Ms. Gao Yinglian Persecuted in Xindian Women's Forced Labour Camp in Shanxi Province

Name: Gao Yinglian
Gender: Female
Age: 56
Address: Lingqiu County, No.1 High School Family Compound, Datong City, Shanxi
Occupation: Employee at Lingqiu County Hospital
Date of Most Recent Arrest: November 4th, 2005
Most Recent Place of Detention: Xindian Women's Forced Labour Camp in Shanxi
City: Datong
Province: Shanxi
Persecution Suffered: Home ransacked, detention, forced labour, sleep deprivation, torture

Ms. Gao was physically weak and had suffered from illnesses since she was young. She often came down with a flu throughout the year and the doctor said her lungs looked like those of an old woman. She started to practise Falun Gong in the spring of 1997, and her illnesses soon disappeared.

When Ms. Gao went to appeal for Falun Gong in Beijing on November 25th, 1999, she was arrested by officers from the Lingqiu County Police Department and was incarcerated for a month. She was detained for another two months when she was seen doing the exercises in a park on June 19th, 2000. Her employer, the Lingqiu County Hospital, fired her and she has had no regular income for more than ten years.

On November 4th, 2005, more than ten officers, led by deputy head of the Lingqiu County Police Department Wang Yinglong, head of the Domestic Security Division Zhang Xingming, and Cao Lihong arrested Ms. Gao. They also arrested Ms. Liu Ping, who was visiting her at the time. They were taken to the local police department. The police also confiscated two computers, several tape recorders, MP3 players, a piece of precious jewellery, and several thousand yuan¹ in cash.

While in the Lingqiu County Detention Centre, Ms. Gao was handcuffed. Ten months later, in the autumn of 2006, she was taken to Xindian Women's Forced Labour Camp.

During a physical examination Ms. Gao was found to have high blood pressure, diabetes, gallstones, heart problems, and other illnesses. Camp officials not only refused to release her, they used a number of means to physically abuse and torture her. She was forced to perform hard labour during the day, stand in strenuous positions for long periods of time, and watch TV programmes that slandered Falun Gong. She was forbidden to sleep at times or was only allowed minimal sleep at night.

When Ms. Gao refused to write a guarantee statement to stop practising Falun Gong, the guards left her outside, exposing her to the burning sun, and made her run for long periods of time. She lost consciousness twice.

Division head Lei Hongzhen ordered guards to deprive Ms. Gao of sleep for a month in the autumn of 2007. She was also made to do hard labour and was exposed to the scorching sun for long periods of time.

Two years of physical abuse and torture left her a physical wreck. Her neighbours could barely recognise her when she was allowed to return home.

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/2011/4/15/239066.html