Please Rescue This Kind and Honest Middle School Teacher

April 28, 2001

[Minghui Net] "A teacher who teaches Tao (law, principle), shares the knowledge, and answers the questions." Teaching Tao is first the priority; so besides the necessary professional knowledge, a teacher must also possess virtue. The following is a story of a teacher who is knowledgeable and is loved by her students.

Chen Lei, female, 35 years old, graduated from a technical college. She taught Politics and Law at Xingji City Middle School, Hebei Province. She attained the Fa in 1997 and has been firmly practicing the Fa since July 20, 1999. Towards the end of October 2000, she was illegally placed into a "transformation class" sponsored by the citys Department of Education (located at Xinleitou Middle School). The department separated the practitioners into single rooms and demanded that they write guarantees (to quit the practice) and gave them materials that criticized other practitioners. Chen Lei took this opportunity to promote the Fa and clarify the truth to her supervisors and staff. She wrote in the guarantee letter, "I promise to practice Falun Gong well, otherwise, I would be sorry to Master." In the criticizing material she wrote, "Restore the reputation of Master. Release the illegally imprisoned practitioners unconditionally." She was released after being illegally detained for 7 days.

On New Year's Day of 2001, the city officials feared that Falun Gong practitioners would go to Beijing to legitimately appeal. They ordered each work unit to monitor the staff. On January 1, 2001, the school leader did not allow Chen Lei to go home and illegally put her under house arrest in the school until 2 AM the next day. Chen Lei refused to cooperate with their behavior and told them they were illegally restricting her personal freedom. Only after her family intervened was she allowed to go home. The next day, Chen Leis family of three went to Shijiazhuang City to visit their relatives, but unfortunately her work unit forced them to go back home.

Three days before the Chinese Spring Festival, the citys "610 Office" arrested Chen Lei and 35 other practitioners for no reason (without legal procedures or detention cards). The 5^th day after the Spring Festival, she was released after her family paid a fine of 3000 yuan (translators note, the average monthly salary in China is 500 yuan). They refused to give them a receipt. They would not release practitioner without money. Some practitioners from poor families were illegally detained for a month.

School began after the Spring Festival, and indeed, some students knew that Ms. Chen Lei spent her holidays at the detention center. Rumors were spreading among the students because they did not know the reason for her detainment. As a good teacher of Politics and Law, Chen Lei felt that if she didnt clarify the matter to her students, they would think their teacher had done something illegal. This in turn would discredit the school and the teaching profession. More importantly, one thought of an ordinary person may determine their future; therefore, it is vital that the students understand the truth. Chen Lei then objectively described her experience from October 2000 to Spring Festival 2001 to her four classes. She said, "Our country is a country with a legal system, yet some bad people use their power to violate the law and do all kinds of evil things. I only practice Falun Gong to be a good person, yet I have received so much unfair treatment. From the perspective of the law, Chen Lei explained all the process objectively. Her righteous thoughts won the sympathy and support from her students.

Before practicing Falun Gong, Chen Leis health was not good. She was frequently sick, and she had trouble eating and sleeping well. After practicing Falun Gong, she became healthy and more energetic at work. Even though she could not continue with her regular teaching after she was placed in the "transformation class" in October 2000, her students in all 4 classes received competitive test scores compared to the other classes. Chen Leis personality and moral behavior were highly praised among the school teachers, students, and their parents. Chen Lei's husband, Li Zhiyao, is a basic unit cadre in the citys Agricultural Bank. The bank plans on promoting him to the Vice President position, but first it requires that he be a Communist Party member. However, Jiang Zemin made a rule that the direct relatives of Falun Gong practitioners are not permitted to join the Party; thus, the promising young Li is unable to better serve society.

After Chen Lei clarified the truth to the students, Luo, the Vice President of the school said that the Education Group in Xingji Town would investigate this matter. Chen Lei called Principal Zhao Jiong of Xingji Central School to explain the truth. Zhao would not accept her call. Afterwards, Vice Principal Fang answered the phone and handed the case over to her middle school. Later the school leaders requested to talk to her. Chen Lei told them, "I only persist in directing my heart towards compassion. You placed me in a transformation class, prevented me from going home on New Year's Day, and illegally threw me into the detention center. Because you pushed me like this, I had to tell the truth to everybody. This is all caused by you, and everything I said was a fact." The school leader had no comment. Then an ignorant parent reported this matter to the "610 Office" city government. On February 23, Chen Lei was illegally arrested. She is currently being tortured in the Xingji Detention Center. We do not know how they are going to persecute her. Her students and their parents felt that they have lost a good teacher. They argued, "The current officials are so bad that they only torture good people. What did that parent do? How could anyone turn in a good teacher like Chen Lei?"

A leader in Hebei Province said, "The teachers corps in a particular city is impure." Wang Xudong, the party committee secretary of Hebei Province personally added, "The Chen Lei event is shocking." Then Wang Xudong personally instructed a detailed investigation. At least half of Leis students were interrogated. Principal Mi Lijun of Xingji City Middle School (a Falun Gong practitioner who was also illegally detained in the detention center during Spring Festival) was later dismissed from the school. Pang Yusuo, the chief of the citys Department of Education was given a "big demerit" punishment (disciplinary action within the Party). Jiang Zemins criminal gang also requested the leaders of all levels to regard this as a significant "political event" and to deal with the problem from top to bottom. For a while, the atmosphere in Xungji became tense. Under great pressure, Pang Yusuo ordered the principals of every school to sign a "responsibility certificate." The principal will be dismissed if any similar event related to Falun Gong were to occur in the future. Then, Zhao Bo, the deputy mayor of the city personally monitored and launched a huge soap opera "exposing and criticizing Falun Gong big signature collection." The consequences for refusing to sign are: a student will be suspended from school; a teacher will be forcefully sent to a "transformation class" and dismissed if he or she refuses to be transformed.

According to incomplete statistics, the local teachers who were illegally arrested for practicing "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" included: Han Xingfen, Dai Shilong (sentenced to three years in prison). Teachers who were illegally sent to labor camps included: Li Yulan (three years), Wang Jianxiong (two years; he is an outstanding mathematics teacher in the First Middle School). So far the Xingji education system has announced the dismissal of 8 teachers.

Six teachers are currently illegally detained and persecuted in the "transformation class" of the Xingji Party School, which is run by the city Party Committee:

Guo Yuebin, male, 45 years old, Yuhong Middle School in Xingji.

Lu Jianhua, female, 45 years old, Xinghua Second Elementary School in Xingji.

Xie Xinran, female, 36 years old, Samacun Elementary School in Xingji, was administratively dismissed.

Feng Hao, female, 33 years old, Hezhuang Middle School in Tiangongying County, was administratively dismissed. (work unit telephone: [phone])

Li Nuan, female, 44 years old, Dashizhuang Middle School in Humujing County, was given a "big demerit" punishment. (work unit telephone: [phone])

Li Yulan, female, 47 years old, Gaozhuang Elementry School in Hemujing, was administratively dismissed. She wrote to the Secretary General of United Nations in December 1999 to expose the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. She was illegally sent to a labor camp (No.2 class, 2nd detachment of 4th Unit in Shijiazhuang detention center). Before Spring Festival 2001, she was released but was soon forced into the "transformation class" and has not been released yet .

A teacher is a knowledgeable person; a noble person is an example. These teachers who practice Falun Gong had been teaching students with personal examples and influencing them with pure morals. Isnt this a good thing that benefits the people and the country? However, the officials in the educational system in Xingji City and Hebei Province persecuted the teachers who had the courage to clarify the truth to the innocent students. This kind of behavior is already destroying the future of humanity.

For these teachers -- the "engineers of human soul," for the dignity of human moral virtues, kind people who know the truth, please stretch out your hands to rescue the teachers in danger!

Practitioners in China