Ms Shen Jianli, a Lecturer from Jilin University, is Tortured to Death, Her Family Members Also Suffer Greatly

Ms. Shen Jianli was a lecturer in the department of Applied Mathematics at Nanling Campus, Jilin University. She was in her 30s, and had graduated with a Master's degree from the Mathematics Department of Northeast Normal University. She worked at the Educational Research Centre in the Mathematics Department of Jilin University. Before the persecution began on July 1999, Ms. Shen led a peaceful and happy life. As a Falun Dafa practitioner, she cultivated herself according to the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance." She was kind, tolerant, and always a tremendous help to the people around her.

After the persecution started Shen Jianli's life was turned upside down. If practitioners practised the exercises outdoors, the police would arrest them. Their homes could be ransacked if they were found to have Dafa books. Practitioners who practised at home were registered, and community and government officials, employees from community centres, as well as police guards could harass practitioners at any time. University officials from Jilin University tried to force Ms. Shen to write a letter renouncing Falun Dafa and to turn in all her Dafa books.

In such an environment, Shen Jianli felt compelled to travel to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa, carrying her little daughter in her arms. On the train, the police searched for and questioned everyone, in an effort to arrest practitioners travelling to Beijing to appeal. Ms. Shen was caught. The persecutors beat her up on the spot. Her two and half-year-old daughter said in her arms, "Stop beating my mum."

Shen Jianli tried to go to appeal several times, but she was caught every time and escorted back home. Officers from the local police station (the Nanling Police Station) threatened to send her to a forced labour camp. The police planned to send her daughter to an orphanage and send both Shen and her husband, also a Dafa practitioner, to forced labour camps. Once, some police guards threw her and her daughter into a police car and said to them wickedly, "We are going to send your daughter to an orphanage and you to a forced labour camp!" It was rumoured that the police did submit a report to their supervisors stating that they intended to send Ms. Shen to a forced labour camp, but the request was rejected because the child was too young.

At the same time, Ms. Shen's work unit also put pressure on her. They treated her badly and persecuted her. There were three levels of officials persecuting her at her work: The first level was the University leaders, among them was Wang Shoushi, Vice Party Secretary of Jilin University, who has the responsibility for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. The second level was the local "610 Office" (1), of which Liu Yuan is the director. The third level was the Institute leaders for which the party secretary is responsible. University officials' orders were given to the "610 Office," and then to the Institute office. The "610 Office" and Institute office carry out the persecution and then report on the practitioners' situation, including their mental state, to the university leaders. The persecutors then decide on the next course of action in carrying out the persecution of individual practitioners, taking into consideration practitioners' state of mind. Such a determination is made after talking with the practitioners. The persecutors at the Institute office then report the result of the "discussions" to the "610 Office," which in turn also has a discussion with the practitioners. They also report the results to the university officials. The university officials either talk to the practitioners or directly report the results from the "610 Office" to their supervisors. The main topic of the "discussions" is to ask the practitioners if they will continue with the practice, the practitioners' attitude about Falun Gong, and whether he/she would appeal or participate in Falun Dafa truth clarification activities. During the discussion with each practitioner, the persecutors threaten, cajole and apply other kinds of pressure.

Shen Jianli was forced to have these "discussions" many times. The authorities tried to force her to turn in Dafa books and write a "guarantee statement" (2). The oppressors also talked to and pressured Ms. Shen's parents. They advised them to persuade their daughter to renounce Falun Gong. They threatened Ms. Shen's parents and insinuated that if she still refused to renounce the practice, "her career and future" would be in jeopardy. They asked Shen Jianli's parents to apply pressure on her and even asked that her parents turn in her Dafa books. When all these efforts did not succeed, they labeled Ms. Shen a "stubborn" person. In the eyes of Liu Yuan, director of the local "610 Office," Ms. Shen was the most "stubborn" person he had ever met.

Before the five universities were combined and became Jilin University, Shen Jianli was a mathematics teacher at the College of Science at Jilin Industrial University. The party secretary of the College of Science, known as Ma Zhensheng, as well as Liu Yuan and the officials of Jilin Industrial University, including Wang Shoushi who was in charge of persecuting Falun Gong, labelled Ms. Shen as a "stubborn" practitioner. Soon after that, officials of Jilin Industrial University had a meeting and decided to void Ms. Shen's party membership. They did so because she persisted in practising Falun Dafa and believed in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance."

Besides disseminating slander and defaming Ms. Shen, the College of Science party secretary took away her right to work and her right to lead a normal life. After she was apprehended on her way to appeal for Dafa and escorted back, the party secretary kept her out of the classroom and told her that she had to attend a brainwashing session. They detained her in a small room at the College of Science and tried to force her to "repent and reform." In the small room, there was nothing but a desk and a chair. Ms. Shen refused to write any "guarantee statements" or articles of "reformation."

Seeing that Shen Jianli refused to "reform," the party secretary ordered her to stay in the office daily. She was monitored and forced to report to the officials whenever she would leave. Ms. Shen endured the unreasonable requests and helped her co-workers with some of their office work.

Seeing that Ms. Shen did not resist and protest, the party secretary thought of another way to persecute her. Ms. Shen was transferred to the shared computer lab to collect fees. This way, the pressure was still on her, she did not have any freedom, and it even saved money for the College of Science. Working in the computer lab, Ms. Shen did not get lunch breaks, and sometimes she had to work through the whole week except for Sunday afternoons. As a result, Ms. Shen had no choice but to bring her 3-year-old daughter with her to work on many weekends. The 3-year-old girl had to sit quietly in the computer lab until it was time to leave. Ms. Shen was never paid for her extra overtime work.

Shen Jianli had to endure "discussions," which could occur any time. In 2000, Shen's mother-in-law came to visit her from out of town. Ms. Shen reported to the authorities and went home. During that afternoon, some university official called her at home and forced her to immediately report back to the school for a "discussion." As soon as she got there, she was surrounded by a large group who asked her to attend a brainwashing session. When Ms. Shen refused, an employee of the College of Science (it is rumoured that his/her name is Fu Wei, who was transferred away from the College of Science after the five universities combined) dragged her and her daughter into a car that was waiting specifically for her.

The officials took Ms. Shen and her daughter to a brainwashing centre and detained them there. Ms. Shen's mother-in-law did not know what had happened and waited worriedly at home. At this time, Ms. Shen's husband, Dafa practitioner Zheng Weidong, was also in detention for refusing to renounce Falun Dafa.

In the brainwashing centre, the police closely monitored the practitioners and kept them isolated from the outside world. They used this tactic to torture the practitioners mentally. The detained practitioners were left with two choices. They could renounce their belief, write the "guarantee statements," and slander, attack, and even curse Dafa. Once the written articles from the "reformed" practitioners were considered "good," meaning that their attack and cursing of Dafa had reached a certain degree, the practitioners were released as being "reformed." The second choice was to speak the truth and refuse to renounce the belief. The tormenters sent these practitioners to forced labor camps, where they were further persecuted.

Worrying about her mother-in-law, Ms. Shen escaped with her daughter from the brainwashing centre from the window one night. After her escape, the persecutors moved the brainwashing centre to another location and controlled the practitioners more closely.

After Shen Jianli escaped with her daughter, Liu Yuan said in public, "I simply don't believe that we could not catch her." Jilin University withheld her paycheck and tried to trap her with the money that she was owed. They lied and said that only she could pick up the money. At that time, the paycheck was in the hands of an employee named Li in the office of the Mathematics Education Centre. In order to avoid illegal arrest, Ms. Shen was forced to become homeless, with no source of income.

On March 6, 2002, Shen Jianli went to attend her husband Zheng Weidong's trial, which was held at Nanguan District Court. The authorities arrested Ms. Shen inside the courtroom and left her daughter alone at the gate of the court. Zheng Weidong was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Within one month of her arrest, Ms. Shen was tortured to death.

The persecution of Shen Jianli by her tormentors at Jilin University did not stop there. Ms. Shen's salary was not given to her family members. The money is still being held at the Mathematics Education Centre. Ms. Shen's daughter could not attend Jilin University's dependent School for many reasons, including financial difficulties. The little girl now lives with her grandmother in a rural area and goes to school there.

The parents of Zheng Weidong and Shen Jianli worried terribly about their children in detention. They endured tremendous suffering for a long time, and they suffered from depression. Ms. Shen's mother-in-law has recently been diagnosed with cancer.

This injustice allowed for a wife and mother to be tortured to death, and for a husband and father to be sentenced to a long prison term. A little girl thus lost her father at age 3 and her mother when she was just 5. Ms. Shen was threatened, detained and forced to become homeless, having to move from place to place to avoid arrest. The couple's parents are still struggling under this huge burden, suffering both mentally and physically. They have even been denied the right to know the whereabouts of their children.

Related phone numbers:

Jilin University: President, Wu Boda: 86-431-5166245 86-431-5166279 (Office) [email protected]

Vice Party Secretary, Wang Shoushi

"610 Office" Director, Liu Yuan: 86-431-5166428 (Office)

Party Secretary of Mathematics Education Centre, Liu Qinghuai

Mathematics Education Centre: 86-431-5167054,

Former party secretary of College of Science (Former Jilin Industrial University), currently employed in Mathematics Education Centre,

Ma Zhensheng: 86-431-5683790 (Home)

Former officer clerk of College of Science (formerly Jilin Industrial University), Fu Wei

Notes --

(1) The "610 Office" is an agency specifically established to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

(2) Guarantee statement: A statement to declare that he or she is remorseful for practising Falun Gong and guarantees not to practise Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/6/22/77658.html