(Clearwisdom.net) I know that I have been awarded the Martin Luther King Freedom Scholarship because I deeply care about the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners, and this scholarship is specifically to award people who pursue human rights and have no fear of totalitarian power. As a graduate student practicing Falun Dafa, what I care about is not getting the scholarship. What I treasure is the significance that the scholarship represents: Falun Gong practitioners upholding their beliefs in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance," and persistently appealing for their freedom to practice in a non-violent and peaceful way. The nobility and spirit maintained by Dafa practitioners, together with the non-violent resistance advocated by Dr. Martin Luther King, are glorious foundations to a monument of morality that mankind should cherish.

I've reached a deeper understanding of Dr. Martin Luther King since I've begun to practice Falun Gong. The day I came to the U.S. was actually the same day as the national holiday named in his honor. At the time, I did not understand how a black minister could win the respect of the entire country. The honor that the American people bestowed upon him was comparable to that of a president, I thought. After, when I gained experience in peacefully appealing for Falun Gong practitioners' freedom of belief, I came to understood the spirit and nobility of nonviolent resistance for equality and freedom. Dr. King appealed and strived to abolish racial segregation, at the cost of his own life. However, Falun Gong practitioners are facing an even more cruel situation for their beliefs. They are shocked by electric batons, beaten, and killed, however they never resist with violence or name-calling. They simply clarify the truth: peacefully, rationally, and with great compassion. Moreover, the nonviolent resistance that non-Dafa practitioners have demonstrated has been for personal benefits, or at most for their own race, but Falun Dafa practitioners clarify the truth to uphold universal values and principles, namely "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance." The efforts of Falun Dafa practitioners transcend national and racial boundaries.

When I first applied for the scholarship, I was required to write an essay titled, "Talk about Your Dream."

In 1963, Dr. King made his famous speech to thousands of people in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, "I Have a Dream." This speech is memorialized in American history.

"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

"I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

"I have a dream today."

I was deeply moved by the speech. I wrote in my essay, "I was moved by the American people's sense of justice and conscience because all of Dr. King's dreams have been turned into realities. However, China is still a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression."

Over the past more than fifty years, the CCP's rule of China has brought the Chinese people endless disasters, violence, killing and terror. For many people, the memory of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 is still fresh. When the tanks smashed the students. The dictator didn't apologize at all to the innocent victims. In addition, they have brought violence and persecution to another group of peaceful people. Many of my fellow practitioners have been paralyzed by torture, and many of them have been tortured to death just because they would not give up their belief in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." We will all persistently appeal in a nonviolent and peaceful way...

I, as a Falun Gong practitioner, will hold on to my belief although the evil Chinese Communist Party has exported the persecution of Falun Gong overseas where I am. I will go on to expose its evil to the world and appeal to stop this persecution. Just as Dr. King used to have his dream, I have a dream as well:

I have a dream that one day; people who live in Mainland China will never be put into jail because they exercised their basic human rights.

I have a dream that one day, Falun Gong practitioners will never be persecuted because of their belief in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance."

I have a dream that one day; violence will no longer exist in this world.

Soon after I submitted my application, I was informed that I had been granted an interview. I told myself, this is the best opportunity to clarify the truth. I should help them gain good rewards for knowing the truth of Falun Dafa.

During the interview, the committee members concentrated carefully on my words. They were deeply moved by "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." They occasionally took down what I said and they accepted my flyers about the persecution of Falun Gong. I knew from their expressions that I would be one of the five among the 10,000 students who applied to receive the award. I would like to give this award to my fellow practitioners in Mainland China. You are the very people who deserve this award!

2005-12-11