Blind Senior Woman Brainwashed, Tortured, and Forced to Scrub Floors in a Forced Labour Camp

Name: Wang Chunhua
Gender: Female
Age: Over 60
Address: Weifang City, Shandong Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: March 16th, 2005
Most Recent Place of Detention: Wangcun Labour Camp
City: Zibo
Province: Shandong
Persecution Suffered: Home Ransacked, Forced Labour, Sleep Deprivation, Torture

During the morning of March 16th, 2005, Ms. Wang Chunhua was out distributing information about Falun Gong. When she was seen by the transportation police, they arrested her. The Weifang District Police Department in Weifang City then ransacked her home. They confiscated Falun Gong books, and brochures. After checking the confiscated materials, they took her to the Weifang City detention centre. The police called her older brother demanding money, saying, "She will be sentenced to forced labour if you do not pay us." After 32 days, several police officers headed by the chief of the 610 Office¹ of Weifang City and a woman from the local residence committee came to the detention centre to take her to a hospital for a physical examination. Years ago Ms. Wang, due to an eye disease, one of her eyes had been removed and an artificial eye had been implanted. The labour camp did not want to accept her due to this condition. But the 610 Office agents bribed the labour camp into accepting her by paying them 1,000 yuan².

In the labour camp, prison guards Yan Yan, Wang, and others tried to force her to give up Falun Gong. Because she did not co-operate, she was tortured, deprived of sleep, and prohibited from going to the toilet. She was forced to sit straight on a low bench all day long, which caused pain in her legs. After nearly 20 days of this abuse, the guards asked her why she practised Falun Gong. She replied, "I practise Falun Gong because I want to be a good person. I am in very good health and don't need medication."

The guard pointed her finger at Ms. Wang's forehead and said, "You still say Falun Gong is good. If you continue to say Falun Gong is good, you will be forced to stand for a long time." Later, others pressured her to renounce Falun Gong by writing a guarantee statement to give up the practice. Because she was nearly blind she could not work, but the guards found something for her to do. They forced this over-60-year-old lady to wash the floors in the corridors and the halls every day. If she failed to do a good job, she would be abused all day long. The physical labour was exhausting and pained her legs and back, but this is what she had to do every day. During her two years in the Wangcui Forced Labour Camp, the guards tortured and abused her.

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

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/9/15/208396.html