Toronto, Canada: Press Conference in Front of Chinese Consulate Demands Release of Local Woman's Mother Detained for Her Faith

(Minghui.org) Ms. Liu Mingyuan, a computer animation student at Sheridan College, held a press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate in Toronto on February 18, 2022. She called for the immediate release of her mother, who is detained in China for her faith, Falun Dafa.

Her mother, Ms. Liu Yan, was arrested in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China on September 30, 2021 for practicing Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong), a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1999.

Ms. Liu’s father recently received a court summons in China, which informed him that Ms. Liu Yan would face a court hearing on February 25, 2022. So Ms. Liu organized the press conference to call on the Party to stop its 23-year-long persecution of Falun Dafa and to immediately release her mother.

Press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate in Toronto on February 18Ms. Liu Mingyuan addresses the press conference.

Rescue Effort Draws Attention and Support

Ms. Liu Yan was the former director and associate professor of the Foreign Language Department of Yunnan University of Arts and Sciences. She was arrested by the CCP authorities on September 30, 2021, for practicing Falun Dafa.

Ms. Liu Yan has been detained in the Kunming City Detention Center by the Wuhua District Domestic Security Division. Her family members and lawyers have not been allowed to visit her.

Last October, Ms. Liu Mingyuan launched an effort in Canada to rescue her mother in China, which has drawn the attention of many sectors of Canadian society.

Mingyuan announced at the press conference: “Since I stood up and spoke out to rescue my mother, I have felt the sympathy of the international community for Falun Gong practitioners and the condemnation of this persecution. People have all learned that Falun Gong practitioners are a group of kind people, but suffered groundless persecution and slander in China.”

In the past four months, Mingyuan has received help and solidarity from parliamentarians, media, professors, and her school. She said, “I have received support from many Canadian people who wrote letters to the Canadian Prime Minister, urging the Canadian government to take action against the human rights persecution in China and call for the immediate release of my mother.”

“This persecution has been going on for nearly 23 years,” Mingyuan said, “The persecution has caused tens of thousands of tragedies due to imprisonment and death of innocent people. Countless happy families have been destroyed.”

Mingyuan concluded by saying that for the past 23 years, Falun Gong practitioners have been persistently clarifying the truth to the world in a peaceful and rational way to stop the persecution. She appealed to the Chinese government to immediately end the oppression of this peaceful group, to stop persecuting its own people, and to release her mother without condition.

Sheridan Student Union President Appeals to Prime Minister

Letter from Mr. Kyle Budge, President of the Sheridan Student Union

Mr. Kyle Budge, President of the Sheridan Student Union sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and urged him to pay attention to the persecution of Falun Gong and help rescue Ms. Liu Yan.

In his letter Mr. Budge stated, “We, the Sheridan Student Union, have been supporting, advocating for, and providing the necessary resources to help Lucy (Mingyuan) through this difficult situation. We advocate on behalf of all our students, and we aspire for the fair and just treatment of all these students and their families. We understand this is a complex, international issue, but as representatives of our complex and international student body, it would be negligent of us to not push for the release of Lucy’s mother and provide Lucy with the support she needs.”

“Through our advocacy, we have learned that other students in Canada and across the world are facing similar situations to Lucy. This persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is something affecting many, and we hope that bringing the government’s attention, and this ask for action, will bring awareness to the injustices and the release of all those being detained.”

The letter ended with, “In consideration of Ms. Liu Yan, her daughter Lucy, and all those with a parent being detained for their beliefs, we ask for your immediate condemnation of these illegal detentions and call for the release of Ms. Yan Liu.”

Background: What is Falun Dafa and Why is the CCP Persecuting It?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and learned the five exercises, have experienced improved health and well-being.

Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, issued an order to ban the practice.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 22 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. More have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply the organ transplant industry.

Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.