(Minghui.org) While most families in the United Kingdom were busy celebrating Father’s Day on June 16, 2013, Yu Minghui was quietly sitting alone, wondering if her father was still alive.
Yu's father, Yu Zonghai, an artist, has beenillegally imprisoned in Heilongjing Province, China, for the past twelve years for practicing Falun Gong. Her family has not heard anything from him in the past six months. Her mother, Wang Meihong, who is also a Falun Gong practitioner, and worked as a senior engineer, has likewise been imprisoned in China for over ten years.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong in China in July 1999, when Yu was only 12 years old. Thus, when she hears the words “Father’s Day,” she becomes anxious and immediately starts worrying about her parents' safety. She yearns to be reunited with them and strongly opposes the CCP's persecution of innocent people.
Yu attended the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom in 2010, and recently graduated with a degree in fashion design. She is involved in the media in London and also practices Falun Gong.
Yu began working very hard in 2011 to secure her parents' release. She hopes that the international community will pay more attention to her parent's plight and the evil nature of the Chinese regime and its brutal persecution of Falun Gong. Her persistent efforts have garnered the attention and respect of many London residents.
The North London Today newspaper published an article about Yu Minghui’s parents
Yu started a signature campaign to rescue her parents with the hope that it would attract the attention of government officials in her area. She also designed and printed special postcards with her father’s photo and some basic facts about the persecution.
The photo was taken by a family member while visiting her father in prison. A scar and several bruises can be seen on the father's face, indicating that he had been beaten or tortured.
Yu hands out her pre-addressed post cards, and asks people to apply the appropriate postage and send the post cards to the Mudanjiang Prison in China, where her father is incarcerated. The more people she tells her story to, the more postcards she gives out, and the more postcards the prison receives.
With her friends’ encouragement, Yu started contacting local councilors and MPs in her area and told them about her parents being persecuted by the Chinese authorities. Many MPs expressed great concern for her parent's plight.
The local newspaper North London Today published an article on January 13, 2013 entitled, “Daughter Pleads for Help to Get Parents Out of Chinese Jail.” The article talked about Falun Gong and how the Chinese regime continues to persecute Yu's parents.
Yu is quoted as saying, “My parents haven’t done anything wrong. They just want to tell people what happened to them and to other Falun Gong practitioners in China.”
The article went on to say, “Yu Minghui (Amy) believes that only government officials in the international community can put pressure on the Chinese Communist Party to release her parents.”
Yu Minghui at The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren International Exhibition in York, London
Yu Minghui stands in front of the painting, Orphan’s Sorrow, with her postcard
Yu gave a speech at each of the opening ceremonies of The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren International Exhibition in the United Kingdom. She talked about how her parents are being brutally persecuted, especially her father, whose life she feels is in eminent danger. People were very moved by her story.
According to the Minghui website, Yu Zonghai originally worked as a graphics designer at the Mudanjiang City Library in Heilongjiang Province. He was regarded as a model worker whom everyone liked. He later developed femoral head avascular necrosis from his heavy workload, and as a result, he couldn't even carry a small box of coal.
After visiting many hospitals and undergoing numerous exams, the general prognosis was that he needed to have a total hip replacement.
Luckily, in 1994 Mr. Yu attended a Falun Gong lecture in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, given by its founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi. After he returned home from the class, he carried a 220 pound bag of rice from the first floor to the fifth at his residence, without pausing to rest.
Mr. Yu not only recovered from his illness, but his general mental and physical health also improved. When Mr. Yu's colleagues and family members saw the many miraculous changes that he has undergone after practicing Falun Gong, they, too, started to practice.
In 2001, two years after the Chinese regime began persecuting Falun Gong, Mr. Yu was arrested and detained for practicing Falun Gong. He was then sentenced to 15 years in Mudanjiang Prison. Mr. Yu's family sent him some money in October 2004, but the guards confiscated it and shard it amongst themselves.
When Mr. Yu asked for his money back, the guards ordered several thugs to beat him. Mr. Yu was transferred to the No. 6 Ward in August 2006 to do forced labor. His left eye was concussed and his tear duct severed, however the guards refused to provide him with medical assistance. As a result, his eye is now permanently damaged.
The guards also forced him to paint tigers, as tiger paintings always fetched a good price on the open market. The temperatures during the winter months in northern China often drop to minus ten degrees, but the guards nonetheless stripped off Mr. Yu's clothes and forced him to bathe in freezing cold water, in the open air.
The Press newspaper published an article on The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren International Exhibition
Mr. Yu's heart-wrenching experiences, as told by his daughter, moved the hearts of many people. York's main newspaper, The Press , published an article on June 10, 2013, entitled, “Art Highlights Human Rights,” referring to The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren International Exhibition and Ms. Yu's unwavering efforts to rescue her imprisoned father.
The article noted that according to the exhibition organizer, the paintings are true-to-life portrayals of human rights violations of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Yu noted in her speech at the art exhibition opening ceremony in York, that her father's unwavering belief in Falun Gong is the reason he was incarcerated, and as such, she has grown up without the warmth of a family setting since she was 12 years old.
At the end of her speech, she said, “I’m proud of my parents for holding true to their belief in the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. They are honest and brave people. Their steadfastness serves as an example for all of mankind.”
Yu said that she hopes more people will visit the art exhibition to learn the facts about Falun Gong. “I talk to people with my heart,” she explained. “My wish is to let everyone know what’s happening in mainland China. I feel like a messenger on a mission.
“Before, my main purpose was to rescue my parents. Now, more than ever, I want people to know the truth about Falun Gong!”
