(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa was introduced to the general public in China in 1992 and quickly spread throughout China by word of mouth. Falun Dafa practitioners consist of people from across sectors of society, ranging from the working masses to government officials, from illiterate, older rural women to learned professors and scholars. They are attracted by Falun Gong's principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance," which speaks volumes about the moral appeal of Falun Dafa. However, the legitimate right to practice Falun Gong and the constitutional rights of practitioners at Lanzhou University have been denied by the Chinese Communist Party due to the severe persecution of Falun Gong practitioners that began on July 20, 1999.

Lanzhou University set up a 610 Office to help carry out orders for the provincial and municipal 610 Offices. The 610 Office, a vast system that exists specifically to carry out the persecution of Falun Gong at various levels of the government throughout the country, was created by Jiang Zemin, former head of the regime, on June 10, 1999. The system operates above the law and possesses the power to arrest and "illegally imprison" practitioners. In addition, it holds countless brainwashing sessions everywhere to "reform" practitioners. It brutally tortures those who refuse to betray their faith. To date, more than 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death.

Falun Gong practitioners are among the students and scholars in every college and university in China. Many of these people achieve academic excellence or are great teachers. However, durint the past eight years, they have been persecuted to varying degrees. Some were forced to write the so-called "confessions" and subjected to mental abuse. Others were expelled, arrested, detained, imprisoned, and physically tortured. Some were even tortured to death. Lanzhou University is no exception. It is one of the universities where many of the students and teachers practicing Falun Dafa have been brutally persecuted.

Worse still, the authorities sent political agents to the campus to manipulate the institution's policies and to organize campaigns against Falun Gong, using same techniques used in the Cultural Revolution.

In 2001, Lanzhou University was filled with posters, banners, and radio broadcasts slandering Falun Dafa. On March 8, 2001, a gathering boasting 10,000 people was held in the university auditorium to slander and criticize Falun Dafa. It was actually a show put on by a few despicable people. In 2003, CCP-controlled personnel, including Li Hengbin, deputy Party secretary of Lanzhou University; Wang Wei, deputy secretary-general of the Standing Committee of the Gansu Provincial [anti Falun Gong] Association; Zhang Jian, director of the 610 Office of Lanzhou University and vice president of the local Communist Party School; Zhang Xuchen, secretary of the Communist Youth League of Lanzhou University; Yao Liwen, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CCP of Lanzhou University; and Yu Chunzi, deputy secretary of the Communist Youth League, solicited articles from the university students for an activity to show "respect for science and opposition to "illegal beliefs." Such activities aimed to distort the souls of the college students.

Below are several accounts of the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners at Lanzhou University.

1. Mr .Wan Jiqiang was a postgraduate in the College of Physics, Lanzhou University. On October 27, 1999, Mr. Wan went to the Appeals Office in Beijing to legally petition the government on behalf of Falun Gong. He was taken into custody in Lanzhou and detained in Taoshuping Detention Center for 15 days. Later, the university forced Mr. Wan to withdraw from the university. In October 2000, he returned to the university and was threatened with dismissal because he refused to write the three statements, promising to stop practicing Falun Gong. On December 31, 2000, he was arrested again after clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa in front of Jinshui Bridge at Tiananmen Square. In the detention center, the police tortured him for an entire day in an attempt to force a so-called "confession" out of him. Every despicable tactic, such as using electric batons and handcuffing him outside in freezing temperatures, were employed to no avail. An older man who was detained with Mr. Wan was shocked directly on his chest because he said that he previously had serious heart disease. His whereabouts are unknown. Mr. Wan was escorted back and taken into custody for another 15 days. Afterwards, his father bought a train ticket for him to come home for the Chinese New Year, but he was "illegally detained" in an underground apartment at the university for "brainwashing sessions," for the sole purpose of forcing him to give up Falun Gong. He protested solemnly and went on a hunger strike for three days. The guards from the university pinched his nose and tried to force-feed him, but they did not succeed. Finally they had to let him go home. Mr. Wan had no choice but to leave home and the university to avoid being arrested again.

2. Mr. Liu Jianxin was an undergraduate in the Law School. He was arrested and detained for 15 days after he went to Beijing in early 2000 to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong. He was suspended from school. On October 1, 2000, when university authorities were discussing the possibility of allowing him to resume his education, he went to appeal in Bejing for a second time and was again detained for 15 days. He did not change his mind, even when threatened by the prospect of forced labor and expulsion from the university. After his release, the authorities of the university were totally indifferent to him. They intended to allow him to graduate early so they would have nothing more to do with him. However, he went to Beijing for a third time in mid-December after recognizing the importance of clarifying the truth of Dafa to people. During his stay in Beijing, he assisted many practitioners to find room and board. Later, the place where he was staying was illegally searched, and more than 40 people living there were arrested. He was "illegally sentenced" in Beijing to a term at Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp and was brutally tortured in an attempt to "transform" him.

3. Mr. Bao Xinkang was a lecturer at Lanzhou University. During the 2000 New Year, he appealed in Beijing. At the same time, he solemnly declared that his words and deeds, coerced under great pressure in 1999 were null and void. He was arrested by plainclothes police in Tiananmen Square because he refused to answer their questions. He was then taken to Shahe Town Police Station in Changping County, where he was brutally tortured. He was taken back to Lanzhou and detained for 15 days after the police found his name and address. At the end of his detention, Mr. Bao was shut in the underground apartment in Lanzhou University for so-called law "study classes" (which were actually brainwashing sessions). He was deprived of his basic liberties and freedom for three months. In late 2001, the police knocked on his door in the middle of the night. As a result, he fell down the stairs while trying to escape, causing serious fractures. Not letting up, in late 2002, the police arrested Mr. Bao again and took him to the Lanzhou City Gongjiawan Brainwashing Center for compulsory "transformation."

4. Mr. Chen Duoju was a student at Lanzhou University. In December 1999, he went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. After he returned, university officials put him in detention for 15 days on the pretext of "disturbing public order." He was suspend from school for a year. After he returned to the university, the leaders of the department confined him in a brainwashing class on March 2, 2001, because he refused to write the "three statements" and refused to slander and criticize Falun Gong. Before the 2001 New Year, he was interrogated by the Gulang County Public Security Bureau, which intended to detain him but failed. On March 13, Mr. Chen escaped to an unknown destination because he refused to be persecuted for no reason. That same year, he was arrested at a fellow practitioner's home and detained in the West Orchard Detention Center. In 2002, the authorities released him but continued to monitor him. He was arrested soon afterwards and sentenced to forced labor for a year. He was subjected to many types of torture. After his term expired, he was taken directly to Gongjiawan Brainwashing Center for compulsory "transformation."

5. Ms. Tan Xiaorong was doctoral student in the College of Life Sciences at Lanzhou University. She produced truth clarification materials with her computer and printer at home in Xuzhou and distributed them in student dormitories at Xuzhou Normal University. On January 12, 2001, she was arrested. Her home was raided, and about 20 Dafa books, a box of discs, a set of Dafa lecture discs, and several exercise tapes were confiscated. In addition, her computer and printer were also seized. She was detained in the First Reception Hotel of Xuzhou Normal University with residential surveillance. On January 23, 2001, she was taken back to Lanzhou University and confined to the brainwashing center in the underground apartment for three months. In May 2001, Ms. Tan was arrested while writing "Falun Dafa is good" near a highway. She was sentenced to forced labor for one and a half years. In the forced labor camp, she was tortured by being made to do hard physical labor, and was beaten while being hung in the air, and deprived of sleep in efforts to "transform" her.

6. Mr. Zhangqihu, PhD, was a mathematics teacher at Xuzhou Normal University. He was arrested along with Ms. Tan Xiaorong, his wife. After living under residential surveillance for eight days in the Xuzhou Normal University Guest House, he was arrested on January 20, 2001, and detained in Xuzhou City Detention Center for more than 30 days. During this time, none of his friends or relatives were allowed to visit him. On February 24, he was released from the detention center but continued his detention in the Xuzhou Normal University Guest House. His salary was withheld and used instead to cover the expenses of hiring the staff to watch him and the cost for him to live and eat at the guest house. His two-year-old child was left in the care of his sister. Parents and other family members were extremely worried and suffered mental anguish.

7. Mr. Wang Yunbo was an undergraduate in the School of Economics and Management at Lanzhou University. On December 2, 1999, he went to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong. The university police detained him for 15 days on the pretext of "disturbing the public order," when in fact he and the other five students were arrested at Tiananmen Square just for having a letter of appeal with them. University officials then ordered him to write an application for sick leave, and his schooling was suspended for a year. September 2000 was the end of his suspension. Pressured by family members and out of consideration for his studies, Mr. Wang wrote the "guarantee statement" and a "confession." Later, he painfully regretted having done this. Thinking of compassionate Master and all of the Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted, he decided to explain the true situation of Falun Dafa to the government to rectify the mistaken persecution of Dafa. On December 25, he went to Beijing to appeal again. On December 29, 2000, and January 1, 2001, he twice witnessed the brutality of the so-called "people's police," who attacked the peaceful petitioners in broad daylight. Later, he left home and university for fear of being persecuted. In late 2001 he was arrested at a fellow practitioner's home and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was detained in the West Orchard Detention Center and subjected to all kinds of torture. He was later transferred to Lanzhou Prison, where he is still being persecuted to this day.

8. Mr. Xue Liuyan, an undergraduate in the School of Economics and Management at Lanzhou University, went to Beijing to petition the government on December 2, 1999, and was detained for 15 days. His schooling was also suspended for a year "due to illness." Under great pressure and against his will, he wrote the three statements to renounce his faith. His schooling was resumed prior to September 2000. Afterwards, he realized his mistake and started practicing Falun Gong again. In order to clarify the truth of Falun Dafa and awaken people, he went to Beijing to petition again on December 25, 2000. He was arrested in 2002 and detained in the West Orchard Detention Center. Later, he was sentenced to four years in Lanzhou Prison. During his term, he suffered both physically and psychologically from the persecution. Mr. Xue was not released until 2006.

9. Mr. Duan Jinhui was an undergraduate in the College of Physics, Lanzhou University. After recognizing the importance of clarifying the truth, he went to Beijing on December 2, 1999, to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong. He was detained for 15 days, and his schooling was suspended for a year. Later, under great pressure, he wrote against his will two statements renouncing his faith. His schooling was resumed in September 2000. Later he realized his mistake and immediately embarked on the path of clarifying the truth and validating Dafa. On December 25, he again went to Beijing to appeal, after which his whereabouts were unknown. After writing "Falun Dafa is good" on the roadside, he was arrested and detained in the West Orchards Detention Center, where he was forced to "transform."

10. Mr. Tang Xunnian was an undergraduate in the School of Economics and Management, Lanzhou University. On December 2, 1999, he went to Beijing to appeal and was detained for 15 days. His schooling was suspended for a year. During his suspension, his wavered and wrote the "two statements" to renounce his faith. His schooling was resumed in September 2000. He is still very torn between keeping to his faith and yielding to pressure to renounce Falun Gong. The evildoers are forcing kindhearted people to choose between selfishness and conscience.

11. Mr. Zhu Gaofeng was an undergraduate at the College of Earth and Environmental Science, Lanzhou University. His schooling was suspended for a year after he was detained for 15 days because he went to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong on December 2, 1999. His schooling was not resumed because he refused to write the "two statements" and change his attitude toward his faith. He later continued his studies as an unregistered student.

12. Ms Wang Hongmei, PhD worked in the History Department at Lanzhou University. In late 2001, Ms Wang was illegally detained in the security department of the university, which did great harm to her mental and physical well being. She was not released until she went on a hunger strike to protest her illegal detention.

13. Ms. Wang Yaling was a lecturer in the Chinese department. After 1999, the university relentlessly pressured her. In late 2001, the university held a brainwashing session and ordered Ms. Wang to participate. When she refused, university officials, along with the Lanzhou Municipal 610 Office, took her by force to the Lanzhou City Gongjiawan Brainwashing Center to "transform" her, greatly harming her mind and body. After returning to the university, she was again told to participate in the brainwashing session, and she again refused. Thereafter, she was not allowed to teach and was only allowed to sort letters and newspapers.

14. Ms. Zhang Lumin was a student in the Department of Chemistry. Because she wrote "Falun Dafa is Good" on the roadside in May 2001, Ms. Zhang was detained in the West Orchard Detention Center. Her family members bailed her out after she went on a hunger strike. However, she was not allowed to continue her schooling.

15. Ms. Mao Guifang was a retired teacher. In 2002, she was arrested at her home by the security department of Lanzhou University and taken to the municipal Public Security Bureau, which refused to accept her. The university then took her to Taoshuping Detention Center, where she was illegally detained for 15 days.

16. Ms. Wang Caixia's family worked at Lanzhou University. In October 2000, she went to Beijing to petition on behalf of Falun Gong and was detained for 15 days. In 2001, she was arrested by Department 26 of the municipal Public Security Bureau. She was then confined in the West Orchard Detention Center for almost four months. During this time, she was beaten and force-fed. She was released after 2,000 yuan was extorted from her father. Both her body and her mind were severely damaged. On October 1, 2004, officers from the Municipal Public Security Bureau surrounded her home for two days and three nights, trying to arrest and persecute her. But they did not succeed due to her strong resistance. On May 12, 2007, the university, together with Weiyuan Road Police Station, arrested her on her way back from work by using stalking, tracking, and other despicable means. She was forcibly taken to Gongjiawan Brainwashing Center, where she was force-fed, made to squat shackled, was handcuffed behind her back, and subjected to mental abuse for seven months. However, she was steadfast in her belief in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." During this time, her mother suffered tremendously because of the persecution of her daughter, and she floundered between life and death. Her 10-year-old daughter was intimidated and scared by her mother's absence, and she became very thin.

In late 2007, Lanzhou University gave in to the strong demands by her family and released Ms. Wang but with despicable conditions, which implicated her father (retired) and her brother (who worked in Lanzhou University). Ms. Wang Caixia was tortured and her arms were maimed from being hung up for long periods of time. In spite of all of this suffering, the officials at Lanzhou University, in pursuit of their own fame and promotion, still tried to force Ms. Wang to give up her faith by threatening to lay off her brother. Ms. Wang had no choice but to leave home in fear of illegal arrest and the involvement of her family.

This is how the students and teachers who practiced Falun Gong were treated at Lanzhou University. The practitioners in Lanzhou University were generally regarded as great teachers or excellent students who worked and studied hard. Instead of protecting these great staff and faculty members and excellent students during the severe persecution, the university authorities assisted the evil to persecute these good people. This is a stern warning those who continue to persecute Falun Gong practitioners to gain political fame and promotion: All virtuous and evil deeds are rewarded accordingly. Do not believe the rumors slandering Falun Gong! Do not assist the wicked for transient profits and interests! Do not create evil consequences for yourself, or it will be too late to take remedial measures later!

We call on the alumni of Lanzhou University at home and abroad to please extend a helping hand to put an end to the shameful, inhumane practices going on at Lanzhou University. Let's work together to stop the persecution as soon as possible so that normal teaching can resume.

Contact Information:

Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Rd, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, Zip code: 730000
Former director of the security department Kang Liucheng: 0931-8911101 (Home)
Zhou Lanbao: 13109436647
Former director of the 610 Office in Lanzhou University Zhang Jian: 0931-8912124 (Office), 8913498 (Home)
Former CCP secretary of Lanzhou University: Chen Dewen (transferred to Jilin University in March 2008)
Former president Li Fashen: 89111998 (Home)
Director of the security department Wu Jianqiang: 0931-8910177
Director of the 610 Office in Lanzhou University Liu Tongchang: 13893141110
Deputy director of the 610 Office in Lanzhou University Liu Bailin: 0931-8912156 (Office)