Atrocities at the Tangshan City Forced Labour Camp - Using the "Deadly Strings" that Cut into Flesh

One day in December of 2003, a prison guard at the Hehuakeng Labour Camp in Tangshan City had a "heart-to-heart talk" with the Falun Gong practitioners incarcerated there. When talking about how the Gaoyang Labour Camp in Baoding City and the No. 202 Squad in Shijiazhuang City Labour Camp"transformed" Falun Gong practitioners, he said, "We are more moderate. We only use 300,000-volt electric batons, wooden clubs, deadly strings, and bind you to the bed. We have never buried you alive like they did."

Gao Yongjing, a prison guard at the Hehuakeng Labour Camp, maintained that there were two rules regarding the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. One was not to "transform" human ashes (implying that they would persecute the practitioners until either they die or get transformed). The other was to use the "deadly strings" on Falun Gong practitioners so tight that the strings become buried in the flesh. This is a ruthless torture that uses strings to tie up a person's body and limbs so tight that the strings cut into the victim's flesh. Many practitioners lose consciousness within ten minutes of the torture. When rousing the criminal inmates to persecute practitioners, prison guard Li Xiaozhong told them, "We don't need too many, a quota of three deaths a year is good enough."

In the past few years, the prison guards in the Hehuakeng Labour Camp of Tangshan City, and the criminal inmates, have together relentlessly persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. The prison guards let it be known that those criminal inmates who were vicious and ruthless in torturing the practitioners would earn high marks, be handsomely rewarded, and have their prison sentences commuted.

On December 8, 2003 practitioner Gao Baochang (from Qinglong County) needed to use the toilet, so he approached the criminal inmates Hou Jintao and Li Jigang, who were assigned to watch over the practitioners. They did not allow him to go despite repeated requests. Furthermore, they forced him to tie up his penis with a string, but was stopped in time when Lu Jiang, the leader on duty, found out. Hou was very angry with Lu and physically assaulted him the next day. Lu sustained injury to the head. When Lu reported the incident to the police, the police not only paid no attention but decided that Lu and the criminal inmates were stirring up trouble, and let it go at that.

Practitioner Liu Jianbo became extremely weak due to multiple ailments after years of persecution. He had applied to the labour camp authorities for medical attention numerous times, but all were denied. On December 4 the prison guard on-duty, Wang Yulin, stirred up trouble once again, and found an excuse to tie Liu up on his bed and torture him. Wang was blatant in his intent in a meeting, "You can't blame me; it's my job (to torture practitioners). I'm just following orders from above." Later he added insult to injury and recorded it as a serious offence by Liu. On December 10 Liu was once again taken to the "Subduing the Steadfast Team" for further torture with "tying up on the bed." Located in the "education" building, the "Subduing the Steadfast Team" is made up of prison guards and criminal inmates. Its goal is to force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their belief by persecuting them using various torture instruments and ruthless means.

Since July 20, 1999 numerous Dafa practitioners have been severely injured and crippled from torture in Hehuakeng Forced Labour Camp. Three practitioners including Mr. Chen Aizhong and Mr. Meng Jincheng have been tortured to death. Practitioners Mr. Wang Yizhu and Mr. Song Yongxiang were on the brink of death from torture when they were moved to an undisclosed location. What happened to them is uncertain. This is how prison guards in the labor camp torture the steadfast practitioners. On December 15 prison guard Zhao Changjiang personally carried out the "deadly strings" torture twice on practitioner Yue Xingdong, a farmer fifty-nine years old. Yue was later sent to "Subduing the Steadfast Team" for further persecution.

This is how the Hehuakeng Labour Camp "educates, helps, transforms, and saves" Falun Gong practitioners. Here in this dark evil den, every day there are people being injured; every moment, there are lives in danger.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/1/18/65175.html