Switzerland: Former Detainee at Wanjia Labour Camp Lu Shiping Tells Her Story at the UN in Geneva

The 8th session of the UN Human Rights Council was held in Geneva from June 3rd - 20th, 2008. Various human rights organisations around the globe reported the human right persecution existing in various places. As the Chinese communist regime’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners has long been a grave concern of UN human rights organisations, Ms. Lu Shiping, a Falun Gong practitioner who had undergone cruel torture at the Wanjia Forced Labor Camps in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, was invited to testify at the session about the persecution of Falun Gong.

Ms. Lu used to work with the Harbin Pharmaceutical General Factory as export manager; however, she was successively arrested four times because she insisted on cultivating Falun Gong and explaining the facts to the Chinese people. She was detained in the notorious Wanjia Forced Labour Camp in Harbin City for twenty months, where she suffered various cruel tortures physically and mentally. After being dismissed, she had no choice but to leave her family behind and find temporary work in other places. Luckily, Lu escaped China and arrived in free society in 2007.

The persecution Lu underwent was listed in the UN human right persecution record in 2002. During the session, officials of the UN Human Right Council were pleased that Lu was able to escape China. It was uncommon for a victim whose persecution case was included in the UN human right persecution record to testify in a session of the UN Human Right Council. This proved the achievement they have accomplished. Some UN officials asked Lu in detail about the persecution relating to the areas under their supervision respectively.

A huge number of Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted to death

Lu testified to the UN officials in charge of the investigation of arbitrary death sentences: “Though Falun Gong practitioners have never been sentenced to death by Chinese courts, a huge number of Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted to death in prisons, forced labour camps, detention centres and even brainwashing centres and public security bureaus. The publicised number is only a small portion of it.”
At least three fellow practitioners around her were persecuted to death, including Wang Honggang, Li Wenrui and Yin Anban. All of them were well-educated intellectuals, and they were in their 30s when they were persecuted to death. Among others, Wang Honggang was beaten to death within 24 hours after being arrested by the police and the Public Security Bureau has yet to give Wang’s family any reasonable explanations on his death.

Li Wenrui, who held a master degree of the Harbin Industrial University, was a civil servant. He was beaten by the police of Beijing Mentougou Police Station to the point that his head was seriously deformed, but as it turned out, the police proclaimed that Li committed suicide. He left an eleven year old daughter behind. When claiming his remains, the family saw Li’s horrible look and wanted to appeal to higher authorities, but the police threatened that if they wanted to appeal, the entire family would be regarded as anti-revolutionary criminals. The family could not help but give in. The entire family was so shocked that his daughter became extraordinary quiet all day long since then on.

Yin Anbang, who used to be a lecturer in law at a university, was subjected to persecution multiple times and was detained at the most notorious Zhanglinzi forced labour camp. In the spring of 2006, Yin was persecuted to death at the Tailai Prison in Qiqihaer at the age of 36. Recalling those days when she practiced the Falun Gong exercises, studied, exchanged experiences in cultivation with them and looked inside to find respective short comings together as conflicts suddenly arose, Lu could not help but sob uncontrollably. A UN official was so moved that he put down the pen in his hand.

Each Falun Gong practitioner’s freedom has been violated

The new official in charge of “Freedom of Speech” is a young man. Lu Shiping told him in details about forbidding people to tell truth within Chinese regime’s judicial system, forcing people to lie, and the systematic brainwashing that uses brutal torture and all kinds of means to force people to renounce their belief. For example, in the labour camp, they first use violence to force you to give in, later force you to watch the video materials that slander Falun Gong and its founder, and then force you to tell lies. As long as you have your own thoughts, want free expression, or even simply want to keep silent, you have to face brutal torture. As hearing this, the official was shocked in deep sorrow and he kept asking questions and writing notes quickly.

Chinese Communist regime ignores legal procedures for Falun Gong practitioners

A female official was concerned about the Chinese regime’s judicial procedures. Lu Shinping testified to her that the forced labour camp system under Chinese regime’s governance has no legal procedure. Anyone of the Public Security Bureau or “610 Office” that manipulates behind can decide to imprison Falun Gong practitioners in forced labour camps and no one declares your rights to you and no lawyer dares to defend you. In addition, they can easily imprison practitioners for fifteen days in the name of “administrative detention”. During the period of detention, no phone call with families is allowed, but families are forced to pay for food in detention period. Many practitioners are imprisoned long-term in detention until put into a forced labour camp. In the forced labour camps, practitioners are not allowed to see families unless being transformed. If there is any health checkup or so called “improving” living conditions, practitioners have to pay by themselves. In forced labour camps and detention centres.

Brutal torture results in long-term lingering effects of fear

Facing the official in charge of “Brutal Torturing” issues, Ms. Lu Shiping described to them the torture methods she personally experienced: electric batons, hanging, physical punishment, long term solitary confinement, sitting iron chair, brutal beatings, verbal abuse, high decibel noise torturing, brutal force-feeding, enduring freezing and prohibition against going to the toilet and so on. Due to the eight year persecution experience in China, even now she can’t walk away from the shadow of fear. Even today in this free environment, she feels nervous when someone knocks on the door. She said this is the lingering effects of the times of being chased by police when living in rented housing, because under that kind of “red terror,” it was very likely that the police may knock at her door anytime.

The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners may affect the entire Chinese population

When talking to the UN officials in charge of the “persecution of religion,” “slavery,” “persecution of women” and “homelessness” respectively, Lu testified at the United Nations on the nine-year-old persecution against numerous innocent and compassionate Falun Gong practitioners, based on the suffering she personally experienced in China. This persecution has never unabated since the beginning. Tens of thousands of practitioners have been imprisoned, and hundreds of thousands of families have been affected, while over one hundred million people believing in the righteous belief are subjected to the persecution.

Finally, Lu urged the UN human right officials to help rescue the persecuted Falun Gong practitioners in China, as they have been confronted with life or death situation every moment of day and night over the past nine years.