Officials from Wanjia Forced Labour Camp of Harbin City Continue to Persecute Falun Gong Practitioners

Many officials have transferred from Wanjia Forced Labour Camp to Qianjin Forced Labour Camp of Harbin City, including Wang Yaluo (political director), Sun Xiaojun (camp director), Guo Wei (camp director), Sun Lihua (section director), Ye Yun (section director), Chang Shumei (section director), Zhang Bo (team head) and Zhang Aihui. These officials continue to be directly involved in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Qianjin Forced Labour Camp detains over forty Falun Gong practitioners, who were transferred from Wanjia Forced Labour Camp. They are forced to work for over fourteen hours every day. In the summer, they make ice cream sticks and toothpicks, load and unload trucks, plant trees, work on farms, etc. Many practitioners are suffering from their former illnesses, which have recurred under the persecution. Despite this, Zhang Bo and Zhang Aihui force them to continue working or their terms are extended.

Sometimes, outsiders come to visit or investigate the forced labour camp. Ye Yun and Chang Shumei are well-trained at faking scenes and deceiving people. On March 8th, 2007, when a TV station came to do an interview, these officials brought the practitioners to the third floor, sat four of them to a table, and put some sunflower seeds on each table. While waiting for the interview, the practitioners ate the sunflower seeds, angering Chang Shumei, who then ordered the practitioners to pick up all the sunflower seed shells from the trash can and put them back on the tables. The officials also put bread and sausages received from practitioners' families on the tables (to show that the practitioners are treated well). Afterwards, the practitioners had to work even longer to make up the time spent at the interview.

On October 1st, 2007, when practitioner Gao Guofeng spoke out, "Falun Gong is good!", a group of guards beat her and put her in solitary confinement with no food for over ten days. When she was brought back, a guard chained her to her bed frame and did not allow her to sleep. The guard forced her to write the so-called Three Statements¹. Once, Ye Yun took practitioners to the yard to play games so they could take photos to use as propaganda. When authorities come to inspect or investigate the labour camp, the guards would choose a few thieves and drug addicts to answer questions with prepared answers. Normally, the labour camp never used cooking oil for the detainees' soup, but when the investigation team comes, the food might be dumplings or rice.

The camp allowed practitioners three days of rest during the New Year, but Zhang Bo didn't tell the practitioners and required them to continue working. The camp director later saw the practitioners working during the holiday and let them rest for a while.

After the New Year, when a few practitioners became very sick and stopped working, Zhang Bo swore at them and threatened them with longer terms. Unafraid, the practitioners still refused to work and kindly explained to Zhang Bo that it was wrong to persecute practitioners. Zhang didn't listen to them and instead, on January 9th, brought along four guards, Yu Fangli, Zhou Muqi, Liu Chang, and Cong Zhixiu. The guards took Ms. Zhou Yingqi to an empty room in the basement. There, they tore up a bed sheet and used it to tie her arms behind her back to the iron frame of the stairs. While Yu Fangli and Cong Zhixiu were pulling her from above, Zhou Muqi, Liu Chang and Zhang Bo questioned her, asking whether she would continue working. In the meantime, Zhou Muqi and Liu Chang took turns slapping her in the face. They tortured her for over half an hour until she couldn't endure the torture any longer and they let her down. Then they took Ms. Zhou back to the workshop and forced her to say that she was wrong in front of the other practitioners. That afternoon, each and every Falun Gong practitioner in the camp was called out and forced to answer the question of whether he or she could work. If the answer was "no," the practitioner would be taken away. The practitioners who completed their terms were forced to write the Three Statements and say bad things about Falun Gong in front of all the detainees. If they refused, they would be hung up in midair, and their terms would be extended.

On January 14th, 2008, Zhang Bo and other officials forced all the elderly and seriously ill practitioners to work. If a practitioner didn't work, the guards would hang him or her up. They yelled at and beat practitioners Li Wenjun, Li Huiwen, and Zhang Shuqin. Under the severe persecution, practitioners Zhao Yuxia, Yao Weili, Li Jinku, Wu Yubo, and Wu Zhaofang became seriously ill.

Note

1. "Three Statements": Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write "Repentance Statement," "Guarantee Statement" or 'Dissociation Statement" as proof that they have given up their belief. In the 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://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/3/4/173618.html