Lecturer from Communication University of China Tortured in Forced Labour Camp

Name: Huang Ling
Gender: Female
Age: 35
Address: Unknown
Occupation: Teacher
Date of most recent arrest: September 11th, 2007
Most recent place of detention: Xindian Women's Forced Labour Camp in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province
City: Beijing
Persecution suffered: Sleep deprivation, forced labour, beatings, solitary confinement

Ms. Huang Ling, a lecturer at the Communication University of China, has been persecuted many times over the past 11 years. Ms. Huang was taken into custody on September 11th, 2007. She was sentenced to two years and six months of forced labour and detained at the Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp for nine months, and then transferred to the Xindian Women's Forced Labour Camp in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, before the 2008 Olympics. Her term was extended for another three months. She was released on June 8th, 2010, after two years of detention at the Xindian Women's Forced Labour Camp. She was forced to sit for long periods of time and was brutally beaten.

The following is Ms. Huang Ling's account of her experiences at the Xindian Women's Forced Labour Camp:

On July 17th, 2008, I was transferred to the Xindian Women's Forced Labour Camp after nine months of detention at the Beijing Women's Forced Labour Camp. They extended my term for another three months for “hiding Falun Gong articles.” I was brutally beaten, verbally abused, and locked in solitary confinement. I've talked about my experiences before and my testimony was published on Clearwisdom. I'm going to relate my experiences after I appealed to the Shanxi Province Re-education Through Labour Bureau about the extension of my term.

Locked in Solitary Confinement for Writing Application Paper

According to the labour camp's regulations, we could send in an application for a review concerning the extension of our terms. I handed my application to a guard named Zhang Na, and asked her to send it in. In the application paper, I talked about how the second ward guards treated the Falun Gong practitioners. A section chief with the surname of Shang from the labour bureau gave me the receipt from my application. She didn't mention anything about what I had written concerning the persecution by the guards. When I asked her about it, she said she had never received anything like that, and later she said it wasn't her job and the application had been forwarded to the relevant department. She said I could submit an administrative reconsideration within 30 days of receiving the term extension papers. I could also institute legal proceedings with the court within 60 days. I replied that I had written seven letters to send to the court, the Procuratorate and the Bureau of Justice, but that the guards would not let me mail them.

On October 15th, 2009, the morning following the conversation I had with the guard, I was taken to a room by Chen Huiru, the head of the second ward, and held in solitary confinement until I was released on June 8th, 2010. Initially I was not allowed to have a pencil or paper, and was not allowed to write anything. After repeatedly asking, I was given one piece of paper for writing letters.

On December 11th, 2009, I received the documents for the three-month extension of my term issued by the labour bureau. The reason stated for the extension was “spreading poisonous ideas.” I told the guards that I wanted to submit an administrative reconsideration. Chen Huiru gave me three pieces of paper. I wrote on both sides of each piece of paper. One guard said that I could mail the letters the next day. When I went to get all seven appeal letters I had written to the court, Procuratorate and Bureau of Justice before I was placed in solitary confinement, they were all gone. Chen Huiru told me that the letters were confiscated during a security check.

From December 2009 to February 2010, I wrote six letters to my family and the people at work. I talked about the three-month extension of my term and my experiences at the Xindian Women's Forced Labour Camp. The guards did not mail the letters. They mailed only one letter, which was to my child, and only after I had made many requests. I wasn't allowed to receive any letters, either. I didn't receive the four letters that my husband and parents had sent to me from October to December 2009. My husband registered the letters, but I couldn't receive even the registered mail from March to May 2010. All of the letters were held by Lei Hongzhen, the head of the second group.

Basic Human Rights Denied During Solitary Confinement

I was locked in solitary confinement in a small room and monitored by two drug addicts every day. I was not allowed to go outside or talk to anyone. I was forced to sit on a small stool in front of a surveillance camera all day. I was not allowed to stand by the window, and the door was usually locked. I had to ring a bell and make a request whenever I wanted to drink water or go to the toilet. I was not allowed to take a shower for six months. Chen Chunxiang, the head of the group, said, “I don't care if you don't take a shower for a year.”

The meals were brought to me and I was not allowed to go to the cafeteria to eat. The food was usually cold when I received it. I have had a duodenal ulcer since I was six years old and I would have a stomach ache once or twice each winter. My illness improved dramatically after I started practising Falun Gong in 1996, but the cold food gave me stomach problems again. To make the food warmer, I put the buns in a plastic bag and put the bag next to the radiator. Later I did the same thing with the other food, but I had no way to warm the rice porridge and I had to eat it cold. My stomach aches were getting worse and I often woke up at night from the pain. I made a request to Chen Huiru to let me eat in the cafeteria, but she didn't respond.

From the end of October 2009 to December 2009, I was not given enough to eat. This lasted for more than a month. I talked to Chen Huiru many times about getting more to eat. I was detained for two years and nine months, and I endured many forms of torture. When I was released, I was very weak, my legs were swollen, three of my teeth were gone, and I had grey hair.

Severely Beaten Many Times for Requesting an End to Solitary Confinement

After four months of solitary confinement, I started to talk to the head of the second group and write letters to the director of the labour camp, demanding an end to the solitary confinement. My requests went unanswered. I submitted my request many times. I told them that I was very weak and needed more room to move around. I also told them that they shouldn't lock me in a small, dark room. It wasn't easy to talk to the guards because the person monitoring me was following me. The person monitoring me often swore at me after I talked to the guards. I was often pulled away while I was talking and my clothes were often torn.

One month passed and no one gave me an answer. On March 20th, 2009, I asked Chen Huiru and Lei Hongzhen for a piece of paper and wrote down my requests:

I wanted them to call off the solitary confinement.
I wanted an answer to my request of administrative reconsideration from the Re-education Through Labour Bureau
I wanted the right to receive and mail letters.
As I was writing the letter, about a dozen drug addicts broke into my room. They took the letter away and asked me what I was doing. I said, “I'm writing a letter. What are you doing?” One person said, “Chen Huiru asked us to come and see what you were doing.” Then they started to grab my hair and hit me in the face and head. I fell down. Jia Pengxia hit my back and head with my writing board and shoes. She also kicked my legs. The beating lasted for about 50 minutes. I was bruised all over and it was very painful. The drug addicts involved in the beating were Jia Pengxia, Wang Xiulan, Zeng Ye, Bai Qiaoling, Xie Suqin, Cao Sufang and others. Guards Chen Huiru and Lei Hongzhen watched the entire incident through the monitor. When the guards thought I was beaten enough, they sent someone to tell the drug addicts to leave the room. Chen Huiru threatened other inmates and told them that they would be dealt with harshly if they spoke of this.

I had a concussion following the beating. I felt dizzy if I lowered my head, and couldn't sit or squat down. I felt sharp pains in my head, and would get a headache if I read a little bit. I couldn't fall asleep because of the pain. On March 22nd, 2010, I wrote about the beating in a letter and dropped it in the director's mailbox. I was beaten even more after that. Two of the drug addict monitors swore at me on March 27th. Later they called upon the other drug addicts for help, and two people pinned me down while another kicked my stomach and legs. They hit my face and eyes, and afterwards my eyes hurt a lot. I said, “You shouldn't hit others like this. I want to see the head of the ward.” They hit me even harder after hearing that. They hit my head and back with shoes. I was pushed to the ground. One person got on top of me and she hit me in the face. She even hit my head with a water basin. One guard, Wang, heard my cries and came to see what was going on. I told her that the monitors were beating me. She saw my face and quickly left without saying anything. They saw that the guard didn't stop them, and beat me even harder. I was beaten from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and they didn't stop until they were tired. My old wounds hadn't healed yet, and the new wounds formed on top of the old ones.

I had no way to report my situation. On March 28th, I shouted in front of an open window and asked to see the head of the labour camp. The monitor grabbed my hair and pushed me to the ground. She closed the window after this.

Sleep Deprivation and More Beatings

Lei Hongzhen later appointed two new monitors, Wang Meili and Zhang Miao. Wang Meili was a drug addict. In order to have her term reduced, she took part in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Wang Meili told me later that she didn't mean to treat me badly, but she had to do what she was told, and that she was just following orders. Zhang Miao had been detained many times and had a bad temper.

On March 29th, Wang Meili told Liu Lijun, the person who brought me meals, to give me less food. Liu Lijun didn't listen. Wang Meili talked to Liu Lijun many times. In the end she threatened Liu Lijun, “This is to transform a Falun Gong practitioner. It's Lei's order. I'll report you if you keep bringing her enough food, showing sympathy towards her, and helping her.” In the labour camp, a person becomes the target of attack if they show sympathy to Falun Gong practitioners or help them. Liu Lijun didn't dare to bring me enough food after that. She told me privately that she had no choice. I didn't have enough to eat and was always hungry from the end of March to the end of April 2010. I talked to Lei Hongzhen many times but she didn't do anything about my situation.

On the evening of April 2nd, Wang Meili and Zhang Miao made me stand for a long time. They didn't let me eat, drink or use the toilet. They took me over to a corner, and Wang Meili hit me in the chest, which was so painful that I had difficulty breathing. Zhang Miao slapped me in the face dozens of times. She kicked my legs and stepped on my feet and toes. Later they pinched my arms and sides.

Lei Hongzhen began to use sleep deprivation, a method she had used before on Falun Gong practitioners. I wasn't allowed to nap during the day and they didn't let me go to sleep until midnight. Lei Hongzhen ordered Wang Meili and Zhang Miao to watch me and to not let me sleep. Wang Meili and Zhang Miao were very tired after three days. They didn't want to continue watching me, and I finally was able to take a nap.

Wang Meili and Zhang Miao swore at me and beat me, and used many different excuses for doing so. I was beaten every day. On the evening of April 9th, Zhang Miao gave me a severe beating. My hair was pulled out and was all over the ground. Zhang Miao was moved somewhere else the next day.

My Child Was Forced to Move from Place to Place While Both Parents Were Detained

My husband and I were taken from work by officers from Fengtai Town Police Station on September 11th, 2007. Later, a police officer called our eight-year-old child out of his classroom at school and interrogated him in the principal's office. Since both of us were detained, our child had to move from place to place. Sometimes he did not get enough food to eat, and he had to take care of himself when he got sick.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/12/6/233335.html