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Death from Forced Hard Labor
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Wang Youju, female, 64, a retired
Assistant Dean of the Dalian School of Adult Health in
Wafangdian City, Liaoning Province
Location: The Wafangdian Detention Center,
Dalian City, Liaoning Province
On July 22, 2000, local police arrested Ms. Wang Youju
and sent her to the Wafangdian Detention Center because
she refused to renounce Falun Gong. Despite her advanced
age, guards at the detention center forced Ms. Wang to
make toothpicks everyday from early morning until late
at night. She was not allowed to eat or sleep until she
finished the assigned workload. Ms. Wang was visibly
weakened from the intensive labor and the abusive
treatment. At the time she was to be released on July
31, 2000, Ms. Wang began to shiver uncontrollably and
felt severe chest pain. Her condition worsened quickly
to the point of not even being able to stand up. She had
to be taken to the emergency room for medical treatment.
That night, Ms. Wang died at the Wafangdian Detention
Center.
2. Chen Jiafu, male, 44, a teacher at the
Polytechnic School in Dalian City, Liaoning Province
Location: Dalian Labor Camp, Dalian City,
Liaoning Province
Mr. Chen Jiafu was sentenced to the Dalian Labor Camp in
October 1999 because he petitioned the government to end
the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. In the
labor camp, Mr. Chen was forced to remove hot bricks
with his bare hands from hot brick kilns. The labor was
very intensive, requiring Mr. Chen to bend over
approximately 10,000 times a day with no breaks. He was
markedly weakened by the hard labor, started to have
blood in his stools, and could not even stand still.
Even so, he was forced to continue this strenuous task
day after day. In September 2000, Mr. Chen was so
weakened that he was transferred from the labor camp to
the Dalian Indoctrination Center.
A few months later, he was sent back to Dalian Labor
Camp. This time, Mr. Chen was locked in a small 4 foot
high room that could only fit one person.
His hands were handcuffed to the ceiling of the cell. If
he fell asleep, his whole body weight pulled on his
wrists. On the night of July 1, 2001, Mr. Chen died from
this continued torture and from the terrible forced
labor conditions.
3. Wan Guifu, male, 58, retired engineer from the
No. 2 Auto Repair Factory, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province.
He lived in Building No. 11 of the No. 4 Residence
District of the No. 2 Engine Factory, Yang Jiaqiao Area,
Qilihe District, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province
Location:
The Xiguoyuan Detention Center, Lanzhou City, Gansu
Province
Kangtai Hospital (a labor camp hospital), Dashaping,
Lanzhou City, Gansu Province
Local police arrested Mr. Wan Guifu at the end of April
2001 because he was distributing Falun Gong flyers. He
was sent to the Xiguoyuan Detention Center. There, Mr.
Wan was forced to work 20 hours a day cracking open
large-size watermelon seeds using his teeth and removing
the shells with his fingers. The intensive labor quickly
made Mr. Wan’s lips swollen, his nails cracked, and his
fingers bloody. Because of the injuries and his old age,
Mr. Wan was often unable to complete his workload. The
guards often incited other inmates to punish Mr. Wan.
Such torture continued until this previously healthy man
was unable to stand.
To avoid the responsibility of having Mr. Wan die in
custody, the guards sent him to the Kangtai Hospital (a
labor camp hospital). This has been their usual course
of action. At least three other practitioners, including
Liu Lanxiang (female) and Zhang Fengyun (female), have
died in this hospital. The labor camp officials then
claim that such deaths in the hospital are from natural
causes. The hospital does not care for, or even give
emergency treatment to these dying practitioners. On the
morning of December 17, 2001, during the third day of
his hospitalization, Mr. Wan died.
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