A Triumph of Spirit: A Woman’s Plight to Expose Injustice in China
If a person is the sum of what they have experienced, then Jennifer Zeng surely amounts to quite a lot.
A Beijing University graduate, mother and wife, Jennifer’s life in China was good. But when her chosen spiritual practice Falun Gong was banned by the Chinese regime in 1999, a wave of suffering began.
[Jennifer Zeng, Chinese Refugee]: “They had decided to eliminate Falun Gong, so that means to either eliminate us physically or mentally, or spiritually.”
In 2000, Jennifer was sentenced to 12 months of forced labor because she continued to practice Falun Gong—a traditional Chinese meditation practice.
[Jennifer Zeng, Chinese Refugee]: “We lost totally the dignity of a human being.”
She describes the Chinese labor camp as living hell.
[Jennifer Zeng, Chinese Refugee]:“The first sound we heard as we arrived was the crack of the electric baton, and the first order we got was squat... the pressure was so huge, we either heard the screams of others being shocked, or we were scalded or tortured ourselves.”
She says the beatings, electrocutions and sleep deprivation were part of a normal day—and ironically, what kept her going.
[Jennifer Zeng, Chinese Refugee]:“I think after some six months of experiencing and witnessing all this unimaginable inhuman treatment against all the Falun Gong practitioners in the labor camp, I suddenly developed a very strong desire to expose these crimes to the world.”
She did just that. In 2001 she was released and fled to Australia. She later wrote a book called "Witnessing History: one woman’s fight for freedom and Falun Gong.”
An educated young lady finds herself in a forced labor camp, simply for following a spiritual practice based on truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.
This may baffle many. But for Peter Westmore, President of Australia’s National Civic Council—a public policy group—the Chinese regime's brutal crackdown is in keeping with its communist ideology.
[Peter Westmore, President, National Civic Council]:“There were at least 70 million, maybe 100 million people in China regularly involved in Falun Gong practices. And I think that the Chinese Communist Party saw this as a threat to their monopoly on power...something which the government could not totally control.”
Now living a life of freedom in Australia, Jennifer’s aim is clear and simple.
[Jennifer Zeng, Chinese Refugee]: “To continue to practice Falun Gong, and to fight for those Falun Gong practitioners who are still jailed in China... I’m very confident that we will have a bright future, because that confidence is built upon our very basic belief system, that is, goodness will overcome evil.”
Robert Apicella, NTD News, Melbourne.
