Tianjin Women's Forced Labour Camp Enslaves Dafa Practitioners

I am a Dafa practitioner who has suffered from the brutal persecution in Tianjin City. Almost all of the detained female Dafa practitioners in Tianjin City and the near-by counties were sent to the Banqiao Labour Camp in Dagang area. This labour camp later changed its name to Tianjin Women's Labour Camp.

Every detained Dafa practitioner was charged 320 yuan¹ to pay for a physical examination. After I entered the shabby room they called an "examination room," they checked my blood pressure, and then used a broken stethoscope to "listen to me" for a long time. I was forced to pay 320 yuan for these two simple procedures. Even the police who sent me there said they were corrupt.

The labour camp is divided into two divisions, plus another team. The team is comprised of steadfast Dafa practitioners. The labour camp calls it the "team to attack strong holders" and they cruelly persecute practitioners there. This "attacking team" is composed of criminals and collaborators². The collaborators first attempt to "transform³" practitioners by twisting and attacking the teachings of Falun Dafa. If this fails, a series of physical punishments would start.

One torture method involved standing or kneeling with one's back against the wall, the head dropped forward, and both hands pulled up from behind and bound.

Another torture method was the Sitting Board. Practitioners were forced to put their hands on top of their laps, keep their backs straight and sit on benches for 18 hours per day for over fifty days. Practitioners were not allowed to sleep barely at all. Practitioners were cursed and humiliated by other criminals, who used both hard and soft tactics to weaken the will. The evil "transformation" classes were scheduled one after another. A questionnaire was used to evaluate practitioners' thoughts, and practitioners were regularly asked to fill them out. Slanderous articles attacking Falun Gong were loudly broadcast through the loudspeakers. They had a point system, and practitioners were assigned points based on their attitude towards the forced "transformation" as well as answers given to the questionnaire. The points could increase or decrease.

There are many things that Dafa practitioners were forced to do.

Picking up Peas - This was a job that anyone under 60 years old was forced to do. They had to carry a bag of peas weighing over one hundred kilogrammes. During snowy days, the snow soaked into one's clothes at the neck. Sweaters and canvas coats were also usually soaked with perspiration. It is beyond description how strenuous this work was. Some of the old people were too tired to work and were forced to have infusions. Even after the infusion, they still had to do forced labour.

Sewing Shirts - This was another forced labour task. The shirts exported to Japan were required to be hand-made. Therefore, prisoners usually worked from the early morning until midnight. Even 70-year-old people had to meet a certain quota of work everyday. Also, whoever lost a needle would not be allowed to go to sleep until the needle was found. Practitioners were charged 100 yuan for any shirts damaged by a sewing mistake.

Knitting Car Seat Cushions - Using very long and thick needles, we were forced to sew cushions. The needles would easily poke into one's fingers, making them bleed. Sometimes they even poked through the finger. Thus, at night it was hard to sleep due to the painful, bleeding fingers.

Glue Paper Boxes - Practitioners were also required to glue paper boxes for a number of brand named companies. As I remember, on one December night, the Pick Up Peas team was finally allowed to return to their cells for sleep at around 2 a.m., while the Glue Paper Boxes team was still very busy working. Furthermore, the evil authorities always made excuses to persecute practitioners by criticising their work. Some of the authorities stole the piled peas.

Near the end of 2002 and the beginning of 2003, a post-doctoral student named Qiu Xueyan was beaten in a small jail cell by criminals under orders from the police, due to her refusal to accept brainwashing. After she regained consciousness from being beaten, they beat her again and again. At the same time they tied her four limbs to a bunk bed, cursed at her, slammed her face, and forbid her from contacting other people.

There are still many Dafa practitioners suffering persecution. Zhao Dewen, Dong Yuying, and others were killed in this evil place. This labour camp is filled with a gloomy and horrific dread. The police there are still persecuting the Dafa practitioners, even though some of the police have already encountered tribulations.

The phone number at the Banqiao Labour Camp is: 86-22-63251823

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

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

3. "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")

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/2/23/121446.html