Summary of Abuses in Recent Years at the Tangshan City Kaiping Forced Labour Camp

The Tangshan City Kaiping Forced Labour Camp is now called Hebei Province's No. 1 Forced Labour Camp. Since the persecution of Falun Gong started in July 1999, numerous practitioners have been tortured, disabled, and lost their lives there. In particular, after preparations for the Beijing Olympics began in 2008, more than 100 practitioners were sent to the Kaiping Forced Labour Camp.

From January to September 2011, more than 40 practitioners being held there were from Tangshan City alone. Ms. Zheng Baohua was a Falun Gong practitioner from the North China Oil Field in Renqiu City, Hebei Province. In 2000, she was a junior at the North China Education College. From 2000 to 2009, she was imprisoned four times, totalling more than seven years. Ms. Zheng was released from the Tangshan Kaiping Forced Labour Camp in November 2009, because she had late-stage tuberculosis. She died on April 18th, 2011, at the age of 32.

The camp consists of a three-story building, with levels one and two identically laid out. The north side is shaded throughout the year. It is extremely cloudy and piercingly cold on that side beginning in September. On the northwest side is a three-story building, the "Education" Section, where practitioners are confined to the north side on the ground floor. The guards do not like to patrol this area, and it was vacant for a long time. It is extremely cold, and is where Falun Gong practitioners are tortured.

From late October to late November 2008, practitioners did the Falun Gong exercises in the morning. Guards Lu Haicun, Wang Wenping, and Yan Hongli dragged practitioners Ms. Wang Weiyue, and Ms. Zhou Shuyin into the Education Section. They tied them to the “Chunqiu Chair” (a torture device) for an entire day. Their hands and feet were tied to the armrests and legs of the chair, and they couldn't move. It was extremely cold, so after long hours tied to the chair they could barely walk. Practitioner Ms. Bai Fengyu was tied up for three days, and Ms. Zheng Baohua for two days and a night. They were then taken to the northern "icehouse" and tied up for five days and nights. Although it was ice cold, the guards opened the windows and the wind blew directly on Ms. Zheng. Ms. Liu was tied to a chair for nine days and nights. Yan Hongli did not allow Ms. Liu or Ms. Zheng to use the toilet and Ms. Liu lost control of her bowels. She went on a hunger strike in protest and her blood pressure rose, so she was released.

On January 1st, 2009, the practitioners refused to count off and resisted body searches and any harassment. Wang Wenping took Ms. Wang Weiyue to an office, slapped her face more than ten times, and tied her to the torture chair for four days and nights. All the practitioners were brutally tortured. Ms. Bai Fengyu and Ms. Ren Shufen were tied to the torture chair for two days and one night. Ms. Zheng Baohua was tied to the chair for five days and nights. Ms. Liu Shuge, Ms. Hou Fang, Ms. Liu Xiaojun, Ms. Yang Miao, and Ms. Li Hui were taken to the Education Section and made to stand in the extremely cold corridor from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Because they continued to resist, all those who refused to count off were taken outside where it was freezing cold. Only Ms. Wang Lanfeng and Ms. Yang Miao were spared because they were not feeling well. The wind was bitterly cold. Over 20 practitioners were put outside in the cold. After Ms. Zheng Baohua fainted they were brought back inside.

The guards began to torture seven practitioners. They then transferred them to the coldest northern room. The guards gave them no food and demanded that they count off before eating. For two days and nights, these practitioners were given 30 biscuits and one-and-a-half bags of instant noodles. Despite the freezing cold, hunger, intense mental pressure, and physical torment, these practitioners did not compromise. On the third day, they looked for Wang Wenping, and rationally, peacefully, and compassionately explained the facts about Falun Gong. Wang Wenping and Lu Haicun finally agreed to provide them with food. Ms. Wang Lanfeng suffered from hypertension and was released on bail for medical treatment.

In early October, Ms. Zheng Baohua and Ms. Yang Miao were put into the same cell. The weather was already very cold. They repeatedly asked for their clothes. In early November, they were given their woollen sweaters and trousers, but Ms. Zheng's insulated jacket and their down clothes were not returned. The north room was piercingly cold. Other inmates had two to three layers of mattress covers and three blankets. However, the two practitioners were allowed only one of each, so they were freezing all the time and could not sleep.

On November 15th, Ms. Zheng had a high fever and coughed up phlegm for several days. She was taken to a hospital and found to be in the late stages of tuberculosis. The labour camp refused to accept responsibility for her illness and released her.

Humiliated and Insulted

On December 31st, 2008, Wang Wenping and the camp guards searched all the practitioners to see if they had any of Falun Gong articles. They did full body searches.

In early May 2009, due to long term force-feeding, Ms. Zheng Baohua was emaciated, although she ate normally. She always had a low-grade fever and coughed up phlegm daily. After taking her to a hospital outside of the prison, guards Yan Hongli and Liu Liying isolated Ms. Zheng in order to feed her intravenously for a week. When she was extremely weak, Yan Hongli pulled off her clothes and put the labour camp uniform on her. They feared that she would take off the uniform, so they tied her to the bed. At the same time, Yan Hongli personally pulled off Ms. Yang Miao's clothes. This went on for two days. They ripped Ms. Yang's camisole and finally left her with only two bras and three pairs of underpants to wear.

Ms. Yang Miao had only underwear to wear, and wore her face towel over her shoulders. An older woman who was arrested for appealing for her own rights gave her wool clothes to Ms. Yang.

Physical Punishment and Beatings

During the 2008 Olympics, Ms. Du Yulan, in her 60s, was beaten by Yan Hongli as she did the Falun Gong exercises. Ms. Du's eyes were swollen and bruised for a week and she suffered headaches after the beatings.

Ms. He Yan was sentenced to two years of forced labour in August 2008 and was incarcerated in Kaiping Forced Labour Camp. Within just three months, the previously healthy young woman developed heart disease and problems including bloody stools and vomiting blood, and she was in critical condition. Her family repeatedly requested that she be released on medical parole, but to no avail. Guards Lu Haicun and Yang Haifeng would not let her family visit her and didn't allow her lawyer to meet with her. On the morning of March 4th, 2009, a family member went to Kaiping Forced Labour Camp to visit her and discovered that Ms. He had been brutally beaten by guard Lu Haicun on January 10th, 2009. Ms. He suffered from symptoms of a heart attack. Two months after the abuse, she still felt some chest pain and her left shoulder was numb.

In late September 2008, Ms. Du Yulan was dragged to the Education Division by Yan Hongli and several guards for doing the Falun Gong exercises on the upper level of a bunk bed. One guard seized her by the throat, and Yan Hongli and several guards beat and shocked her. She had bruises on her face, head, and body. Two days later, Ms. Du fainted while doing field labour. She fainted several times afterward and it was more serious each time. The camp sent her to the hospital and she never returned.

Ms. Hao Fenglian was brutally beaten and shocked in early 2008 by about a dozen guards including Yan Hongli, Wang Wenping, Zhang Hairong, and Wang Yufen. She had bruises on her forehead and chin, and her eyes were swollen. The guards later forced her to sit on a chair for two days. Yan Hongli didn't let her use the toilet. She developed incontinence, heart problems, and high blood pressure. The camp authorities were afraid of being held responsible and released her.

Camp guards often used the excuse of checking sanitary conditions to persecute practitioners. One guard dragged Ms. Li Zhimin to the line up while she resisted. Guard Wang dragged her by the collar of her sweater, pulled it off, and left a large bruise on her left arm. They dragged her all the way up the stairs and across the floor.

On September 6th, 2008, guard Wang brought Ms. Li Zhimin to the office and asked her if she did the Falun Gong exercises in the cell while three guards pushed her around. Then Wang took her to a cell for solitary confinement and left. Yan Hongli, guard Yang, and guard Wang pushed her and tied her to a torture chair. Yan, with one knee on Ms. Li's belly, pulled her hair and smashed her head against the chair seven or eight times. Guard Lu Haicun hit her head viciously. She was unable to raise her head afterward.
The back of her head was swollen, five fingerprints were left on her face, and her head felt as if it was going to explode. On February 6th, 2009, Lu Haicun and eight to nine other guards “inspected the sanitary conditions.” Ms. Li spoke out about his hitting her. Guard Yang grabbed her hair, while Lu threw her to the ground and kicked her in the hips which left a huge bruise. They tied her up afterwards.

On the next day of the 2009 Lantern Festival, Wang Yufen claimed that she was taking the practitioners to the camp store, but instead took Ms. Bai Fengyu, Ms. Liu Shuge, Ms. Zheng Baohua, Ms. Hou Fang, and Ms. Liu Xiaojun to the Education Section. Guards Lu Haicun, Wang Wenping, and Yan Hongli tied them to the torture chair for a day. Practitioner Ms. Yang Miao was exempt from the torture because her blood pressure was too high (110/195).

After being tortured repeatedly, six of the practitioners suffered mental anguish and bodily harm, and they were quite weak. Ms. Bai Fengyu developed heart disease. Ms. Liu Shuge and Ms. Liu Xiaojun suffered from high blood pressure (120/180), Ms. Zheng Baohua had leg cramps, and Ms. Hou Fang suffered a bad headache.

On February 26th, 2009, Ms. Zheng Baohua and Ms. Liu Xiaojun did the Falun Gong exercises. The guards took Ms. Zheng and Ms. Liu to the Education Section and tied them to the torture chair for nine days, with the window open. When they returned to the room, the guards removed the bed boards and handcuffed Ms. Zheng and Ms. Liu to the bed frame. Seven days later, Ms. Liu was very weak. Only then did the guards stop the torture.

The next day, the guards took away Ms. Zheng and Ms. Liu's clothes. When they did the Falun Gong exercises in the morning, the guards saw them from the monitor. All the guards on duty came to beat and shock them with electric batons. Guard Wang Wenping slapped Ms. Zheng's face more than 30 times.
The guard took Ms. Zheng to the Education Section. Many guards beat and kicked her. They later tied her to the torture chair for 11 days and had her squat down for another seven days.

Ms. Liu Xiaojun once held a hunger strike. Guard Lu Haicun pinched and slapped her face more than a dozen times. Guard Wang Wenping slapped her face for more than 20 times.

Ms. Wu Shuxian was beaten by guards Wang Wenping, Wang Yan and Xia Juan. Her hearing was damaged and she couldn't lift her arm for a long time.

Brutal Force-Feeding

On March 26th, 2009, Ms. Zheng Baohua went on a hunger strike to protest the torture. The first day of her hunger strike, the guard dragged Ms. Zheng to the water room and took off her clothes, leaving her only in a camisole and underpants. The doctor wasn't in and the guard ordered the inmates to force-feed Ms. Zheng. Ms. Zheng asked, “She isn't a doctor. Who is going to be held responsible if something bad happens?” Someone grabbed Ms. Zheng's hair and the guard hit her face. The next day, prison doctors Wang Hongli and He Hongwei force-fed her. Several times they mistakenly inserted the tube into her lung and there was blood on the tube when it was pulled out. Force-feedings cause nasal cavity haemorrhage, diarrhoea, vomiting, and extreme pain.

In early April 2009, six practitioners protested the brutal torture by refusing to wear the prison uniform. In late April, guards put Ms. Hou Fang, Ms. Bai Fengyu, Ms. Liu Shuge, and Ms. Yang Miao into one cell and detained Ms. Zheng Baohua and Ms. Liu Xiaojun by themselves, as they were on a hunger strike. They took off their outerwear, leaving them only in their bras and underpants. On April 25th, when Wang Wenping and Wang Hongli force-fed Ms. Liu Xiaojun, she shouted "Falun Gong is good!" Soon after, Ms. Bai Fengyu's heart disease reoccurred but she returned to normal after about an hour.

In May 2009, due to long term force-feeding, Ms. Zheng Baohua had a continual low-grade fever, and coughed up phlegm daily. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis and sometimes had a high-grade fever and vomited. The guards didn't let her go and still force-fed her daily in the water room.

Denial of Toilet Use

On February 20th, 2009, six practitioners did the Falun Gong exercises. The guards separated them and transferred Ms. Zheng Baohua and Ms. Liu Xiaojun to the west room for torture on February 23rd. Ms. Liu Shuge and Ms. Yang Miao were taken to the north room, the "icehouse," after they were seen doing the exercises in the morning. The guards handcuffed them and tied them up with ropes from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Yang Haifeng and Ding Xiaoguang later tortured them with electric batons. When Yan Hongli was on duty, she threw the practitioners' blankets on the floor, tied Ms. Liu Shuge to the bed, and refused to let her use the toilet. As a result Ms. Liu wet the bed three times.

On March 26th, 2009, Ms. Bai Fengyu was denied toilet use for eight days. On the ninth day, Ms. Bai felt bad and asked to go to the toilet, but guard Yan Hongli refused. After waiting for an hour, Ms. Bai pulled on the door and tried to go out. Yan Hongli shocked her heart with an electric baton, and Ms. Bai fainted immediately. Ms. Liu Xiaojun, Ms. Zheng Baohua, and Ms. Hou Fang cried for help but no one came. Ms. Bai regained consciousness about an hour and a half later.

Ms. Bai said, “Going to the toilet is a basic human right. I would rather not eat.” She started a hunger strike, and on the fifth day, guards Wang Wenping and Ding Xiaoguang, with doctor Wang Hongli, tied Ms. Bai to the torture chair. About ten people force-fed Ms. Bai. Wang Wenping ordered Ji Fengying to pry open her mouth with a spoon. When her mouth began bleeding profusely the guards stopped the force-feeding.

After that, Ms. Liu Xiaojun, Ms. Zheng Baohua, and Ms. Hou Fang went on a hunger strike for more than 20 days. They were subjected to force-feeding sometimes twice per day. There were several times when the tube was bloody when it was pulled out.

On May 19th, the guards put Ms. Zheng Baohua and Ms. Yang Miao in the same cell. Because Ms. Zheng was emaciated, she put on her fall clothes and trousers. The guards insulted them and would not let them use the toilet. On the seventh morning, when Ms. Zheng and Ms. Yang were practising the exercises, Yan Hongli came in with handcuffs and ropes. Ms. Yang immediately pointed out that they had not been to the toilet for six days and nights, and asked to use the toilet. Yan Hongli refused to let them go and handcuffed Ms. Yang, so she shouted, "Brigade chief Yan is removing practitioners' clothes and won't let them use the toilet!" Ms. Zhang shouted, "Brigade chief Yan is removing our clothes and won't allow us use the toilet!" Yan Hongli immediately put the ropes into Ms. Yang's mouth, seized the base of her tongue with her thumb, and almost suffocated her. Yang Hongli and a prisoner stuffed a towel into Ms. Zheng's mouth, which injured her mouth and caused bleeding. On the tenth day after not using the toilet for nine days and nights, both practitioners were very weak, could not sleep, and were unable to lie down. Ms. Zheng's belly was swollen. After 4:00 p.m., the guards called the doctor, and soon after told both to use the toilet. They had blood in their urine for several days. They went back on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.

Forced to Greet the Chief

In July and August 2008, about 30 to 40 practitioners were detained in the camp. Camp officials took photos of all the practitioners, although many resisted. The guards pulled their faces, grabbed their hair, and took photos. In early August, the practitioners protested the detention by refusing to follow the labour camp rules, such as greeting the chief. As a result, they were tortured.

Practitioner Yang Miao was photographed unwillingly

In late August, an elderly woman (a non-practitioner) who was detained after appealing for her rights saw that guard Wang Yufen was torturing practitioners who refused to greet the chief. They had to stand for hours and were not allowed to rest at 10:30 p.m. She could not take the mental pressure and tried to hang herself, but other inmates discovered her. From then on, none of the practitioners greeted the chief.
Because of this suicide attempt in September, advanced monitoring equipment was installed in every cell. The guards no longer trusted other inmates to monitor practitioners. From then on, the guards themselves monitored everyone.

Making Black White, and White Black

On January 7th, 2009, Ms. Li Zhimin's family went to the camp to visit her. However, the guards didn't allow their visit. The guard took Ms. Li to the office. Guard Lu Haicun pinched Ms. Li's face and cursed her, “Your mother-in-law is here and you don't want to see her.” He hit Ms. Li's head until she fainted. When Ms. Li became conscious, she had been tied to a chair by Lu Haicun. Lu called the guard on duty, “Don't let her family go. Ask them to wait for a while.” He pretended that he was trying to persuade Ms. Li to see her family. Guard Wang told Ms. Li's husband, “I'll try asking her to see you.” Lu also said, “Who beat you? Who witnessed it?”

Related article:
The Brutal Persecution of Practitioners in the Hebei Province No. 1 Forced Labour Camp (Photos)
(http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/2/13/114607.html)

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/9/27/247229.html