Dafa Practitioners Suffer Threats, Torture and Hard Labour at Beijing Tuanhe Forced Labour Camp

At the Tuanhe forced labour camp in Beijing, an assistant instructor once said to me, "Do you still refuse to be 'transformed'?¹I do have ways to make you! I will first inject you with addictive drugs. Then after you develop an addiction, I will withhold the drugs. I will only give you the drug when you say that you will stop practising."

At the 2nd division, tasked with the torture of Falun Gong practitioners, the assistant instructor, Zhao Yingbo, told me the same thing.

At the labour camp, I would often hear these words from the police, "Transformed or not? If not, we will extend your term by ten months!" "You are not allowed to talk to so-and-so. Otherwise wait and see!"

On May 1st 2002, the assistant director of the Tuanhe labour camp, Li Aimin, publicly threatened Dafa practitioners at a gathering, "Do not even dream of stepping out the door of this labour camp if you are not transformed."

During the latter half of 2003, the "centre dealing with determined practitioners" was re-located to a new building. Practitioners not transformed were only given small corn buns to eat. With not enough food or sleep, practitioners were also restricted from using the toilet. They were only allowed to use it once after asking many times. Practitioners were allowed a short sleeping time. The rest of the time they were forced to sit on tiny seats.

In July 2003, practitioner Mr. Li Xianglin was detained at the 2nd division. Retired and elderly, he had not given in to the guards after several months of torture. Police then used very vicious means learned from the "class dealing with determined practitioners." Besides the "sitting punishment," they only gave him corn buns for every meal. Fearing that others would exchange steamed buns for his corn bun, they forced him to eat at the entrance of the hallway and only allowed him to go back to his cell after the meal. Moreover, the corn buns were stale. The kitchen would send one batch that would last for several days. The leftovers were put near the window of the police office. One time I was asked to have a "conversation" in the office and saw the mouldy buns.

The police fear that Teacher Li's articles will spread throughout the labour camp. They also fear that practitioners will contact each other after they are released. They searched detained practitioners every month. They mainly looked for articles and address books. Practitioners were strip-searched each time. The searches turned the rooms inside out.

Upon completion of their term, if no family members come and pick up a practitioner, they are often detained for one or two days longer. The police say that this is an "order" from the 610 Office.²It is also used to threaten remaining practitioners.

The police have meetings every week to discuss how to torture Falun Gong practitioners. The whole place is full of lies. These lies are like drugs. Once you start believing the lies, you become muddle-headed and lose the basic ability to tell good from bad. Some people have done well even after years of detention. However, once they started to listen to the lies, the police were able to control their minds. Once they succumbed to this control, they would do anything in order to have their term shortened.

The police and collaborators³often say, "Look how hard the instructors work in order to transform you. You should be transformed!" The most tiring thing for the police is to beat practitioners. Over a dozen police beat one practitioner. They are all exhausted after the beating.

Before October 1st 2001, several divisions tasked with the torture of Falun Gong practitioners were given some work. They had to make various propaganda cards promoting the Trakinas biscuits for the Nabisco Company. One of the tasks was to make a greeting card in which the Trakinas (biscuit) inside is connected to the cover with paper so that when flipped open, the Trakinas will open automatically and give a three-dimensional impression. After intensive labour for one month, practitioners' hands became numb. Some practitioners refused to work this way. As a result, they were tortured in the labour camp.

It is estimated that there were about 500 detained practitioners. Except for those who were forced to attend brainwashing sessions, there were about 300 practitioners forced to make such products.

Note

1. "Reform or Transform" Implementation of brainwashing and torture in order to force a practitioner to renounce Falun Gong. (Variations: "reform", "transform", "reformed", "reforming", "transformed", "transforming", and "transformation")

2. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

3. "Collaborators": Former practitioners who have turned against Falun Gong under brainwashing and torture. They are then made to assist in brainwashing and torturing practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/9/16/110528.html