A Practitioner Recounts Being Force-fed and Brutally Tortured at Shayang Forced Labour Camp in Hubei Province

Whenever I recall the days that I spent imprisoned at Shayang Forced Labour Camp (presently the Hubei Province Men's Labour Camp) in Qilihu Town in Shayang County, Hubei Province, I tremble with fear. The following is a personal account of my some of my experiences.

In 2001, I was sentenced to one year in Shayang Forced Labour Camp by the Xiantao City Court. When I entered the door of the No. 9 Ward, I was required to announce my presence by saying, "report!" Since I did not consider myself a prisoner, I did not say anything. A few guards came up to me and said, "Later, you will say 'report.'"

After I entered my cell and sat in the lotus position, a criminal inmate who was a drug addict reported me to a guard. Two male guards immediately rushed over and began beating me with electric batons. They continued like this until mealtime, leaving my legs burnt and disfigured from the electric shocks.

In order to protest my imprisonment and abuse, I started a hunger strike. To prevent me from influencing other practitioners in the camp, the guards locked me in the "conference room." This tiny, damp room has one small window that is covered with newspapers. Every practitioner who arrives at the camp is taken to this room. Steadfast practitioners are usually taken to the "conference room" and tortured there.

The main people responsible for torturing me were Fang, the chief of the labour camp's Department of Education, Gong Shanxiu, the leader of the No. 9 Ward, and Liu Qiuhong, the prison physician (all females). After they physically restrained me, they used a big spoon to force-feed me hot pepper water. When they were done torturing me like this, they ordered two big drug addict criminals to drag me to the labour camp hospital. While there, they brutally force-fed me through a rubber tube, causing my mouth to bleed profusely.

They then inserted a metal "mouth gag" into my mouth and adjusted it to its maximum width. In this way, my mouth was stretched to the point that it tore my lips in several places. They left me in this position for several hours, causing my mouth to become severely injured and deformed.

Liu ordered inmates to beat, verbally abuse, and torture me with sleep deprivation. In addition, they forced me to stand for long periods of time causing my feet to swell and become very stiff. When the women's labour camp eventually moved to Wuhan City, the existing facility was renamed the Hubei Province Men's Labour Camp. Liu stayed behind to work at the men's camp.

At the new facility in Wuhan City, guards took me to the prison hospital and forced me to swallow large quantities of prescription pills three times a day and injected me with unknown drugs. I felt awful and was sweating profusely. One day, after the guards put a big rubber tube down my throat, it became lodged and wouldn't come out. They got very nervous and didn't know what to do. They often called my family to try to get them to persuade me to start eating again.

One day, in the presence of my family, Gong Shanxiu, the leader of the ward told me, "Even if you die of hunger, it will be in vain." I replied, "It will not be in vain. If I die at your labour camp, it is because you tortured me to death. When I am back home, I will not continue this hunger strike." After I spoke, she was too shocked to reply. No matter how hypocritical the guards were, I was not moved.

As a result of the long term torture that I suffered, I became critically ill. In an effort to shirk their responsibility, the guards notified my family to come pick me up. In 2003, after having just recovered from my illnesses by practising Falun Gong at home, the Xiantao City 610 Office¹ and agents of the National Security Division came to my home and arrested me. They later took me to the No. 9 Ward at Shayang Forced Labour Camp.

Under the charge of Liu Qiong and Liu Bing, I was tortured with sleep deprivation and forced to stand for long periods of time. Every day, seven to eight "transformed²" practitioners took turns trying to brainwash me with misinformation about the teachings of Falun Gong. At that time, I felt as if my brain was going to explode and I became very muddleheaded. While in this vulnerable state, the guards forced me to write a guarantee statement saying that I would no longer practise Falun Gong.

In order to protest the inhuman torture that I was being subjected to, I went on a hunger strike. The guards instigated drug addict criminals to force-feed me. Later, deputy director Chen Yu (female) ordered the inmates to drag me along the concrete so my finger tips were partially supporting the weight of my body. When Chen saw this she said that this was a good way to get rid of my fingernails. She then instigated these same inmates to lift me up by my ears, making me feel as if my ears were going to be ripped off of my head.

Not long after I stopped my hunger strike, the guards extended my term by an additional five months without notifying my family. When my original term had officially expired, my family members drove hundreds of miles to pick me up, but I could not leave with them.

At that time, two practitioners in the camp were severely tortured with sleep deprivation. The guards forced them to work like slaves and did not permit them to use the toilet while working. Every few days, these practitioners were isolated from the group and tortured. When they returned to their cells, their eyes were black and blue and their feet were so swollen that their shoes no longer fit.

Ms. Wei Xinzhihi, who is from Tianmen City, works in Wuhan City. When the Wuhan City police failed to force Ms. Wei to give up her belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, they transferred her to the No. 9 Ward at Shayang Forced Labour Camp.

A young practitioner from Fujian Province went on a hunger strike at a detention centre to protest her imprisonment and abuse. She too was later transferred to the No. 9 Ward. Being unable to endure the brutal torture that she was subjected to, she was forcibly "transformed" by the guards.

The few experiences I wrote above are only the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of thousands of practitioners have suffered similar fates under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime and many are currently being tortured at detention centres, prisons, and labour camps throughout China.

I wrote this article to expose the CCP's evil nature and to help the Chinese people see through the regime's lies. I want to encourage people to help stop this brutal and inhumane persecution against Falun Gong.

Note

1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

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/2009/4/21/199373.html