Letter from Masanjia (2018) - full transcript

How was your
day at school, Katie?

- Good.
- What was your favorite part?

- Um... lunch.
- Lunch?

I never expected
anything like this.

It's a one-in-a-million
chance to be the recipient

of a message in a bottle,
essentially.

Katie, do you remember
when we found the letter?

Getting ready for your
birthday party?

We were decorating for
my daughter's fifth birthday,

and I had come up here.

She wanted
a Halloween-themed party,



since her birthday
is right before Halloween.

So, we got
all of the decorations out

that I had bought
about two years prior at Kmart.

And while we were opening
the box, a letter fell out.

My daughter actually picked up
the note and asked me to read it.

It was written
in Chinese and English.

It said, "Sir, If you
occasionally buy this product,

please kindly
resend this letter to

a world human rights
organization.

Thousands of people here
who are under the persecution

of the Chinese government party

will thank and remember you
forever."

And then the writer references
the Masanjia Labor Camp,

and I wanted to find out
if it was real and not a hoax.



So, did Google
the labor camp.

But I didn't realize that these were
people that were not criminals.

They just were under
terrible circumstances.

And the torture that they put
these people through,

I... I don't know
how they survive.

I mean,
it really broke my heart

that people
are treated like that.

The writer said
thousands were suffering.

So, I was trying
to help the thousands.

He had asked to send it to
a human rights organization.

So, I did get in touch with
Human Rights Watch,

and I tried to leave messages,

but it was basically
dialing an 800 number.

So, I came up short. I...

I couldn't...
I didn't know where to go.

I did also contact the customs
officials here in Portland

and they came to interview me.

And they essentially said
they would contact Kmart.

Kmart did release a statement

saying
according to their records,

they do not contract
with these labor camps.

Essentially,
because it is illegal.

It was very disappointing.

Something else
needed to be done.

So, I brought the note
to my friend

who is
a public relations manager

thinking that it might be just
a good human interest story.

She told me, "No, this is
much bigger than that.

This is something that, I think,
you should contact

The Oregonian about,
our state newspaper."

When they finally
published the article,

it was Christmas Eve

and it became front page news.

Within the next day or two,
I had CBS, ABC,

NBC, FOX News, CNN,

wanting to interview me,
I was just in shock.

It was a
normal Halloween for Julie Keith

that is,
until she found this letter.

The letter traveled
nearly six thousand miles

from a man who said he was
tortured in a Chinese labor camp.

When the letter was found,

I had been released from Masanjia
for about two years.

I had lived a relatively quiet life,
and kept a low profile.

Every day, I would bypass China's firewall

to read the Western news.

One day,
I read a story about an SOS letter.

I opened it.

I zoomed in.

I was so surprised.

This was the letter I wrote.

I couldn't believe it.

I'd achieved my purpose.

After all, I'd wanted people to find out.

But immediately,
I started to worry about my safety.

I asked my wife to take a look.

Her initial reaction was the same.

When I read the note, I was frightened.

I said, "Because of this, the police
will probably raid our home again."

I asked him to run away and hide.

I was worried he would be arrested again.
He barely survived the last time.

We have been married for almost 20 years,

but we only got to spend a few years
of that time living happily together.

The rest was wasted
living in worry and fear.

Fu Ning has suffered a lot with me.

I don't know how I could ever...

repay her for her suffering.

All of this pain
was created by the political system.

I believe that doing something
to change the system

is what I should do
to make it up to my family.

Now that the world
knows about this letter,

isn't this a great opportunity
to tell everyone the truth?

Wait a minute. Is it safe for us to talk?

It should be okay.

I've encrypted the connection.

Good then.

I want to make a film

to expose the truth
about how evil the Masanjia Labor Camp is.

If you were to film it in China...

it would be very risky, right?

Masanjia is the most notorious

labor camp in the system.

Although it will be dangerous,
I'm willing to take the risk.

This is too important to hesitate.

In order to do this, you'll need a friend,

so that you can learn
how to film together.

If you go somewhere,
or something happens to you,

he can film you.

Right, right.
I'll find a partner to help me.

I'll send you a list

of the gear you'll need shortly.

We can do some training over Skype.

Then you can start shooting.

That's great.

The plan is
to return to Masanjia tomorrow.

We'll get some exterior shots.

Filming is prohibited there.

This is the Masanjia Labor Camp.

In 2008,

I was sentenced to two-and-a-half years
of reeducation through labor.

This was the first building I was sent to.

I wrote my SOS letter here.

I was held in this building
for six or seven months

before I was transferred to that building,

where I was brutally persecuted
for being a Falun Gong practitioner.

In the winter of 1997,

I was working in PetroChina's
oil exploration division in Beijing.

One day,
in a town square in my neighborhood,

I saw a group of people exercising.

I was very curious.

How could they exercise
when it was so cold?

That's when I started
to look into this practice.

As I learned more about it,

I was convinced by
the principles of Falun Gong.

It teaches followers to practice

Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance,

in order to become better people.

So, your mind and body improve together.

Broadly speaking, he changed a lot.

He quit smoking
after taking up the practice.

Once, he found a person

abandoned at a hospital entrance
near his workplace.

He checked him into the hospital.

He paid the medical fees
without saying anything.

He wouldn't have done that
before he took up the practice.

Falun Gong grew very rapidly in China.

In a short time, it expanded to
between 70 and 100 million practitioners.

But the Communist Party
only had about 60 million members.

Because of
the large number of practitioners,

the Communist Party felt threatened.

On July 20th, 1999,

the Communist Party suddenly

labeled Falun Gong
an illegal organization,

and launched a crackdown.

They began a massive campaign
to demonize Falun Gong.

A couple
over 70 years old from Hebei Province

were found lying in a pool of blood
in their own backyard.

It turns out that the murderer
was their own son.

If I hadn't killed them,
they would have suffered.

Where did you learn this?

Falun Gong. I learned it from Falun Gong.

Because the regime controls all the media,

their slander of Falun Gong
was very effective.

We're missing the cover.

This is why
Falun Gong practitioners worked hard

to print materials and distribute fliers,

hoping that people would learn the truth.

Since 1999, I have been detained,
arrested or abducted

for various lengths of time,
about a dozen times.

I clearly remember that
my first arrest happened

because they found a box of printed paper.

They will use anything as evidence.

So, I asked a practitioner
who was a carpenter

to build a secret storage spot
here at home.

A power plug is usually ignored.

But there's a pin.

The board can be lifted up.

It can hold five or six computers.

Sometimes there is not enough space
to hide everything.

BE PATRIOTIC. BE INNOVATIVE.
BE FORGIVING.

I provide technical support

for those who want to set up
a printing site.

I source equipment
and teach them how to use it.

This is good for graphics
and video processing.

2,000 yuan for this second-hand
is not expensive.

I'd like to get something better.

I worked like this
until the 2008 Olympics,

and then the persecution
further intensified.

In 2008, there was a new policy
from the government.

Many newspapers publicized rewards.

Anyone who turned in
a Falun Gong practitioner

would get 2,000 to 5,000 yuan.

Many practitioners were arrested,
despite being careful.

One day in February 2008,
I went to an underground printing site.

Three of us
were moving materials downstairs

when policemen suddenly barged in
and arrested us.

The so-called Operation Olympic Security
was very strict.

That's why we were quickly sentenced.

My sentence was two and a half years.

Then we were escorted to a bus.

We didn't know
where we were being sent to.

But, I could recognize the accent
of the policemen.

I knew it was a northeastern accent.

So, I guessed
we were being sent to Masanjia.

As soon as we got off the bus,

we were surrounded by a group of people.

They were called "inmate guards".

They were prisoners
who helped to control other prisoners.

They wore military camouflage uniforms
with red arm bands.

Everyone was holding a baton.

If you moved even a little,
they would hit you on the head.

All the new inmates
were sent to the Sixth Team.

We were assigned to the two cells
at the end of the hallway.

Come here!

The inmate guard slept alone on one side,

and all the other inmates
slept on the other side.

There were 30 to 40 people in each cell.

I was so cold and hungry.

I couldn't fall asleep the first night.

That's how life started there.

One evening, at dinnertime,

out of an old building
across the courtyard,

a ragtag group of people
emerged from the darkness.

When they came closer, we were shocked.

They carried skulls, thighbones
and other things like that.

That scared us.

We thought:
"People here are dealing with corpses?"

A senior inmate told us
they were from the Eighth Team,

and that they did Ghost Jobs.

So, my first impression of the Eighth Team
was that it was frightening,

because some practitioners
were tortured to death there.

It was a terrifying place.

Tong Yumou!

One day in June 2008,

a guard came.

He started ceiling out names.

Huang Wenjun!

I was called and assigned to a team.

Sun Yi!

I was taken to a building,
and led up to the fourth floor.

Then I realized that I had been assigned
to the Eighth Team.

The very last thing
I had ever wanted to happen,

had happened.

When I touched one for the first time,

I realized that they were made of
white Styrofoam.

The hardest job
was making the tombstones look aged.

We used a wet sponge
to remove some of the black dye.

We'd pat them
until the color underneath showed through,

so that they would look like
aged tombstones.

Black water always pooled on the ground.

Our shoes were never dry.

Black dye covered my body and face.

The workload was heavy.

We worked from 4 a.m.
to 11 p.m. or midnight,

stopping only for meals.

Sometimes, we were not allowed to sleep
the whole night.

Sometimes my hands would move in my sleep,

because I was making tombstones
in my dreams.

When we first got married,

he would take me to the park after work.

We would go to see
all the blockbuster movies.

He would often take me out
to eat at our favorite spots.

At that time, we were both very happy.

I thought
our life would be like that forever.

Greetings, comrades!

Greetings, Commander!

But everything changed after 1999.

LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA

it was as if a disaster had struck us.

So many things
happened during those years.

I was worried that my wife
wouldn't be able to take it anymore.

As it turned out,
things were even worse than I feared.

She was sent to a brainwashing center
after my arrest.

I was depressed
the first few days I was there.

I couldn't eat anything.

I was treated like an enemy of the state.

After Sun Yi was arrested, my brother
was also taken to a police station.

My brother was detained
for two or three days.

This had nothing to do with him,

but he was implicated.

I was released on March 8th.

I was there for about half a month.

Sun Yi was treated like
a dangerous criminal.

And we, his relatives,
were also treated like criminals.

For about half a year,

I had no idea where he was.

There was no information whatsoever.

When I didn't know his whereabouts,
I had nightmares every night.

He was arrested in every nightmare.

I can't talk about this...

I thought to myself, "This isn't a life
any human being can live.

Now, my parents are really concerned
about my situation.

This will have an impact on them.

On the entire family's ability
to pass a political background check.

I can suffer,
but I can't let my family suffer."

So, I thought about it carefully,

and decided to end the marriage

to avoid hurting my family more.

One day, there was a letter for me.

It was from my wife.

Its message was simple.

The main point was,
"I've been with you for years,

but most of that time,
I haven't felt happy.

So, I've decided to file for a divorce."

She wanted me to be emotionally prepared.

Of course, I know she suffered a lot
over the years.

But I don't know how to make it up to her.

Whenever I started missing him,

I would think about the moon.

The moon was probably the only thing
both of us could see.

Even though we weren't together,
we could both see the moon.

That was my only comfort.

Nothing belonged to me except this letter.

The letter was the only thing
from the outside world

connecting me with my family.

So, it was precious, like a love letter.

I was worried the paper would tear apart

because of how often
I folded and unfolded it.

So, I asked someone

to get me some tape.

I taped it up to protect it.

I brought it with me everywhere I went.

I often took it out
and read it during breaks.

It comforted me.

One day, a representative of a buyer
came for an inspection.

I had a feeling
the products were for export.

Because the labels were all in English,

I thought they might be sold
in Europe or the US.

I had an idea.

I thought,
"Why don't! hide letters in the boxes?

Maybe one will be discovered by someone."

So, I decided to write letters.

At night, it was quiet.

I could hear the crickets
chirping outside.

I tried not to make a sound.

I opened up the paper carefully,

holding a pen in my hand.

I was lying on my side, facing the wail.

The position was very uncomfortable

because the paper was unsupported.

The inmate guard
often patrolled while I was writing.

That made me very nervous.

I couldn't finish a letter in a night,

but I wrote whenever I could.

I wrote about 20 letters in total.

I was really careful
about hiding the letters

since we never knew
if a package would be inspected.

Burl generally knew
the transport truck's schedule.

I could see it coming sometimes.

I was able to guess which batches
would be loaded right away.

When we were on our break,

I would jump at the chance
to quickly hide my letters.

I got caught once.

One inmate came in
when I was hiding a letter.

He immediately saw what I was doing.

I had no time to hide the letters.

So, I just told him,

"I want to send these letters overseas

to tell people about our situation
here in the camp."

He said, "Good. Do you have more
that I could help you hide?"

I was worried that
he would give the letters to the guards.

But, I felt that
he was probably a good person.

At that time I had three letters,
and I gave one to him.

Later he told me,
"I hid it. They won't find it."

That was one of my close calls.

Then, there was another incident.

I gave letters
to two other Falun Gong practitioners.

They wanted to take my letter
and try to make copies.

This went on until the 2008 Olympics

when the authorities
suddenly got very strict.

They started to be more vigilant
about their inspections.

A fetter I gave to one practitioner
was discovered.

But the guards didn't know English.

So, the captain got a translator.

Once he understood the letter,
he flew into a rage.

He assembled all the inmates.

Who wrote this letter?

The captain
electroshocked the practitioner

in front of everyone.

He demanded, "Who gave you the letter?"

The captain knew
this practitioner didn't speak English.

He was tortured with the electric baton
the whole afternoon.

He had bruises and wounds everywhere.

The other practitioner who had the letter
and I were terrified.

We would both be punished
if he said something.

But this practitioner was really strong.

He never said a word.

As a result, they decided
to form a specialized unit

to deal with Falun Gong practitioners.

We were told, "All the practitioners
before you have recanted,

and you're going to recant
sooner or later."

OATH BOARD

"So, if you 're smart,
you won't suffer unnecessarily."

They started with one of us.

Several guards took him down the hallway.

At first, there was a groan of pain.

After a while,
he shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!"

We were encouraged when we heard that.

Soon, he fell silent.

I'll stop practicing Falun Gong.

Then we heard
this person start cursing Falun Gong.

It was unbelievable

that he had recanted
in less than 10 minutes.

We were so terrified.

We wondered
what kind of torture had been used.

At last it was my turn.

Shockingly, it turned out to be
just a bunk bed.

They tied my hands with ropes.

Then they tied my waist to the bed
with a bed sheet.

I felt like
my limbs were being torn apart.

All my tendons
were stretched to their limits.

I couldn't breathe.
I felt like I was having a heart attack.

It was breaking me.

I passed out many times.

I don't know how much time passed
before I was untied.

Two inmate guards
were ordered to massage me.

When they saw my eyes open

and that my breathing
had returned to normal,

they began torturing me again.

From what I'd seen on TV,

I'd always thought
Falun Gong practitioners were bad people.

But the humanity I witnessed
in that group of Falun Gong inmates

completely changed my mind.

I was with him for 24 hours a day,
watching him.

We were together for half a year.

I've met many people in society,
like thieves, hoodlums and thugs.

But Sun Yi is actually
the strongest man I know.

No matter how you tortured him,
he persevered.

I could persevere
because I had a realization.

I thought, I should just give up.

Then I asked myself, "Am I dead?"

The answer was,
"No, at least I'm not dead yet.

Since I'm not dead yet,
I should hold on a bit longer."

It was this thought
that kept me going every time.

After about a week or two,

they realized that the stretching bed
couldn't make me recant.

They decided to hang me up.

I was hung up 24 hours a day.

Even though I was exhausted,

I couldn't fall asleep,
because if I fell asleep,

my legs would bend...

and my handcuffed wrists would hurt
as if they'd been stabbed by a knife.

That would wake me up
and force me to stand up.

That was their strategy.

No one needs to torture you.
You torture yourself.

After about five days,
I started hallucinating.

I saw the cell become as big as a hail.

Sometimes I'd laugh. Sometimes I'd cry.

I was out of my mind.

My calves swelled up as big as my thighs.

My feet were swollen too,

as big as an elephant's, they said.

Captain Yu Jiang told me,

"Make him uncomfortable."

if Sun Yi was comfortable,
I would be in trouble.

I was with Sun Yi about half a year.

He was kept in his room all the time.

1 think, as a man,

he has a lot of backbone
even though he looks like a frail scholar.

I really admire him.

He's not harmful to society.

He just has his own thoughts,
his own beliefs.

Seeing him like this,

anyone with a conscience
would feel sorry for him.

I don't want to recall this...

We didn't owe each other anything.

We weren't friends,

but for anyone with a conscience,
it was hard seeing him like that.

What Sun Yi suffered there
can only be seen in movies

about how the Japanese army
tortured the Chinese.

Now, the Chinese are torturing Chinese.

Unfortunately,
this is actually happening in real life.

I was hung up like this for over a year.

During those two-and-a-half years,

I went through hell and back at Masanjia.

In the end, I was released from Masanjia
in September 2010.

As we approach the next stop...

After I was released,

I continued practicing Falun Gong
as! regained my health.

I also continued my work to clarify
the facts about the persecution.

The position is a bit low.

Where?

I kept a low profile.

It was like this for more than two years.

I purchased
the Halloween decorations

but it was two years
before I opened the box.

When this story first broke,

many people said that I had
now put this whole unit

of the labor camp in danger.

So, it really hurt me.

I second-guessed myself,

whether or not
I had done the right thing.

At Julie Keith's house,

Halloween brings
powerful memories.

A letter had made it nearly
six thousand miles to Oregon.

Because the international media

covered it extensively,

many people in China learned about it
on the internet,

after breaching the firewall.

I think it influenced
many people's opinions.

A lot of information was exposed.

I think
the letter was the first domino to fall.

We start in China,
where some big reforms

have been announced
in the last few hours.

David, what are we learning?

Well, the labor camps are

a series of camps
throughout China,

hundreds of them, in fact,

which have been used

to house petty criminals

but also activists
and dissidents.

Now, it seems,
that they are going to, quote,

"Abolish the reeducation-through-labor
system here in China."

Many people I knew
had been sent to labor camps

twice, three times...

So, when this large, illegal practice
was finally abolished,

I felt very happy.

We rarely have the chance

to be together like this.

Today would have been
our 20th wedding anniversary.

I want to spend more time with her.

The last time we came here
was when your sister visited.

- It was 1997 or 1998.
- I think it was snowing.

I love watching movies.

So, he wanted to take me to a movie
to celebrate our anniversary.

I said no.

I don't know why.

Actually,
I really wanted him to spend time with me.

It wasn't easy being with him
for the last 20 years.

We experienced a lot of anguish.

Everyone wants to lead a good life.

I had never imagined
that we would live separately

because of his beliefs.

We went back home directly after our date.

We have been together since then.

- Are you alright?
- Yes.

China has jailed a
prominent human rights lawyer

for inciting
subversion of state power.

Jiang Tianyong, who has represented
high-profile Chinese dissidents,

went missing
after going to Changsha

to advise a fellow
human rights lawyer.

I have just found out

that my former lawyer, Jiang Tianyong,
has disappeared two days ago.

This is the situation in China.

Regardless of if you are
a Falun Gong practitioner,

a political dissident,
or a human rights lawyer,

everyone is in danger.

You can disappear at any time.

Although the Labor Camp System
has been abolished,

the persecution continues.

One way is to sentence people to prison,

another is to lock them up
in a brainwashing center or a black jail.

Now, their actions are more secretive.
They've changed their methods.

For the sake of our future,

I decided to make some sacrifices.

These included my job

and the ability
to see my family in the future.

To live a normal life as a couple,
we were forced to try to escape China.

Man on the left, lady on the right.

The man's shoulder goes behind the lady's.

Put your hand on her waist
instead of her shoulder.

Alright.

Let me see.

We want to remarry and leave the country,

and then seek asylum as a couple.

Pretty good.

How many photos
do we need for marriage certificates?

I guess at least two copies
to get the certificate?

We want to remarry.
Do we need to go back to our hometown?

Open your household register
to your own page and let me check.

The marriage status
needs to be changed to "divorced" first.

Neither of us changed it when we divorced.

You have to change it first,

because you want to use it now to remarry.

If you stay divorced,
you don?t have to change it.

It's so complicated.

I need to go back to my hometown
to change it?

Yes.

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Thank you, everyone!

Our brother Sun Yi

starts eating instant noodles.

No, he's eating long-life noodles.

Our mom went to see
a fortune teller and he said,

my fife would turn better after I'm 50.

I'd always have trouble before 50.

I don't know...

This is a banquet for your birthday.

Fu Ning!

How have you been?

I've been waiting for you.

Stop filming.

We were supposed to
get remarried the next day.

Then her father called.

He said her mother had a fever.

They asked her to come home.

So, we couldn't register to get remarried.

I was surprised
when I went back home this time.

I didn't expect that my family
would be against our remarriage.

I took my parents to the hospital
for a checkup.

It didn't look good.

Her father had lymphoma.

The reason he was
strongly against our remarriage

was that he wouldn't see
his daughter again

once she left China.

So, 1 couldn't leave them.

I received a message
from my younger sister.

She asked, "What did you do this time?"

I said, "I didn't do anything."

She asked, "So why did the police
raid my home in Xi'an?"

I started to worry about my safety.

I immediately headed back to Beijing.

As I did, I learned from my wife...

that our home in Beijing
had also been raided.

The police had told her
to call them immediately if she saw me.

So, my wife told me
not to come home for now.

I have just heard that
over 20 Falun Gong practitioners

have been arrested.

The reason for these arrests is unclear.

I'm worried there's a connection
with the film I'm making.

To ensure my safety, I've decided to hide.

I am contacting some practitioners
to see if I can stay with them.

Hi, is this Mr. Li?

I have some visitors at home.

It would be great
if I could stay at your place for a while.

My mom took away my keys.

Your mom took your keys? I see.

It seems like I have nowhere to go now.

He could die at any time.

His blood pressure is over 230.

If it goes higher,
his blood vessels could burst.

We've done everything we can.

Whether he makes it or not
is up to him now.

Here's a copy of the parole document.

Here are the five conditions
for medical parole.

If he wants to leave Beijing,

he has to contact the police station
and get permission.

But who is the contact person?

I don't know which officer
has this case, or who has the files.

I'm just the messenger.

We have to go now. You take care of him.

Take care.

There's a swelling pain

at the back of my head.

The police don't want
to be held responsible for my death.

So, they've put me on medical parole.

I'm forced to stay in different places,
so I bring toiletries with me.

My shaver was taken when they arrested me.

My phone has been seized,

and I've learned that
they've cracked the password.

The information about this film
will likely be exposed.

That's what I'm most worried about.

My wife didn't sleep the whole night

because she's worried about me.

So, I made a difficult decision yesterday.

I've decided to escape from China now.

This morning,

we had a simple kiss goodbye.

She looked miserable and asked me,

"Is this goodbye forever?"

I answered, "Perhaps."

Keep right after 200 meters.

I've heard that China
has many secret agents overseas.

If those agents find out who I am,

I may be in great danger.

But I can't think of any better options.

I can only deal with each problem
as it comes.

My wife was too afraid to see me off.

I'm too afraid to tell my sisters
and friends that I'm leaving.

I'm checking all my pockets for notes
or anything incriminating.

Because I often carry
things like that around.

I'm anxious,

because I have to go through security
and then border control.

So, a lot of things could pose risks
for my safety.

I never imagined that
I'd try to leave China like this.

It's something
that I thought about

when I first found the note,

I often wondered
who this person was

and what had become of them.

I did worry for him constantly
over the last four years.

I thought that, you know,
maybe publicizing this letter

put him in harm's way.

This is the longest trip I have
ever taken away from my children.

It's going to be hard
on all of us.

It's going to be weird,
you being gone for so long.

You guys will do great.
You'll be fine.

I'm nervous to travel
to that part of the world.

It's hard for me
to even imagine.

I feel like in some ways
I've lived a sheltered life.

But, I fee! it's worth it.

I feel I need to
see this through.

- Hello!
- Hello. Hello.

Hello.

Nice to meet you.

- Fine.
- Great. Great.

- Very pleased.
- Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you. Yes, welcome.

- So long a distance.
- Yes.

- Yes, let me... look at my room?
- Okay. Yes.

Okay. Yeah.

Here, that's it.

Small room.

Yes, this way.

Thank you.

The flowers, for you.

- Oh, thank you.
- Yeah.

And I have something
for you, too.

- This is a book
- Yes?

- of from where I'm from: Oregon.
- Thank you.

Can you tell me
about your life in Jakarta?

Because I'm an asylum seeker,
so I couldn't get work.

- Get work?
- Yes.

The life here is difficult.

So, you've applied
for refugee status?

How long does that take?

They gave me an appointment.

Maybe 2019.

Oh, so
another two years?

Two years later.

What do you do
during the day here?

- Languages learning.
- Oh.

Every day,
I must speak Indonesian.

And I must learn English, so...

- You do very well. You do.
- No, no.

Ah, can we have some other places to...
conversation?

Yes.

And your wife,
are you able to talk to her?

No, no.

She's afraid of the government
investigating her,

asking her where I am.

And recently
she didn't contact me.

Dare not contact me.

And demanded me to...

delete all the photos,

everything about her.

Very frightened.

- Frightened, yeah.
- Yes.

I was always very concerned

that what I had done
put you in danger.

And I was very thankful to know
that you were okay.

Fortunately,
I have been safe

all this process.

Good. I was always very fearful.

Many Chinese people know you

via the internet or other media.

So, they let me,
on behalf of them,

to express gratitude to you.

Many people.

Well, I have something...

and I hope that
it doesn't upset you.

But I would like to show you.

Wow.

You take this?

You bring this?

Ah, yes. Like a nightmare.

When you were a child, have you
got the festival of Halloween?

- Yes.
- Yes?

- We pick out our pumpkins...
- Yeah?

And you carve the face in it.

And finally you eat it?

- No. No.
- No?

- Because it sits outside...
- Yeah?

With the candle in it,
and it gets rotten very quickly.

And the "R.I.P."
I don't know what it is.

It means "rest in peace".

- For the dead?
- For the dead.

It's goodwill?

Yes, it's good.

- It's good? R.I.P?
- Yes.

I think a lot more about

where things are made and did someone
suffer to make this decoration

or, you know, my shoes?

I just realize more
about the world around me.

I'm less self-centered,
I suppose.

I can't help but look at him
and think

the things
that he has gone through,

it doesn't seem to have broken
his soul and his character.

He's trying to move on
from that.

He wants to show the world

that this is the pain
these people are going through.

You changed my life.

Change your life? Really?

I don't believe you.

Julie traveled
all the way here to see me...

Take care.

...which is something
I never thought possible.

I really appreciate that she did that.

It makes me very sad that
he is separated from his wife.

That has got to be a terrible
choice to make.

So, I hope he ends up happy.

I don't know how to thank her.

She feels like family.

I wish her all the best.

I hope that God will bless her.

This is the Masanjia Labor Camp.

In 2008, I was sentenced...

it's normal
to be stuck here for three to five years.

Many people have to wait much longer.

Because I'm applying for
refugee status now,

I'm not allowed to work,
so I have to live on my savings.

So, there will be lots of difficulties
to overcome.

Everyone has different aspirations.

For me, freedom is more precious
than anything else.

I'm willing to suffer for my beliefs.

I'd like to tell the world,

millions of people in China
are still being persecuted.

But, in the end,

justice will prevail over evil.