The Persecution I Experienced in Yang'ai Forced Labour Camp

In August, 2001, I was detained for what turned out to be four years at Yang'ai Forced Labour Camp in Guizhou City, for distributing leaflets exposing the persecution.

I was held in the gem factory of the Seventh Branch of the Yang'ai Camp. In the beginning, I worked more than twelve hours every day wearing a prison uniform. Later, I realised that exposing the persecution was a righteous deed, and I refused to wear the uniform since I had not done anything wrong. The warden then ordered the criminal inmates to write "forced labour" on my clothing. I refused to wear that, too.

Once, I was reported by the inmates for reading a Falun Dafa book. The guards asked me what I was reading, but I did not answer. The warden searched my body, finding nothing. They found my book hidden in my bed and confiscated it. I went to the warden asking for my book, but the inmates dragged me back.

The next day, I went to the warden again asking for my book. I told the inmates, "Falun Gong teaches us to follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and to be good people. What you see on TV is all lies." Afterwards, whenever they saw slanderous programmes on TV about Falun Dafa, the inmates said that those were all lies.

I did the exercises at the gem factory. The warden told me to stop. I said that I was a cultivator and had to do the exercises. She said that this was a prison. I told her that I had to do the exercises no matter where I was. In my heart, I firmly believe in Teacher and Dafa, therefore, I listen to Teacher only. I had to work more than twelve hours a day gathering tea leaves up on the mountain. Some practitioners who refused to go to the mountain were handcuffed, some had their mouths stuffed with hand towels and were beaten by inmates. Practitioners were ordered to watch slanderous TV programmes, do military marching and write "reports." If they refused to watch TV and write reports, they were handcuffed.

Once I had symptoms of illness and they asked me to eat something. I told them that I was not hungry, and would eat only if I was hungry. They told me they would send me to the hospital if I refused to eat. They sent me to the hospital against my will and assigned four people to watch me. After a few days of blood tests, five of us were locked in a small room. We were not allowed to go out except to eat and use the toilet. Other patients could walk about in the hallway.

I was transferred to the Eighth Branch in 2005. For every practitioner there were two inmates assigned to monitor them closely. The group of three stayed in a single room with the windows tightly shut. Practitioners were watched around the clock. We were not allowed to leave the room, even for meals.

About two weeks before they released me, the authorities tried to get me to write a guarantee statement¹. I refused, telling them that I firmly believe in Dafa, and that no one could change my mind.

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://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/8/20/135969.html