UCC Finance student Tang Liang,is seeking help from Irish society to help rescue his parents who are detained in China for practicing Falun Gong.
Mr Liang returned to China in February 2008 for the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year is traditionally a happy time for families in China when they come together from different parts of China and the world to celebrate together the Chinese New Year. However February 2008 was not a happy time for Tang Liang, “It was on the evening of February 16th, 2008. My parents were seen by a plain clothes policeman when they were sticking a DVD of the “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party” on a bus stop board. They were detained in a police station at that time.”
The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party are a series of articles that were authored by the Epoch Times in 2004. They describe the history and nature of the Chinese Communist party (CCP) and detail many of the crimes the CCP has committed during its fifty year rule. The CCP fears the Nine Commentaries spread and has banned the book because nearly 40 million people in China have severed ties with the CCP after reading it.
Many Falun Gong practitioners in China spread the book in the hope that Chinese people will understand why the CCP has banned Falun Gong and persecuted its followers.
Mr Liang explained that since his mother was detained in February none of his family members have seen her again.
Mr Liang said, “Five or six policemen took my father, handcuffed, to my home, then they rummaged through chests and cupboards, searched all rooms and even under the floor. Finally they took away all Falun Gong related photos, books, DVDs including a computer.
“My father wearing handcuffs told me: ‘It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it.’ Since my childhood, I have never seen my parents being maliciously treated like this. But on that night, my father was forced to wear handcuffs. I was extremely sad at that time.”
At the moment, his father is still being detained in Jin Shui brain-washing Class, Zhengzhou city, Henan Province and his mother is facing a three to seven year illegal sentence. He calls on the international community to pay attention and offer emergency rescue to his parents.
Mr Liang said, “My mother’s lawyer has seen her once, but now he is not allowed to see her. My family wanted my mother’s legal representative to see her at the detention centre but were refused. They allow no body to see my mother; this worries me very much.”
Mr Laing added that although his father was supposed to be released after 24 hours. The authorities have said that he will not be released until after the Beijing Olympics. Currently he is detained in a brain washing centre and has received no trial or legal due process.
He returned to Ireland while his parents were still in detention to ensure that the police did not threaten his parents by not allowing him to return to Ireland to continue his studies, he now fears they may be tortured while in detention and is seeking help from the Irish government to get them released.
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