Inner-West Weekly (Australia): The politics of fear

May 4, 2006 Thursday

LUCY Zhao is living in fear at Burwood and has grave concerns for several family members living in China.

Dr Zhao, a business lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney, practices Falun Gong at Burwood Park every morning.

A few weeks ago she learned that one of her cousins had been threatened by Chinese national security officers because she was practicing Falun Gong in Australia.

''My cousin was at university and the vice-chancellor told her to go to the national security office,'' Dr Zhao said.

''She (the cousin) was very scared. They told her that they know everything that I'm doing here in Australia. Other family members have been threatened.

''They (the government) start with financial pressure or can prevent you from finding work.''

All of this was relayed to Dr Zhao after her mother, who also lives at Burwood, had phoned home.

China's persecution of followers of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, has been well publicized.

Dr Zhao said that Falun Gong exercises and meditation had helped her overcome insomnia and minor illnesses such as colds and flu.

She refuses to stop practicing.

''It has also helped me in my relationships with my family and friends through learning the value of tolerance and compassion,'' she said.

''I am now worried about how much the Chinese government knew about my life here. I worry whether my home will be broken into and how far the arm of the Chinese government extends.

''I also worry what they might do to my family,'' she said.

Dr Zhao left China at the age of 23 to study her PhD in business at the University of Toronto.

She arrived in Australia in February last year to lecture at UTS.

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