(Clearwisdom.net) I immigrated to Canada in 1997, and obtained my doctorate degree in 2004. I have been practicing Falun Gong since the end of 1997.
One of the reasons for my leaving China was the corruption that I saw in institutions of higher learning. After much thought, I concluded that the root cause was the lack of spiritual belief in society, and I could find no answers in China. After I came to Canada, I was fortunate enough to encounter Falun Gong, allowing me to lead my life according to Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. Practicing Falun Gong also cured me of several chronic ailments that had plagued me for years, such as gastritis and shoulder inflammation.
When the Chinese Communist Party began the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, I took it as my responsibility to do my best to tell people the facts about the practice. I also knew the dangers of doing so.
Towards the end of 1999, I went back to China to visit my parents during Christmas break. While going through customs, I was stopped and detained for two days for "carrying banned publications." Before returning to Canada, I planned to go to Beijing to deliver an appeal letter for Falun Gong, and then board my plane in Shenzhen. However, on the morning of December 25, 1999, I was randomly stopped by a policeman and arrested, simply because I admitted that I was a Falun Gong practitioner.
After that, I was transferred to a cellar of the Beijing Liaison Office in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province and held there for twelve days. My family and friends found me after looking for me everywhere. The police then used my father and other family members to pressure me to write a document renouncing Falun Gong. After two very difficult days, I remained firm to my faith, and the police gave up. The authorities expelled me from the country and told my father that I was not to return to China, or my family would be held fully responsible.
In 2002, my application for an extension to my passport to China was denied by the Chinese Consulate.
In a phone call, my mother told me that police came and ransacked their home after I left. After that, they received frequent visits from people from various agencies warning them that I should not do anything "detrimental to the country," and so on. In the past decade, my parents have been living under great pressure and worry about me constantly. I can only comfort them by telling them that I will soon be able to see them again, as I believe that the persecution cannot possibly go on for much longer.
In April of 2009, the CCP changed tactics. They had a government official come to my parents' home to ask them to convince me to go back to China, and "guaranteed my safety." My parents found this very suspicious, and told them that they had not heard from me in years. A couple of days after that, people from a different agency started spreading rumors in my neighborhood, saying that I was disloyal and a bad son for not coming back to see my parents for so long. It was an obvious ploy to try to get me to go back, for whatever motive, and to turn public opinion against Falun Gong. Thankfully, some folks that knew my situation and about Falun Gong straightforwardly said that it was the government's fault that I could not come back.
I want to take this opportunity to say to the CCP agents: you will never make me give up my faith in Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. At the same time, I want to thank those who see through the CCP's ploys for their help and support.
