We are a group of Falun Dafa practitioners detained in Xi-ge-mu labor camp in the city of Jia-mu-si. We came from places like Jia-mu-si, Shuang-ya-shan, Qi-tai-he, Yi-chun, and Bo-li. We have been detained here since November 3, 1999. During the past five months we have always followed the guidance of "Truth, Compassion and Tolerance" in our daily lives and we treated everything that has happened around us according to the teachings of Falun Dafa.

We were forced to work 13 to 14 hours a day, sometimes 15 to 16 hours. Everyday we worked from 7am till 8pm in the workshop. Sometimes we worked overtime until after 10pm. Our work was to pick out high quality red beans with a daily quota of 167 pounds. Whoever failed to meet the quota would be yelled at or beaten by the police. We worked very hard, and we had been highly complemented. Yet our food was made of coarse corn that was supposed to feed chickens. One day, when a practitioner was helping to carry bags of grain, he saw words "125 egg-laying chicken condensed feed" printed on the bags. There was a whole big stack of bags like this. We ate the same corn breads three meals a day. Radish soup was cooked without a single drop of oil. It was purely salt water with radishes. Sometimes even this kind of "soup" was not provided.

In winter, dripping water would freeze quickly. When we washed our faces outside in the open air using cold water, our towels would freeze. The toothpaste would also freeze a few seconds after being put on the toothbrush and we had to put it into our mouths to warm it up before we could brush our teeth. Under such difficult conditions, practitioners kept Falun Gong's teachings to their hearts and showed great compassion and tolerance. We vied with each other for the hardest labors and took hardship at ease. More important, we had never stopped practicing Falun Gong exercises and reading Teacher Li's book "Zhuan Falun". Some policemen said that Falun Gong practitioners are good in every aspect. Some of them even picked up our book and read it in private.

At first, we used our own behavior to testify that Falun Dafa is righteous, that we are good people. Later we realized that Falun Dafa is righteous and we have done nothing wrong. We requested the authorities to return justice to Falun Dafa and our teacher Mr. Li Hongzhi. We requested the release of all innocent Falun Dafa practitioners. We didn't commit any crimes, so we should not be detained here. We should be allowed to return home. Therefore we started a group hunger strike to defend the righteousness of Falun Dafa and our dignity and rights. This was the only thing we could do under such a situation.

The hunger strike started on March 23rd with a few people. The second day the number of people on hunger strike increased sharply to 30 people, and then to 50 people, 60 people. In the end, three quarters of the detained practitioners joined our hunger strike.

Our action provoked much attention and anger in the labor camp. On that day we were force-fed with condensed salt water through tubes forcefully inserted into our noses. One basin of water was filled with three bags of salt. Practitioners suffered greatly, yet we all endured it silently without drinking any water. Several days later we refused to be force-fed through nose tubes. Then policemen started beating us badly, using all sorts of equipments like electric batons, hard sticks and leather belts. Within 10 days, some practitioners were force-fed more than 10 times. Their noses became inflamed and their throats sore and bruised. Even after vomiting, they were still force-fed. Some were force-fed once, some twice or three times in a row. The scene was horrible. Some female police walked outside and cried to themselves. What was even crueler was that in addition to beating practitioners who threw up, police tore open the collars of practitioners' shirts and forced them to throw up into their shirts. One practitioner threw up into a basin, and then a policeman tore open his collar and poured the entire basin of liquid into his shirt. Later, when we could no longer bear the nose feeding, we were force-fed rice porridge through our months. If practitioners refused to be force-fed, they would be beaten and shocked by police using electric batons. One practitioner was shocked four times during one force-feeding. He was shocked each time he refused to open his mouth. His hands, face and legs have not recovered from the electrical shocks. In another instance, right after one practitioner said, "I don't want to eat," she was backward-cuffed to the chair and received a series of beatings by several male policemen. This female practitioner was beaten into a coma with blood leaking from her mouth. She was sent to the hospital and worked on for more than two hours before she regained consciousness. Do they treat practitioners as human beings?

The police also ordered convicted criminals, such as prostitutes, drug addicts, and thieves, to monitor and torture us, by promising them reduced sentences. According to some policemen, there are still five or six practitioners who are detained in a special room and are inserted with tubes 24 hours a day. Every two hours someone will change the direction of the tube. Someone's said: "If they don't eat, we will continue to torture them." He said that as long as practitioners refused to eat, the tubes would not be taken out. One practitioner said that the tube was inserted into his nose since yesterday afternoon. Their limbs were tied to beds. Every one of them was so brave. They looked so miserable. It was obvious that they were enduring great pain. One officer in the labor camp instructed: "If they refuse to eat, we will continue to torture them."

We have not done anything wrong. The hunger strike is the only way we can use to defend our dignity and our rights to practice our righteous beliefs. Yet, we suffered such inhumane treatments. We appeal to all kind-hearted people in the world to pay attention to this matter. We request the government to return innocence to Falun Dafa and to release all Falun Dafa practitioners being illegally detained and mistreated.

Note: When we received this letter that passed through many hands and places, it was already six days later. These practitioners' lives are on the line. The labor camp is blocking all the information. We call for the world to pay close attention to this matter.

Today CCTV broadcasted a piece of news claiming that "It was nonsense that the United Nation claimed that the Chinese government arrested 35,000 Falun Gong practitioners! So far there is not a single Falun Gong practitioner in jail in China..." It showed that until today the government is still trying to hide the truth and mislead its people. We, a group of practitioners in Jia-mu-si City, have made the decision that we will go to City Hall and the Judicial Department on April 14 to petition them with our kind hearts. We also hope that all kindhearted people in the world could offer their support and help to innocent Falun Gong practitioners who are suffering persecutions.

Falun Gong practitioners in Jia-mu-si City, Hei-Long-Jiang province

(4/13/2000)

(Translated Apr. 17, 2000)