Zi Jun
The Epoch Times
The City of Lanzhou, in Mainland China, is famous for its production of watermelon seeds. The exceptional taste of Lanzhou watermelon seeds has earned a reputation both domestically and internationally. Watermelon seeds are highly nutritious in protein, saturated fats, and vitamins, and therefore benefit the lungs, stomach, and the intestines.
According to a recently published investigative report by a non-governmental organization, however, some watermelon seeds produced in the City of Lanzhou had blood on them. The World Organization to Investigate Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), has reported that the watermelon seeds were blood stained, because Falun Gong practitioners in Chinese labor camps are forced to handpick the seeds under the most severe conditions.
WOIPFG investigates those involved in the persecution of Falun Gong. The WOIPFG reports that the Zhenglin Watermelon Seed Company cooperated with forced labor camps for the production of handpicked watermelon seeds.
The City of Lanzhou is the most famous place for producing watermelon seeds, which are known as “Lanzhou large seeds” or “dragon-eye seeds.” In the late 1980’s many Taiwanese businessmen were attracted by the watermelon-seed industry, and had established more than 40 watermelon-seed factories by 1998. The enormous processing load of 70,000 tons every year or about 75% of the watermelon seed output of the entire country, has lead to profit margins of 168 million yuan, with the exportation income of US $4 million per/annum.
Lin Ken, the owner of Zhenglin Watermelon Seed, is a legend for becoming a wealthy businessman and is the first among the Taiwanese businessmen to invest in the Lanzhou watermelon-seed industry. By 1992 he founded the “Lanzhou Zhenglin Food Corporation.” With its rapid expansion, the food corporation lured more Taiwanese businessmen to invest in Gansu and northwest China.
There’s no accurate report for fixed assets and the number of employees of “Lanzhou Zhenglin Food Corporation.” Lin Ken said that in 1999 the company had a total income of 500 million and 1,500 employees. His close contact with the Chinese government enabled his markets to expand in 30 provinces with 24 sales division companies. Moreover, the Food Corporation has expanded to more than 30 countries worldwide including the United States, Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.
The business needs many workers for handpicking watermelon seeds.
In pursuit of cheap labor, Lin Ken began to cooperate with Lanzhou’s Dashaping and Xiguoyuan detention centers. They forced 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners to work uncompensated, and in harsh conditions. The profit, created by practitioners’ hard work, is divided between the Zhenglin Corporation and the detention centers. According to WOIPFG report, Falun Gong practitioners had to use their teeth to crack and remove the shells of watermelon seed continuously, in a squatting position for more than 10 hours a day. Many people suffered frostbites, cracked skin, and scabies, and sometimes the watermelon seeds were covered with blood. Cracking the shells open creates loosened teeth, swollen lips, and cracked nails. Wan Guifu, a 57-year-old Falun Gong practitioner, couldn’t fulfill his workload because of his age, and thus, the warden Lu Jun incited inmates to beat him to death.
Today when I see Zhenglin Watermelon Seeds in a general store of Chinatown, I no longer have my appetite–maybe those watermelon seeds, too, have the bloodstains’ of innocent Falun Gong practitioners, who have been forced into slave labor, because they believe in living their lives according to the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance, and refuse to give up their belief.
Posting date: 31/Jan/2004
Original article date: 30/Jan/2004
Category: Open Forum
