Exposing the Crimes Committed at Shanxi Women's Forced Labour Camp

Situated near a small shopping centre in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, is a forced labour camp for women. This is a sinister place where over 46 Falun Dafa practitioners are held in confinement. Among them are Ms. Xin Enhao, Ms. Gao Yinglian, Ms. Li Runfang, Ms. Jia Yuzhen, Ms. Liu Yinghua, Ms. Xue Zhanying, Ms. Ma Yueying, and Ms. Liu Taojiang. These practitioners have refused to renounce their beliefs, and are therefore constantly subjected to inhuman treatment.

On October 15th, 2006, Ms. Liu Taojiang was beaten so badly by warden Hong Yuanqu that she was sent home immediately by the guards, who wanted to avoid responsibility for her death. A month later, just when Liu was well enough to get out of bed, she was again taken back to Shanxi Forced Labour Camp. Liu went on a hunger strike to protest. Seeing that Liu was dying, the camp officials quickly ordered her family to take her home. Liu slowly recovered two weeks later. Again, the camp officers came and took her away. She has not been seen since.

Dafa practitioner Ms. Li Runfang is disabled and has to use an artificial limb. When she was made to stand for a long period, she repeatedly said, "Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good," which got her into trouble with the guards. On the morning of August 20th, 2007, the camp officer had Li beaten by several criminal inmates--Qi Yuhui, Zhang Limei, and Yuan Hong, who were imprisoned for drug-related crimes. After the beating, Ms. Li was locked up from August 23rd to August 30th. There wasn't one place on her body that wasn't wounded. The inmates even used glass from a broken bottle to cut Li's arm until she bled.

One day, Liu Yinghua wrote down the words, "Falun Dafa is good" and showed it to some visitors. For this her sentence was extended by three months. During the month of August alone, thirteen Falun Dafa practitioners' sentences were extended for similar reasons.

The following are some of the common techniques employed in the camp:

Tiger bench - Almost every detained Dafa practitioner has undergone this torture. The victim is tied sitting on a narrow bench, with her arms to the back and legs outstretched. Her lower legs are wedged up by sharp blocks to increase the pain. The torture lasts from ten days to over a month. The victim is not given a break and is closely watched by a team rostered around the clock.

Cage confinement - The victim is locked up in a one cubic-metre steel cage and is not allowed to speak to anyone. During confinement, she is beaten, either by fellow inmates or officers. Upon release, the prisoner has to go through a brainwashing session for as many days as she was caged. Two practitioners, Li Runfang and Xin Enhao, were tortured this way for not completing their assignments on time.

Forced labor - The normal method of persecution is forced labour. Every day, detainees are made to work for 10-12 hours without breaks. I was assigned to work making wine baskets and moon cake containers. I also worked on sewing clothes and making cigarette lighters.

Brainwashing - Every day, everyone must sing songs to glorify the Communist Party. Anyone found not doing it properly will be tortured.

Extortion - Money sent in from prisoners' families to supplement the inadequate diet is never passed on to the prisoners. It often becomes the "bonus" of the officer-in-charge. The condition for early release is ten thousand yuan.

The following personnel at Shanxi Women's Forced Labour Camp are responsible for the torture:

Camp chiefs Chen and Wang
Team 3 officers in charge: Liu Zhongmei, Lei Hongzhen
Team 3 instructor: Shi Jiner

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/10/7/164084.html