“Rescue Our Family Members”

NEW YORK, October 2, 2002 (Falun Dafa Information Center) — Danielle Wang, a civil engineering student at the University of Texas in Austin, has not seen or heard from her father in three years. The last time she saw him was on Chinese state-run television as he was being sentenced to 16 years in prison for his practice of Falun Gong.

Boston medical researcher Haiying He has not seen his mother, sister, or brother in over three years. Since the persecution campaign against Falun Gong began in China on July 20, 1999, all three have been detained and/or tortured for their practice of Falun Gong.

For Danielle and Haiying, it has been a very difficult three years, but they are determined to see their family members again, and they are not alone.

More than 22 practitioners of Falun Gong across the United States who have family members being illegally held in Chinese prisons, detention centers, and forced labor camps have joined forces with hundreds of supporters in an effort to rescue their loved ones.

Press conferences have been held in New York City and Dallas, with more press conferences and rallies planned over the next few weeks in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and other major cities.

Family members and supporters also plan on holding a rally in Houston during Chinese Communist Party head, Jiang Zemin’s visit at the end of the month.

The Heart of the Matter

“According to the Chinese government’s own estimate, in 1998 there were 70-100 million people practicing Falun Gong in China,” notes Mr. He. “All those people have families, which means the persecution campaign against Falun Gong has devastated countless families like mine.”

Mr. He continues, “In China, most people suffer in silence, unable to call attention to their loved ones’ suffering for fear they too will be punished. Here in the United States, however, we can speak freely, and so for the sake of my own family and the countless families in China that have been torn apart by this persecution campaign, we have mobilized this nation-wide effort to rescue our loved ones.”

As part of the nation-wide effort, the family members and supporters will appeal to President Bush to raise the Falun Gong issue when he meets with Jiang Zemin at the end of the month in Crawford, Texas. They are also asking the President to help secure the release of their family members in China.

In Canada, a similar nation-wide family rescue effort was launched in July, which lead to the early release of Ms. Yangying Wu from a forced labor camp. Ms. Wu’s sister, Yanxia Wu, lives in Toronto and helped initiate the family rescue effort there. Others Canadians who have family being held in Chinese labor camps and detention centers have also reported improved conditions due to the pressure from the family rescue effort.