Forced to Resign from His Job after Exposing the Persecution in Africa, Mr. Tian Shichen Dies Under Suspicious Circumstances

Mr. Tian Shichen began practising Falun Gong in 2010. He was an employee at the Beijing Futian Automobile Trading Co., Ltd. During his work assignment in Nigeria, he exposed the persecution of Falun Gong to friends in Chinatown. He was subsequently investigated and monitored by the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria. He returned to Beijing in late December 2011. As soon as he arrived at the airport, he was taken to the office of Meng Fanyi, Futian's deputy head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)Committee. After a four-hour “conversation,” Mr. Tian was forced to resign from his position and ordered to leave Beijing within 24 hours. He died suddenly 16 days after arriving home.

Young and Promising, Mr. Tian Helps Develop Overseas Markets

Mr. Tian Shichen was born on October 11th, 1981, in Dongquan Village, Zhangjiachan Town, Wendeng City, Shangdong Province. He was 6'2'', weighed 243 pounds, and was known for his physical strength. Mr. Tian was born into a peasant family. His parents were very strict, and he was a studious, hard-working, and virtuous young man. Tian Shichen was admitted as a squad leader to China Agricultural University, Department of Public Administration in 2003. He graduated from college in 2007, was hired by the Beijing Futian Automobile Overseas Division, and was primarily responsible for the light truck sales in the Iraqi market.

At the time, the political situation in Iraq was unstable, and no one was willing to relocate there. The company also assigned Mr. Tian to the markets in Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and West Asia. Mr. Tian began his duties after a three-month training period. He worked very hard and opened the market in West Asia. He cooperated with Iran's CKD (Complete Knock-Down, which is a complete kit needed to assemble a product) team, lending them business support, and successfully developed the market in Iraq. In 2008, he sold more than 1,000 vehicles. In 2009, he was promoted to Marketing Manager in Iraq and achieved an annual sales of more than 3,000 vehicles. He was rated as an excellent employee. In 2010, he sold 3,000 vehicles and generated more than $50 million USD in sales within a three-year period.

In 2011, Mr. Tian was transferred to the heavy truck division of the overseas business department, and was his company's representative in Nigeria. He was responsible for heavy truck sales, post-sale feedback, parts and accessories storage, and market development. Customers who dealt with Mr. Tian trusted him because he was kind and displayed integrity. He always looked after the customers and recommended them vehicle models that suited their needs.

When he lived in China, Mr. Tian knew that Falun Gong was good. Living outside of China allowed him to receive and view uncensored news on the Internet, and he began practising Falun Gong in 2010.

Mr. Tian occasionally drank alcohol before practising Falun Gong, but stopped after he began cultivating. Prior to his practice, he occasionally accepted small monetary gifts from customers, but after cultivating in Falun Gong, he stopped accepting anything from them. Although some customers were very generous, Mr. Tian was not moved by their money. Some colleagues became jealous of him because he did so well in sales. Some said he was capable, while others claimed that he was just lucky and that anyone could do his job. No matter what people said though, Mr. Tian remained quiet and tried to do a good job. He constantly searched within himself to find where he fell short.

Exposing the Persecution While Living in Africa and Investigated by the CCP

During his stay in Africa, Mr. Tian spoke with Chinese people about Falun Gong. He distributed DVD's exposing the persecution in Chinatown, and he mailed Falun Gong information to friends and colleagues abroad. In November 2011, a colleague invited him to play basketball in Chinatown. Mr. Tian agreed, thinking that it would be a good opportunity to explain the facts about Falun Gong. Two of the Chinese fellows he met had grown up overseas. Mr. Tian chatted with them and asked if they had seen films about Falun Gong, which could be freely downloaded from the Internet. He also gave them DVD's. A friend of Mr. Tian's later went to Chinatown to look for him, and someone there told the friend, “Tell your friend not to come here anymore. Two guys from the Chinese Embassy came here with submachine guns looking for him, but they couldn't find him.” It was not clear when the informant had notified the Chinese Embassy.

The Chinese Embassy reported Mr. Tian to the CCP Security Bureau. The Security Bureau then informed the 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) in Beijing, and the information was later transferred to the 610 Office in Changping District. Finally, they informed Meng Fanyi, deputy secretary of Futian, and began to investigate Mr. Tian Shichen.

In December, the political situation in Nigeria became unstable, and there were explosions everywhere. On December 27th, Mr. Tian decided to return home, and informed the company's leadership. It was then that Meng began to investigate Mr. Tian's overseas colleagues and friends, asking them about Mr. Tian's activities. He also threatened them, “Don't tell Tian that I've talked to you. His entire family practises Falun Gong.” Various levels within the CCP were involved in the investigation.

Taken to the Company Headquarters Upon Arriving at the Airport and Forced to Resign from His Job

On December 28th, Mr. Tian flew from Nigeria to Dubai, then from Dubai to Beijing. He arrived in Beijing at around 2:30 p.m. the following day. Before he boarded the airplane, his colleague called and told him that he was being investigated by the company. Before leaving the airport, Mr. Tian informed his colleagues, “Someone turned my information in to the Chinese Embassy. I'm now being investigated. Don't worry, this has nothing to do with you all.”

When Mr. Tian got into the company's car, he saw that two men from the CCP were waiting for him inside. One of them was Liu Weihua, union president, and the other was Zhao Yongqiang, director of the Party Relations Department. Mr. Tian was not permitted to go home, and he and three of his colleagues were taken directly to the company headquarters. His three colleagues were each investigated separately.

Liu and Zhao took Mr. Tian to Meng's office and asked him to hand over his phone. They didn't allow him to make calls or send text messages. They told Mr. Tian to speak truthfully or they would search his home, and that the security chief was downstairs waiting for him. The company's security chief was possibly sent by the police department. Mr. Tian said that searching his home was not an option.

Liu and Zhao interrogated the three colleagues thoroughly. The interrogators claimed to possess evidence proving that Mr. Tian practised Falun Gong, and that he had distributed informational materials. At first, Mr. Tian did not admit to anything. He said he saw Falun Gong information when he was overseas, became curious, and downloaded the information. When people asked him about it, he shared the information and told them about the persecution. In addition to Meng, deputy director Guo Yuelong was in Meng's office recording the investigation. During the investigation process, Liu and Zhao constantly entered and exited the office.

Mr. Tian's suitcase was taken from him and placed in the company car. Later, the driver gave the suitcase to Mr. Tian's colleagues, Ding Lei and Peng Zhiguo. They brought the suitcase to the fourth floor and handed it over to another colleague. Later, Zhao found the suitcase and brought it to Meng's office. The suitcase contained Falun Gong materials and books, and money. Mr. Tian later noticed that $3,100 USD was missing from an envelope that previously contained $10,000 USD. After four hours of investigation, the interrogators gave Mr. Tian two choices: To give up the practice, turn in the Falun Gong books and materials, turn in his passport, and report to the CCP on a daily basis, or to resign from his job, thereby leaving the company for good, in which case they would only guarantee his safety for a 24-hour period.

Mr. Tian chose not to give up the practice and was forced to write a letter of resignation. He also wrote a statement to quit the CCP, “Because my practice in Falun Gong does not coincide with the company's philosophy, I voluntarily resign from work and quit the Chinese Communist Party.” Meng said he did not know that one could quit the party, thus he could not submit Mr. Tian's statement. He therefore asked Mr. Tian to write another statement, “Because my personal faith does not coincide with the company's philosophy, I voluntarily resign from work.” Afterward, Mr. Tian went to his living quarters, packed his suitcase, and rushed home immediately.

Mr. Tian Suddenly Dies After Arriving Home – Family Suspects Poisoning

Mr. Tian arrived at his home at noon on December 30th. He was fine for the first two days, but by the afternoon of January 1st, 2012, he began feeling weak. On the evening of January 2nd, he felt feverish, weak, and had diarrhoea. At first, he thought it may be jet lag, and that he was just not yet acclimated. He thought that he would be better after a few days of rest. By January 5th, his condition had worsened. By January 7th, his skin, eyes, and urine had turned yellow, he also had diarrhoea, he was vomiting, and he had no appetite. He previously had the physical strength of an athlete and never sought medical treatment. He passed away on the morning of January 16th.

Mr. Tian's family did not suspect foul play until some relatives who came to visit him suggested that he was probably poisoned. After his body was cremated, people noticed that his bones had a tint of red colouring, especially the bones of his upper body. A healthy person's bones do not have any red tint, only those who suffer from poisoning have red colour on their bones. Mr. Tian's family realized then that someone had plotted against him, but many questions remained unanswered. From the day he arrived at home until his death, Mr. Tian lived and ate only with his family and no others. It seems he must have been poisoned before arriving home.

His family suspected that he was poisoned during or after his travels before arriving home. The Chinese Embassy heard of Mr. Tian's Falun Gong activities exposing the persecution in November of 2011, but were unable to locate him then. However, there still would have been many opportunities for someone to conspire against Mr. Tian.

Family Travels to Beijing Seeking the Cause of His Death

Armed with doubts and questions, Mr. Tian's family visited his managers and colleagues at Futian on January 31st, 2012. They first went to Mr. Tian's temporary housing assigned by Futian in Beijing and noticed that the lock had been changed. There were two pieces of paper on the door that read, “You did not move within 24 hours. If you want to collect your personal items, please pick up the keys at the property management office.” The property manager was unpleasant and wanted to know when they were going to pack Mr. Tian's things and move out. The manager told them to return the keys immediately.

The company issued a notice stating that Mr. Tian had resigned for personal reasons. Most of Mr. Tian's co-workers did not know why he had suddenly resigned. Only the company's top managers had such information. On February 1st, his family members asked Meng what had happened. Meng said that he understood why the family wished to inquire about the situation, and that he could show them the record. Meng claimed that he was good to Mr. Tian, and that he did not submit Mr. Tian's file to management, but kept it to himself. The file contained the two resignation letters that Mr. Tian wrote, a new passport, and a nine-page record of the “conversation.”

Company Address:
Beijing Futian International Trading Company, Ltd., Overseas Division
Shahe Shayang Road, Chanping District, Beijing, Zip Code 102206

Meng Fanyi, deputy head of the Party Committee: +86-13910694800 (Mobile), +86-10-59912181
Liu Weihua, president of the union: +86-13910326556 (Mobile), +86-10-59912085
Zhao Yongqiang, director of the Party Relations Department: +86-13910697538 (Mobile), +86-10-59912227
Guo Yuelong, deputy director: +86-13426063834

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2012/2/21/253141.html