******************************************************************* Humanitarian Committee of Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars in the U.S. ***************************************************************** News Release March 15, 1994 Chinese Professors Harassed for Organizing Humanitarian Aid to Tiananmen Square Victims Professor Ding Zilin and Professor Jiang Peikun are parents of Jiang Jielian, a 17-year old high school student, who was killed by martial law troops on the night of June 3, 1989. They have collected case histories of Tiananmen Square victims and have worked to help these victims and their families who suffered similar losses. However, they are being persecuted by the Chinese government for their deeds and speech. They need your support. Because of their actions on behalf of Tiananmen Square victims, Professors Ding and Jiang have been persecuted by the Chinese government. Recently, the Chinese government ordered security forces, the authorities of People's University of China and even the neighborhood committee to dispatch more than 20 people to surround Ding and Jiang's apartment and check anyone who intended to visit them. Ding and Jiang's students and associates are also supervised. Their home telephone line has been cut off and contact with the outside has become impossible. Under this enormous pressure, Ding's chronic heart problem worsened and she was sent to the hospital. Even while in the hospital Ding remained under strict supervision; the intimidation did not stop. Ding's health is jeopardized and she needs treatment in a quiet environment, free of harassment. At a press conference of the People's Congress in April of 1991 an international reporter asked Premier Li Peng why he didn't keep his promise to release the names of Tiananmen Square victims. Li replied that he did not do so because the victims and their families did not want to be exposed. Immediately following the press conference, Professor Ding spoke out to the international media and refuted Li Peng's lie. She revealed that no victims or their families had ever been asked whether they were willing to have their names publicized; neither were they given compensation or an apology. Speaking to her own situation, Professor Ding said she would not mind exposing the truth of her son's death. She appealed to the Chinese government to release the list of victims and compensate them for their loss and suffering. Since that time, Professor Ding has been under investigation and interrogation. The authorities from Beijing and People's University harassed Professor Ding almost weekly and tried to force her to confess and write a "self-criticism" for her actions. Professor Ding refused to say anything other than the truth. Last year she was deprived of her professorship and post-graduate advisorship. The increasing persecution jeopardized her health, which had already been declining since the cruel death of her son in 1989. On June 4, 1993, four years after the Tiananmen Square massacre, Ding's husband, Jiang Peikun, gave an interview to Voice of America regarding the current situation of Tiananmen Square victims. Jiang, a professor in aesthetics and the director of the Aesthetics Research Institute of the People's University, was placed under investigation and interrogated because he spoke out regarding their son's death. Jiang's doctoral students and colleagues were summoned together and forced to denounce and criticize him. The Beijing government stated they would pursue him mercilessly. When Professor Jiang refused to bow down to their pressure, they even ordered the university to close the entire aesthetics program and suspend further enrollment of doctoral students in his academic field. For further information please contact: The Humanitarian Committee of Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars in the U.S. P.O. Box 131802 Roseville, MN 55113 Tel: (612)487-2978 Fax: (612)488-3891 ***End of Release***