Slave Labour Inside Banqiao Women's Forced Labour Camp in Tianjin

There are 120 to 130 practitioners illegally held in Banqiao Women's Forced Labour Camp in the Dagang District of Tianjin City. They are divided into three teams.

Liu Xiaohong, the former team leader of No. 1 Team, was notorious for persecuting practitioners. She has moved to the Labour Department and is busy soliciting jobs outside of the labour camp and slave labour for the practitioners inside. In the No. 2 Team of the sewing factory, practitioners were forced to work long hours and to work overtime in making dark green and orange-yellow mixed pattern raincoats to export to Korea. From May 21st to 27th, practitioners were forced to work from 5 a.m. until 1 a.m.. They had to work seven to eight hours straight and were not allowed even a sip of water; there was even a restriction imposed on toilet breaks. Besides those who operate sewing machines, a majority of the practitioners are over 45 years old. Some of them have hypertension, which is worsened by the slave labour, and some of them were so tired they could not sleep at night. Before one assignment was complete, the guards accepted another assignment for more complicated raincoats also exported to Korea. (Labour Camp Director Hao Demin, Superintendent Yang, and Superintendent Li all claimed that working overtime is forbidden.)

Practitioner Ms. Wang Chunhua, 40, was sentenced to three years of forced labour. The camp authorities did not release her when her time was up, instead they extended her sentence by 50 days because she did not write her Repentance Statement¹. The guard threatened to keep extending her time if she refused to write the statement. One practitioner's time was extended by 60 days.

Mrs. Liu Suzhi, age 50, is from Ninghe. She was sent to the labour camp in January 2006. She was held in solitary confinement for three months, but the guards used up all their torture methods in vain, including brainwashing, threats, and trying to entice her with benefits. In the end she was forced into slave labour, and her hypertension and heart problems got worse. The team leader of the team claimed that she was pretending to be ill.

Mrs. Li Ruiqin, age 45, is from Ji County. She was released in April 2005 after four years in the labour camp. She was placed again in April 2006. She went on a hunger strike and is still in solitary confinement and monitored 24 hours a day. Others in solitary confinement include Ms. Song Yunling, age 40, and Ms. Lu Wendong, 30, a teacher.

The guards use the "seal them off" method when persecuting firm practitioners:These practitioners are not allowed to shop. The only items they are allowed to purchase are articles of everyday use and some sugar and salt.

They are forbidden to speak. One inmate monitors one practitioner, who is forced to sit till 11 p.m., without lunch breaks.

Phone calls are forbidden. Family visiting time is less than 20 minutes.

They are forbidden to eat with other practitioners; they can only eat a cold meal alone.

Note

1. Repentance Statement: In this statement the practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practising Falun Gong, promise to give up Falun Gong, and never again associate with other practitioners or go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/6/27/131527.html