Persecution at the Hohhot Women's Forced Labour Camp in Inner Mongolia

The officials at the Hohhot Women's Forced Labour Camp in Inner Mongolia AR have been persecuting Falun Gong practitioners since September 1999. The guards at the labour camp used deceptive methods and violence, including brainwashing, physical abuse, sleep deprivation, extremely intense physical training, slave labour, force-feeding, and shocking with electric batons. They also hang the practitioners by their handcuffs. Some practitioners suffered a nervous breakdown, and some lived in extreme pain.

Practitioner Ms. Hu Suhua from Chifeng City persisted in her belief. The guards handcuffed her to the windowsill so that the cold wind blew in her face and the tip of her feet barely touched the floor, torturing her this way for several days. She went on a hunger strike to protest the cruelty. The guards pried her mouth open with a metal bar and force-fed her corn porridge mixed with salt and pepper powder. Zhang Enqinn, a guard at Division 1, forced practitioner Ms. Xiao Hong to stand against a wall for more than ten days in October 2000. Her feet and legs swelled up as a result.

Practitioner Ms. Zhang Yuhua from Chifeng City was illegally sentenced to one year of forced labour. Her sentence was later extended by seven months. She firmly refused to write a guarantee statement¹ to renounce Dafa. Division head Wu Jing and group heads Wang Dongyun and Liu Yan hung her up with her arms spread apart and the tips of her toes touching the ground. Then they wrapped a thick black cloth around her head so that she could not see anything. She also had difficulty breathing and could not lift her head. They tortured her around the clock. Wang Dongyun shocked her body with electric batons until she was covered with injuries.

Practitioners Ms. Wang Weihua from Chifeng City, Ms. Zhu Xiaoying from Baotou and others revoked their guarantee statements. They said, "As Dafa practitioners, we didn't commit any crimes or violate any rules." Division head Wu Jing and group head Wang Dongyun hung Ms. Wang Weihua up in a spread eagle position for seven days. During this time, they constantly shocked her abdomen, genitals, and her inner thighs. They shocked her body parts that are usually concealed by clothing, so it was difficult for others to see the injuries. They shocked her until she was covered in blisters, and the skin was black. Wang Dongyun shocked her genitals with electric batons for a very long time. The brutality was horrific. Ms. Zhu Xiaoying was tortured until the nerves in her hands were damaged. She could not take care of herself and had to rely on others for her basic needs.

Practitioner Ms. Duan Yuzhen from Hohhot City was 57 years old. She was sentenced to one year of forced labour in 2001, and she was sentenced to another three years in 2004. She insisted that she didn't do anything wrong by persisting in her belief and refused to write a guarantee statement. Guards Wu Jing and Wang Dongyun tortured her, which included hanging her up, shocking her with electric batons, beating her, and verbally assaulting her. When she was sent back to the cell, she had lost all feeling in her hands and could not take care of herself.

Between May and June 2003 when the new cafeteria at the labour camp was put into use, all of the detainees in the division had to line up before each meal. The detainees were verbally abused, and then given 15 minutes to eat before they had to line up again to go back to the workshop to continue slave labour.

The authorities at the Hohhot Women's Labour Camp forced Falun Gong practitioners to work very long hours, from 5:30 a.m. until midnight, which is 18.5 hours. After a period of time, they ate all three meals at the workshop that held dozens of glove-making machines. Machine oil and tiny threads were ingested along with the food, including dust. Practitioners were also verbally abused on a daily basis.

The labour camp authorities often pretend to inspect the workshops but never did anything. They phone the guards before the "inspection" and arrange a staged visit. The guards cut the 19-hour workday to the legal 8-hour workday. They hide the horrible food they usually give to the detainees and prevent the cafeteria from cooking until their superiors leave. During each inspection, practitioners are starved until midnight. They order a few detainees to speak with the superiors, but never a Falun Gong practitioner. They know that practitioners speak the truth and would not go along with the farce.

All kinds of detainees with various types of STDs such as syphilis are held at the labour camp. According to government regulations, people with STDs are not permitted to process chopsticks, but the labour camp authorities ignore the rules in order to make money. In September 2003, the superiors went through another staged inspection. The guards drove away four carloads of chopsticks after they received the telephone notice of the coming inspection. Practitioners worked from 6:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m. to load the four large vehicles with chopsticks. They carried bags of chopsticks from the third floor downstairs, each bag weighing 220 pounds. After the inspection, the chopsticks were brought back and the practitioners carried them to the third floor. During work the next day, group head Zhong Zhirong said in a loud voice in the workshop, "Let me tell you, none of you is allowed to say that we process chopsticks here. I'll give point reductions and sentence extensions to whoever divulges this!" The practitioners were also forced to attend meetings and brainwashing sessions while their workload remained the same. They were exhausted, yet they still had to complete the work. It's commonplace for detainees to be held beyond their terms.

Authorities at the Hohhot Women's Forced Labour Camp:

Wang Xiangzhen, head, retired in 2001: 86-471-5693031 (Home)
Guo Xiangzhi, head: 86-471-5693039 (Home), 86-471-5692959
Division 1: 86-471-5692962,
Division heads Zhang Hong, Cui

Division 3: 86-471-5692967,
Kong Guihua, former head of Division 1: 86-471-5692946 (Home);
Zhang Enqin, current head of Division 1: 86-471-5692949 (Home)

Note

1. "Guarantee Statement": A statement to declare that one is remorseful for practising Falun Gong and guarantees not to practise Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/6/18/130718.html