Ms. Song Yulian and Others Tortured in Qianjin Labour Camp in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Song Yulian, 48, lives in Wanchun Village, Shengli Town, Bin County. She was sentenced to one-and-a-half years of forced labour because she went to a police station to request that her confiscated Falun Gong books be returned to her. She was detained in the Qianjin Forced Labour Camp in Harbin City on May 8th, 2008.

On the day when Ms. Song refused to write the three statements¹, she was tortured by eight perpetrators, including warden Zhang Bo (male) and the following guards (all female): Zhou Muqi, Zhou Lifan, Cong Zhixiu; also involved were Chinese Communist Party leader Wang Min, and Liang Yachun, a drug-addicted female prisoner. That afternoon they tortured Ms. Song with the "big hang up"², four or five times, and beat her until she lost consciousness. Zhang Bo then pinched Ms. Song's Renzhong acupuncture point to bring her back to consciousness. A guard sent for a prison doctor who said that Ms. Song was faking being ill. Then Sun and Wang Min beat Ms. Song for a long time while counting the number of blows. Sun later said, "Let her take a break." Several people then carried the unconscious Ms. Song to a bed. Ms. Song did not regain consciousness until later that evening.

Late on May 10th, 2008, Ms. Song had a hard time falling asleep because her shoulders hurt from being tortured with the "big hang up," so she sat up during the night. Guard Cui Jianmei (female) told her to lie down, to which Ms. Song refused. Cui Jianmei said, "You lie down when I tell you to lie down." The standoff lasted about 20 minutes. Afterwards, when guard Xie Qiuxiang (female) was on duty, she woke up Cui Qiuyan and Liang Yachun. The three women pulled Ms. Song by the hair and slammed her against the headboard. They then dragged Ms. Song to the warden's office and did not let her sleep.

On the morning of May 11th, 2008, when Zhang Bo was on duty, he was informed that Ms. Song practised the Falun Gong exercises. Zhang Bo kicked Ms. Song twice. After lunch, Zhang Bo, Zhou Muqi, Zhou Lifan, Cong Zhixui, and Sun Bo cuffed Ms. Song's hands to two beds. Zhang Bo then used an electric baton to shock her on the neck, abdomen and hands. Both sides of Ms. Song's neck swelled and deformed badly. The rest of them beat Ms. Song. Cong Zhixui and Zhou Muqi kicked Ms. Song's legs very hard, saying they would break her legs. Ms. Song suffered such cruel torture that she was bedridden for several days. One month later, her neck was still badly bruised.

Guard Cong Zhixui threatened Mr. Song, "If you tell outsiders about what happened here, you'll be beaten again." Even though she was tortured so brutally, Ms. Song was still forced to report to a workshop to do forced labour. They claimed that they would punish her if she failed to complete her job assignments. Zhou Muqi and Cong Zhixui were the ones who beat Ms. Song the hardest.

On the morning of April 30th, 2008, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Jia Xinghua, who has high blood pressure, felt an unbearable headache after getting up. She therefore crossed her legs and sat on the bed for a while. When guard Zhou Muqi caught her doing that, she hit Ms. Jia on the back and head. Ms. Jia said, "I have a splitting headache." Zhou mocked her, saying, "You should die if you are in pain. You'll be providing manure for the soil since people are planting crops now."

On the afternoon of May 19th, 2008, Ms. Jia fell to the ground and spilled tissue papers all over the floor. Wang Min felt Ms. Jia's pulse and said, "Not dead." It was a long time before she sent for a doctor. Doctor Li told Ms. Jia to take some medicine. Ms. Jia replied, "I'm allergic to medicine." Doctor Li forced Ms. Jia to take the medicine and Ms. Jia immediately started to vomit after taking it. She continued to vomit for the whole afternoon, until she only vomited bile. Ms. Jia has an infection in her aesophagus and has been vomiting blood for four to five months, yet no one has paid any notice to her condition.

Ms. Zhao Jinhua, 62, lives in Daiwuai District, Harbin City. She has been idetained in the Qianjin Forced Labour Camp since February 28, 2008. She was also tortured with the "big hang up" for refusing to write the three statements. As a result, she has been suffering severe shoulder and neck pain which makes her feel weak. She has not been able to fall asleep at night, and so she stacks her pillow very high to try to get comfortable. Despite her condition, Ms. Zhao still has to do forced labour. Her legs are two different lengths now from being tortured with the "big hang up." Her legs are in such pain that she cannot straighten them.

Since April, the door to the toilet has been locked day and night. Prisoners are only allowed to use the toilet at designated times. Prisoners working in the workshop have to hold their bladders to the point that they almost wet their trousers. They are not allowed to use the toilet at night. Instead, a bed pan is put in the room where 30 prisoners sleep. The stench of urine keeps them from falling asleep. Practitioner Ms. Lu Wenhui threw up several times because of the terrible odour. People with heart disease and high blood pressure can hardly breathe because of the stench of urine.

Liang Yachun, Cui Yanqiu, Sun Bo, Liu Dongli, and Zhang Caixia (all female) are all prisoners who have been the most aggressive to practitioners in the workshop, beating whomever they want and turning in whomever they want to turn in. Practitioners Ms. Li Jinku and Ms. Xiao Hua have all been slapped on the face by Zhang Caixia. The most vicious people there are warden Zhang Bo, and guards Zhou Muqi, Zhou Lifan, and Cong Zhixui.

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.

2. The "Big Hang Up" -- there are two forms of this torture: (a) With both hands cuffed behind the back and only the toes touching the ground, one is hung by a rope that is tied to the metal window frame; (b) One hand of a practitioner is cuffed to one bunk bed and the other hand to another bed, and the two beds are pulled in the opposite directions. One feels extreme pain as the body is pulled. See illustration on http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/11/17/54624.html

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/6/21/180678.html