Remembering April 25th, 1999

Ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners appealed at Zhongnanhai (China's central government building) on April 25th, 1999 and peacefully requested premier Zhu Rongji to resolve the illegal arrest of Falun Gong practitioners in Tianjin City. It was the 88th anniversary of Tsinghua University's founding; it is more than mere coincidence--there is a reason for everything. Each year, as a Tsinghua University alumnus, I always have a lot of feelings during this special time. I want to dedicate this article to the people of Tsinghua University and to Chinese people.

Mr. Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Dafa to the public in May 1992. Within seven years, 100 million people in China had benefited physically and mentally from the practice of Falun Gong. In the meantime, Falun Dafa had spread to more than 30 countries in the world. Falun Dafa renewed people's lives like a spring breeze when the society was experiencing its worst and fastest moral decline.

Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan and He Zuoxiu constantly fabricated slander and harassed Dafa practitioners in different parts of the country. Even an investigation report directed by Qiao Shi that affirmed Falun Gong's positive social impact did not stop the dictator Jiang Zemin and his group. He Zuoxiu published a slanderous article in a Tianjin-based magazine. Falun Gong practitioners asked the magazine editors to correct the mistake. Nevertheless, some practitioners were beaten and arrested by police officers in Tianjin between April 19th and April 23rd, 1999. The practitioners had no choice but to appeal to the central government and asked premier Zhu Rongji to resolve the issue.

I went to a public practise site in Tsinghua University as usual at 5:55 a.m. on April 25th, 1999. However, when I heard that Tianjin police had illegally arrested Falun Gong practitioners, I decided to appeal. I joined several other Tsinghua students. We rode our bikes toward the Appeals Office for Letters and Calls. During the two-hour trip, I remembered the Guangming Daily publishing a Falun Gong-slandering article back in 1996; the Beijing Youth newspaper had slandered Falun Gong in 1997; the Beijing TV Station viciously attacked Falun Gong in 1998, and Tsinghua University started to impose numerous restrictions on Falun Gong practitioners in 1998. We were not even permitted to play Falun Gong music and hang banners.

All of us follow Truth, Compassion, Forbearance, so we must let people know the facts and tell them not to follow orders from corrupt officials to do bad things. Each time we appealed we brought different documents that would validate the power and wonders of Falun Dafa, such as past medical records, CT scan results, scientific articles, Falun Gong flyers and books. We presented the documents to government officials, in an effort to help them correct their mistakes. I thought, "Why are there always bad people who stir up trouble? This time we must let premier Zhu Rongji, a Tsinghua alumni, know about it, so he can stop the evildoers."

We arrived at Zhongnanhai at 8:00 a.m. and saw many people standing on the sidewalk. They all looked very healthy and kind. I knew they were Falun Gong practitioners. After we pad-locked our bikes we walked toward Xinhuamen in Zhongnanhai. Several police officers came over and told us to stand on the sidewalk. They told us not to gather in a large group. All of us came from different parts of the country, and most of us didn't know each other. We didn't chat with each other, but quietly read or memorised the Falun Gong books or articles.

At 3:00 p.m. I saw an older woman sitting against a wall. She did not eat or drink. I asked her, "Would you like some bread or water?" She said slowly and politely, "No, thank you, I don't want to bother anyone by having them take me to the restroom." I was moved into tears by her consideration and tried to reassure her saying, "No problem! I'll ask someone to take you there!" She kept saying, "Thank you; it's fine, it's ok."

Soon practitioner Wang Jiuchun, a professor who taught at Tsinghua University returned and recognised this woman, in her 80s, as the mother of a senior professor at Tsinghua University. Wang Jiuchun hired a taxi and sent this woman home since it had become dark and he did not want her family to worry about her. What an amazing old woman! She showed people through her actions that she benefited from Falun Dafa practise and at the same she had learnt from Falun Dafa to always be considerate of others.

We learnt at 9:00 p.m. that premier Zhu Rongji would take care of the incident of arrests by Tianjin City police. We collected the garbage around us before going home, including the cigarette butts from the police.

That was eight years ago, and fellow practitioners' kind faces are still vivid in my mind. I wonder how they have fared after eight years of Jiang's and the evil Party's ruthless persecution. The heaven, the earth, the streets, Xinhuamen (New China) Gate, and the trees all witnessed the largest-scale peaceful appeal in Chinese history.

What has become of those who appealed? Some might have died from persecution, some are still held in prisons or labour camps including my good friend Meng Jun who was sentenced to ten years in prison, and is still incarcerated. Some may have had their organs forcibly extracted, and some may have been compelled to leave China. It is so lamentable! This is what is happening in China. In democratic Western countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany, people's right to appeal or file lawsuits against heads of state is protected and supported; the court, the police, the media and government agencies would help people in these endeavours.

I heard premier Zhu Rongji had originally planned to attend activities to celebrate the 88th anniversary of the founding of Tsinghua University, as did many of us who were Tsinghua students or professors, but instead he had to come to Zhongnanhai to deal with this big incident. We, the people from Tsinghua University, also left behind the activities of the anniversary. Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang Jiuchun was one of the main persons heading the Scientific Development Department at Tsinghua University. She helped the department each year to obtain research contracts worth more than 100 million Yuan and also hosts Tsinghua alumni during annual celebrations. After the persecution began, the Party had severely persecuted her as a major "target." She was sent to brainwashing classes six times; her home was ransacked twice; she was held in a labour camp for 18 months where she nearly died from torture. She was compelled to escape China in 2004 and applied for asylum in Japan to avoid further persecution. It is sad that such a well-respected professor in her 60s who made important contributions to the university had to go through such abominable persecution for her belief.

Prior to 1999, I had participated in the annual students' science fair at Tsinghua University. I was awarded the Top Prize three times. The school newspaper New Tsinghua featured my story on the front page on January 1st, 1999. Because of my Falun Gong practise, the university officials debated in 1998 whether to issue me the Top Achiever Scholarship. Earlier that same year, Luo Gan and He Zuoxiu came forward to interfere with Falun Gong practise sites at the university and started to forbid us from playing exercise music and putting up banners. Actually, the entire student body nominates and votes on the Top Achiever Scholarship award. The nominee must present a speech and answers questions from a panel, and the school officials choose the final winner. The university officials resisted Luo Gan and He Zuoxiu at that time and proceeded to award me the scholarship. They indeed acted in accordance with the university's motto, "Self-Discipline and Social Commitment."

However, in 1999, Jiang Zemin ignored opposition from the other six members of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and single-handedly launched the persecution of Falun Gong. He deployed the military, police, secret agents and media to fanatically persecute Falun Gong.

Li Lanqing came personally to Tsinghua University to direct the persecution of nearly 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners in the university. Between 1999 and 2001, many students were expelled; more than 40 practitioners were sentenced to the jail terms (the longest was 13 years) and to forced labour. My mentor, professor Gao Chunman who tailored his teaching according to the characteristics of his students, chose to escape to Russia where he applied for asylum. He was then 73 years old and devoted his whole life to educating and nurturing students. He made contributions to the development of the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb in China, and also played a critical role in scientific research and industrialisation work at Tsinghua University. Yet, in his old age, he is persecuted to the extent that he cannot return home. What a tragedy!

I am relatively fortunate. I was arrested after appealing against the crackdown on July 20th and July 21st, 1999. The school officials picked me up. Some of my superiors and mentors told me to immediately leave China to avoid further persecution, because I appeared as an important target on Li Lanqing's blacklist. I had applied to foreign universities for nearly six months prior to the persecution and flew to the United Kingdom on August 9th, 1999 as soon as I received a visa. I did not expect that I would be unable to step on my home country's soil for the next eight years. My passport had expired on May 13th, 2004. The Chinese consulate refused to renew it or issue me a new passport, because I was listed as a Falun Gong practitioner. I became a stateless alien through no fault of my own. For the past three years, many members of the UK Parliament and other political dignitaries lent me lots of assistance, but the Chinese Communist Party turned a blind eye. My life without a valid passport was very difficult during those three years. I encountered lots of hardships in my work and life because of it.

The evil Communist Party also extended its persecution of Falun Gong to foreign countries. I went to attend a 2005 activity in England to celebrate the anniversary of Tsinghua University's founding, but I was prevented from entering the hall because I wore a scarf bearing the words "Falun Dafa" and "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance." Over a dozen people gathered around me and I said to them, "This is England where Falun Gong is welcome! This is a country where people enjoy freedom of belief. I benefited from Falun Dafa practise!" They still refused to let me enter the hall. In the end, several schoolmates helped me and put my scarf in a bag before I was finally granted entry. My goal was to let other students know that Falun Gong is everywhere. I seized every opportunity to talk about Falun Gong. During lunch, the [hosting] committee and special guests held an urgent meeting to discuss how they were going to deal with me. It was very interesting; one of the special guests was a professor from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. He came straight to the point, saying, "Our motto at Tsinghua is 'self discipline and social commitment,' which really conforms to Truth-Compassion-Tolerance. Truth-Compassion-Tolerance is actually very good!"

I applauded his outstanding comment, and other people applauded as well. He continued and said, "This is England; how can we drive away an alumnus?" I clapped again. His entire speech was quite impressive. The host also read aloud a list of alumni who donated money to the university, including my name. Some people had puzzled looks on their faces when my name was read. I had only donated the money I carried with me when I registered at the door, although I did it without any pursuit of recognition and without knowing that they would read my name aloud.

April 25th is here again, and I remember schoolmate Yuan Jiang who died from persecution in 2001; and 73-year-old professor Gao Chunman who is a refugee in Russia; professor Wang Chunjiu, a refugee in Japan. I also remember other familiar schoolmates such as Meng Jun, Wang Weiyu, Yao Yue, Chu Tong, Yu Chao, Wang Xin, Huang Kui, Bai Rongchun and Liu Zhimei who are currently incarcerated in prisons. I do not know when we can again return to the beautiful Tsinghua campus and do Falun Gong exercises accompanied by the benevolent music, followed by a peaceful discussion of our cultivation experiences!

I also remember Tsinghua alumnus former premier Zhu Rongji. He handled the April 25th appeal properly, openly and honestly, and he opposed Jiang Zemin's persecution. I remember Hu Jintao, the current head of the country, also a Tsinghua alumnus. He also once opposed the persecution of Falun Gong. Jiang has been out of office for nearly three years. More than 20 million Communist Party members have quit the Party. At this critical time period, I call on alumnus Hu Jintao to stop this thoroughly despised persecution of Tsinghua students and Chinese people. We are calling for an end to the persecution and a free environment to practise Falun Gong to be restored in China.