(Clearwisdom.net) During the past ten years of persecution against Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), many teachers have been discriminated against, mistreated or even deprived of their teaching positions due to their refusal to renounce their belief. Meanwhile, many students who practice Falun Gong have been faced with heavy pressure or even expelled from school.
Two recent persecution cases were submitted to the United Nations (UN) by the Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group.
One case concerns that of Mr. Yu Yaou, 28, a doctoral student at the South China Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Science, who was denied an oral defense for his doctoral thesis. At the end of his doctoral thesis, on the page of acknowledgments, Mr. Yu wrote, "First, I would like to thank Falun Dafa." Authorities at the botanical garden then forcibly canceled his oral defense, originally scheduled to be conducted on February 4, 2010.
According to the rules of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Yu submitted his explanation statement to the related departments and teachers, and petitioned to resume his oral defense. The authorities did not allow him to resume his defense. An official from the Household Registration Office of the Botanical Garden told him that he had been expelled from school, with his household registration card transferred to his hometown. The Botanical Garden security department called Mr. Yu's father, to pressure him to force his son to attend a brainwashing session in Guangzhou City.
The other case concerns Mr. Zhao Zongran, 45, an experienced English teacher at the Zhaowangtai School, Fuping Township, Fuping County, Hebei Province. Because he practiced Falun Gong, he was intimidated and then not allowed to teach. His home was ransacked, and Mr. Zhao was arrested and sent to a forced labor camp.
When the Olympics were held in Beijing in 2008, the entire staff of the Zhaowangtai School was ordered by the County Education Bureau to monitor Mr. Zhao 24 hours a day. In July 2008, the Zhaowangtai School suggested that Mr. Zhao apply for promotion to a higher rank in the County Education Bureau. When his wife went to the Education Bureau for further information, she was told that Mr. Zhao met the requirements for the promotion, but he was not allowed to apply for such a promotion because he practiced Falun Gong. The denial was based on a memorandum from a higher level of government as well as a decision by the Education Bureau Committee.
The Zhaowangtai School stopped issuing Mr. Zhao's salary during the year when he was imprisoned in the forced labor camp. When Mr. Zhao was released in 2008, he was told that his salary rank had been lowered. In March 2009, Mr. Zhao was fired from his teaching position and worked as a janitor at the school. In September 2009, he was fired from the school.
The right to receive an education is a basic human right, yet students and teachers in China are being expelled from school or deprived of their teaching positions because of their belief in Falun Gong. This phenomenon exposes the severity of the persecution. Asma Jahangir, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, in her report to the Seventh Session of the Human Rights Council (see A/HRC/7/10/Add.1, para. 32) stated that she "reiterates her predecessor's assessment that, apart from the legal courses available against harmful activities, 'it is not the business of the State or any other group or community to act as the guardian of people's consciences and encourage, impose or censure any religious belief or conviction'"(E/CN.4/1997/91, para. 99). The Special Rapporteur further stated, "Similarly, during the elaboration of general comment No. 22, Human Rights Committee member Rosalyn Higgins was 'resolutely opposed the idea that States could have complete latitude to decide what was and what was not a genuine religious belief. The contents of a religion should be defined by the worshipers themselves; as for manifestations, article 18, paragraph 3, existed to prevent them from violating the rights of others'" (CCPR/C/SR.1166, para. 48). Jahangir said she was "very concerned by the continued violations of freedom of religion or belief suffered by Falun Gong practitioners." (see E/CN.4/2005/61, paras. 37-38; E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.1, para. 109; A/HRC/4/21/Add.1, para. 88)