[Editor's note: The following is a speech delivered by a UK practitioner at the UN Conference on Human Rights in Geneva on behalf of the NGO Transnational Radical Party. The Chinese UN delegate interrupted her speech.]

Mr. Chairman, distinguished Ambassadors:

My name is Lily, I am 16 years old and I am speaking on behalf of the Transnational Radical Party on a case of discrimination. I am here today to tell you my personal story as a Falun Gong practitioner. In China the regime rules that young people who practise Falun Gong are not allowed to go to university. As I am a Falun Gong practitioner, my parents cannot see any future for me in China. This is the main reason why I am studying in the UK.

My mum and dad are also Falun Gong practitioners. Both of them were watched closely by the local authorities, even when my mum went shopping. My dad was arrested on 23 July 1999, right after the crackdown on Falun Gong began. He spent one month in jail. After he was released, it was not possible for him to travel out of town to do his business because he had to report to the police regularly. There was more and more pressure put on my parents. In the end, my dad's name was put on the local authorities' wanted list. If he was caught again practising, he would go to prison or a labour camp for at least 5 years. Recently, he escaped from China, leaving my mum, grandmother, two sisters and one brother behind.

My mum's life became even more difficult. To escape more persecution, my family moved out of our house to hide. But, the local policemen heard about this. They went to my sisters and brother's schools. The policemen forced them to show where my family was hiding. When the policemen found my mum, they forced the landlord not to rent accommodation to my family. Our family had to stay with relatives for a short time before they found another apartment. But, the policemen were still not satisfied with the location of the new apartment for my family, because it was still in the area under their control; they would lose their bonus if my family stayed there.

Just after New Year's Day, my mum telephoned me. She said that she was looking for accommodation in other areas and would move soon. The last words she said to me on the phone were "It's been terrifying!" Since my dad left China, the police have been questioning my mum for his whereabouts. My mum's situation is becoming increasingly more difficult. She has to look after my younger sisters, brother and grandmother without my dad's help.

For the Chinese New Year in 2000, our family did not stay together because I was in the UK. For this Chinese New Year 2001, our family was forced to be apart in 3 different countries. I have not seen my mum and dad for more than a year.

On Behalf of the Transnational Radical Party, I plea with all of you here to help millions of Chinese families like mine so that we can live together again in peace. And I hope that this UN Human Rights Commission will initiate concrete measures such as a special reporter to investigate Beijing's discrimination of Falun Gong practitioners so that this modern-day atrocity in China can soon come to an end.

Thank you.

Category: Accounts of Persecution