Since July 20, 1999, Falun Gong practitioners from Lanzhou University have been deprived of the right to practice Falun Gong, including other basic rights. These unjust measures have even contradicted China's own laws as confirmed in the constitution. The following are some of the resulting situations.
Wan Jiqiang, male, is a twenty-five year old graduate student at Lanzhou University. On October 27, 1999, he went to the Appeal Office of the State Council in Beijing to appeal. As a consequence, he was escorted back to Lanzhou and detained in a detention center for 15 days. He was then suspended from his school (however, his student status was temporally maintained). In October 2000, he went back to school and was confronted with another set of occurrences. Because he refused to write a statement and fill out other materials renouncing Falun Gong (a.k.a. Falun Dafa), the authorities of Lanzhou University tried to force him out of school-- but he refused to. On December 31, 2000, he validated Falun Dafa in Tiananmen Square and was again arrested. While in the detention center, the police used various ways to break him down and have him renounce his belief. This included torturing him with electric shocks and leaving him outdoors in the cold for prolonged periods of time etc. After a day of torture, even the policemen who beat him admitted that just a moan from Wan Jiqiang would be regarded as a success. Accompanying Wan in the detention center was an elderly man; the police hit the old man's heart with electric batons after he told them he had a serious heart attack in the past. It is uncertain whether he is dead or alive. Later on, Wan Jiqiang, was escorted back to Lanzhou and illegally detained for another 15 days. When the detention finally ended, his father bought train tickets, and hoped to take Wan home to spend the coming Chinese New Year together. Nevertheless, these hopes were dashed as the university authorities illegally detained him in a basement and forced him to participate in a "re-education class." Wan Jiqing, sternly protested the class and went on a hunger strike without water for three days. Officers from the university security section tried to feed him forcefully, but failed. After, he was finally released and sent home.
Liu Jianxin, male, is a twenty-three year old undergraduate student from the Lanzhou University. He went to appeal in Beijing at the beginning of 2000, and was detained for 15 days. Consequently, he was temporarily suspended from the school. On October 1, 2000, he went to Beijing to appeal again with two family members of the schools faculties, and was detained for another 15 days. During the detention, the threat of being put into a labor camp and expelled from school didn't shake his belief in Falun Dafa. Then, in the middle of last December, he went to Beijing to appeal for the third time. Through his continuous appealing he has become more and more aware of the importance in clarifying the truth, returning innocence to Falun Dafa, and offering people salvation. During his stay in Beijing, he helped a lot of practitioners solve their lodging problems. Later on, the place he was staying at was illegally searched. There were over 40 other practitioners all living under the same roof. He was arrested and it has been said that he had been illegally sentenced in Beijing. However, detailed information is not available.
Bao Xinkang, male, is a twenty-nine year old assistant professor at Lanzhou University. He went to appeal in Beijing on the New Year, 2001. Before he left for Beijing he told the university authorities that all the statements he signed in 1999 renouncing Falun Gong were invalid. After making it to Tiananmen Square he was arrested because he refused to answer the plain-cloth police officer's questions and remained firm that he had done nothing wrong and broken no laws. However, this didn't help and he was sent to the Shaohe township police station, Changping County, Beijing. The police there beat him brutally, and he was forced to tell his name and address. He was then escorted back to Lanzhou and detained for 15 days. After the detention, he was illegally detained in the basement of Lanzhou University and forced to participate in a mandatory "Re-education Class" without any freedom. This left his wife without any income to help care for their two month old baby.
Chen Duoju, male, is a twenty-two year old undergraduate student from Lanzhou Univesity. He went to appeal in Beijing in December 1999. After he was sent back to the school, the university authorities detained him for 15 days with the charge of "Disturbing Social Stability". He was then suspended from the school for a year. After making it back to school, his department leaders illegally locked him up for "not writing the statement and materials renouncing Falun Gong", and they sent him to a "Re-education Class" on March 2, 2001. Before this, the local police tried to trick him to go to the local police station to "have a simple conversation", so that the police might find a reason to arrest him. Chen refused to go (unfortunately ten other practitioners went, and were all arrested, then sent to a detention center. They have not been released since. The center also used the inmates to torture Falun Gong practitioners with many cruel and vicious ways). To avoid being prosecuted by the police and the school authorities, Chen Duoju, escaped the supervision of the university authorities and left. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Tan Xiaorong, female, is twenty-nine years old and a Ph.D student in Lanzhou University. She printed materials revealing the truth about Falun Dafa using her computer and printer at home in Xuzhou, Anhui Province. She also passed out these materials in the dorms of Xuzhou Teachers University. On January 12, 2001 she was arrested at home while the police conducted an illegal search and seizure. The police confiscated about 20 Falun Dafa books without any warrant. They also took away a package of disks, a Falun Dafa lecture CD, and several exercise-music tapes. Her computer and printer were also taken by the local police. She was detained in the visitor's units of Xuzhou Teachers University. On January 23, 2001, she was escorted back to the Lanzhou University and has been detained in a basement to participate in a "re-education class" until now.
Zhang Qihu (Tan Xiaorong's husband) is a twenty-eight year old assistant professor of the Mathematics Department in Xuzhou Teachers University. He was arrested alongside Tan Xiaorong also a practitioner. After eight days of living under supervision in the visitor's units of Xuzhou Teachers University, he was illegally sent to the local police station, and then under detention for more than 30 days. No one was allowed to visit him during the detention. On February 24th, he was brought back to Xuzhou Teachers University and has been illegally detained in the visitor's units till now. His monthly income was used by the university to pay for his living expense as well as the expense of hiring people to supervise him. His sister had to take care of his two-and-a-half-year-old child. The parents of both Zhang and Tan have worried about them very much, and suffered the mental agony of the situation.
Wang Runbo, male, is a twenty-three year old undergraduate student in Lanzhou University. He went to Beijing to appeal on December 2nd, 1999. After he was sent back to the university, the police station in the university detained him with the charge of "Disturbing Social Stability" for 15 days. Then he was suspended from the school for a year. A year later, his emotional attachment to his education and family, caused him to write a statement to give up his practice of Falun Gong and a statement of "repentance" against his conscience. Afterwards, he deeply regretted his mistake and selfish behavior. In order to clarify the truth to the government and prevent the illegal prosecution of Falun Dafa, he decided to again appeal in Beijing on December 25th. On December 29th and the New Year Day of 2001, he witnessed the police's brutal persecutions towards Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful appealing at Tiananmen Square. He has been homeless since.
Xue Liuyan, male, is a twenty-one-year old undergraduate student in Lanzhou University. He was detained for 15 days because he went to Beijing to appeal on December 2nd, 1999. Later he was suspended from school for a year. Because of lacking a deep understanding of Falun Dafa, he wrote the two statements (one was not to practice Falun Gong and another one was a "repentance", by translater) while under the pressure from various aspects and went back to school in September 2000. But afterwards, he started to practice Falun Dafa diligently. Becoming sober-minded again he realized that he should be responsible for himself, for Falun Dafa, and for society by becoming a better practitioner. Thus, he went to appeal in Beijing on December 25th, 2000. On the New Year Day of 2001, he went to Tainanmen Square with other fellow practitioners and has been missing ever since.
Duan Jinhui, male, is a twenty-four year old undergraduate in Lanzhou University. Similar to Xue Liuyan, he was detained for 15 days because he went to Beijing to make an appeal on December 2nd, 1999. Later he was suspended from the school for a year. He also wrote the two statements under various pressures and went back to school in September 2000. After he realized his mistakes, he immediately threw himself into the Fa-Rectification process. He went to Beijing to appeal on December 25th, and has also been missing since.
Tang Xunnian, male, is a twenty-three year old undergraduate student in Lanzhou University. He was also detained for 15 days because he went to Beijing to appeal on December 2nd, 1999. Later, as a punishment, the university authorities suspended him from the school for a year. During the suspension period, his belief in Falun Gong was harmed, so he wrote "the two statements" (as above) and went back to school. It seems his personal attachments have affected his beliefs.
Zu Gaofeng, male, is a twenty-three year old undergraduate student at Lanzhou university. He was also detained for 15 days because he went to Beijing to appeal on December 2nd, 1999. Later, he was suspended from the school for a year. After the suspension was completed, the university, however, did not resume his student status. This is due to his not writing the two statements, as his attitude towards Falun Gong had not changed.
In response, Falun Gong practitioners want to seriously warn Lanzhou University's leaders and faculties: That as teachers, you should be able to tell good from bad and right from wrong; you also should have a sense of justice and decency. Please do not encourage immoral and ill-natured trends for temporary benefits. Otherwise, when the truth emerges it will be too late to regret. We sincerely hope you can return to your senses so that you can play a beneficial role to society.
Note: As the new semester started this March, the campus of Lanzhou University was full of the banners and slogans slandering Falun Dafa. The university authorities also slandered Falun Gong on the TV station. On March 8th, they held a so-called 10,000-people meeting renouncing Falun Gong in the university stadium (In fact, it is just several "inept officials" manipulating the activity). However, despite rigid control of the school and property (tight security throughout day and night) Truthful materials such as posters and flyers made their way into the campus; touching all kind-hearted citizens
Written by Practitioners in Mainland China
March, 2001