Xifeng concentration camp

Prisoners were divided by camp administrators into a hierarchy based on their organizational affiliations, with members of the Juntong holding higher status than communists.

Inmates, meanwhile, established their own hierarchy, with a group of CCP members banding together to challenge KMT rule and improve the treatment of prisoners.

[b][5] Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the KMT government, viewed the German model of concentration camps as an "efficient means ... to quell communist opposition and pacify society.

[8] It was located in what is now Maodong Village, Yongjing Town, part of Xifeng County, Guizhou,[9] approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of the provincial capital of Guiyang.

[19] For this, he oversaw the rapid expansion of the camp, which grew to include eight barracks for men – each named for a tenet of Confucian philosophy, such as yi (righteousness) and xiao (filial piety),[19] and divided into four or five rooms[15] – as well as a special residence (特斋) for women.

This was accompanied by a revamping of the camp's administrative system, with the intent of increasing its efficiency,[19] as well as the introduction of a bureau dedicated to the re-education of prisoners, which produced two magazines and several booklets.

[c][20] The CCP internees used these relaxations to establish a "Secret Cell", under the leadership of Luo Shiwen,[7] which eventually extended to all members and sympathizers in the camp.

Through carefully orchestrated resistance, they successfully pressured Zhou Yanghao to allow barracks to remain open during daytime hours, reduce beatings, and improve food quality.

[22] Several members of the group gained positions that enabled them to spread Communist literature,[22] though prisoners continued to be required to prove their dedication to the KMT's ideology.

[7] The camp's approach to indoctrination and thought reform was subsequently adopted by the CCP and used in the People’s Republic of China following the country's establishment.

[23] In the 1980s, former detainee Han Zidong [zh] returned to the site to find the graves of seven people executed after attempting to infiltrate the Juntong; their remains were identified and reinterred.

[1] These prisoners were held based on accusations of political enmity, rather than any formal criminal indictment;[24] as a result, they had no legal protections, nor did they have any expected time of release.

At the top of the hierarchy were Juntong members who had been accused of dereliction of duty or disobedience; according to Mühlhahn, these accounted for approximately 70 per cent of all detainees.

Premier Li Peng attended the site in July 1997, leaving the inscription "The Xifeng heroes inspire the people to move forward courageously.

As the site was expanded, Maodong Village received extensive investment, including the paving of roads, installation of streetlights, and development of an agricultural cooperative.

[11] Further in is a sign reading "Lift Your Head Up" (抬起头来), which Li Jingya of the Xinhua Daily Telegraph describes as having been installed by the KMT to urge internees to acknowledge their wrongs.

[34] Central to the plaza is the sculpture Song of Loyal Souls (忠魂曲), which depicts a group of people identified as martyrs who are restrained by iron shackles and high walls.

A projection room screens a documentary film titled The Undying Flame (烽火不息), which introduces the camp and the experiences of its prisoners.