Qiang Weixiu (female) is a Falun Dafa practitioner from Xifeng City, Gansu Province who graduated from junior college and became an engineer. She was sent to the first team of the female division of the Gansu No.1 Labor Camp (also known as Lanzhou City Pingantai Labor Camp). Upon arrival she was handcuffed and punished. She was forced to stand for long periods of time daily, followed by confinement and other inhuman torture. Despite this abuse she persevered and continued to be determined to practice Falun Dafa. Her sincere heart influenced many of the criminals in the prison. The police came to realize this so they transferred her to the third team. Since November 2000, the police had not allowed her to sleep and punished her by forcing her to stand outside until very late every night in the cold winter weather with temperatures ranging from -4 to -22 F. Qiang Weixiu has been tortured in this way for four months now. In order to protest the vicious persecution, Qiang Weixiu had gone on a hunger strike twice before, each time lasting more than ten days. Currently, she has gone on a hunger strike again. The police encouraged the other prisoners to beat her everyday. Her life is now in serious danger. We are appealing to all people in China and abroad to help her.

In order to "reform" practitioners [i.e. brainwashing practitioners and force them to give up practicing Falun Dafa], Jiang's government has ordered the police in the labor camps to "reform" one practitioner per police officer. Otherwise, the salary of the police officer would be reduced or they could even be fired. In order to reach this goal, the police tried using all possible methods, such as, intimidation, deception, beating, physical punishment, torture, extending detention terms and sentencing. When these methods failed to work, the police began to beg the practitioners, "Please write a guarantee statement [a written promise to give up practicing Falun Dafa], then you can practice whenever you want at home Please have mercy on us!"

If practitioners wanted to practice the exercises they would be handcuffed, beaten, and confined. Last summer, Kong Weixia (female), Duan Xiaoyan (female), Jiao Lili (female), and Zhang Youfu were all handcuffed and put outside under the baking sun from morning until night because of practicing the exercises. Later, Kong Weixia and Zhang Youfu were jailed individually. In the guardhouse, the police ordered the vicious criminals to take turns beating Kong Weixia for as long as four hours. In addition, both of her hands were handcuffed to a pillar and she was not allowed to sleep for more than twenty days.

The Pingantai Labor Camp has now detained several hundred Dafa practitioners who are being beaten daily. The police forced them to write guarantee statements and speak against their will. However, the majority of the practitioners were able to resist these vicious tricks and protected the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Tolerance" with their lives.

Dafa practitioners from Mainland China

April 2001