In recent times, there has been a troubling trend of Chinese university students going missing or being found dead, leading to suspicions about the official “stability maintenance” measures. One such case involved the 19-year-old Hubei University student, Zhang Yuzhen, whose body was discovered in a lake after being missing for several days. Her belongings, including clothes and her phone, were found scattered in various places, with the phone being located in a run-down house. Despite numerous questions surrounding the case, officials quickly “ruled out foul play” and placed restrictions on the family, who have been vocal in their accusations through daily video postings.
Zhang Yuzhen’s mysterious death at Hubei University has seen her mother and sister advocating for justice online, seeking the truth behind the tragedy. According to the family’s allegations, Zhang Yuzhen, a first-year student at Hubei University’s Yangluo campus, had normal conversations with her family before the incident and showed no signs of suicidal tendencies. She went missing on March 15 and it was not until the 18th that the school informed her family who were in Shenzhen at the time.
Reports from mainland media such as the Yangzi Evening News and Xiaoxiang Morning Post stated that on March 19, a netizen claimed in a video that his sister, Zhang Yuzhen, who studied at Hubei University’s Yangluo campus, had gone missing since March 15. Zhang, a 19-year-old freshman, was reported missing to her family by the school on the evening of March 18. Her sister and mother rushed to Hubei University upon receiving the news to inquire and filed a missing person report on March 19.
Surveillance footage showed Zhang leaving the school gate at 5 p.m. on March 15, with her phone signal’s last location recorded at around 5:54 p.m., approximately one kilometer away from the school. Zhang’s sister revealed in an interview on March 20 that, not far from the school at the lake’s edge, some local residents had seen clothes that resembled her sister’s for a couple of days. The clothes and bag were left by the lake and picked up by sanitation workers on the third day. Zhang’s family is currently trying to locate these workers.
Zhang’s sister mentioned that Zhang had two phones, with one left in her dormitory while the other’s signal was traced to a secluded shack in a village about a hundred meters from the Yanjia Lake. The scene from the visit showed overgrown grass in the area. The phone was later found by an elderly person who was preparing to reset it when the authorities intervened.
After arriving at the school, the family was informed by the school authorities that their child could not be located. Photos posted by netizens on the 23rd showed Zhang’s mother emotionally confronting school officials, questioning, “You didn’t know the student was missing? What kind of leadership is this?”
On the evening of the 20th, rescue workers used a water pump to drain the water from Yanjia Lake, and shortly after, the body of the child was recovered. Despite numerous questions surrounding the case, authorities swiftly announced the “exclusion of foul play” upon discovering the body, hinting at Zhang Yuzhen’s death as a “suicide.” No information regarding any clues from the phone has been disclosed by the authorities.
The family, through online videos, accused the school of notifying them three days after the child went missing and only started searching after the family alerted the authorities. Following the discovery of the body, there was no police assistance in the search for the child. Even after finding the child’s body, the police failed to investigate the case, with no police presence at the scene of the incident.
Videos released by the family showed them being confined in a hotel by the authorities. When the child’s mother requested to inspect her child’s dormitory, her request was denied. Despite arguments with the accompanying staff and even resorting to kneeling, they were unable to leave the room. The child’s sister was forced to climb onto the air conditioning unit outside the window, threatening to jump but still unable to gain freedom of movement.
On the 22nd, a netizen named “Spear24” posted that Zhang Yuzhen’s body had been recovered and taken to the funeral home, with the police verbally ruling out the possibility of criminal activity. The family was restricted by the police from leaving the hotel, where signal jammers were installed. The school denied the family access to the school and the child’s dormitory, while the authorities refused to allow the family to view the child’s body.
The article questioned why the police could unilaterally “rule out the possibility of a crime” without releasing the autopsy report? Why were the family not allowed to examine the body, despite it being over 24 hours since it was recovered? Why the forced restriction of the family by the police, limiting their personal freedom? What are they afraid the family might discover? With the family barred from entering the school and dormitory, and no contact with Zhang Yuzhen’s classmates and roommates, why were negative information like “Zhang Yuzhen suffering from depression” and “family neglecting child’s medical treatment” circulating online?
On various platforms overseas, netizens have drawn parallels to the widespread cases of missing youth in mainland China, raising suspicions whether Zhang Yuzhen was a victim of organ harvesting.
Furthermore, more cases of students going missing in Chinese universities have emerged recently. On March 23, several netizens reported that Liu Moxi, a female student at Qingdao Film Academy in Shandong, had gone missing. According to the family’s accusations, she left without her phone, which was later reset and the SIM card removed after the incident.
Additionally, on March 14, a doctoral student from Fudan University suddenly disappeared, prompting a search that led to the discovery of the body in a watercourse the following day.