Former Deputy Director of Chamber of Commerce Twice Held in Forced Labour Camp

Name: Li Shujie
Gender: Female
Age: 60
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Deputy director of Chamber of Commerce

Date of Most Recent Arrest: April 7th, 2006
Most recent place of detention: Hohhot Women's Forced Labour Camp
City: Hohhot City
Province: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Persecution Suffered: Imprisonment, interrogation, home ransacked, extortion, physical constraints, beatings, forced labour.

Ms. Li Shujie, 60, was a deputy director at the Chamber of Commerce in Balinzuoqi, Inner Mongolia. Before she began practising Falun Gong, Ms. Li suffered rheumatic arthritis and chronic pharyngitis for 20 years. She also had severe headaches and a cystic ovary. After twenty days of practising Falun Gong in 1998, her illnesses disappeared.

After the persecution started in 1999, the Zuoqi Police Station recorded Ms. Li's fingerprints and signature and forced her to sign an agreement promising never to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. In February 2000, because of her outstanding performance at work, the Chifeng City Life Insurance company approved her trips to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. However, Wang Qige from Balinzuoqi Public Safety Bureau denied her passport application because she practised Falun Gong, and the countries she planned to visit had large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners.

On June 21st, 2001, the Chifeng City 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) ordered Wang Jingren, a resident commissioner, to take the lead in arresting Ms. Li. As per the order, the commissioner was assisted by Bao Xiaoyu, along with an official with the surname of Wang (first name unknown) from the Chifeng Public Safety Bureau, and two others. They confiscated Falun Gong articles and music tapes. Wang and a police officer harassed her, threatening that if she would not admit to having spread Falun Gong materials, her husband would lose his job and her children would be denied employment.

On July 3rd, police officers interrogated Ms. Li for four consecutive days. She was not allowed to rest and was given only one meal per day. The officers handcuffed her to bed frames, pipes, and window frames. Her wrists became swollen and bruised and she was unable to move her arm. On July 7th, Ms. Li and another practitioner, Chen Yanping, were taken to the Aluke'erqinqi (Arhorchin Banner) Detention Centre.

Ms. Li's family was terrified. They visited her 18 times in the detention centre in two months. Li Guo, secretary of the political legal commission, embezzled 2,000 yuan¹ from the family for visiting her. Ms. Li was sentenced to two years in a forced labour camp. On September 16th, 2001, Bai Xiuzhen and Zhai Yajie from the Balinzuoqi Public Safety Bureau took Ms. Li to the Hohhot Women's Forced Labour Camp.

In the camp, every practitioner was followed and monitored by two inmates, known as "personal cangues," who were serving sentences for illegal drug use. The personal cangues monitored them during all their activities, including working, eating, standing, sleeping and using the toilet. Practitioners woke up at 5:30 a.m. and worked in a sweatshop until 9:00 p.m., and sometimes until 11:00 p.m. Ms. Li's task was wrapping pieces of paper around disposable chopsticks. Having to work over ten hours a day, her fingers bled and became stiff. She became so physically exhausted that her high blood pressure and heart problems resurfaced.

In May 2002, the camp staff used extreme means to force practitioners to write statements promising to renounce Falun Gong. The practitioners were forced to stand for long periods of time, around the clock, to force them to write the statements. Practitioners' legs and feet swelled so badly that their shoes hurt. Their eyes turned red and their eye orbitals darkened. They passed out one after another. Ms. Li had three heart attacks and was revived by cardiac stimulants. Ms. Li heard there were people tortured to death in the camp, and that the staff threw them off the building saying that they committed suicide. She was terrified that her well-being was being left to camp staff.

On September 23rd, 2002, Ms. Li was allowed to serve the rest of her time outside of the camp. The Chifeng 610 Office initially violated official rules and ordered the Balinzuoqi 610 Office to suspend her pay for 14 months during her imprisonment in the camp. She later was only paid 70 per cent for the work she completed outside of the camp.

On April 7th, 2006, the Balinzuoqi 610 Office ordered officers Na Shun and Du Yi to arrest Ms. Li and another practitioner Ms. Wang Xiaoyan, who was visiting Ms. Li. The officers took Falun Gong books and an MP3 player. On April 8th, Du and Na interrogated Ms. Li. They grabbed her hair, pulling much of it out, and her clothes, and dragged her to the interrogation office. On April 10th, Du and Na dragged her outside and forced her to put her fingerprints on a written statement that slandered Falun Gong. Ms. Li's heart failed and she lost consciousness. Seven non-medical personnel performed CPR. After she regained consciousness, she felt extreme pain in her rib cage and had difficulty breathing. Na and Du put her fingerprints on the documents and left her alone on her bed without calling for a doctor.

Wang Jila and Zhang Fengwen from the public safety bureau took Ms. Li, Ms. Wang Xiaoyan, Ms. Li Shengjun, and Ms. Li Yufen to the Hohhot Women's Forced Labour Camp at 2:00 a.m. on April 11th, without performing proper physical exams. Each one of them received two years in the camp. The day was cold and Ms. Li wore only a thin shirt. She passed out when she got to the camp. The officers carried her into the camp and left her alone.

Ms. Li was locked in a room in which all windows were covered with paper. The wooden bed was placed on the ground. She was monitored by four inmatess around the clock and was not able to have contact with other practitioners. Guards and other personnel who had renounced Falun Gong continually attempted to brainwash her. When Ms. Li refused to renounce Falun Gong, the guards started to scold, yell and scorn her. She was not allowed to shower and was forced to stand for a long period of time as punishment. She was forced to sleep on the cold floor, and her chest hurt so much that she couldn't turn over. She became very weak from her hunger strike, physical illnesses, and being tortured.

In July 2006, the camp started military training. Ms. Li couldn't keep up with the training. She informed the camp staff about her illnesses and wanted to stop the training. The camp staff scorned her and forced her to continue. She felt dizzy during the training and asked to be spared again. A guard took her to the dispensary and she was diagnosed with high blood pressure. The medical staff approved for her to rest. She couldn't eat and felt nauseated and very dizzy. She fainted on her way back to her cell. She couldn't walk for two days.

In Spring 2007, Ms. Li was transferred to another brigade. She was forced to work non-stop until she felt dizzy and fell down. She was shaking and her lips turned blue. She couldn't stand up and her fingers became stiff.

In October 2007, Ms. Li was forced to unload a truck full of turnips. She couldn't keep up with the work flow and fainted. No one dared to take care of her because everyone had to work. She spontaneously woke half an hour later. At noon, her heart problem started acting up again. She couldn't breathe and her face turned blue. She was left alone until she caught her breath.

In Spring 2007, Ms. Li's husband fell in the snow and broke his wrist. He had high blood pressure at the same time. Ms. Li was very ill in the Hohhot Forced Labour Camp as well. Her husband wrote the camp asking for Ms. Li's release for medical treatment. For several months he received no answer. His illness worsened with no one around to care for him. In February 2008, Ms. Li was released. In less than a month, Ms. Li's husband, 63, died.

Note

1. "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://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2009/12/31/215430.html