Ms. Li Xiulan Severely Tortured in Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Li Xiulan from Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province, underwent intense physical and psychological torture during her 16 months in Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp in 2002. Ms. Li, 45, had once suffered from many diseases, but she regained her health after she began practising Falun Gong in 1994.

On June 19th, 2000, as Ms. Li was travelling to Shandong Province with her family of three, she was arrested on the train while reading a Falun Gong book. She was taken to the Heishan County Detention Centre near Shenyang City. Authorities held her there for 15 days and extorted over 1000 yuan¹ from her family.

On March 12th, 2002, Ms. Li went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, but she was arrested near Tiananmen Square by local police. After four months' detention in Beijing, she was taken to the Beijing Forced Labour Camp Dispatch Division and imprisoned for two additional months. At the camp, she was forced to package chopsticks, and the guards attempted to brainwash her. Two months later, Ms. Li was arrested again and taken to Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp, where she underwent additional physical and psychological torture.

The guards at the camp deprived Ms. Li of sleep in an attempt to make her renounce her belief. They did this for an extended period of time, and guards and other inmates monitored her around the clock. On September 10th, when visitors arrived at the forced labour camp, Ms. Li exposed the brutal practices that were used to try to "reform²" Falun Gong practitioners. Chief Jiao Xuexian of the camp's third team and another chief named Huai made inmate Ma Jun beat Ms. Li mercilessly. Ma knocked Ms. Li to the ground, pressed his knee on Ms. Li's right kidney, and punched her in the stomach. It took Ms. Li over five minutes to regain her breath.

The guards placed Ms. Li in handcuffs for an entire day and deprived her of sleep for more than three weeks. They then put her in solitary confinement for ten days, during which time Ma again beat her savagely. She had a large bump on her head from the beatings as well as elevated pressure in her eyes. This took place in October when the weather was very cold. While the guards and inmates slept covered with cotton quilts, Ms. Li was permitted to wear only a thin camp uniform. She was so cold, her entire body shivered. She was also forced to sit on a small, backless stool 24 hours a day, and she was not permitted to close her eyes at night.

After her solitary confinement, Ms. Li was forced to do farm labour, which included digging soil and carrying manure. Afterwards she was in such poor physical condition that the forced labour camp doctor and guards took her to Daxing Hospital and the public security hospital. Ms. Li overheard the doctor who examined her say, "There is insufficient blood supply to a large part of her heart muscle, damage to her liver, and injuries to her stomach." Incredibly, the forced labour camp doctor told her that she was fine. Nevertheless, they put Ms. Li on intravenous fluids for three days.

By this time, Ms. Li had been tortured to the point that she was losing motor functions. She was unable to eat, raise her head, or move different parts of her body. Despite her condition, Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp authorities would not release her. It was not until July 2003, after Ms. Li's health had deteriorated during 16 months of imprisonment, that the forced labour camp finally released her.

Ms. Li's physical condition remains extremely serious. Her right kidney and stomach have become rock-hard as a result of her injuries. She is emaciated, experiences memory loss, has difficulty speaking, and has become acutely sensitive to sound. She is in constant pain each day.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

2. "Reform or Transform" Implementation of brainwashing and torture in order to force a practitioner to renounce Falun Gong. (Variations: "reform", "transform", "reformed", "reforming", "transformed", "transforming", and "transformation")

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/6/15/180283.html