, I was moved out of the 6th Brigade and so I do not know how long the strike lasted.

According to my later investigations, I learned from various sources that the practitioners on strike were all punished with extended terms of various lengths, mostly 7 to 8 months. Several practitioners' terms were extended for almost a year, including Mr. Su Guangye and Mr. Zhong Longji. During the Chinese Communist Party's 16th National Congress, the number of practitioners sent to the forced labor camp increased quickly. Practitioner Mr. Wei Juzhen was released after an extended term, but he was immediately picked up by a police station in Nanning City. They did not allow him to go home, and instead sent him back to the forced labor camp a few days later.

Another practitioner, Mr. Zeng Fei (50 years old), who signed the appeal letter to the National People's Congress, was released during that time. Right after he had spent the Chinese New Year with his family, Mr. Zeng and his wife were arrested again and sent to forced labor camp, leaving their two daughters, who are school students, and their elderly mother alone.

Going on hunger strike to protest the illegal detention

Since September 2002, under severe persecution, many practitioners started to protest by going on hunger strikes. They used this painful method to peacefully protest the persecution of Dafa and practitioners. For those practitioners who went on long-term hunger strikes, they were sent to the infirmary for force-feeding or IV injection on the eighth day. In those three short months, you could often hear those detainees in the labor camp who had visited the infirmary say that they saw yet another Falun Gong practitioner being force-fed. Almost every day during that period, you could see four to five strong detainees of the labor camp grabbing the arms and legs of a practitioner; no matter how the practitioner struggled, they forced him into the infirmary. One or two police officers gave orders, and sometimes there was a police officer holding a camera, taping the whole process. I found out that if a practitioner did not cooperate, four to five detainees would hold him by the arms, legs and head and then force a plastic tube through his nostril into the stomach and then perform force-feeding. In order to avoid the brutal force-feeding, some practitioners struggled furiously and the police officers would order the detainees to beat them. They beat them until they were on the verge of collapse. Then they dragged them inside to carry out the force-feeding.

During that time, there were many practitioners on hunger strike. Despite the information blockade, I found out that the following practitioners participated in the hunger strike: Gao Xiaogui, Xu Chunsheng, Huang Xiong, Ling Feng, Liu Jinliang, Wei Juzhen, Lu Yonghe and Feng Tingsheng. Among them, Huang Xiong went on hunger strike for the longest time, about 60 days. (I learned that his hometown was in Beiliu County, Guangxi Province. He was the platoon leader of a radar division in Guangdong Province. He had been sent to a labor camp once before due to practicing Dafa. After that labor camp term was expired, he got married. His wife was also a practitioner. When their child was only a few months old, both of them were sent to labor camps illegally.) Practitioner Ling Feng from Baise stayed on the hunger strike for 34 days.

There is much more information to report. The accounts above are what I saw and experienced. There is much more that I did not completely describe or did not see; hopefully other practitioners can augment what I have reported.

During the severe persecution against Dafa and practitioners, there were some prison guards, police officers and officials who had righteous minds. Not only did they not take part in persecuting Dafa and practitioners, they also sympathized with and secretly helped practitioners. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to these righteous people.

Finally, I'd like to recall Master Li's words from Hongyin (Collection of poems from Master Li.):

Falun Dafa

The path for cultivating gong lies in one's heart
The boat to sail the boundless Dafa rides on hardships

Contact information

Guangxi Province Male First Labor Camp, Sixth Team (86-771-5612533)

Address: 8 Xin'an Road, Nanning City, Guangxi Province, Zip Code: 530023

Responsible people in persecuting practitioners in the Sixth Team:

Jin Hualiang (team leader), Wu Yongcheng (Assistant team leader), Yang Daiming (police officer), Le (police officer), Wei (police officer)

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/7/6/78794.html