Liu Mingyuan said his mother was detained in September while Beijing was persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.
Students at Sheridan College in Ontario oppose the arbitrary detention of their mothers by the Chinese administration and shed light on the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Communist Party administration.
24-year-old Liu Mingyuan is a Chinese student who arrived in Canada in August of this year to begin studying at the University of Sheridan’s Computer Animation Program. Liu, also known as Lucy, has witnessed the family being torn many times by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from an early age.
“Today I share a story about me and my family, but it’s also the story of countless Falun Gong practitioners over the last two decades,” Lucy said on November 18th at the Chinese Consulate in Toronto. I protested outside and said.
“I wanted to be able to raise more awareness and bring help from the international community to end this brutal persecution,” Lucy said.
Her mother, Liu Yan, was recently arrested by Chinese authorities on September 30 in Kunming, a city in southwestern Yunnan, and has been detained ever since. According to Liu Yan’s arrest document dated October 1, she was criminally detained for “weakening Chinese law by using evil religious groups.”
Falun Gong is a spiritual practice that includes meditation practice and teaching based on the principles of “honesty, compassion, and tolerance.” This practice, also known as Falun Dafa, first appeared in China in 1992 and has spread rapidly due to its reported effects on mental and physical health. By 1999, the Chinese government estimated that it had attracted 70 to 100 million supporters in the country.
However, Jiang Zemin, a former Chinese Communist Party leader, saw its popularity as a threat to the authoritarian rule of the administration. On July 20, 1999, Jiang launched a violent repression aimed at eradicating the Cultural Revolution-style hatred campaign and its practices. He also founded the 610 Office, a secret agency like the Gestapo that leads the persecution of Falun Gong learners.
Born in persecution
Prior to her recent arrest, Liu Yan had already been imprisoned several times for her beliefs. In 1999, Chinese troops detained Liu Yan with his daughter, who was only two years old at the time, for refusing to abandon Falun Gong.
Liuyan was finally released and later took up a teaching position at Jilin University-Ramton University in Changchun, northeastern China. Having partnered with universities in North America, including the Memorial University of Newfoundland, this work allowed her to stay in close contact with Canadian scholars.
But in 2001, Liu Yan’s career ended when Jiang intensified his rigorous campaign against Falun Gong practitioners and targeted Liu Yan, who was forced to hide again by police.
“To seduce my mother, the police tried to take me hostage in my kindergarten,” Lucy recalled.
To escape further persecution, Lucy’s father moved his family to Kunming, but even in rural areas, the family was unable to escape the administration. Lucy’s father and mother were detained in 2012 and 2015, respectively, and sentenced to several years in prison.
Lucy said her mother could face an additional three to four years in prison as a result of her recent arrest.
Joel Chipker, a spokesman for the Falun Dafa Society of Canada, said Liu Yan was one of the other 12 victims with a relationship with Canada who still suffers from CCP persecution targeting faith-based groups. Said to be a person.
In 2017, Vancouver-based Falun Gong practitioner Sun Qian was arrested in Beijing when Chinese police forced her into her home, dragged her out, and threw her into a detention center. She was then tortured to force her to abandon her faith.
In June 2020, Sun was sentenced to eight years in prison and in the process abandoned Canadian citizenship. This move was interpreted as being under the pressure of abuse.
Chipkar has “used interference, propaganda, and fake news” in its efforts to influence Canadian government officials by demonstrating the victims of the administration to CCP’s support for human rights in China. Said there is.
“The Communist Party is not only targeting Falun Gong, but also Canadian values and the morals and consciences of all Canadian government officials and citizens,” Chipkar said.
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Andrew Chen is a Toronto-based Epoch Times reporter.