(Minghui.org) Hans Christian Anderson’s famous fairy tale The Emperor’s New Clothes, which is known worldwide, highlights the importance of telling the truth— something even a young child can do. Yet, in reality, adults often lack the courage to do so.
Two years into the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) executed 35-year-old Lin Zhao in 1968 for her dissident remarks. The order reportedly came directly from the CCP’s Politburo. Like many scholars who were encouraged by the CCP to make honest remarks on the Party’s mistakes, Lin was arrested in 1957 during the Anti-Rightist Campaign and sent to a labor camp.
Unlike other dissidents, however, Lin never yielded. After exposing the Great Famine (1959–1961), she was arrested again and imprisoned. With no pen or paper, she often used her own blood to write on a bed sheet to express her views.
Tragedy soon followed. When her father heard that Lin had been arrested, he committed suicide. Her mother, unaware of her daughter’s fate, was approached by the authorities, who demanded five cents to pay for the bullet that killed her daughter. Overwhelmed by grief, her mother became mentally disordered and died soon after.
Countless tragedies unfolded during the Anti-Rightist Campaign and the Cultural Revolution, when people were forced to follow the Party line instead of expressing their own views. Despite numerous attempts since then by scholars and society in general to reflect on these eras, no fundamental improvement has occurred, as evidenced by the continued suppression of Falun Gong, which began in July 1999.
Falun Gong is a meditation system that improves mind and body. It poses no threat to society since its practitioners focus on self-improvement and have no political or social agenda. Their moral improvement, on the other hand, contributes positively to society as a whole. The totalitarian CCP regime, however, cannot tolerate independent thinking—even the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance espoused by Falun Gong. As a result, practitioners have faced severe persecution over the past 27 years.
For telling the truth—either about Falun Gong or exposing the persecution—many practitioners have suffered far worse physical and mental torture than what Lin endured.
Mr. Zhang Xiuqiang, 51, from Linyi City, Shandong Province, began practicing Falun Gong in 1996. After witnessing his tremendous physical and mental benefits from practicing it, his coworkers remarked that he seemed like a different person. But because of his belief, he was detained numerous times in brainwashing centers, forced labor camps, and prisons.
After being admitted to Shandong Province Prison, Mr. Zhang was forced to sit on a small stool without moving for 16 hours a day. He was given only half a spoonful of food for each meal, and his water intake was strictly limited. In addition to beatings and brainwashing sessions, he was often deprived of sleep.
Other practitioners all over China have been and continue to be similarly abused. Ms. Wang Hongyu, 48, of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for practicing Falun Gong 10 years ago. On April 3, 2025, she was arrested again and sentenced to three years and two months in prison for distributing Falun Gong materials.
According to information received by Minghui.org, in 2025 alone, over 4,800 practitioners Falun Gong practitioners were arrested or harassed, 751 were sentenced for their faith, and 124 lost their lives.
Few people in China nowadays know or care about what happened to Lin—some do not know due to the CCP’s censorship, while others do not care about something that happened almost 60 years ago. Sadly, a large number of people still do not know the severity of the persecution of Falun Gong, even though the suppression has gone on for 27 years.
After the small child in Andersen’s fairy tale exclaimed, “But the Emperor has on nothing at all,” others found the courage to join him. If the same awakening occurs in response to the CCP today, our society will experience a glimmer of hope.
Category: Perspectives
