Crimes Committed in the Zaozihe Forced Labour Camp in Shaanxi Province

In Shaanxi Province the Zaozihe Men's Forced Labour Camp is located in a remote mountain area in Fengxiang County, Baoji City. The facility holds most of the male Falun Gong practitioners who have been arrested in Shaanxi Province. There are four wards altogether. The first and second wards are regular wards, and the third ward is for education, and the fourth ward is for service. The camp director, Zhang Shilu held camp wide meetings many times to slander Falun Gong.

The "transformation class¹" is a brainwashing class, and its chair Yang Jun, is the general chief for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners in the camp. Under his guidance, guards mentally torture practitioners who refuse to recant their beliefs. Practitioners are forced to stand all night long. They are deprived of the right to sleep, hung up with rope tied through handcuffs,and locked up in small cells². The guards cruelly beat practitioners, and even soak them in a big water vat to freeze them in the winter. The guards also arrange prisoners convicted on drug charges to beat practitioners after covering their heads with cotton blankets.

Second Ward Guards and Their Crimes

Warden Hu Xinqi, now promoted to be the Camp Political Department Deputy Chair, directed guards to beat practitioners. In August 2001, Hu and guard Wei Qiming hung up practitioners by handcuffs, and instructed prisoners to beat them. At the beginning of 2002, he encouraged prisoners to torture practitioners, and called on them to "torture harder!"

Guard Wei Qiming, has now been promoted to be the Fourth Ward Warden. In August 2001, he hung up practitioners with handcuffs until both feet were off the ground. He instructed prisoner Shi Chunhong to beat practitioner Mr. Kuang Dongliang. In December 2001, he instructed prisoner Liu Changyi to torture practitioners Mr. Zheng Chunlai and Mr. Xie Xinhao by depriving them of their right to sleep for four days. Wei personally tied practitioner Mr. Kuang Dongliang onto a bed. Wei encouraged prisoner Luo Junqi to beat practitioner Mr. Wang Qiansheng, by grabbing his hair and punching his head against the wall, and then he punched and kicked him. Luo also beat practitioner Mr. Han Tao from Yan'an City, and deprived him of his right to sleep.

Wei Qiming also instructed prisoner Yang Jun and Ma Jun to cruelly beat Mr. Han Tao, and only allowed him to sleep one to two hours per night, forcing him to stand against the wall with his nose touching the wall all day. Another prisoner Zhang Xiaobing beat and injured Mr. Han Tao, and also beat practitioner Mr. Chen Mingan, and did not allow Mr. Chen to sleep. Wei Qiming and guard Hu Qixin inhumanly directed prisoners to beat practitioner Mr. Wang Wensheng who is 55 years old, and his hair turned all white. The prisoners hit his ankle bones with the side of their shoes, resulting in his calves becoming severely swollen. The prisoners only allowed him to sleep for one to two hours per night.

Warden Hou Bocheng instructed prisoners Feng Tao, Sun Liping and Yang Wei to torture practitioner Mr. Ma Haiming for 17 days, not allowing him to sleep, and beating him. One of the physical tortures they used is euphemistically called "sitting on a sofa," which forced practitioners to be in a half-sitting position with their backs straight against the wall, with no support under their buttocks.

Section chief leader Zhu Xilin slapped practitioner Mr. Li Wenjun who was detained in the First Ward several times, and instructed four prisoners to beat Mr. Li Wenjun.

Guard Wang Junwei instructed prisoner Liu Changyi to not allow practitioners Mr. Zheng Chunlai and Mr. Xie Xinhao to sleep in order to force them to accept the brainwashing.

Guard Wang Wenlong is in charge of brainwashing in the second ward. He pressured practitioners and forced them to watch materials which slander Falun Gong, and encouraged prisoners to beat practitioners.

Guard Dou Guangqing instructed prisoners Wang Xianmin and Wang Tianxi to beat practitioner Mr. Wang Qiansheng, and only allowed him to sleep for one or two hours per day.

Crimes in the Education Third Ward

Chinese Communist Party Deputy Political Instructor Lu Lianke tried to mentally torture detained practitioners since January 2002, but could not force practitioners to give up their faith. He only allowed practitioners to sleep for less than two hours per night, and he personally monitored each cell through a camera system, forcing prisoners to help brainwash practitioners from morning until night. These prisoners were not allowed to have practitioners talk to each other, otherwise they would be punished by Li Lianke.

The former warden, currently Political Instructor Chen Chao'en, ordered another round of torture with brutal beatings beginning at the end of May 2002. In order to please top party officials Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan who were coming to inspect their persecution in Shaanxi Province, Chen chose drug addict prisoners Ma Hongxing, Liang Yongming, Yang Junhui, Cheng Fuzhong, Zhang Zhong'an and sexual offender Zhang Zhimin to brutally beat practitioners Mr. Wu Xinming, Mr. Zhu Xianzhong, Mr. Shi Chaohui, Mr. Yin Wen, Mr. Wang Xiaoming, Mr. Xie Liangbin and Mr. Ren Jun. Right after the cruel beating, they forced these practitioners to write the Three Statements³, or "Regret Letter." In order to hide the screaming from these beatings, Chen moved the torture place to four empty rooms on the third floor of the south side of the building. These prisoners divided into two groups, and each group surrounded one practitioner at a time to conduct the brutality. They used their knees to hit practitioner Mr. Wu Xinming's outer sides of his thighs, causing the inner sides of his thighs to be bruised and swollen. Normally people could not take such hitting a second time. Drug addict Cheng Fuzhong and Zhang Zhong'an beat practitioner Mr. Wang Xiaoming, wrote slanderous words on Mr. Wang Xiaoming's forehead, and then urinated on his head. They beat him until he could not walk for nearly a month.

Political Instructor Wang Zhizhao, who was promoted to be Fuping Labour Camp Deputy Director in November 2001, instructed guards Yang Yalong and Wang Wenhui to hang up practitioner Mr. Wu Xinming by handcuffs in August 2001, beat him cruelly for four days, and force-fed him dirty water. Mr. Wu was injured internally, and could not straighten his spine for two months.

Deputy Warden Yang Yalong was promoted due for his active role in torturing practitioners. He brainwashed practitioner Mr. Kong Lingxin for seven straight days. In April to May 2003, he personally conducted the brainwashing of practitioner Mr. Chen Mingan. He used sexual offender Zhang Zhimin, 47 years old, to torture practitioners, and rewarded Zhang with power to monitor other prisoners, giving him special privileges.

Guard Wang Xiang tore apart a comforter cover, twisted it into a thick rope, and tied Mr. Kong Lingxin onto the bed for seven whole days.

Guard Wang Xinwei joined Yang Yalong in brainwashing practitioners, and he often slandered Falun Gong.

Guard Hou Fei, also joined Yang Yalong many times in brainwashing practitioners.

Crimes in the First Ward

Political Instructor Yang (given name unknown), said at a camp meeting, "To those practitioners who have refused to accept the brainwashing, we extend their terms, even up to an unlimited term, or we feed them bullets!"

Warden Zhu is one of the main persons responsible for crimes against practitioners in the first ward.

Warden Zhang read slanderous materials at the ward meeting. Practitioner Mr. Qiang Xiaoyi tried to reason with him, but was hung up by handcuffs onto the metal window frame for three days by warden Du, with both feet not touching the floor. Both of his hands were almost disabled due to the handcuffs deeply cutting into his wrists.

Service on the Fourth Ward Crimes

Political Instructor Feng whipped practitioner Mr. Qiang Xiaoyi's face with his shoe sole. He jointly planned to hang all practitioners detained in this ward by handcuffs, and soaked them in a vat of water to freeze. He was promoted one level up due to actively joining the persecution.

Yang Jun, "Transforming class" chair: 86-917-7237373 (Home), 86-917-7485318 (Office)
Education Ward: 86-917-7485329 (Office), Political Instructor Lu Lianke, Warden Chen Chao'en
First Ward: 86-917-7485083 (Office), Political Instructor Yang, Warden Fan
Zaozihe Labour Camp address: Dongjianhe Town, Fengxiang County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, zip code 721400

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")

2. The detainee is locked up in a very small cell individually. The guards handcuff practitioners on their back in a fixed position, in which the practitioners can neither move nor lie down. The small cell is very damp and no sunshine comes in. Detainees have to urinate and defecate in the cell. Usually, only half-rations are served.

3. "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/2004/1/31/66220.html