DEC 1, 2021 — 

My name is Lucy Mingyuan Liu, a second-year student at Sheridan’s post-graduate Animation certificate program, a scholarship recipient of the Tibor Madjar award for best animation. 

I’m seeking your support for the immediate release of my mother Yan Liu from arbitrary detention and potential jail sentence in China for her spiritual belief in Falun Gong (aka Falun Dafa). On September 30, 2021, Chinese police kidnapped my mother. She is currently illegally detained at Kunming detention centre  capital city of Yunnan province.

Below is my letter to the Canadian government.

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My mother Yan Liu is a dedicated English language educator with over 20 years of teaching experience at post-secondary institutions. Two decades ago, she worked at Jilin University-Lambton College in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun, a job that brought her into contact with a lot of Canadian academics. 

While working as a professor and academic director at a university in the province of Yunnan, my mother co-authored a textbook titled “Accelerate Conversational English” which has been reprinted three times by the renowned publisher FuDan University Press. 

My Family

My father Yong Liu is an accomplished artist and art teacher, he was named one of the top one hundred Chinese painters in 2003.

My parents have been practicing Falun Gong since 1994. They strive to integrate the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance in their life and teaching careers, and have won the respect, love, and friendship of many students, parents, and colleagues. My family has suffered enormous tribulations since the Communist Regime of China launched the crackdown against Falun Gong in 1999, where we were forced into exile, separation, and loss of loved ones.

Practicing Falun Dafa

Around 2002, my whole family fled our hometown and travelled over 3000km to the southwest province of Yunnan, in the hope to leave behind the non stop harassment from the police force. In a city where we were completely strangers, my parents had to start all over again to build their career and raise the family. 

In 2012, my father was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison for peacefully pursuing his freedom of belief.

In 2015, my mother was sentenced to three years for the same reason. They were both tortured, brainwashed, and forced to slave labour. During my father’s detention, my paternal grandma passed away out of enormous anxiety, fear and devastation. My maternal grandma was struck by trauma when the police broke in and ransacked our home, she had developed serious Parkinson’s diseases and is now paralyzed.

The tragedies and trauma I have experienced as a child due to the persecution are beyond words. In 1999, when I was a two-year-old toddler, I was detained alongside my mom by the communist regime for many days, in the attempt to force her to give up her practice on Falun Gong. In 2001, police officers tried to take me away from daycare and held me as a hostage in order to arrest my mom. Throughout my teenage years, I spent endless hours waiting anxiously at the doorway for my parents’ return at the end of day.

In 2015, I was in Grade 12, preparing for the critical university admission test. Where I needed the support and care from my parents most, they were both being detained and jailed. With the encouragement and assistance from relatives and school teachers, I graduated from high school with honors, and was admitted by a top art university. In 2020, I came to world renowned Sheridan college to continue my art education in 3D Animation, my heart filled with hope to build my life and career in a country where I can breathe freely, express my thoughts without fear, and live with dignity. 

While I rejoiced in my new journey and adventure, the heartbroken news of my mother’s arrest and prosecution struck me once again. 

The ruthless oppression and crackdown on Falun Gong has shattered families, deprived childhood, and led to the wrongful death of hundreds of thousands of innocent practitioners adhering to the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance. 

Why is Falun Gong persecuted in China?

Today, I stand up on the internet to ask all righteous Canadians, parliamentarians, and our government to help me and call on the Chinese Communist Regime to immediately release my mother and put an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. See below for what you can do to help: 

    •        Issue a public statement calling for the immediate release of prisoner of conscience Yan Liu (to be published on “Rescueyanliu.ca”, affiliated social media sites, and printed materials)

    •        Write a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs urging the government to take action  on the illegal detention and sentencing of Yan Liu;

    •        Write a letter to the local Member of Parliament urging him/her to call for the illegal detention and sentencing of Yan Liu

    •       Raise publicity and awareness on the illegal detention and sentence of Yan Liu on school’s social media and other media platform and publications