Witnessing Torture at Masanjia Forced Labour Camp

I am a Falun Gong practitioner from Liaoning Province. I was taken to the Masanjia Forced Labour Camp in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province by the Dalian Domestic Security Division on September 20th, 2007. In that place, I witnessed the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Regardless of the time, day or night, I could hear practitioners' pitiful screams as they were being tortured. Guards used any imaginable torture methods and brainwashed practitioners viciously in an effort to have practitioners renounce their belief.

1. Forced Labour

I was detained at Brigade No. 3 of the No. 2 women's camp. On the east port of the third floor, the top floor, is a tiny cell where the camp first held two people and then later four. The cell was facing north and it was icy cold all night. The windows on the corridor side were tightly sealed with paper, and guarded. We were not allowed to go downstairs at all.

Vicious guards forced us to do slave labour, from 5 a.m. to around 9 p.m. and sometimes even to 11 p.m. We had to finish our quota before being allowed to sleep. Practitioners were prevented from using the toilet many times.

On January 18th, 2008, I was taken to Brigade No. 1 on the second floor. Because of my short-sightedness, I could not do delicate work. I usually wore contact lenses, but due to the fabric dust from making clothes, I couldn't wear them. It was as if I were blind. Besides this, I exhibited heart problems and high blood pressure. The guards, realising that I was unable to do any work, took me to the fabric workshop where I had to work with rolled materials. Two people generally worked together, with four people taking turns, but I had to work nonstop during the day. I was in bad health, exhibiting blood in the urine, oedema, high blood pressure and heart disease.

2. Being Tortured

While detained at Masanjia, I became emaciated. The results of an electrocardiogram were unusual, and my blood pressure was high. When I was unable to work, the guards took my blood pressure. It was often 190 over 115.

On July 31st, 2008, I refused to sign an inspection document. Therefore, Zhao Guorong ordered guards Guan Lin, Zhao Wei, Yang Dan and Guo Lei to use drug addict inmates from Shenyang, Benxi and other places, more than 80 of them, to beat and kick me. My ribs were injured and I could not lie down at night, could not move or turn my body when I tried to lie down, and was in excruciating pain. Then, Zhao Guorong ordered me to do military training. I refused and said: "You have to beat me, as I can't walk."

I kept refusing to sign the inspection document. Zhao Guorong, Xiang Kuili, and prisoners Zhao Wei and Yang Dan pushed me to the ground, held my hand and forced me to sign.

On October 8th, I again refused to go to the office to sign that document. Three prisoners who were monitoring the brigade pulled me to the office. A guard kicked me in the back three times and I fainted. When I came to, a female guard yelled, "Why don't you die from a stroke, and save us so much trouble?" Guards Zhang Chunguang and Zhao Guorong took turns torturing me with electric batons. I didn't react, so they wanted to charge the baton. Some part was missing and they said that I had to reimburse them as it cost between 160 and 170 yuan¹. Zhang Chunguang was tired from beating me with his hands, so he rolled up a magazine and threatened to hang me up. I was handcuffed to a heater pipe for twelve hours and not allowed to go to the toilet or eat. Besides, the guards forced medicine into my mouth. My right ear ached for over a month and especially when I ate.

That day, practitioners refused to sign the inspection document. Several dozen practitioners were beaten, tortured with electric batons and hung up. Practitioner Qi Zhihong suffered a mental collapse and Zhang Yinglin, from Haicheng, had a bone fracture in her arm.

3. Doing Forced Labour in an Unsafe Environment

The environment in the cotton processing workshop was terrible. Shenyang's winters are very cold, but there was no heater. The cotton for making coats was black and dirty. The cotton processing machine was on its last legs. Cotton dust clouded the air. We were only given two protective mouth shields a month.

The labour camp made a profit from forcing practitioners into slave labour. They tortured practitioners. From October to the end of the year, practitioner Sun Xiaoxiang from Beijing was tortured and had difficulty breathing. Practitioner Zhang Yinglin from Haicheng was hung up and tortured. Practitioner Zhong Shujuan from Dalian had a nasal bone fracture, and a bruised face. I was beaten and handcuffed and could barely walk. I suffered heartburn and high blood pressure. Tang Wei monitored us closely when we were working. Zhang Chunguang demanded that Tang Wei watch practitioner Zhang Yinglin, who didn't receive any protective gear. Later, the cotton processing workshop was closed.

In the workshop, I was forced to sweep the floor, clean toilets and so on. I was covered in dust, but was not provided any protective gear.

In mid-May, the camp took the aged and weak, just about all those who couldn't work, to a former youth reformatory at Masanjia. I was among them. There was a food cooking and processing centre. We packed pork, chicken feet, tea-flavoured boiled eggs and other food. The windows were closed and the environment was unhygienic. There was grease everywhere and the bathroom floor was slippery. Practitioner Ms. Liu Yanqiu from Benxi fell and broke her arm. We did not work there long. At the end of May, the place was closed down, but we weren't told the reason.

The above is some of what I experienced at Masanjia Forced Labour Camp but this is only the tip of the iceberg. The torture methods were manifold and guards and criminal inmates were vicious when it came to practitioners.

My term was extended by 11 days over my two-year sentence. My weight dropped from nearly 90 kg to less than 65 kg by the time I returned home. This is a period of time which will forever be burned into my memory.

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://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/12/21/233931.html