The Dallas Morning News: Woman spreads word on Falun Gong, hoping to free mother

By ESTHER WU

07/31/2003

(Clearwisdom.net) Last month a small group of people who practice Falun Gong had a news conference in downtown Dallas.

[...]

"We do this because we have to let people know the truth about Falun Gong," one explained.

For one of the speakers, it is about much more.

"It is a matter of life and death for my mother," Shirley Wu said.

"My mother, Lingwen Zeng, is a retired professor of physics in China. On July 23, 1999, the local police ransacked my mother's home and kidnapped her. The authorities held her in a drug-rehabilitation center for about six weeks, where police subjected her to the 're-education' tactics and tried to get her to renounce Falun Gong."

In a [persecution] that began in 1999, the government has arrested Falun Gong followers, sometimes sentencing them up to 20 years in prison or labor camps. Followers say they are being persecuted, tortured or beaten to death.

Ms. Wu said her mother has been arrested three times in the last five years. She was last arrested Feb. 9, 2002, and was sent to a labor camp where she remains today.

"My mother was subjected to brutal interrogations and was deprived of sleep for days at a time," Ms. Wu said [...]. "We must send a message that this will not be tolerated. I call for the U.S. government, media and all kindhearted people all over the world to pay attention to the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and please reach out your helping hand to help rescue our loved ones."

[...]

Ms. Wu and her husband, Bei Gou, attended graduate schools in Texas. She earned a doctorate in physics from the University of Texas at Arlington, he earned a doctorate in electrical engineering from Texas A&M. After working on the East Coast, they are returning to Texas, where Mr. Gou will begin teaching at UTA next month.

As the couple made the cross-country move, they held news conferences in Albany, N.Y., Columbus, Ohio, and Dallas to talk about Falun Gong.

[...]

"I will continue talking about my mother until she is released," the physicist said. "Even if there is only one person or a large gathering. It does not matter. The more we speak out, the better chance my mother has of being released."

Ms. Wu says that many prisoners have been released because of pressure from Americans.

"This is very important, especially now because an American has been imprisoned," she said.

Charles Li, a 37-year-old businessman from California, was arrested upon his arrival in Guangzhou, China, on Jan. 24. Mr. Li, an American citizen, is an outspoken proponent of Falun Gong.


[...] Several U.S. and international civil-rights groups have filed suit against the Chinese government in hopes of securing Mr. Li's release.

This month, Mr. Li went on a hunger strike to protest his arrest.

"I know Charles," Ms. Wu said. "He and my husband were friends in California. He is a kind person. [...]

"Charles and my mother are among the millions of Falun Gong practitioners in China who have been suffering unreasonable persecution for the past four years simply because of their belief in the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.

"We must put a stop to this."

http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/columnists/ewu/stories/073103dnmetwu.562ce.html

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