Persecution Still at Heightened Level in Hebei Province Women's Prison after the Olympics

Hebei Province Women's Prison consists of eleven wards, a prison hospital, a dispatch-ward, and an education office. All facilities, except the education office, house imprisoned practitioners. On average, each of them has a dozen practitioners. The prison imprisons more than two hundred practitioners. The total prison population is more than three thousand.

Like other prisons in China, the Hebei Province Women's Prison became notorious for its brutality after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners on July 20th, 1999. In addition to enslaving practitioners, guards use all means, including brainwashing, to "transform¹" practitioners. Ms. Wang Bo, who, until recently, had evaded capture, is imprisoned at the brainwashing camp in the Hebei Province Women's Prison.

During the Beijing Olympics, the Hebei Province Women's Prison suspended all visitation and phone calls for practitioners and their families. After the Olympics, each ward created a special group which consisted of three "transformed" practitioners, two prisoners as personal monitors, and another prisoner who monitored the group and informed the guard. The special group targets one practitioner at a time. The targeted practitioner was transferred to a single cell, and not allowed to meet or communicate with any other practitioners. The special group intensively tried to "transform" the practitioner. After a period of time, if the "transformation" fails, the practitioner is either confined to a torture room or taken to the brainwashing camp and subjected to further persecution.

Ms. Zhao Zhiqiang, a resident of Chengde City, Hebei Province, is imprisoned in the Sixth ward. She was isolated in a single cell by the special group on September 24th, 2008. To protest the persecution, Ms. Zhao went on a hunger strike for more than ten days. To coerce Ms. Zhao to give up her faith, the guards manipulated Ms. Zhao' sister, a "transformed" practitioner. The sister then wrote a letter asking the guards to force her sister to "transform". Ms. Zhao is in a dangerous and difficult situation.

Practitioners in Chengde City are working to stop Ms. Zhao's sister's unwise behaviour. They go to the prison to demand visitation rights and the release of Ms. Zhao, and work together to stop the wicked acts in the prison.

Practitioners are imprisoned for professing their belief in Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance at the Hebei Province Women's Prison. They endure torture from guards and other prisoners. We appeal to all people in the world to lend a helping hand and work with us to stop the nine-year long persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China. Let justice shine in the world.

Note

1. "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/2008/10/26/188492.html