In Memory of Chen Chengyong

First of all, I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to friends and people from various circles who are here today for the reception of the ashes of my husband Chen Chengyong, and to the Australian Government, relevant officials and many friends known and unknown to us for showing us their sympathy and concerns and for providing us with assistance during this difficult time.

It should be an easy matter for a wife to receive her husband's ashes, but due to the brutal violation of the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners in China, I cannot go back to China. Seeing this, people from various circles provided me with strong support, helping me bring the ashes of my husband to Australia following months of effort. It may be a case rarely seen both in China and in other countries that the small and perfectly justified wish of mine, as a wife, should have been realised with so much difficulty. Therefore, right now, I would like to express our deep gratitude from the bottom of my heart to the Australian government agencies and kind-hearted people for all of their efforts that resulted in my being able to welcome back my husband's ashes.

I had a happy family, with everyone practising Falun Dafa, which is beneficial for both physical and mental health. It boosted the happiness and joy in my family. However, in the suppression of Falun Gong by the Chinese government, my loved ones in China, like tens of millions of Falun Gong practitioners there, suffered the government's barbaric physical torture and spiritual devastation. My husband died at the age of only 34. His untimely death has dealt a heavy blow to my family. His sister was arrested when she went to collect her brother's body and was sent to the so-called "reform class" that attempts to change Falun Gong practitioners' beliefs by force, before being sentenced illegally to two years of hard labour. His elderly father passed away from deep grief and indignation over the loss of his beloved son and the imprisonment of his beloved daughter.

Over the span of two short months, an originally happy family was thus broken and torn to pieces. A happy family with five people became a miserable one with two dead and one in jail. With us, mother and daughter facing each other in such a lonely, wretched situation, how can I not cherish the memory of my husband even more dearly?!

Chengyong, you left so early that our 15-month daughter had not even learned to call you "Dad".... She is 23 months old now and often points at our family photo, calling "Dad." Chengyong, have you heard your beloved daughter's voice?

Chengyong, you left in such a miserable and dreary way that the media report published last July always appears before my eyes. It states, "It was reported the other day that Chen Chengyong had died in a thatched cottage on Guangzhou outskirts. When his sister went to identify the body, it was found to be decomposed. It was estimated that he had died quite some time ago before his family was notified...." I seem to see your tragic death in every media report on the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, like their being killed through beating, strangling, electric shock, poisoning and being thrown from high altitudes. I cannot imagine the suffering and pain that you endured before being tortured to death. Do you know how sad I am? My beloved husband, with whom I intended to stay together all my life, will not come back to me. We are separated far apart from each other now.

Chengyong, you left in such a solemn and stirring manner! You would have had hope of being alive by echoing the government's demand and saying, "I will not practise Falun Gong." However, Dafa practice made you realise that as a human being one should be upright and dignified, and should tell the truth; you know that as a human being one should have a clear conscience and "return the favour that one has received." You said that our whole family has benefited tremendously from Falun Dafa and if we do not speak out for Dafa, who will speak out? You, by the citizens' right granted by the law, went to the provincial government and Beijing to lawfully appeal to higher authorities, but you were arrested illegally many times and subjected to electric shock and torture. You remained dauntless in the face of intimidation from a massive government and state terrorism; you held no regret or resentment in the face of being sacked by your workplace and having to leave home. You touched the hearts of all the people around you with your righteousness and dignity. Your colleagues all said, "Why should Chengyong be sacked? He is such a nice person and works so diligently. Where is justice?" Yes, in China, where can one find justice?

You lived a short life, but it was a radiant one. You sacrificed your life to safeguard truth and the basic right of a human being. As your wife, I am boundlessly proud of you. I will tell our beloved daughter, little Fadu, what an upright and kind father she had! How could this father, who lived according to the principle of "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance" be forced to leave home and eventually die a tragic death in a thatched cottage? I wonder how I should tell the horrible history of our family to our growing daughter. I am even less sure of the impact of such a horror on her life. I have no more tears to shed, because my tears have all dried up. My heart is bleeding. I have no idea about how to prepare our child to face this cruel fact that is happening and will become history.

Dear guests and friends, the tragic experience of my family is only one example of similar cases faced by tens of millions of families in China, who have no chance to recount theirs. And the tragedies are taking place in China all the time. It is known to all that the Jiang regime in China is the perpetrator of these families' tragedies. Compared with other victims, I am lucky, as I can freely maintain my belief in "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance", and I also have the sympathy of the Australian government and people from various circles. I have received their help, thus getting some issues resolved. Without their help, I would not be able to see my husband's ashes today. In view of that, I beg you to help the Falun Gong practitioners in China who are also and still suffering, because safeguarding human rights, opposing state terrorism and defending world peace are the obligations of mankind. They transcend national boundaries. I am convinced that our joint persistent efforts will eventually see the redress of Falun Dafa in China. It will be the greatest comfort for my beloved husband.

May you rest in peace, Chengyong! You are like a great monument that will stand high in the hearts of our daughter and me!

Your wife: Dai Zhizhen

Your daughter: Fadu

March 2002