Falun Gong practitioner Ms. He Yanhua is a respected teacher who, due to government pressure, has been demoted to janitor and denied her salary for months.

Teacher Forced to Work as a Janitor, Paycheck Suspended

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. He Yanhua from Maoming City, Guangdong Province taught chemistry for more than 10 years at Shanhe High School in Yangjiao Town, Maogang District. She was an outstanding teacher who was admired by her students and praised by her colleagues and the school administration. However, because she practices Falun Gong, she is now allowed to work only as a janitor, and the school has not paid her salary for months.

Ms. He used to suffer from poor health and depression. After she started to practice Falun Gong, she regained good physical and mental health.

After the Chinese regime began to persecute Falun Gong, she traveled to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong at the end of 2000. However, she was illegally detained and sent to a forced labor camp for 18 months.

Before the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Ms. He was arrested again and sent to a brainwashing center in Maoming City. Because she held on to her beliefs and refused to write the repentance statement, she was detained there for more than four months. Shortly after her release in September 2008, the 610 Office restricted her freedom. During the following three months, she had to ask permission every time she wanted to leave home.

In order to live a normal life, she left her school job and moved into a relative's home. However, the 610 Office cadres followed her there and continued to harass her. She was then forced to go into hiding, leaving her elderly mother at home alone.

In the beginning of this semester, Ms. He returned to the school. However, the Maoming 610 Office instructed the school officials to only allow her to work as a janitor.

After half a semester, the school still has not paid her a penny. When she asked the Education Department about her salary, she was informed that the 610 Office ordered them to suspend her paycheck. The 610 Office personnel gave her all kinds of excuses, but failed to provide a clear answer. Yang Hui from the city-level 610 Office said, "You should communicate with the district-level 610 Office and your principal." Li Kangrong, the head of the district-level 610 Office, refused to answer her phone calls. When she was finally able to reach Li, he refused to listen, saying he was busy drinking his morning tea.