BYLINE: ANDREW Kelly
Lulu Long is living in exile in Christchurch, fearful she will be
persecuted
and imprisoned if she returns to her home and family in China.
The 19-year-old Christchurch student is a Falun Gong practitioner from
Sichuan province.
Her mother, who is also a follower of the banned movement, has been
repeatedly arrested and sent to labour camps for months at a time. Falun
Gong is a controversial spiritual movement which was outlawed in China
in
1999. Government authorities have cracked down on the popular movement,
which they describe as an <...>, arresting many of the 100 million
people who practise it.
Two years ago, Miss Long was held in detention, but was released after
10
days because as a 17-year- old she was still a minor.
While detained, she says she witnessed several beatings, was subjected
to
repeated strip searches, and deprived of food and drink.
Miss Long’s father saved enough money to send her to New Zealand before
she
turned 18, so that she would be able to continue her education. She was
a
student at Mairehau High School this year and plans to study agriculture
at
Lincoln University next year if she is able to extend her current
student
visa or apply for refugee status.
She enjoys New Zealand, but says she is desperately homesick,
particularly
when many of her friends are returning to China for a holiday, and New
Zealanders are preparing for Christmas with their families.
She believes the only way she could return to China safely would be to
renounce her faith in Falun Gong — an option she won’t consider.
Her family has warned her that the authorities are compiling evidence
against her and would immediately arrest her if she came home.
Miss Long contacted The Press because she wanted to draw attention to
the
situation in China: “The persecution there is quite cruel and lots of
innocent people are in a terrible situation. I just want people to know
it,
and maybe other people’s words can support them.”
Posting date: 12/Dec/2002
Original article date: 11/Dec/2002
Category: Media Report
