Please Help Free My Mother, Ms. Ma Lingxian

My mother, Ms. Ma Lingxian, is a 55-year-old retired junior high school teacher. She divorced many years ago. She once suffered from low blood pressure, female health problems, dermatitis, and insomnia. It was difficult for her to sleep, and her constant lack of sleep led to chronic fatigue syndrome. She sought various types of medical treatment, but nothing worked; on the contrary, her health only became worse. Several times a month she suffered from flu-like symptoms and had an unstable temperature. Whenever my mother got sick, I became very worried and was unable to focus on my studies. But my mother began practising Falun Gong in 1998, and all her illnesses soon disappeared. She has not had to enter the hospital or take any medicine or health supplements during her 10 years of practice. My mother is very thankful for Falun Gong. Not only have her physical illnesses disappeared, but her psychological health has also improved. She has been completely transformed.

My mother had a very bad temper before she began practising. She frequently had arguments with other teachers over trivial matters. On one occasion, she even took off her shoe and was ready to hit the former principal with it! She always felt that she gave more than she received, and she considered this unfair. She easily became angry at her students, not to mention at me. But after she started practising, she conducted herself according to Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. Her temper softened, and she no longer pursued fame and profit. She also worked even harder at school. For example, the school needed someone to handle logistics for the students living in dormitories. My mother was assigned to this post, and she gladly accepted. She took on the position of a staff member handling mundane tasks, despite the fact that she had been a classroom teacher for over 20 years. She didn't complain or request special consideration; she just did her work responsibly. Because of her diligence, she received positive feedback from the other teachers and staff members and respect from the students, especially those who lived in the dormitories. Our relationship improved greatly as well. She looked after my life and my studies with meticulous care.

The Chinese Communist Party, however, began its persecution of Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999. As a result, my mother was subpoenaed twice, she was fined three times, her salary was reduced, her promotions were cancelled twice, she was detained three times, and her home was ransacked seven times. She was even sent to the Nanmusi Forced Labour Camp (in Zizhong County, Sichuan Province) and was harassed numerous times by officials at various levels. All this took its toll on both my mother's psyche and our family's finances. From then on, I lived my life in worry and fear.

In 2006, I was admitted to Neijiang Normal College. At the same time, my mother was arrested and taken to the Zizhongnanmusi Forced Labour Camp. I was so worried, I couldn't study in peace. My mother suffered a relapse of her old illnesses while in the labour camp. She was sent back home because her condition was life-threatening. I was forced to quit school and take care of my mother at home. She persevered in doing the exercises, and her frail health gradually improved.

On July 19th, 2008, my mother attended her first class reunion in 30 years in Xichang City, which was 70 miles away. She was arrested again after only two days. The reason was that during the Olympics, the local government had to keep "sensitive" individuals under surveillance in order to achieve the target of zero public appeals. Since my mother was outside her home jurisdiction, the police brought her back from Xichang and put her in a detention centre.

To try to understand the situation, I went to the Domestic Security Division at the police department. The person in charge said that my mother had violated criminal law article 300, section 1, "using a cult to undermine the law." I tried arguing rationally, but it was no use. They said impatiently, "This law has been decreed by higher authority. It's useless to say anything to us. We're just following orders. Your mother broke the law. There is precedent to sentence her according to the guidelines for counter-revolutionary crimes." They were trying to make it sound as if they were going easy on the sentencing.

My mother has been imprisoned for over two months now. During this time, officials from the Domestic Security Division delivered a notice of the arrest to me and asked me to sign it. I refused. I knew in my heart that my mother was innocent and did not break the law. I hope that people of justice can help my mother gain her freedom soon.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/11/25/190393.html