(Clearwisdom.net) Ai Dan, a fourteen-year old girl, was a student in the eighth grade at Heyeping Middle School in the Suxian District of Chenzhou City in Hunan Province. She started practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. She was strict with herself and her character improved very quickly after she began to practice Falun Dafa.
The educators in the school relied on physical punishment instead of moral teachings, and in order to be responsible to the school and the students, Ai Dan tried to suggest to the teachers that they change their educational methods. But nobody listened to her.
In order to encourage people to follow "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance," Ai Dan began to promote Dafa to the teachers and students around her. By the second semester of 2001 some of her classmates wanted to practice Falun Dafa and were reading Zhuan Falun. One of the classmates who did not know the facts about Falun Gong reported her to the teacher. Afraid of getting involved, the teacher reported her to the school authorities. The school's headmaster then reported to the district 610 Office (1) and confiscated her copy of Zhuan Falun. He yelled at Ai Dan, "How dare you lead other students to practice Falun Gong!"
Officials from the 610 Office came to the school immediately, ordered the students out of their classes and interrogated them. Under such circumstances, Ai Dan and the other students were forced to write the so-called "guarantee statements,"declaring that they were remorseful for practicing Falun Gong, guaranteeing not to practice Falun Gong again, and promising not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong or to ever again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.
Several days afterwards Ai Dan was very upset. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt: "There is nothing wrong with following 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance' to be a good person. Nor is it wrong when I hope that my classmates and teachers care about morality and that they are kind and good people. How could I guarantee not to be a good person?" She went back to the school with resolve and submitted a declaration to the headmaster, stating her determination to practice Falun Dafa. The school officials tried to intimidate her, saying, "You have to quit school if you want to practice Falun Gong." Ai Dan replied, "I will practice Falun Gong even if you dismiss me." Ai Dan was expelled from the school.
Ai Dan's parents were heartbroken when they saw their young child being denied an education. They tried everything, contacted another school, and paid an extra charge of 2000 yuan (500 yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China). Finally, Ai Dan was allowed to go to school. Officials from Heyeping Middle School, however, came to Ai Dan's new school to turn people against her, making every effort to prevent her from going to school. This caused her new school to keep her from attending.
This young girl was thus deprived of her right to an education, and her case is not an isolated one. I appeal to kind-hearted people and organizations at home and abroad to help children like Ai Dan, who have been denied both an education and their freedom of belief.
Hu Gesheng, the headmaster of Heyeping Middle School, Suxian District, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, who was responsible: +86-13975751222(M)
(1) The 610 Office is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political or judicial systems.
