(Minghui.org) Both of Ms. Meng Qingxia’s parents are accomplished artists in Beijing. Having inherited the art talent, Ms. Meng grew up with a strong interest in painting. She attended the famous Central Academy of Art and Design and became an art teacher after graduation.
Having lived in clover before, Ms. Meng met a lot of challenges with her in-laws after she got married. When she also had conflicts at work, she became depressed.
Ms. Meng was thrilled to encounter Falun Gong in 1999, an ancient spiritual discipline very popular in Beijing during the 1990s. Falun Gong’s teachings broadened her heart and helped her to let go of herself and think from the perspective of others. Her face lit up again and she became much more loving and kinder.
Only a few months after she learned Falun Gong, however, the Chinese communist regime ordered a nationwide persecution and vowed to eradicate it in three months. Overnight, Ms. Meng’s life was turned upside-down. For the next two decades, she endured constant harassment and years of incarceration. She lost her job and her husband also divorced her.
Not long after she was arrested on December 30, 2004, Ms. Meng was sentenced to five years by the Changping District Court. At that time, her son had just started elementary school and her ailing mother-in-law depended on her for care.
When she finally finished serving the term in 2009 and was about to go home to reunite with her family, the police directly transferred her from the Beijing Women’s Prison to the Beijing Women’s Forced Labor Camp, where she was held for another three years.
By the time she returned home in late 2012, her husband had already divorced her and he had also given up custody of their son. With no home to return to, Ms. Meng rented an apartment and made a living by selling her paintings.
Ms. Meng followed traditional values in her artwork and put her heart into it. Her paintings became more and more popular and sometimes people knocked on her door, asking her to paint for them.
Only able to live in peace for less than three years, Ms. Meng was arrested again on July 20, 2015. The police first held her at the Changping District Detention Center for a month, before transferring her to a brainwashing center on August 20. During that time, her teenaged son was left at home to take care of himself.
The police harassed Ms. Meng two more times, on November 28, 2015 and September 19, 2017, respectively. They took pictures of all of her paintings during the 2017 harassment.
When the coronavirus pandemic broke out in early 2020, Ms. Meng and ten other Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing took pictures of the empty streets in the city and published the photos online. After the police found out about it, they arrested the eleven practitioners on July 19, 2020 and submitted their cases to the Dongcheng District Procuratorate.
After nearly a year of detention at the Dongcheng District Detention Center, Ms. Meng, now 49, is facing trial by the Dongcheng District Court.
The other ten practitioners also facing trial include Ms. Xu Na, Mr. Li Zongze, Mr. Li Lixin, Ms. Jiao Mengjiao, Mr. Liu Qiang, Ms. Zheng Yanmei, Ms. Deng Jing, Ms. Zheng Yujie, Mr. Zhang Renfei, and Ms. Li Jiaxuan.
Son’s Change
When Ms. Meng was released from the labor camp in 2012, her son was very rebellious and always fought with people, after his family fell apart and he was deprived of mother’s love for ten years.
Ms. Meng was heartbroken to see how the persecution has harmed her son. She cried for three days. Then she made up her mind that no matter how much trouble he made, she would treat him with her utmost compassion and patience and guide him back onto the right path. To her surprise, her sincerity touched her son and he quickly changed. He studied hard at school and participated in student organizations.
Ms. Meng once said to her son, “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t make much money to give you a comfortable life.” Her son responded, “Mom, I can’t thank you enough. It’s you who pulled me back from making more mistakes. I will work hard in the future and make lots of money to repay you.” Her son was later admitted to a college and is achieving outstanding academic success.
Related reports:
Incarcerated Artist: I Can’t Stay Silent to Protect My Own Interests
Eleven Beijing Residents’ Cases Returned to the Police for Insufficient Evidence
12 Beijing Residents Arrested Near Anniversary of Persecution of Falun Gong
Beijing Resident Still Detained Seven Weeks After Arrest for His Faith
After Being Incarcerated for Five Years, Beijing Artist Arrested Again for Her Faith
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Category: Accounts of Persecution
