Media Release of Witnessing History
ALLEN & UNWIN MEDIA RELEASE
Persecution. Imprisonment. Torture. Separation.
Witnessing History
One Woman’s Fight for Freedom and Falun Gong
Jennifer Zeng
Despite a life-threatening illness, Jennifer Zeng was given fresh hope through practising Falun Gong. Soon after she discovered it, however, Falun Gong was banned in the most far-reaching suppression and persecution experienced in China since The Cultural Revolution. After several arrests, the bright young scientist and happily married mother was blacklisted and imprisoned in a purpose-built forced labour camp – without any formal trial or charge.
During her year-long detainment, she was ‘re-educated’ – a delicate euphemism for ‘tortured’ – and saw many of her compatriots tortured to the point of dying. Prisoners were brainwashed, overworked, sleep deprived and forced to renounce Falun Gong. Many remain in these camps today. On her release, Zeng fled to Australia.
Witnessing History is a powerful and moving account of one woman’s escape from persecution, providing a fascinating insight into life in modern-day China, and into a little understood yet widely practised belief system. This is the first time a Chinese Falun Gong practitioner has shared their story, bearing witness to an important period of history that is still unfolding.
JENNIFER ZENG was born in China and graduated with a Masters of Science in geochemistry from Peking University. She began practising Falun Gong in 1997 and was arrested four times before being sentenced in May 2000 to one year’s re-education in a Forced Labour Camp. There she was tortured and brain-washed. In 2001, Jennifer was released and fled to Australia. Today she lives in Sydney where she has been reunited with her young daughter.
JENNIFER ZENG IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS
Published by Allen & Unwin on 4 March 2005 $29.95 pb ISBN 1741144000
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