Children of Falun Gong Practitioners Subjected to a Harsh Reality Due to Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) Persecution

During the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) eleven-year-long inhuman persecution of Falun Gong, countless children have been subjected to discrimination, threats, detention, and beatings, because they conduct themselves according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, or their parents are Falun Gong practitioners.

Falun Gong teaches people to cultivate Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Millions of people inside and outside China have received physical and mental well-being and upgraded their moral standards after practising Falun Gong. Falun Gong has received much praise from the international community, and has been honoured with 1,600 proclamations worldwide. The children of Chinese Falun Gong practitioners should be living in happy and harmonious families, full of joy. However, since the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong in July 1999, the regime has deprived these children of dignity and the comforts of family warmth. Tens of thousands of parents and relatives have been subjected to forced labour, detention, torture, and even tortured to death. The children have endured pressure and misery. They have lost everything, including their loved ones, source of living, family warmth, physical freedom, dignity, and right to an education. They have been expelled from school, and live in fear and become homeless. They barely survive.

They are Deprived of Their Parents' Care and Love, and Live a Difficult Life

1. Zhang Xiaolong was born in Nangouxicun, the Fangzi District, Weifang City, Shandong Province. He was 14 years old in 2006. His parents, father Zhang Chuanzheng and mother Guo Xiuhong are Falun Gong practitioners. Since the beginning of the persecution on July 20th, 1999, Xiaolong's parents were arrested, detained, and tortured many times. Xiaolong experienced much hardship in his young life. As a very young child, Xiaolong was forced to leave his parents and live with his elderly grandparents.

Given his unhappy life, young Xiaolong has become very quiet. He doesn't understand why his parents were taken away, and why their happy family was broken apart. But he knows that his parents, who cultivate Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, did not commit any wrongdoing. He is very mature for his age. He never cried in front of his grandparents and never said he missed his parents to them. His school grades are always excellent, which gave some comfort to his grandparents.

In October 2002, his parents, who had already been forced into homelessness, were both arrested by the Kuiwen 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong), and sentenced to three years of forced labour. In August 2003, they were sentenced to ten years in prison for no legally valid reason. They were taken to Jinan Prison for persecution. Xiaolong's grandfather could no longer bear the pain, stress, pressure and anger he suffered due to the persecution, and passed away on February 22nd, 2006. Xiaolong could not accept the cruel reality, and stopped eating for the next five meals and couldn't stop crying. Yet, he never cried in front of other people. The poor child had already lived without the love and tender care of his parents for a long time, and now another hardship entered his young life -- his grandfather had left him too.

Their house is falling apart and is full of cracks and leaks. Xiaolong and his grandmother have no money for daily living expenses, and live a difficult life. (For more information, please visit /emh/articles/2006/11/13/79873.html)

2. Xu Shuai is from Jilin City, Jilin Province. Before he began practising Falun Gong, his mother left due to the poverty of the family. Xu Shuai lived with his grandmother and father, and started learning Falun Gong with them when he was six years old. He frequently participated in group Falun Gong practice. From then on, the family always felt full of peacefulness and warmth, even though they were still very poor.

Police and community personnel frequently came to harass his family. Xu Shuai's grandmother, Xia Guiqin, and his father Xu Weidong were arrested, detained and subjected to forced labour terms. This has done irreparable harm to his young heart.

Xu Shuai's grandfather Xu Zilin was extremely worried about his wife and son, and was in such extreme despair that he died in October 2000. Xu Shuai's grandmother and father died as a result of persecution in 2004.

Xu Shuai now is without any care except for his aunt and uncle. He lives in his aunt's home. His aunt and uncle have lost their jobs, and they are in dire straits financially. Even under such terrible circumstances, Xu Shuai studies well, but suffers greatly from the loss of his loved ones. (For more information, please visit /emh/articles/2005/3/16/58503.html)

Children Witness the Police Brutalising Their Loved Ones

In May 2008, Zhang Heping, head of the 610 Office in Chenzhou, Hunan Province, said to Mr. Liao Songlin and Mr. Liao Zhijun, who are father and son, "We want to completely destroy your family." Officials ransacked their home and confiscated their personal belongings. Jiajia, age 6, was standing there petrified and clinging to her mother. Jiajia didn't dare to say anything, and was illegally arrested by officers from the State Security Bureau. She witnessed the officers' brutality towards her parents and grandparents. Jiajia and her grandmother were released at midnight, and were to be taken home in a police car. She told her grandmother that she'd rather walk. As Jiajia was still shaking with fear, her grandmother had to lift her into the car. She was left traumatised by the whole experience. (For more information, please visit http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/6/29/118230.html)

Becoming Homeless

1. In April 2009, Liao Xiaohong and Shi Jiaoyu, a couple from Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, were arrested by local police officers. Their home was ransacked and their personal belongings were confiscated. When their daughter Xiaolianhua returned home from school, she couldn't enter the house and was left standing outside the door. By nightfall she was crying, as she was alone without any help.
Throughout her childhood, Xiaolianhua's parents have been arrested and persecuted on different occasions. She has lived in fear all these years. (For more information, please visit http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/6/29/118230.html)

2. Ms. Li Shuxia's 14-year-old son was terrorised and tortured. Ms. Li lives in Yanshan, Cangzhou, Hebei Province. In October 2002, Yanshan police climbed over the wall and broke into Ms. Li's home, then ransacked it. When Ms. Li's son cried, the police gagged his mouth with dirty rags they used to clean the car, handcuffed him, and detained him in the basement of the police department. The police also physically and verbally abused him to try to get information from him about other Falun Gong practitioners. The boy was released following a two-day hunger strike. The police threatened his grandfather that they would send him back to the police department two days later. To avoid persecution, the boy had to live away from home and beg for food.

Deprived of the Right to Go to School

1. Seventeen year-old Liu Zhen was the daughter of practitioners Ms. Gao Lihua and Mr. Liu Zigang from Wuqiao County, Hebei Province. In June 2003, police officers from Wuqiao and Jing County requested that Liu Zhen be suspended from middle school for more than ten days. They wanted to set a trap to catch Liu Zhen's parents. At that time, Liu Zhen was about to take the entrance examinations for high school or technical school, which she wanted to attend after graduation from middle school. Because of the suspension, Liu Zhen was unable to prepare well enough for the entrance examination, which affected her scores negatively. Wuqiao County Police Department officials also issued an order that the high school of that county should deny enrolment to Liu Zhen. On March 8th, 2004, Liu Zhen's mother, Ms. Gao Lihua, died because she had suffered from deep mental anguish and constant anxiety over a long period of time. (For more information, please visit http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/11/20/54751.html)

2. Daughter of Mr. Guo Hongshan and Ms. Sun Yufeng: When Mr. Guo and Ms. Sun learned Falun Gong, their illnesses disappeared. Their health improved, and along with it their spirits improved as well, and the family lived a very happy life.

After the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong in 1999, officers from from the Qinhuangdao Police Department repeatedly harassed them in their home. The couple was also repeatedly harassed at work. In March 2001 Ms. Sun had a mental breakdown under pressure from the authorities. Mr. Guo was detained in May 2001 and was repeatedly tortured by the police. By late 2001, Ms. Sun was sent to a mental hospital, where she was held for ten months. In July 2002, Mr. Guo was sentenced to seven years in prison.

While the couple was detained, their daughter had to live by herself. At the time she was in high school. As she prepared for the university entrance examinations, she had to go to study sessions in the evenings alone. Even under such circumstances, she passed her entrance examination in 2003. Since her family had no income, however, she was forced to give up the opportunity to attend college. (For more information, please visit http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/9/27/100978.html)

Pursued, Detained and Forced to Flee

1. Tie Long, of Shao Village, Liu Chun Town, in Dingzhou City, Hebei Province, was 15 years old in 2003. In March 2003, he had to stop going to school and became homeless, because he explained the facts of Falun Gong using a CD and other informational materials. His schoolteacher reported him. Liuchun Police arrested Tie Long and took him to the town government building, where he was handcuffed to a tree and beaten by the police until they were tired. When they left to take a break, Tie Long managed to escape.

Tie Long was forced to wander around homeless to avoid being persecuted. Officials arrested his older brothers, uncles, aunts, all of them, and they were brutally beaten as police attempted to track down young Tie Long. Due to the trauma, his uncle can't get out of bed and he can't look after himself.

Young Tie Long made his way to his grandmother's home, but he didn't dare stay there for long. He left in a hurry, as he didn't want to get his grandmother into trouble. The police followed him and came to his grandmother's home later. They beat his uncle and aunt badly, then broke into their store and ransacked it. When they asked where they could find Tie Long, his aunt said, "I don't know." The police then took his aunt to the detention centre, and she still hasn't been released. Soon after, they arrested Tie Long. He was detained at the Dingzhou Detention Centre. His father was also detained.

The police released Tie Long's father, and demanded he pay them 10,000 yuan¹ to release Tie Long. Since the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, their home has been ransacked several times, and there is little left to give, so Tie Long's father could not give them any money, and Tielong wasn't released. Once a happy family of four, three of them are now suffering badly in prison. (For more information, please visit /emh/articles/2003/3/14/33279.html)
2. Liu Xiaotian was born in December, 1985. His family lived in Yongzhou City, Hunan Province. His father Liu Qing and mother Yang Yuyan are Falun Gong practitioners. Prior to 2001, Liu Xiaotian's family led a happy life. He went to the local middle school and led a carefree life.

When he was 16, on November 23rd, 2001, a Friday afternoon, Liu Xiaotian was in the classroom. Police came to his school and told his teacher that his parents were detained. They asked for him. A classmate overheard it and ran to tell him that his parents were in trouble and the police wanted him. Hearing this, Liu Xiaotian quivered with fear. He ran out of the school without taking anything. He hid in a neighbour's storage room for the night. Around midnight, he sneaked across the road to check out his home. He saw that the windows of his home had been smashed, as had the furniture inside. His neighbour saw him and offered to let him stay at his place. Two or three days later though, the police went to the neighbour's place, and told them that if they saw Liu Xiaotian and didn't report it to the police, they would be punished. The neighbour decided not to report him but to give him some money and send him to his only relative, an uncle who is a farmer in Fujian Province.

Five or six months later, one day in May, 2002, the local police came to his uncle's home. Liu Xiaotian immediately hid. He didn't know what the police said to his uncle, but after the police left, his uncle became very silent. That night, his uncle asked a friend to send him to Shenzhen, a city that is close to Hong Kong. He hid in a huge warehouse filled with piles of sacks. He dared not speak to anyone and thus spent a year in fear and anxiety, suffering great depression. He spent a lonely year in this warehouse, having no one to talk with and suffering many hardships, both physical and mental. In June 2003, his uncle, who did not have an easy life, borrowed a lot of money to pay smugglers to get Liu Xiaotian out of China.

On July 1st, 2003, Liu Xiaotian arrived in Denmark. Regrettably, several hours later, the smuggler took him to the Copenhagen railway station and left. Having experienced so many threats and deceptions, Liu Xiaotian became very fearful. He quivered at the sight of police. An old Chinese lady took him to a refugee camp. Deeply frightened, he couldn't speak properly nor could he fill out forms. He was mostly afraid of being sent back to China and put in the hands of the Chinese police.

With the help of the staff in the refugee camp, Liu Xiaotian got into contact with Denmark Falun Gong practitioners. He cried. The first words he said to them were to ask them to look for his parents. He missed his father. He missed his mother. Because of what he had gone through, he couldn't express himself clearly. He also couldn't read. He often cried and had nightmares. It took Denmark Falun Gong practitioners a year before they could really learn from him his story and about his suffering.

His uncle, who still lives in China, told him for the first time that his parents had died in April 2002 from torture, five months after they were detained. No one knows exactly what happened or where they died. The uncle told Liu Xiaotian that in May of 2002 the local police visited him, and informed him of the death of his parents. They refused to tell him any details. (For more information, please visit http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/11/14/54514.html)

Died or Pushed to the Verge of Death as a Result of Persecution

1. Liu Qian was a third-year student at Gegezhuang Village Primary School in Xiong County, Hebei Province. On November 15th, 2003, she was diagnosed as having acute leukaemia, and her life was in danger. Her parents remembered that they had once read a miraculous story from a Falun Gong flyer, so they took Liu Qian home and read the Falun Gong book together. Liu Qian recovered completely seven days later, and she could move freely, and felt like a joyous bird, flying among people. All her relatives were amazed at the effect of Falun Gong. However, two months later, school began. The principal learned about this and forced Liu Qian to write a guarantee statement promising to give up Falun Gong, and demanded that Liu Qian renounce Falun Gong or she could not go to school. Liu Qian said, "I would have died by now had I not practised Falun Gong." She refused to write the guarantee statement to renounce practising Falun Gong, so the principal forcibly sent her home. The sudden deprivation of the right to go to school was like a hard blow to Liu Qian's head, destroying all her dreams for the future. Under such heavy pressure, little Liu Qian's physical health and mental state worsened. On the fifth day, twelve-year-old Liu Qian died in a state of depression.
(For more information http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/2/27/45549.html)

2. Qu Jianguo is a 16 year-old high school student in Laishui County, Hebei Province. In August 2009, he was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer. His family spent all of their savings and even accepted donations from relatives, neighbours, school teachers, and classmates to pay for his medical expenses, but after spending 150 to 160 thousand yuan on various medical treatments, including chemotherapy, his condition did not improve. The hospital ran out of options to treat him, and the family brought him home, resigned to their fate. Jianguo then started studying the Fa and doing the Falun Gong exercises. The pain in his leg gradually disappeared, and he recovered his health. He was grateful from the bottom of his heart, and wrote an article "High School Student Survives Bone Cancer after Practising Falun Gong" and submitted it to the Minghui/Clearwisdom website to tell his story.
(http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/3/15/115355.html)

After his story was published, Jianguo's family was threatened and pressured by officials from multiple levels of the Chinese Communist Party. They are pressuring him to sign a statement claiming that his illness was not healed from practising Falun Gong, and if he refuses he will face expulsion from school or worse.

Falun Gong helped the two children who were hovering between life and death to regain their health, but the CCP's suppression of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance caused the death of one of them, and pushed the other to a dangerous situation. (For more information, please visit http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/5/25/117377.html and http://www.clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2010/5/26/117396.html)

Hopes and Dreams

1. Young Falun Gong practitioner Xuelian from Qiqihar wrote in her article published in 2009, “How My Happy Childhood Turned Miserable,” “I asked myself repeatedly, 'Falun Gong is so good, but why does the CCP say it's not?' After the CCP started the persecution of Falun Gong, my father was taken into custody. I was left alone and had no one to depend on. I suffered condescending looks and discrimination. When I returned to school, the principal, director, and other school leaders all came to my class and asked me, "Can you give up practising Falun Gong?" I said, "I can agree with you on anything else. But it is not possible for me to give up practising Falun Gong." Every day when I went to school, it felt like going to hell. The principal, director, journalists, and police from the local police station frequently called me to the office and met with me, which was broadcast and could be heard in all classrooms.

“I felt so pressured by all the mistreatment, I could hardly breathe. I felt miserable and helpless. My body and mind were on the verge of total collapse. No matter where I went, people considered me a burden and treated me like a monster or some non-human species. I frequently stayed at home, lonely and crying. Sometimes I didn't eat for several days.

“My dad and many other uncles and aunties are still imprisoned and are suffering from brutal persecution. I wish my dad would come back home. I wish many miserable children like me could reunite with their parents. I also wish I could practice the exercises peacefully with dad and many other practitioners who cultivate Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance under the warm sun, just like I did during my early childhood.” (For more information, please visit http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2009/3/13/105547.html)

2. In 2005, Congcong was eight-years-old and in second grade. Congcong's father and mother are both Falun Gong practitioners. Congcong's father and mother have often been harassed by police, and forced to leave home several times to avoid near-certain arrest. Why? Because they tell people the truth about how Falun Gong has been persecuted and the beautiful things that Dafa has brought to people. One night, after he came home from school, the innocent young face of Congcong looked sad. His aunt asked him what had happened. Congcong said that the assignment his teacher gave that day was for all the students in the class to write three wishes from their hearts. His aunt asked Congcong with a smile, "What do you want to write?" After thinking for a while, Congcong said, "First of all, I want to have a peaceful, stable family. Secondly, I hope my father and mother won't be taken away by the police and that I don't need to worry about them any more. Thirdly, I want to be as happy as other children." After hearing this, the smile on his aunt's face was frozen and tears ran down her face. (For more information, please visit http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/1/15/56584.html)

Congcong should be as playful and happy as other children. Why has he had to endure so much pressure beyond his years? This is only the tip of the iceberg under the tyranny of Jiang's regime.

These children are pure and innocent--is that wrong? Their parents are cultivators of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance--isn't it good? Why do harm to such good people and children? Let's reach out and extend our care to these children, so that they will enjoy the happiness they deserve.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2011/3/11/237421.html