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Clearwisdom Collection: Special Collection - Exposing Slave Labor Practices Inside Chinese Labor Camps Part III
(Clearwisdom.net)
1. Dafa Practitioners Held in the Jiamusi Labor Camp Are Forced to Work with
Carcinogenic Materials and Brutally Beaten If They Refuse
(Clearwisdom.net) In order to make some quick money for themselves,
prison guards at the Jiamusi Labor Camp in Heilongjiang Province accepted
illegal production projects, and forced labor camp inmates, which included Falun
Gong practitioners, to do the intensive production work. They used plastic
materials with toxin levels exceeding the industry standard to make cell phone
cases. This caused serious harm to the health of the inmates who handled these
materials. Because of the slave labor and toxic materials, Falun Gong
practitioners suffered tremendously and were not able to work after a while.
Practitioners who refused to do the work were severely beaten.
Forced Slave Labor Involving Carcinogenic Materials
Starting on March 8, 2003, all of the inmates from the No. 9 Brigade of the
Jiamusi Labor Camp, totaling more than 80 people, were forced to make cell phone
cases. The plastic was of poor quality and gave off an irritating smell that
brought about a harsh choking sensation. Through lab testing, it was determined
that the toxin levels in the materials used were well beyond the industry
standard, and could cause cancer. Police agents wore large face masks while
guarding us, and never entered the production area while we were working there.
Meanwhile the prison authorities and the company that contracted the forced
labor used these toxic materials to take advantage of consumers.
There was a daily production quota that needed to be filled or overtime work
was mandatory until the production quota was reached. Many practitioners and
inmates suffered from constant bloody noses, irregular heartbeats, and
difficulty in breathing. Shi Jing had a pale face, and collapsed on the
worktable from being overworked. Later, when she revived a little, she was
forced to continue working.
Falun Gong Practitioners Experience Breathing Difficulties and Suffer From
Inflamed Eyes Due to Exposure to Toxic Dust
In April 2002, the No. 7 Brigade received a production project making flax [a
type of vegetable fiber similar to linen fiber] cushions for automotive
seats. Practitioners were forced to perform slave labor from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
nonstop. This kind of flax produces a lot of dust, which is harmful to one's
health, irritates the respiratory system and causes an itchy throat and
difficulty in breathing. There were no safety measures in place in the
production area. Practitioner Cao Xiuxia became ill from the long hours of slave
labor and terrible working conditions. Because she could not work any more,
prison guard Sun Limin brutally beat her.
In July 2002, authorities responsible for the No. 7 Brigade forced Falun Gong
practitioners to construct paper boxes for mooncakes [a traditional Chinese
dessert], using toxic, foul-smelling glue. Many practitioners were sickened,
with inflamed and swollen eyes, but the prison guards didn't care.
When Practitioners Refused To Do the Slave Labor, They Were Brutally Beaten
and Handcuffed
The authorities forced Falun Gong practitioners to do slave labor, and when
practitioners refused they were brutally beaten. A lot of Falun Gong
practitioners were seriously beaten, and exposed under the dangerously hot
summer sun for many hours. Some practitioners were handcuffed for more than a
month and when they were uncuffed, their hands, lower backs and legs had severe
bruises, and they were unable to even walk. Yet, before they could recover, they
were immediately sent to do more forced labor. Guards would often beat, kick and
handcuff practitioners at will without even paying attention to the duration of
the handcuffing. Some practitioners were over 60 years old, but they would still
beat and handcuff them.
Prison guard Li Xiujin beat Falun Gong practitioners many times. Since
January 2003, we know for certain that she beat Falun Gong practitioners at
least 13 times just because they were protesting the persecution and refusing to
do slave labor. Li Xiujin beat practitioners Kang Aimin, Li Ping and Zheng
Yingchun so severely that they collapsed. When any practitioner could not keep
up with the disciplinary exercise regimen, Li Xiujing would knock him or her to
the ground. Some practitioners were knocked unconscious, but the prison guards
didn't care; they just walked away after the beatings. Some practitioners' ear
drums were ruptured from the severe beatings, so that they were unable to hear.
One female practitioner was 50 years old and was brutally beaten until she had
black and blue marks all over her upper body, and a swollen face. She was
handcuffed for a long time and was in extreme pain, so that she was unable to
move. Her eyes could not see properly from the heavy slaps she received on her
face when the guard used his boots to strike her face.
Hiding the Truth of the Persecution
In the labor camp, practitioners were severely undernourished. They were
forced to eat blackened, moldy noodles and cabbage soup the whole winter, which
caused massive diarrhea among practitioners. Whenever the inspection officials
came, the food served was of better quality to fool them, and the labor camp hid
those practitioners who were severely beaten and disabled from the torture. The
authorities also forced some inmates who were convicted criminals to pretend to
be Falun Gong practitioners and say positive things about the labor camp. In
order to hide the evidence of their crimes against Falun Dafa practitioners,
prison guards would videotape themselves buying cakes for practitioners and
treating practitioners well.
Prison Guards Take Advantage of the Persecution of Falun Gong to Make Money
Prison guards extorted money from Falun Gong practitioners in the form of
large fines. Prison guard Wang Xiurong publicly told Falun Gong practitioners
that if they wanted to be released, they had to pay 15,000 yuan per person [500
yuan is the average monthly salary for an urban worker in China]. Liu
Weidong and Li Xiujin extorted money and other items, including food, from
practitioners' family members to buy a reduction in the jail terms. The prison
guards claimed publicly that they could not eat all the food they confiscated.
The Brigadier said in front of witnesses, "Whoever pays money, I will 'help' him
get out." Practitioners were told they had to pay the going rate of 1,000 yuan
to buy a reduction of one month from their jail term. When some practitioners
had poor health and were not be able to do the slave labor, He Qiang would order
his subordinates to beat them brutally. If practitioners attempted to reason
with the guards and explain that their human rights were being violated, their
words were met with a threat that their beatings had been too easy on them. The
guards even charged money for the labor camp uniforms. Any practitioner who
refused to wear a prison uniform on the grounds that they were not criminals
incurred a severe beating from the prison guards. On the other hand, any
practitioner that agreed to wear a uniform was forced to pay money to wear it.
Labor Camp Contacts:
Manager's Office: 86-454-8891958 Political Committee Member, Fu Maosen: 86-454-8891890 Assistant Manager, Guan Dejun: 86-454-8891948 Assistant Manager, Yao Debin: 86-454-8891931 Assistant Manager, Sun Dehong: 86-454-8891932 Assistant Manager, Xu Lifeng: 86-454-8891933 Clinic: 86-454-8891943 (forced feeding is implemented by staff from this clinic) Women's Brigadier's Office: 86-454-8891638 No. 2 Brigade: 86-454-8891924 No. 3 Brigade: 86-454-8891926 Procuratorate's Representative Office: 86-454-8891953 He Qiang: 86-13945455333 (C)
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/1/30/66136.html
2. Jianxin Labor Camp Authorities in Tianjin City Enslave Detainees to
Produce Contaminated Food
January 2, 2004
(Clearwisdom.net) Jianxin Labor Camp of Tianjin City was expanded
especially for tormenting Dafa practitioners. Since the inception of the Sixth
Division for female detainees, several hundred Dafa practitioners have been
detained there. Most were older than fifty years of age, the oldest being
seventy three years old.
Some older people, despite hypertension and poor eyesight, were still forced
to do delicate, vision-stressing, intensive work at night under poor lighting
conditions. They fell from their beds, time and again. Some people who have
serious illnesses and cannot take care of themselves are detained there. Under
those severe conditions, some Dafa practitioners developed pus-oozing scabies.
Nonetheless the labor camp forces them to process food, even though they should
not come in contact with food. The camp even ordered criminal prisoners with
scabies and prostitutes with venereal diseases to pick melon seeds, pack
chocolate and other candies, and to fold cake boxes. The food processing work is
performed by people sitting on their beds.
Good sanitation is especially critical for food processing, and these
unsanitary practices jeopardize the public's health. Detainees with contagious
diseases are also forced to assemble items that contain edible items for
children, putting children's health at serious risk.
The labor camp forces Dafa practitioners to work for as long as 17-18 hours
each day and the practitioners are not allowed to sleep. If they cannot finish
their assigned work load the Dafa practitioners are not allowed to sleep; some
of them even have to work through the night without sleep for several days. At
most they are only allowed to sleep for one or two hours a day.
Many of the Dafa practitioners, especially the older ones, began Falun Gong
cultivation to heal their illnesses and improve their health. Because of the
vicious environment in the camp, the practitioners are forbidden from reading
Dafa books and from practicing Falun Gong. Not only that, in addition to
prolonged work hours and exhausting work, they endure intolerable mental and
physical pressure. That is the reason why some of them have relapses of their
illnesses, which were cured before they were abducted. One older woman with the
surname Li had high blood pressure of over 200 and had serious heart problems,
but was still forced to finish her daily assigned workload. One night at 12
o'clock she collapsed in the bathroom. They tried for over one hour to
resuscitate her in the bathroom but could not bring her around. The camp had to
send her to the hospital for emergency medical intervention. She was diagnosed
with a massive cerebral hemorrhage. After her skull was opened, the doctors
found three out of the four cerebral ventricles had massive hemorrhages.
Afterwards, the police tried to avoid responsibility by inciting criminal
prisoners and those people who had turned against Dafa under pressure of the
persecution to create false evidence to deceive her family and keep the facts
from them.
Head of the division: Liu Yuxia
Head of the Second team: Mu Xizhi
Head of the Third team: Ci Ying, Cao
Aihua
Head of the Fourth team: Jiao Mohua
Phone: (country code 86)-22-88250034
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/1/2/63884.html
3. The Dalian Labor Camp Exploits Forced Labor to Earn More than 1,500,000 Yuan a Year
January 15, 2004 (Clearwisdom.net) As of 2001, the Dalian Forced Labor Camp, Liaoning
Province started to demand more labor from its detainees in order to increase
production. The camp persecuted Falun Gong practitioners by overloading them
with work and exploiting their labor. Practitioners were forced to work 14-15
hours a day or even longer. They were often punished physically and had to work
overtime. Practitioners slept no more than 6 hours every day, and many of them
slept as few as 2-3 hours. There were a lot of unwritten rules imposed on practitioners while performing
forced labor. For example, practitioners could not talk, nor could they move
their lips, close their eyes, cross their legs, or even have their legs touching
each other when sitting. They were rarely allowed to use the bathroom during
their labor and they had no more than 10 minutes to use the facilities, once in
the morning and once in the afternoon. If they had an urgent need to use the
bathroom, it had to be authorized by the room leader, the team leader, and the
Captain. There was no time allowed for bowel movements, which was said to be
"too time consuming." Practitioners had to wait until bedtime. As a
result, many people developed constipation, hemorrhoids and were in great pain. Falun Gong practitioners in the Dalian Forced Labor Camp had to work from 5
a.m. until 10 or 11 p.m. It was not unusual for them to work overtime until
midnight or 2 a.m. the following morning, which became a daily routine. They had
less than two hours a day to eat all three meals. On one occasion, the police
intensified the persecution and would not allow the practitioners to go to sleep
at night, even after they finished their work. The police demanded that
practitioners who refused to compromise their belief and renounce Falun Dafa had
to memorize the regulations of the labor camp. If the practitioners refused to
do so, they would be forced to stand until the following morning, and then they
still had to go to work that day. The female practitioners worked in the lobby on the first floor. The lobby
was transformed into a closed room with only one door for ventilation and
airflow. During the summer, the room was hot and often crowded with people, and
many practitioners fainted. Sometimes there were many incidents of fainting in
any given day. Having to sit for long periods of time without moving, many
people ended up having back pain and swollen feet. Even after developing these
problems, they were still not allowed to rest. One Dafa practitioner, Ms. Yu
Shoufen, was in the labor camp for three years and became extremely weak because
of the excessive forced labor and malnutrition. She lost the feeling in both
legs, and now has to walk by pushing her arms against the walls, dragging both
her legs. She still is forced to work every day, even under this condition. At the beginning, the police would give those practitioners who compromised
under pressure and gave up their belief, proper rest when they did not feel
well. The determined practitioners would not receive such any such
"bonus." However, in order to make more money, the police have
canceled this bonus and do not even give any sick practitioners time off. Every
day, there was a certain quota of work needing to be done. If it could not be
finished that day, everyone in the room would have to work overtime. A simple calculation can show how much money the forced labor camp makes out
of the labor of its prisoners (both practitioners and non-practitioners). Take
the job of sorting beans for example: One practitioner needs to sort 5 bags of
beans each day, which can sell for 25 yuan (lowest average number). There were
56 people in a team and a total of 3 teams, (25 yuan/person) x (56 people/team)
x (3 teams) = 4,200 yuan. Supposing there are 30 days in a month, the net
production value was 126,000 yuan a month, amounting to 1.5 million yuan a year
(lowest average value). [Note: 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly
salary of an urban worker in China.] The following list is evidence of how the Dalian Forced Labor Camp persecuted
Falun Gong practitioners and exploited their labor to make money. Year Products Work description Sales area 2001 Embroidery Clean and close the ends of bed covers,
pillowcases, and tablecloths and put embroidery on them. Unknown 2001 Dried flowers Use spices to apply scent to dried flowers
and then color and decorate them. Korea 2001 Cell phone covers Weave covers with cotton and silk threads,
then color them with pink, light blue, light grey and green. Korea 2001 Hats Use colorful threads and process them into
"Beilei hats". Korea 2002 Beans Packaging has "made in China" on
it in Japanese, Korean and English. They will be exported to Korea, Japan,
U.S. 2002 Tied kelp Cut kelp into 12cm-wide belts and tie them
into knots. (This product has large sales.) Taiwan 2002 Dried vegetables (Qundai) Tear them into strips and sort into
different qualities. Korea, Japan, Taiwan 2002 Plastic flowers and fruit All kinds of plastic flowers, flower-shaped
buttons and fruit-shaped decorations are put together with silver or
copper wire and packaged in labeled bags or boxes. The price tags are in
the currency of Euros. It was said that these products are used in
European countries for ceremonies in graveyards. The glue used in these
products is poisonous; many people have vomited and could not eat because
of the glue. European countries 2002 Cotton balls These were packed into two sizes of bags
and sent back to the factory for second packaging. Unknown 2002 Chopsticks This is done for a chopstick factory in the
Dalian Ganjingzi Area owned by a Japanese businessman. The factory has
been running for years and makes different quality chopsticks. The only
hygienic criterion is not letting hair fall into the bags. Some
non-practitioners with venereal diseases are also forced to do this job
and they often use chopsticks to scratch themselves where they itch. Japan 2002 Ice cream sticks Ordinary prisoners use machines to make
them and pack them. Africa 2002 Coffee stirring sticks Ordinary prisoners use machines to make
them and pack them. 2002 Wool coats The coats are double layered and made in a
factory that specifically makes clothes to be exported. They have Korean
and Japanese labels. Korea and Japan 2002 Sewing buttons Sew buttons on pajamas and clothes for
nursing mothers. Japan Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/1/15/64908.html
4. Falun Gong Practitioners Endure Endless, Intensive Forced Labor at
Langfang City Detention Center, Hebei Province
(Clearwisdom.net) Whoever is sent to Langfang City Detention Center
learns that the forced labor there is extremely intensive and unendurable. There
are always countless beans waiting to be picked and chopsticks waiting to be
wrapped up. The person in charge assigns daily jobs to every detainee. Detainees
who are unable to finish their assignments, are punished by either not being
allowed to sleep or by being given evening duty. They are forced to work more
than 10 hours every day. On hot summer days, because of working in poorly
ventilated cells, many suffer heatstroke. Newcomers usually face an even harsher
environment since they need time to learn those labor skills. If they cannot
finish their assignments during the daytime, they are forced to continue their
labor at night. The monitor in each cell does not allow them to go sleep if they
have not finished their assignments. Some of them finally get their job done
just before daybreak. Then the next day's assignment is waiting for them.
Although detainees are forced to perform such intensive labor, they are only
given two buns and a bowl of light soup per meal. Male detainees usually are
unable to eat enough food every day, not to mention getting enough nutrition.
After working for an entire day, everyone's stomach is rumbling with hunger.
The only time they get a break is when some authorities come to visit or
inspect the detention center. At that time, the officer asks everyone stop
working and takes the products away and hides them well. All detainees would
start cleaning cells and yards. Then they would be asked to sit down on the
ground and recite the detention center's rules and regulations. After the
visitors leave, they would begin their work again. Actually the above-mentioned
situations currently take place in all detention centers and labor camps in
China. The intensity of the forced labor is unimaginable. All detainees have
been turned into slave laborers.
Currently many Falun Gong practitioners have been sent into detention
centers, labor camps and jails. As a result, they have experienced all the
darkness and brutality. They have been suffering barbarous torture for refusing
to be treated so inhumanely, but they have never yielded to the persecution. In
China, even average citizens in many respects have no human rights, not to
mention those detainees. I sincerely hope all kind-hearted people in the world
will give their concern and support to Chinese Falun Gong practitioners!
January 17, 2004
Practitioner in China
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/1/18/65187.html
5. Toys for Export Made at the Hewan Forced Labor Camp, Wuhan City, Hubei
Province
By a Dafa Practitioner from Wuhan
(Clearwisdom.net) Officials at the Hewan Forced Labor Camp in Wuhan City
have for a long time forced detainees to make toys for export, including an
eagle toy and a bear toy. The workshop starts at 6:00 a.m. and stays open until
2:00 a.m. the next morning.
The Sixth Team in the Hewan Forced Labor Camp specializes in persecuting
women Falun Dafa practitioners. Police officer Huang Hong, a key member of the
team, uses savage methods to torture practitioners who are steadfast in their
faith. Tortures include long-term sleep deprivation, isolation in a small cell,
and other torments. Other police officers, women named Hu, Hou, and He are also
involved in the persecution.
Team leader Liu Hui, female, office phone, 86- 86-27-85630995
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/2/9/66970.html Posting date: 8/29/2004 |