United to Support Falun Gong Practitioners' Freedom of Belief

[friendsoffalungong]

Fuyao was 6 years old when her parents were taken away for their faith in Falun Gong. Both of them were beaten and tortured by Chinese police in an effort to make them renounce their belief in truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, the main tenets of the meditation practice.

“I was confused, I didn’t understand what happened,” Fuyao remembers. “But I knew my parents were right, because they were standing up for what they believed in. I have huge respect for what they did and what they endured [in prison].”

The family was finally reunited in 2009, when Fuyao was 14. In 2014, they were able to come to the United States as refugees.

Read Fuyao’s and her family’s story:  http://bit.ly/2lY7UKw

[friendsoffalungong]

“From 2000 to 2014, because of practicing Falun Dafa, my mother was sent twice to Masanjia Labor Camp, several times to brainwashing centers, and more than 7 times to detention centers. Countless times she was terrorized by policemen. After my mother was gone, I was usually home alone since my father was busy at work. I felt I was different from other students and lived mostly in depression. After my mother was released, I was still very afraid that policemen would grab her from the market or from her work. If she was late coming back, I would stand by the windows and think about all the bad things that could have happened. These thoughts filled me with panic and my brain would not stop scaring itself until I saw her appear. In 2012, I applied for college abroad and was accepted at Arizona State University. I came to the United States on a student visa, and began a new life here. Meanwhile my mother had gotten her passport and a tourist visa to the United States as well, but the danger was not over.” —Danshan, a student from China Read her story here: http://bit.ly/2lXTObS

[friendsoffalungong]

“In the summer of 2011, I got a U.S. travel visa and planned to visit the States. While getting ready to board the plane at Jinan Airport, I was unexpectedly stopped at the customs by the police. It turns out that by wire-tapping international phone calls and other means, they got some information about my travel plan and feared that I would, during the stay in the U.S., tell the international society about what they are doing to people in mainland China.

They sentenced me to 2 years in labor camp. During my imprisonment, I was forced to keep seated on a small hard stool, about 15 hours a day for over half a year, which caused my bottom to be badly wounded. And then I was forced to do labor work, weaving patio chairs which were to be exported to other countries, including the United States.”

—Roy, Falun Gong practitioner from China now living in Utah.

Read his story here: http://bit.ly/2m7Wh2K

[friendsoffalungong]

I support my wife standing up to a totalitarian government.  Nobody should have to live like that.  I have also seen how Falun Dafa has affected my wife.  It makes her a better person.  It gives her a moral compass to compare her actions to and something to weigh herself against.  She views life's woes with more responsibility instead of blame. She is a much calmer and content person.  I travel a lot in my job and leave her home with 5 kids.  She is never bitter about having to do more.  It makes it much less stressful on me.  I think it’s great that the kids practice it too, and help raise awareness about the persecution.

—Oren, Phoenix, AZ