(Clearwisdom.net) When Ph.D. candidate Mr. Yu Yaou expressed his gratitude to Falun Dafa in his doctoral thesis, some officials in the Guangzhou South China Botanical Garden threatened to take disciplinary action against him. They repeatedly exerted pressure on his family in Shandong Province.
At the end of his doctoral thesis, on the page reserved for acknowledgments, Mr. Yu wrote, "First, I would like to thank Falun Dafa. Were it not for the support from the power of this righteous belief, I would have been unable to complete my doctoral thesis." Mr. Yu refused to delete these words despite pressure from the authorities of the botanical garden. The authorities then forcibly canceled his oral defense originally scheduled to be conducted on February 4, 2010, and informed him that they may take further disciplinary action against him.
As required by the education department of the botanical garden, Mr. Yu submitted his explanation statement on February 4, 2010, to the related departments and teachers, for resuming his oral defense for his doctoral thesis. In his statement, he elaborated on what Falun Gong is, why he did not do anything against the law, and that he reserved his right to appeal. He also requested the authorities to resume his defense.
The authorities received Mr. Yu's statement, but did not resume his defense. Instead, his teachers and the Party Secretary made phone calls to his family in Shandong Province, demanding that his parents "come immediately," and urged them to "persuade" their son.
Following the instruction of the 610 Office, South China Botanical Garden officials ordered Mr. Yu to submit his "thought reports." Every time Mr. Yu refused to comply with the authorities' unreasonable orders, they would repeatedly call his family and demand that they come to "assist in dealing with the situation."
Related articles:
1. "The Persecution of Mr. Yu Yaou, a Doctoral Student at the South China Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences" http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2009/12/14/113118.html
2. "Falun Gong Practitioners Discouraged from Working at the Chinese Academy of Sciences" http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/2/11/114565.html
