Tong Yi

Date(s) of Arrest:
April 1994
Prison Terms:
2.5 years
Charges:
None Given
Crime:
Working with dissident Wei Jingsheng

Tong Yi, who spent over two years in the Laogai, remembers the fights between the 200 prisoners trying to bathe in the six showers provided: "They screamed and fought with each other for the limited shower space, trying to finish washing their sweaty bodies and their smeared clothing for the next day within half an hour. After that half hour, nobody was allowed to stay in the washroom. As a consequence of this routine practice, nobody could have a thorough shower and everybody always had layers of rashes and scars."