The Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners in Ningxia Women’s Prison

(Minghui.org) Under the directive of the Ningxia Prison Administration Bureau, Political and Legal Affairs Committee, and 610 Office, the guards in Ningxia Women’s Prison have been using different methods to torture Falun Gong practitioners in an attempt to make them renounce their faith.

All Falun Gong practitioners are considered “key political criminals” in Ningxia Women’s Prison. The prison often holds criticism sessions, where the practitioners are forced to stand on the podium to openly slander Falun Gong and its founder.

In recent years, the prison has been secretive about what is being done to “transform” practitioners. In early 2024, the prison set up a solitary confinement division, including a “private room” where practitioners can be “dealt with” individually.

The common methods of physical torture used on practitioners include sleep deprivation, beating, sitting on small stools for long hours, forced labor, solitary confinement and involuntary drug administration. Most of them are also deprived of such basic things as washing themselves, using the restroom, and family visits. Even practitioners in their 80s aren’t spared.

In addition to forcing the practitioners to watch propaganda materials smearing Falun Gong, the guards also exert mental pressure on them by directing the inmates to put a photo of Falun Gong’s founder on a small stool and then force them to sit on it. If the practitioners refuse to comply, the inmates put the photo on the door, in the restroom, inside practitioners’ shoes, or under the stool where the practitioners cannot see it.

The guards sometimes use soft tactics by organizing birthday celebrations for practitioners who refuse to be “transformed.” They select a few inmates and instruct them to try to persuade the practitioner to renounce her faith at the party. If the practitioner refuses, the inmates verbally abuse her.

Physical Torture

Upon admission to the prison, regular inmates are usually put on the “Probationary Level,” but Falun Gong practitioners are placed on the “Second-tier Strict Management Level.” Four or five inmates are assigned to monitor one practitioner. These inmates usually include a murderer or drug trafficker. Instigated by the guards, these inmates abuse the practitioners at will to try to force them to “transform.”

Practitioners who refuse to be “transformed” are forced to listen to audio recordings of propaganda defaming Falun Gong and read posters slandering Falun Gong and its founder on the walls. If the practitioners try to clarify the facts, the inmates tape their mouths shut, verbally abuse them, slap them in the face, pull their hair, and kick them, usually in a location where there are no surveillance cameras. Some practitioners have had their eardrums perforated. Practitioners are also forced to stand or sit on a small stool motionless for long periods of time and are not allowed a break until bedtime. They are beaten if they doze off. Some inmates also pinch the practitioners.

One practitioner said she was forced to get up at 5 a.m. every day, and then forced to alternate between 30-minute standing and 30-minute squatting during the entire day. She wasn’t allowed to go to bed until 2 a.m. and the torture continued the next day.

Deprived of the Basics and Humiliated

Inmates are supposed to be allowed to buy 100 yuan worth of daily necessities per month. But practitioners are not allowed to buy toilet paper, menstrual pads, detergent, toothpaste, or toothbrushes. They have to borrow pads from other inmates during their period. While most inmates will lend them pads, the practitioners have to first endure being verbally abused and humiliated.

Practitioners are not allowed to wash, shower, wash their clothes, or eat a full meal. They are often dizzy and become emaciated from hunger. Sometimes the inmates force the practitioners to overeat and then hit them if they don’t finish the food.

Practitioners are also not allowed to communicate or visit with their families. They are forced to report and ask for permission (which isn’t always granted) if they need to eat, drink, use the restroom, or sleep. Some are forced to relieve themselves in their pants. If they don’t follow the rules or refuse to be “transformed,” they are subjected to more intense torture.

The guards and inmates also humiliate the practitioners by forcing them to take off all of their clothes in one minute and then put them back on. For those who remain firm in practicing Falun Gong, the inmates stuff their mouths with their underwear or socks.

Ms. Chen Shuqin, an internal medicine physician, was arrested in June 2020 and sentenced to 4.5 years in March 2021. Because she refused to renounce Falun Gong, the guards didn’t let her eat vegetables or meat for six months. She had only rice for each meal. Her weight quickly dropped from 65 kg (143 lbs) to less than 50 kg (110 lbs). She wasn’t allowed to buy toilet paper or clean herself after she used the restroom. For over two years, she wasn’t allowed to wash her hands under the faucet, but could only use dirty water saved from doing the laundry. The guards also isolated her from other practitioners and held her in the strict management division.

“Private Room”

In 2024, the prison set up a “solitary confinement division,” also called the “private room,” to hold inmates who violate the prison rules. Practitioners who refuse to give up their faith are also sent there and monitored by carefully selected inmates. Practitioners are forced to take off all of their clothes for a security check and then forced to wear the prison uniform. No jackets or socks are provided.

The “private room” is very cold with no heat in the winter. There is no bed, and practitioners sleep on a thin mattress on the cold floor. The inmates also sleep on the floor but their mattresses are slightly thicker. Everyone has to lie flat in one position and keep their hands outside the covers on either side of her body. No one is allowed to turn over. Two inmates sleep next to each practitioner while two others monitor them by walking around. The noise often keeps the practitioners and inmates awake. Due to lack of sleep, even the inmates have developed heart palpitations, dizziness, and swelling. They then vent their frustrations on the practitioners.

There is only one toilet in the room and no sink. Practitioners are in charge of cleaning the room and can only use the toilet water to wash the cleaning cloth or their hands. The food is very plain, with few vegetables and little meat. The guards can deny the practitioners food whenever they like. Some practitioners were starved for days and shivered from the cold. They became emaciated, hunched, and unrecognizable.

Forced Labor

The forced labor at the prisons in Ningxia is operated through the Ningshuo Industrial Group Company, which is under the Ningxia Prison Administration Bureau. Ningxia Women’s Prison manufactures garments. To increase production, the prison forced the inmates to work at least ten hours a day. Many inmates didn’t dare to take a break even when they were exhausted and had extreme back pain. Those who sat down were verbally abused.

In September 2023, the working hours ran from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. with a 40-minute lunch break. Only a short time was allowed for use of the restroom, so they had to run there and back to be done in time. They had one day off every 14 days.

One practitioner was so exhausted that she accidentally cut her left index finger with the scissors. As soon as the bleeding stopped, she had to go back to work. She and the other inmates all had calluses on their hands. The pain in their hands often kept them awake at night.

Ms. Chen Shuxian was arrested in August 2002 and later sentenced to 3.5 years. After she was admitted to the Ningxia Women’s Prison in 2003, she was forced to sew clothes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, even after she developed a blocked tear duct and inflammation of hair follicles as a result of the intense work.

Ms. Tan Xiuxia was arrested on May 21, 2005, and sentenced to four years in prison. In the prison, she was forced to iron clothes for over ten hours a day.

Ms. Mu Zhihong, a retired teacher from Shizuishan City in Ningxia, was sentenced to three years in May 2007 and admitted to the Ningxia Women’s Prison in August 2007. In addition to intensive brainwashing, she was beaten, forced to work, held in solitary confinement, forced to sit on a small stool for long hours, and deprived of basic human needs, such as sleeping, drinking, and eating. She was also forced to take unknown drugs and felt faint all the time.

Ms. Mu once recalled, “I was assigned to work on clothing one day after arriving in the prison. Some of the cloth contained toxic substances, such as formaldehyde, and I had an allergic reaction. A rash gradually spread over my entire body. It was itchy and painful. Mealtime lasted less than 20 minutes, and I often didn’t get to finish eating because I’d been served so late. My physical condition deteriorated even further.”

Involuntary Drug Administration

As soon as some practitioners are admitted to the prison, the guards tell them that they have certain diseases and must take medicine. When the practitioners try to explain that they don’t have those conditions, the guards shout at them, “We are just forcing you to take the medicine!”

Ms. Tuo Meiling, a former employee at the Lingwu City Herbal Material Company, was sentenced to 3.5 years in 2003. The prison guards secretly instructed the inmates to put drugs in her drinking water, causing her to become confused. The guards later on openly forced her to take unknown drugs, which resulted in her mental collapse.

As a result of the mental collapse, Ms. Tuo couldn’t fall asleep at night and kept mumbling to herself. She often grimaced, and, when she walked, her legs wobbled as if they were going to give out. Her hands were jerky and weak. As she worsened over time, she was in a daze all day and her eyes were fixed. Sometimes she would make miserable sounds at night, waking up everyone in the building. The inmates pushed her down in her bed and wrapped her head with cotton quilts to keep her from shouting.

Related Report:

How Ningxia Women’s Prison Persecutes Falun Gong Practitioners