On August 12th, the ashes of Zhu Ling, a female student from Tsinghua University involved in the “thallium poisoning” case, were buried. Her parents issued a statement expressing the need to clear their daughter’s name and vowed to continue seeking justice.
Author of “Zhu Ling’s Forty-Five Years”, Li Jiajia, announced that Zhu Ling’s ashes were laid to rest at Wan’an Cemetery on August 12th.
Li Jiajia, on behalf of Zhu Ling’s parents Wu Chengzhi and Zhu Mingxin, released the statement. The announcement mentioned that due to various limitations such as venue constraints, only around twenty close relatives and friends were invited to attend the funeral. They expressed gratitude to the rescue fund and all donors from home and abroad for their assistance. They also appreciated the cemetery for allowing Zhu Ling to be buried next to her deceased sister Wu Jin. The family expressed gratitude for the support and efforts of caring individuals from all walks of life both domestically and internationally.
In the final part of the statement, Zhu Ling’s parents emphasized, “Although our beloved daughter has been laid to rest, the injustice must be rectified! We will continue to seek out the truth, no matter where it leads!”
On the night of December 22, 2023, Zhu Ling passed away.
Zhu Ling, a native of Beijing, was a 1992 student majoring in physical chemistry and instrumental analysis at Tsinghua University’s Department of Chemistry. In late 1994, she suddenly fell ill, and on April 28, 1995, she was diagnosed with acute thallium poisoning. The Beijing Occupational Disease Prevention and Control Institute confirmed that Zhu Ling had been poisoned by thallium twice, with the second poisoning resulting in thallium levels in Zhu Ling’s body far exceeding the lethal dose. Zhu Ling’s parents suspected foul play and reported the case to the police through Tsinghua University. However, the case remained unresolved over the course of 30 years.
The toxins invaded Zhu Ling’s brain, nervous system, and digestive system, causing lifelong disabilities. She lost her ability to speak, and her intelligence regressed to that of a child.
Zhu Ling’s roommate, Sun Wei, was considered a prime suspect, with speculations suggesting jealousy as a motive for poisoning Zhu Ling. The authorities once believed that the perpetrator was close to Zhu Ling, but ultimately the case went unsolved. Zhu Ling’s parents have always hoped to seek justice for their daughter. To this day, the case of Zhu Ling remains unresolved. It was rumored that Sun Wei changed her name afterwards, fled to the United States, and later moved to Australia. Last year, hundreds of people reported the Zhu Ling case to the Australian Department of Home Affairs online.
In 2013, the Zhu Ling case was brought up by Chinese media, sparking public outrage and demands for a reinvestigation, which had been shelved. The mainland newspaper “Yangcheng Evening News” was the first to disclose that the main reason for the case being stalled was due to the then Secretary of the Beijing Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Qiangwei, and an unnamed central leader.
Yan Ruitao, an assistant professor at the School of Finance and Economics at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, published an article on an overseas website alleging that the mastermind behind this case was former Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin, citing one reason being Jiang Zemin’s connection with the Sun family who held the background of traitors.
According to public records, Sun Wei’s grandfather, Sun Yueqi, was a Vice Chairman and Honorary Chairman of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League. Towards the end of 2005 and into early 2006, it was revealed online that before Sun Yueqi’s passing, he had pleaded with Jiang Zemin on behalf of his granddaughter Sun Wei, assuring Jiang Zemin that “as long as I, Jiang Zemin, am alive, your granddaughter will not go to jail.”