Carol Huang

I was born in mainland China to a family that practiced Falun Gong, and thus I was fortunate to have been able to practice with my parents while growing up. In 2017, my whole family was illegally arrested for distributing Falun Gong flyers. Before this, my father had already been illegally detained once—in 1999—for peacefully appealing against the persecution that began that year. 

I came to America and was accepted to Fei Tian Academy in 2016. During my studies at the school, I participated in the practicum program with Shen Yun Performing Arts. Shen Yun Performing Arts is a non-profit performing group composed of Falun Gong practitioners. In addition to promoting traditional Chinese culture, the performances also reflect the real situation of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China. 

Growing up in mainland China, I never dared to tell anyone that I believed in Falun Dafa because I would read stories of other mainland practitioners being persecuted on the Minghui website, some of whom even had their families torn apart. I remember once at school when a classmate got a truth coin with "Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance is good" printed on it. Then another classmate took the truth coin and walked to the podium and started to tell some lies to slander Falun Dafa. I felt very uncomfortable at the time and wanted to tell my classmates and friends that these were all lies and not the real situation. But at the same time, I was afraid. I was afraid of opposition from my classmates; I was afraid that my family members would be persecuted after I told the truth, and I was afraid that the misfortunes that happened to other practitioners would happen to me. So in the end, I didn’t muster up the courage to tell the truth. I still feel very regretful when I think about it now. 

I still remember the first time I saw fellow practitioners clarifying the truth on the streets in America. I felt a mixture of emotions, both excited and touched. At that time, I wished that Falun Dafa practitioners in China could also clarify the truth openly on the streets like this. In Shen Yun, I have the opportunity to use performances to speak the truth that I dare not speak in China. I have the opportunity to speak for Falun Dafa practitioners who are being suppressed and persecuted in mainland China. I hope I will not leave any regrets for myself.