Firsthand Experience of the Persecution at Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp

My name is Cui Peiying. I have been illegally arrested several times for practising Falun Dafa, for following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, for being a good person, for clarifying the truth of Falun Gong to others, and for appealing on behalf of Falun Gong in Beijing. On June 11th, 2003, I was unlawfully sent to Daxing's Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp. Because of severe damage to my health from the persecution, the authorities eventually had to transfer me to a hospital. On October 24th of last year, the police sent me back to the camp's No. 5 Brigade in an attempt to prevent me from disclosing the facts of the persecution to the outside world.

When I first arrived at the labour camp, the guards used all manner of deceitful methods to try to force me to give up the practise of Falun Dafa. Failing to accomplish their goal, they then dropped any pretext of kindness and became openly aggressive. Brigade leaders Chen Xiuhua and Zhao Guoxin subjected me to forced brainwashing many times. They also tormented me physically and mentally for more than two months, denying me use of the toilet, depriving me of sleep and forcing me to stand from 5 a.m. to midnight or 2 am. When they saw that it was impossible for me to stand up any longer, they would draw a small circle on the ground and force me to sit inside it, without moving.

The camp guards ordered the collaborators, practitioners who had enlightened along an evil path and renounced Falun Dafa, to take turns bombarding me with their brainwashing attempts. They let the collaborators and the inmates convicted of prostitution call me names and harass me. I was forced to watch videos defaming Dafa and forced to read anti-Falun Gong books. For more than six months I was not allowed to brush my teeth or wash my face, nor bathe or change my clothes. In the cold of winter I was still wearing lightweight clothes. The guards tried all kinds of insidious ways to make me submit and renounce Falun Dafa, but their efforts were in vain.

Teacher took care of me at the forced labour camp. The power of Dafa made it possible for me to pass through the ordeals. When the collaborators surrounded and attacked me, I recalled Teacher's Fa (1) to repel their messages. When they displayed the video slandering Dafa, I just closed my eyes and recited Zhuan Falun (2) and Teacher's articles or the verses for the five sets of exercises. I was always deeply aware that Dafa is more valuable than my own life. I firmly kept in mind Teacher's words, "The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts." ("Drive Out Interference")

Among the detained practitioners at the forced labour camp was Ms Zhang Lianshuang, about 36 years old. She was originally tall and strong. Brigade leaders Chen Xiuhua and Wang Qingsheng used forced brainwashing to destroy her mind. Zhang could not bear it after seven days and nights of standing up without sleep, without brushing her teeth or washing her face. Even after writing and signing the so-called "Transformation Statement," she was still persecuted. Zhang knew that she had done wrong in compromising with the evil and was grief-stricken. The camp guards kept forcing her to criticise herself in writing every day. The relentless persecution caused Zhang to suffer a severe mental collapse. She could not eat or sleep well, yet the guards still forced her to stand up for long periods of time.

In early May of 2004, the guard Wang Qingsheng was angry that Zhang Lianshuang was not eating or drinking water, so they hit, beat, and kicked her very hard. Zhang lost consciousness and had to be rushed to the hospital. Originally tall and strong, Zhang Lianshuang was reduced to emaciation and a state of mental collapse. Every day she could be seen jumping frantically on her cell bed and eating her own excrement. Only after more than a month of this mental disorientation did the forced labour camp finally let her family take Zhang Lianshuang home.

Notes

(1) Fa: Law and principles; the teachings of Falun Dafa. "Dafa" means "great Law."

(2) The book, Zhuan Falun, comprises the principal teachings of Falun Dafa.