My Experience of Being Imprisoned Three Times at Heizuizi Forced Labour Camp

The pages that follow describe what I suffered between 1999 and 2005 because of the persecution. Those who persecuted me include staff from the Datun Township police station, No.1 Department of the public security bureau (610 Office¹), Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp, Bureau of Justice, Yongchun police station, and Shuangyang Detention Centre.

Staff from Datun Township Police Station Imprisoned Me Many Times

In April 2000, I went to Beijing to appeal for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. I was arrested and taken back by Changchun City police. Staff from the Datun Township police took me to Daguang Detention Centre and detained me there for 15 days.

In May 2000, staff from the Datun police station arrested me at home, accusing me of conspiring with other practitioners. Director Peng swore and yelled at me, and chained me to the radiator for 24 hours. He also did not give me any food. On the second day, they attempted to take me to the Daguang Detention Centre, but failed.

In December 2000, police arrested me when I was on my way to Beijing. Half a dozen police officers from Datun Township's police station took me back to the Daguang Detention Centre. Police officer Yu Changshun stole the 160 yuan² I had on me and pocketed it. After I was detained for 15 days, they dragged me to the Datun Township police station to beat me up. Police officer Yu Changshun kicked me in the abdomen.

One day in January 2001, Wang Jiayi from the Datun Township came with a group of people to my house, dragged me to their car, arrested me and took me to the Leshan Brainwashing Centre. The next day, I was taken to Xinglongshan Brainwashing Centre, where they forced all practitioners, including me, to watch slanderous videos. They beat me up when I refused to watch it.

Practitioner Mr. Guan Jun, a blind man from Changchun, was also taken to Xinglongshan Brainwashing Centre.

The 610 Office/No. 1 Department of the Public Security Bureau and the Tiebei Detention Centre Illegally Arrested Me

When I refused to cooperate with them, the 610 Office locked me up on the fifth floor of the No.1 Department of the Public Security Bureau. Police captain Jiang Bo beat me viciously and chained me to the chair. They confiscated 145 yuan from me.

Later, the police took me to Tiebei No.1 Detention Centre. I was forced to sit on the bench all day. Someone from the justice department interrogated me. I told him that Falun Dafa is good and he punched me.

My daily meals at the Tiebei Detention Centre consisted of rotten corn meal. The vegetable soup was made from frozen and rotten vegetables, and the soup was disgusting looking. In the evening, we were crammed into beds that were very small. We had to sleep at different ends of the bed so that everyone could fit. Our faces were touching others' feet. In the middle of the night, we had to get up to "stand guard" as ordered by the police.

I was locked up at Tiebei Detention Centre for 50 days. In March 2001, the No.1 department of the Public Security Bureau sent me to Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp for a year and wanted me sign the document of transfer, but I refused. Jiang Bo told me that they would send me anyway.

I Was Mentally Traumatised at Heizuizi Forced Labour Camp

At Heizuizi Forced Labour Camp, I had a physical checkup and was diagnosed with high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. They refused to accept me, but Jiang Bo insisted on leaving me there. He said that it would be temporary.

The No.6 Brigade of Heizuizi Force Labour Camp is the most vicious. All of the practitioners who were sent to the forced labour camp were taken to the sixth brigade to be brainwashed before they were taken to another brigade.

When I was taken to Heizuizi Forced Labour Camp, seven or eight police officers dragged me to the "discipline room" to beat me up. They pushed me down to force-feed me with drugs and injections. They humiliated me by taking away the belt from my trousers. I had to hold my trousers up with my hands. They dragged me around by my hair. Guard Zhang Xiaohui from the No.2 Group said to me, "If you do not transform, I will torture you. You will wish to die." They laughed at me hysterically, made lewd remarks towards me and tortured me for over an hour.

From then on, the guards tortured me daily, including beating me and shocking me with electric batons, until my neck was covered with blisters and my body was covered with bruises. I was not allowed to sleep at night. Sometimes, they beat me up three to four times a day. Li Tong, head of the brigade, ordered his subordinates and inmates to beat me up. The most vicious were Zhu Dan, Liu Ying, Yu, Zhang Xiaohui, Ding Caihong, and Gao. I went on a hunger strike to protest the abuse. The police chained me to the "deathbed" so I could not move. They force-fed me three times a day.

A young teacher was locked up in the No.3 group, and she was beaten with electric batons for an entire afternoon. She suffered a mental breakdown and banged her head repeatedly against the wall as a result of the electric shocks. She became incontinent. A 70-year-old lady with grey hair and bent back was not spared either. A twin brother and sister, one called Wenwen and other called Lulu, were also subjected to this treatment. They were in their teens and were also being beaten and sworn at. In the discipline room, the sounds of electric batons, screaming, and crying filled the room with misery and horror.

I was not released until I was comatose. At the same time, they lied to the other practitioners, saying that I had been sent to a psychiatric hospital.

When I returned home, the officials from the Justice Bureau demanded 2,000 yuan in "guarantee money" and said that it would be returned after a year, but they issued a receipt for only 1,000 yuan. They said that during this year, they had to come to my house four times a day. They would need the 1,000 yuan to cover the transportation cost. When it was time to ask for our money, they refused to return one penny.

After I was home for some time, I was able to recover, thanks to the power of Dafa.

Force-Fed at Shuangyang Detention Centre

On August 16th, 2002, I was telling people about Falun Gong and someone tipped the police off. They took me to the Yongchun Police Station. The director ordered several police officers to shackle me. When I resisted, they pushed me to the ground and chained my hands behind my back.

The chief of police slapped my face with a slipper and swore at me. I said, "We Falun Dafa practitioners are the kindest people. You should not arrest us. How could you beat so many practitioners to death?" The guy said, "Whoever holds power decides the fate of others. I do whatever I want to do. We would rather have 10 ordinary people die than any of those in power."

That night, the police wanted to take me to the detention centre. He asked me to sign the papers and I refused. Then he said to me, "We will take you there anyway, although you did not sign the documentation. You will suffer greatly there." They took me that night to Shuangyang Detention Centre.

I refused to give my name at Shuangyang Detention Centre. The police ordered three male inmates to drag me to a dark room and beat me up. The head of the cell took some inmates who beat me in the washroom, yelled at me, beat my face with shoes and kicked me. The captain made me stand on the edge of a water tank and kicked my buttocks and vagina. I was having my menstrual period at the time, but the captain would not let me change the sanitary napkin. In the middle of the night, they would not allow me to go to the toilet. They asked inmates to beat me.

Therefore, I went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. The police chained my hands and legs together so that I could not move, and then they drove me to a nearby hospital for force-feeding. The doctor said that my heartbeat rate was 145 and it was dangerous to force-feed me, but they force-fed me anyway with cornmeal and salt water. I was on a hunger strike for 33 days and the police force-fed me six times.

The captain put me in the middle of a 2-metre-wide bed, with 11 other people. As soon as you lie down, it becomes impossible to move. I refused to wear the prison uniform, so the inmates beat me up. When I did the exercises, the inmates would pull my hair. When the inmates beat me, the captain would pretend that he did not see it.

We sat on the bench all day long and were fed two meals daily. The meal consisted of rotten cornmeal buns that were half cooked, potato soup, and vegetable soup with just a couple of leaves. The daily necessities they sold at the detention centre were six to seven times the price on the outside. I was there for 40 days.

Second Time Detained at the Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp

On September 26th, 2001, the 610 Office sent me to Heizuizi Women's Force Labour Camp at Jilin Province and illegally sentenced me to forced labour for one and a half years.

They refused to admit me to the detention centre, citing my high blood pressure and rapid heartbeat. Then the police drove me back to the local public security bureau. On the way back, they kept beating me, so I could not speak. The next day, the public security bureau took me back to the Heizuizi Forced Labour Camp. The forced labour camp still would not admit me. One police officer told them that they had word from the bureau chief that the camp has to admit me temporarily. So I was forced to stay at the Heizuizi Forced Labour Camp.

I was taken to Group 1 of the No.6 Brigade. Guard Zhang Tao used collaborators³ to "transform⁴" me. I worked during the day, and at night I was not allowed to sleep. They kept me in an isolation room. When, I refused to enter, collaborator Wen Shuping slapped me twice in the face. Collaborator Li Ju poked my eyes and pinched my neck. Captain Liu Ying tortured me until 11 p.m. and it was far into the night before they let me sleep. Qin Xiaojie and Jiang Yaqin cooperate with the authorities to beat up practitioners.

The police forced me to work from midnight to 6 a.m. After that, they continued to torture me. I refused to write my report, so they wrote it for me and pressed my fingerprint on it. Six to seven collaborators pushed me to the ground, pressed my legs and arms down, tickled me under my armpit, and choked me. They choked me for over an hour, and my body was covered with bruises from all the torture.

I went on a hunger strike, and then the police tied me to a death bed to force feed me.

In 2003, the authorities at the detention centre made us study Jiang Zemin's speeches, after which we had to answer 400 questions. I refused to read it or take the exam. They carried me to the "discipline room." In the Lunar New Year of 2003, all of the brigades assembled in the dining hall for a meeting, during which they were going to malign Falun Dafa, and they asked relatives of the practitioners to attend. I refused to go. Police officer Li, Zhu, Liu and a group of guards chained me and then shocked me with electric batons. They tied me to a deathbed⁵ and had collaborator Wen Shuqin monitor me and make sure I would not speak. They gagged me with soiled clothing, and my gums bled because of that. Only after the meeting was finished was I released from the deathbed.

They had several books that slandered Dafa at the detention centre. The authorities took money from practitioners' accounts and bought these books. In addition, practitioners were forced to watch videos maligning Falun Dafa and attend "re-education classes". Those who refused to go were forcibly carried there.

The police can cancel practitioner's visiting rights at will. No practitioner was allowed to help other practitioners who had difficulties doing certain things. They extend terms arbitrarily. If one refuses to renounce Falun Dafa, they will extend the terms indefinitely.

The slavery in No.6 brigade lasted until 11 p.m. or midnight. China's prison regulations state that overtime is not allowed. Yet, these law-enforcement officials did not care. At night, they forced us to work overtime and use inmates to help with their own chores.

In 2003, Falun Gong practitioner Shan Jingbo was sent to the labour camp. He refused to be transformed or to wear the uniform. Therefore, the brigade captain tied him to the deathbed for a month. They asked the guards to use every means at their disposal to torture Mr. Shan Jingbo. They force fed Shan Jingbo daily and tortured him cruelly.

There was a practitioner who had been in a car accident before she arrived at the forced labour camp. She could not sit down due to her injury, but the authorities forced her to work every day.

Another practitioner had to walk along the wall for support and sometimes she had to crawl. They did not spare even her. They said that she was faking it and fetched her in the middle of the night to do overtime. Later on, the practitioner could not get out of bed or look after herself. She could not even eat and seemed to be dying, so they released her.

I was held for 27 days at the forced labour camp. Because I refused to write a guarantee, my term was extended by five days.

Vicious Acts at the Xinglong Brainwashing Centre

On March 17th, 2004, I was not allowed to return home. The 610 Office sent me to Xinglong Brainwashing Centre. Half way there, someone came along to brainwash me. He first pretended that he was hitchhiking, but then he said Falun Gong was good before he showed his true colours.

At the brainwashing centre, we had to pay 800 yuan for food. Practitioners were isolated in different rooms. We had to report before we could go to the washroom. We had to go separately so that we could not see each other. The practitioners were monitored around the clock. Those on duty could look into the room to see what was going on inside. The assistant guards brainwashed practitioners day and night and forced us to read books that slandered Dafa. They all wore plainclothes and refused to tell us their names. I know one was called Zhang Shuze and another was called Zhu Jiahui.

These officials tried to make me write my thoughts down. I used this opportunity to expose the criminal acts of the 610 Office. At night, a male guard threatened me three times. He said, "It does not do you any good to write about this. The people in power have the final say. If they said you were wrong, you were wrong. If you write about this, you will be sent to forced labour camp for 2-3 years."

I Walked out of the Heizuizi Women's Force Labour Camp for the Third Time

After I was released from Xinglongshan Brainwashing Centre, I was detained for another three weeks. Then, on April 8th, 2004, the 610 office sentenced me to the Heizuizi Female Forced Labour Camp for a year. I was given a physical checkup and was diagnosed with rapid heartbeat and my eyesight was not good. They refused to take me. The police officer insisted on leaving me there. They locked me up at the No.1 Group of the No.6 Brigade.

I wrote an appeal and submitted it. The police department head Chang Liping read it and refused to process it. She said that Falun Gong cannot appeal and the forced labour camp is not allowed to appeal on behalf of practitioners. Chang Liping has been brainwashing practitioners since 1999.

I wrote another complaint letter, because Chang Liping did not send the previous one. She again refused to send it. After many days, she met with me. I said, "You have no right to keep my appeal letter. She said, "You are right." Then, I demanded, "How come you kept my letter without forwarding them?" She just walked away with some kind of excuse.

New practitioners in the No. 6 Brigade are not allowed to see each other. There is a separate room for the new arrivals, where they are brainwashed. The door's glass panel is covered with paper. They were afraid that other practitioners may see what was going on inside. Every night, the guards shocked the practitioners with electric batons and beat them up. The practitioners were not allowed to sleep until after 10 p.m.

Practitioner Ms. Zhu Shuai is a university student. As she refused to renounce Falun Dafa, police officers Ding and Zhu used an electric baton to shock her and beat her up. They subjected her to other corporal punishment, and forced her to stand by the wall. They even tied her to the deathbed.

Ms. Wu Huan from Changchun is in her 50s. The criminal squad beat her up until she could no longer walk. Then they took her to the Heizuizi Women's Forced Labour Camp. Wu Huan's heart was not well. She fell to the ground due to high blood pressure of 220. Even then, they refused to release Wu Huan.

In August 2004, some inmates beat me up. Guard Ding saw it but chose to ignore it. I told the captain and demanded an apology from the inmate. Instead they tied me to the deathbed and force-fed me. I almost died from it and lost consciousness in the process. They thought that I was not going to survive, so they let me down from the deathbed.

On April 5th, 2005, I walked out of the Heizuizi Forced Labour Camp.

Note

1. "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.

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

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.

4. "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")

5. "Death Bed" torture: A practitioner is tied to a bed with his hands handcuffed above his head to the bed rails, and his legs tied with thin nylon ropes. The rope is then tightly wrapped around the practitioner's body and the bed, from his legs to his chest. The rope is wrapped so tightly that the practitioner has difficulty breathing and eventually loses consciousness.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/1/31/119829.html