A Woman without a Country Becomes a US Citizen

I was naturalized in the United States on March 19. At the naturalization ceremony, the hosting official said whoever wanted to share their thoughts could speak out. I don't particularly like to speak in public, but my husband reminded me that this was a good chance to clarify the truth. I thought, "Yes, I should not pass up this opportunity."

I told the host that I wanted to speak. In front of over 100 ceremony participants and the judge, I said, "I am very proud to become a citizen of the United States. I thank the US for making me a naturalized citizen. I can enjoy freedom in the US, but my family members and relatives are frequently put into prisons for practicing Falun Gong in China. A few years ago, my Chinese passport expired and my request for an extension was denied (by the Chinese government). Consequently, I became a person without a country. For more than ten years, I could not go to China to visit my family. I will use the freedom that I enjoy in the US to help those Falun Gong practitioners in China who do not have any freedom to enjoy. I also hope everyone here will provide help to those Falun Gong practitioners in China."

The audience applauded. I also promised, "After becoming a US citizen, I will serve the community better in my spare time, such as working with other volunteers to bring the world-class Shen Yun performance to Phoenix." The judge praised me by telling me that it was a "wonderful speech" when I joined him for a picture.

Former Presidential Candidate Pays Attention to the Persecution of Falun Gong

On April 9, former presidential candidate Senator John McCain spoke publicly in his hometown of Phoenix. I attended the event and prepared a letter for him, appealing for his attention to the persecution of Falun Gong in China and for help for my brother, Zhang Ruifeng (Zhang Huijin), who is imprisoned at the Hengyong City Forced Labour Camp in Hebei Province, China, for practicing Falun Gong.

Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong in 1999, my family members in China have been frequently persecuted by the CCP. Shortly after the persecution started, my brother, Zhang Ruifeng, and his wife, Xu Yanxiang, were fired by their companies. They have been arrested and put into forced labor camps several times. My sister-in-law, Xu Yanxiang, was brutally tortured in a forced labor camp (see article "The Ruthless Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioner Ms. Xu Yanxiang at Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp in Hebei Province.
"http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/9/13/100599.html).

On March 1, 2009, my brother and a few other practitioners were arrested at a market by personnel from the Shenzhou City 610 Office and the police department of Hebei City. He was sentenced to 21 months of forced labour.

Nearly 1,000 people attended Senator McCain's speech. I got a chance to ask a question. Since the host set a limit of one question per person, I asked, "The US congress just passed House Resolution 605 to condemn the CCP for persecuting Falun Gong and calling for an immediate end to the persecution. My relatives in China have been suffering ten years of persecution and my brother is still in prison, ..." I started to cry and
couldn't continue. Senator McCain understood what I meant. He said loudly to the audience, "Her family members are being persecuted by the CCP for practicing Falun Gong, ... I care very much about human rights issues." He also praised Google for setting a good example and hoped it could help solve human rights problems in China. He also expressed his personal hope that human rights problems in China would be solved soon. He said, "During my presidential campaign, my computer systems were attacked from China. I am paying a lot of attention to computer security."

I went up to Senator McCain and handed him my letter of appeal. On my way back to my seat, the audience showed me their support by applauding.