An American High School Student's Letter to the U.N High Commissioner for Human Rights

March 13, 2001

Mary Robinson
High Commissioner for Human Rights
OHCHR-UNOG
CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Dear High Commissioner Mary Robinson,

I am a sophomore at an American high school, and I am writing to you for your help.

As you know, the human rights condition in China is awful and needs everyone's attention.

Over the past months, the Chinese government has especially targeted Falun Gong and brutally persecuted its practitioners on a nationwide scale, resulting in many deaths due to torture.

Therefore, I was very happy to read that you recently spoke out in China for the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners. I am also glad that these issues will be further discussed at the upcoming UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva. Your continuous concern and support for their human rights are encouraging to many concerned individuals. Therefore, I would like to ask you to continue monitoring the Falun Gong crisis in China and continue raising this issue in your speeches. Here I would like to share with you the story of how people (including myself) on campus have become concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong, and how we have gotten involved.

During my freshman year, I heard a lot about the abuse of human rights and the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. However, I did not take an active role to champion human rights. Seeing that I was only a 14-year-old here in America and lacked the means and the tools to make a change, I thought, "What difference could I possibly make in China?" I was too shy to even talk to people, let alone to try to make a difference. I was also afraid that my classmates might make fun of me. So I just watched and waited with hope that the Chinese government's brutal persecution was just a misunderstanding that would soon be resolved.

However, after waiting for an entire year, the situation in China did not get any better. Instead, it became much worse. The number of deaths due to torture and maltreatment of Falun Gong practitioners jumped into the 20's, 70's and now into the 150's. Practitioners are arrested in large numbers on a daily basis, and deaths occur almost weekly. I became concerned and wanted to help, yet I still did not have enough courage to get actively involved. Nevertheless, I was appalled by the brutal means of persecution and shocked by the reports of torture: electric shocks, forced abortions, rape, threats of expulsion faced by 10,000 students just like me from universities because of their practice, denial of entrance to school and/or college regardless of grades, and so on. Horrified, I grimaced at the torture stories on the computer screen, thinking "Are these kinds of torture even possible? How can they do such dreadful things to innocent people? Aren't we beyond the days of the Holocaust and the late 80's Tiananmen Square Incident?"

In sheer contrast, I was touched by countless stories of Falun Gong practitioners in China who have been courageous enough to set aside concern for their self-interest, risking everything to speak out for the truth. Every day petitioners up into the thousands gather voluntarily in Tiananmen to peacefully appeal despite the beatings, despite the torture, and despite the danger of being arrested and sent to detention centers. I wondered, "What prompts so many people coming from so many different places to make such a selfless sacrifice and to do such a brave thing?"

I did some research on the Internet on the persecution of Falun Gong and browsed through sites that Falun Gong practitioners put together. After reading the moving stories of Falun Gong practitioners in China who told of their emotional struggles before going out to appeal, the mass arrests of practitioners around them, and the reasons that drove them to speak out, I finally began to understand. It is their firm belief in the universal principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance that gives them their inner strength. It is because they are indeed following those principles of Falun Gong and trying to be good people that they find the strength to resist the persecution in the face of great risks and pressure. They believe in being true to themselves as well as to others, so they choose to declare the truth. They believe in being compassionate, so they cannot be overly concerned for their own safety while others suffer. They believe in forbearing, so they never retaliate with violence, even in the face of horrible torture. Strongly moved by their selfless and courageous actions, I decided to get involved.

I began to talk to many students about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. It is amazing how much sympathy and support students and faculty here have shown. As the awareness spread across the campus, dozens of students expressed to me in emails their indignation at the persecution as well as appreciation for the sacrifices Falun Gong practitioners in China are making. At least five hundred students on campus signed petitions against the persecution either on paper or online, with many different students collecting the signatures. Numerous sympathetic students volunteered their support in various other ways. For example, one student helped record a message to inform students and teachers about the Geneva Human Rights meeting and asked for their support while another student researched the persecution of Falun Gong and even made a documentary film for his class. As more people became concerned about human rights abuse in China, more and more support poured in from students, parents, faculty members, and staff members alike.

Of course, I met students who questioned whether the petition against the persecution was worth the time and effort. There are also students who expressed doubts about whether one can make any real difference in China's policies. After considering their points of view, I asked them: "If any of your parents, siblings, or relatives were framed and forced into labor camps without any trials, what would you do? Would you just stand back and say that you aren't getting involved because you can't make a difference? No! Even if you couldn't make a difference, you would still try desperately to get them out. Isn't it the same with those detained Falun Gong practitioners in China? Shouldn't we be glad to give them a hand?" Many agreed after thinking about it.

As to the effectiveness of the human rights campaign, history has shown us that the non-violent resistance of Martin Luther King ultimately overturned segregation and the patient endurance of Nelson Mandela ended apartheid in South Africa. It is also worthy to note that Falun Gong is thus far the only movement for freedom in the history of China that has persisted for so long ?near 20 months up until this day. And it has done so non-violently. With proper support, freedom in China will very likely arrive much sooner. How soon the changes will come only time will tell, but the strength of our support and efforts now lies in our hands.

Through this entire process I have realized that if we truly set our hearts on a good, noble cause, we can make a change for the better, no matter how great or small. I believe that you, in your present position, can make even a bigger difference. By speaking out firmly and consistently about human rights issues in China at the Geneva conference as well as in the future and encouraging other nations to do so, you will truly help bring about world peace and peace in China, at the same time making our future better in a profound, enduring way.

I deeply appreciate your attention and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely Yours