Wu Guofeng, male, born on July 3, 1968. Wu was not yet 21 when killed. Before his death, he was a student in the class of 1986 at the Department of Industrial Management, China People's University in Beijing. He was killed in the early morning of June 4, 1989; the location of his death is unknown. His body was found in the Posts Hospital in Beijing. His ashes are currently kept at home in Sichuan.

The official told me that my son had been killed in Beijing. The details were unknown....The news was like thunder on a sunny day to me.

Testimony of Wu Dingfu and Song Xiuling, parents of Wu Guofeng:

We were far away in Xinjin County, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, on June 8, 1989. At 10:00 a.m., the local town government sent for me. After I arrived at the town government building, the official told me that my son had been killed in Beijing. The details were unknown. The official told me we should go to Beijing to make arrangements for his corpse. He said that Deputy Secretary Bai would accompany us. The news was like thunder on a sunny day to me. I didn't know what to do. I stumbled home with the support of some government staff. When I got there, I could do nothing but cry. Guofeng's mother asked why I was crying, and after repeated inquiries, I had to tell her the truth. She uttered a howl and immediately passed out, falling to the ground from her stool. She didn't come to until dusk. Then she refused to eat or drink.

On June 9, we boarded the train in Chengdu to Beijing. For two days and a night, Guofeng's mother didn't eat anything. She had only very little water. After we arrived in Beijing, a female deputy secretary of the Department of Industrial Management at People's University whose last name was Zhang met us at the train station and took us to the guest house at the university. She told us to take a rest and to talk about the matter the next day.

The next day, the department director and Deputy Secretary Zhang informed us about what had been going on around June 4, both in relation to the school and to Guofeng. We were asked what we needed. We asked to take Guofeng's body back to Sichuan, but the answer was no. The central government had ordered that all bodies should be cremated locally. We said Guofeng had a grandfather and grandmother, if we were not allowed to take the body home, at least let us bring back a few pictures, so we could explain to the older people. They responded positively, but asked us to keep it a secret. On June 13, we held a memorial service for Guofeng at the Posts Hospital in Xidan. All of Guofeng's classmates who were still in Beijing attended. Students from the other departments were persuaded not to attend. After the service, we took Guofeng's body to Babaoshan Cemetery for cremation. We took the ashes back on the same afternoon.

How tragically Guofeng died. He was shot from the back of his head, and his shoulder, ribs and arms all had gunshot wounds. There was a bayonet wound about 7 to 8 centimeters below his bellybutton. It was obvious that he didn't die immediately after being hit by several bullets, then he was stabbed to death. Both his palms had deep cuts from bayonets. He must have tried to take away the bayonet and was cut. When we saw his body, the upper body was covered with blood. It was too horrible to see.

Guofeng got into the China People's University in July 1986 with an average score of 90 for each subject. He was one month short of 21 when he was killed. He used to be the hope of our whole family, and so his death was a disaster for us all: His grandparents became half crazy from missing their grandson. They are chronically sick, and cannot live by themselves. His father found this blow unbearable, he lost the sense in his limbs, and could not walk. After losing the ability to work, he only had 100 yuan per month sick pay to live on. His mother passed out and fell on the floor when she first learned about his death. Her head was severely injured. She has headaches as a result. Every time she thinks about her son, her head aches. Every time she sees Guofeng's classmates, she cries. Her eyesight has seriously deteriorated. She has also lost her ability to work.

Wu Dingfu, Song Xiuling
January 24, 1999