(Minghui.org) She's in her 60s and a retired teacher. The following is what happened to this innocent Falun Gong practitioner at the notorious Masanjia labor camp in Liaoning Province, from 2004 to 2006.
I. Brainwashing, Sleep Deprivation, and Exhausting Physical Labor
In 2004 this practitioner was detained in the No. 5 Team of Masanjia's Third Division. Team lead Guan Liying and collaborators who no longer practiced Falun Gong stayed close to her day and night. They screamed at her, tormenting her with insults, slander, and sarcastic remarks.
Because she resisted their brainwashing, they deprived her of sleep. As soon as she closed her eyes, they would poke at her and say, “Write the three pledges denouncing Falun Gong so we'll not be implicated and get punished.” For 20 continuous days, she was allowed only three to four hours of sleep each night.
In October of 2004, labor camp inmates began to harvest corn. This is a dreaded work activity even for healthy young men because of the high level of physical intensity. Guan intentionally used this job to break her down since she had resisted brainwashing up to that time. After harvesting corn, she experienced severe pain in her hands and suffered bouts of dizziness due to her severely compromised health.
When others took a break, she was forced to labor in the fields each day. Bearing the piercing pain in her arms and hands, she pulled one ear of corn after another. At night, she was in so much pain that she could not sleep. Her arms were so sore that she could barely raise them. Her fingers were so stiff she could not make a fist. Her back was sore and stiff.
Finally her arm was in such pain that she could not do the work, but Guan forced her to go into the field. She did her best to tolerate the excruciating pain until her release in April of 2006. Her arms and hands were almost useless by then. Her hands ached even doing light work. She could barely accomplish even small tasks like dressing herself, washing her clothes, or writing.
II. Detained in Confinement; Extension of Detention
Since she didn't satisfy Guan's demands, he transferred her to the No. 3 Team. The female team leader, whose last name is Dong, made all sorts of trouble for her. When she could not shovel snow, Dong screamed at her, ordered her to see a doctor at the practitioner's own expense, and extended her detention term.
She had a cell mate who noted that she was a newcomer to the section, and that she was an older woman who refused to be brainwashed. The cell mate took the opportunity to pick on her one night. As she was preparing for bed, the cell mate began to insult her and they exchanged words. That night the guard on duty happened to be division head Li Yuming. When Li called for her to come to her office, our retiree didn't go. Li ordered two male guards to force her into a small dark room. Li intended to make an example of her.
The room where she was placed was the size of a bed, with no windows. The floor was covered by a torn blanket; there was a metal chair by the wall, and a pair of handcuffs hung on the chair. A speaker was installed on the ceiling, which broadcast disturbing programs in a strikingly loud volume. Her meals consisted only of a bowl of vegetable soup and a stale bun. The guards were constantly watching her from a monitor. If she refused to eat, she would be forcibly fed. The winter days were cold and wet. She was starving and freezing in there. She was detained in that cell for a total of 20 days.
III. Forced to Sit on a Small Plastic Stool
In April 2005, this older practitioner was sent for closer supervision to the 1st Division, where Falun Gong practitioners who firmly persisted in their beliefs were detained. These practitioners refused to wear the labor camp uniform, refused to work, and refused to wear prison name tags. Their days were even more difficult. The guard in charge of this group was Zhang Lei. Zhang would walk among them, kicking them occasionally. He forced them to sit on small plastic stools for long periods of time. These stools were very small and hard. Sitting on one for long periods would cause great pain and soreness to the tail bone. Eventually, one's skin would be black and blue where it was in contact with the stool and sometimes the skin would break.
Our retired teacher could stand it no more and said to the other practitioners, “Forcing us to sit on these small stools is a kind of persecution.” She then took a small cotton pad and sat on the floor. Guard Zhang saw this. He came over to her, kicked the pad away, then pushed and dragged her into the guards' office. There he handcuffed her to the heating pipes. Zhang said, “Rafters that stick out rot first. Who asked you to take the lead?” The doctor examined her skin and said she could no longer sit on the stool. However, right after the doctor left, Zhang still forced her to sit. He stared at her with angry eyes and picked on her whenever he could.
Once, the guards dragged her to the camp warehouse and demanded that she write the pledge to denounce Falun Dafa. When she refused, they pushed her to the floor. When she tried to rise, they would push her down to the floor again. This was in the middle of a cold winter. They forced her to lie on the icy cold floor for half a day.
IV. Brutal Forced-feeding
In this dark den her body was badly injured and our retired teacher became very weak. Twice she passed out. This happened once as she walked to the bath house. After just a few steps she collapsed and lost consciousness. On another occasion, on her way to the restroom, she had to hold another practitioner's arm. She started to slide down to the ground, and she passed out. Several practitioners carried her to a bed.
Zhang Lei then force-fed her, saying that she passed out because she wouldn't eat. Several guards held her down roughly. They seized her arms and pinched her nose and mouth closed. She could neither move nor breathe. She wondered if they were trying to kill her and struggled with all her strength. Eventually, they loosened their hold and she could breathe.
She gasped and said loudly, “What are you doing? Do you want to suffocate me?”
A guard responded, “We were afraid you would not eat on your own.”
Toward the end of July 2005 she began a hunger strike that lasted 61 days. During this period she suffered another kind of torture—punitive forced-feeding. Zhang had several guards in white medical garb drag her into the feeding room. They pushed her to the floor and held her arms and legs down firmly. A medical staff member, possibly a doctor, pushed a long hose into her nose down into her stomach. The hose touched some internal organ and her heart was harshly stimulated. She experienced extreme pain wherever the end of the hose reached. After the procedure her whole body was shaking and could not stop. She would often cry uncontrollably. This occurred every day. She was fed all kinds of liquids of various colors.
V. A New Round of Guards Who Vehemently Tortured Falun Gong Practitioners
In February 2006, our retired teacher's detention should have been over, but her term was extended by another two months. At this time, a new group of guards arrived. They treated the practitioners even more harshly. This group of guards included Ma Jishan and Liu Yong. They started to torment inmates as soon as they settled in. They disregarded everyone's physical condition and would beat practitioners who refused to wear the labor camp uniform or who refused to work. They would also confine them in a small space, or force them to stand for long periods facing a wall. Some were hung up with handcuffs, and some were handcuffed to a bed. Our retiree was handcuffed and shackled and pushed by several guards in the hallway. Her whole body was swollen, and her right foot was so swollen that the skin was shiny. Just touching her foot caused excruciating pain. She was in pain late into the night. When she sat up to mitigate the pain, she was rebuked.
She was forced to stand up straight and still as soon as she woke in the morning. If she moved a little, a guard would scream at her and slap her head. She would almost faint, and need to hold herself against the bed bars. Because she refused to wear the camp uniform, the guards refused family visits. Although her family went to the labor camp many times, they left full of sorrow for not being able to see her.
This practitioner is a living witness to what goes on in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, how this den of horrors tortures and persecutes Falun Gong practitioners. The “investigative report” of the government-sponsored Liaoning Investigation Team does not give an accurate picture. How can criminals investigate themselves? Why would they expose their own crimes?
I appeal to all practitioners who have been illegally detained and tortured to record what happened to them and let everyone know about the persecution.