Letter from a 15-Year-Old Girl to a Policeman -- To He Yu, Head of the National Security Team in the Liaohe Oil Field

To Mr. He, Head of the National Security Team and the Police:

How are you?

First let me send a New Year's greeting to everyone. In these days when families gather and celebrate together, do you think of a fifteen-year-old girl like me? My name is Yang Ling and I am greeting everyone and wishing you a happy New Year and hoping your family members can reunite and enjoy the New Year. I assume that every one of you might have a child close to my age, and that they live happily with their parents. However, this year I lost the chance to reunite with my family and enjoy the New Year. My mother Cao Chunyan was arrested while she was working in Jincai one month ago and is now detained in a cell at the Xinglongtai Detention Centre. We are not in a mood for celebrating the New Year, and we worry about the safety of my mother every day and every night.

On the evening of the Chinese New Year, my grandfather and grandmother were in despair and their eyes were filled with tears. My father was anxious and silent. My younger sister, who is seven years old, and I held each other and cried. We missed our mother so much and no one was in the mood to eat. I fell asleep as I cried, and I dreamed that my mother was beaten by police with a baton. I was so scared that I cried. Later I dreamed that my mother came home and my sister and I were very happy. To tell you the truth, my mother is the best mother in the world. I remember that when I was a child, my mother was in poor health and she was always ill. When she was suffering from an illness, she would lie in bed for the whole day and could not do anything. She had a bad temper and did not take care of us. My father also could not control his temper; he did farm work and after that he had to cook for everyone. My father and mother often fought with each other and my sister and I grew up with their fighting. When they fought, we shook in fear. Later, my mother began to practise Falun Gong and she changed completely. All of her diseases went away, and she did all the housework. She gained a more agreeable temperament and she was respectful to my grandfather and grandmother. She did not fight with my father, even though sometimes my father lost his temper and offended her. She did not become angry; instead, she handled it with a smile. My mother was very concerned about my sister and me, and she told us that Truthfulness Compassion and Forbearance were good and that we were to be good children. My mother really changed and had more and more compassion. Our broken family had a chance of survival and we lived happily. My mother also got along well with our neighbours--all the villagers said that my mother was a good person.

Why did the police arrest a good person like my mother? I don't understand. It's not a crime for my mother to practise Falun Gong. Falun Gong made her better and more compassionate. From childhood, I learned that the police arrested bad people, thieves and murderers to protect people. My mother followed the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. She was a good person. The police must have arrested her by mistake.

After my mother was arrested, my grandmother, my father, some kind neighbours and I went to the Jincai Police Station to visit my mother; however, the policemen were so terrible. Once my grandmother cried in the reception room as she requested to visit my mother, but the officers did not listen to her; instead they scolded her. Later my grandmother lost consciousness while she cried, and these policemen still abused her. After my grandmother became conscious, they dragged her out the door and threw her onto the ground. My grandmother was over seventy years old. Another time, accompanied by my family members, my sister and I went to the police station to visit my mother, but the officers would not open the door. I was so anxious that I cried and called for my mother from outside. After they heard me, they said I was having a bad effect, and they contacted the director. I implored the director and told him that I needed to see my mother, but he got hold of my clothes and threw me to the ground. I cried on the floor and I thought of what our teacher had told us at school: During an emergency call on the police and they will help you to solve the problem. However, the police officers acted the opposite from what our teacher had told us. Their terrible and disgusting behaviour left a deep impression in the young hearts of my sister and me. There were a lot of bystanders and they remarked on this and said that the police should not beat people.

Later we heard that my mother had been taken away by the national security team. My grandmother, my father and I went to the national security team at Xinglongtai to visit my mother. We went there several times but were unable to see my mother. Mr. He, we heard that you were the head of the national security team and were in charge of my mother. We asked to see you several times without success. The gate guard said that you were very busy and you were handling something. We waited there until the evening but did not see you.

Although I did not see you, in my heart I thought of you as a kind uncle. I often heard of this saying: Doing good deeds is met with good rewards and being evil is met with evil returns. A good heart is certainly rewarded with good returns. My mother often taught us at home to be good and considerate to others, do good things for others, never lie to others, and be forgiving of others. A kind person like my mother should not be in prison. Please release my mother quickly! The officers who treat a good person kindly will be rewarded with good returns. It is against the principle of heaven to arrest a good person.

Regards,

Yang Ling

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/3/12/150668.html