A little girl who traveled to over 40 countries with her mother is now a young lady dancing on the world’s stage.
But one thing hasn’t changed: for over 20 years, she’s been telling the world what the Chinese Communist Party has done to her family during an unprecedented persecution of faith.
Fadu is a dancer with the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts group. Fadu and her mother were interviewed by NTD host Yuxin.
Fadu explained the reason she wanted to join Shen Yun: “Because of my family’s story, my mom and I, and my whole family, practice Falun Dafa, and we use truth, compassion, and tolerance to measure our daily actions. We try to be better people every day. But this belief is not allowed in China.”
Fadu’s father, Chen Chengyong, was a Falun Gong practitioner in China. In July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) imposed a nationwide ban on the spiritual practice and began arresting and detaining Falun Gong practitioners.
The CCP’s top leader at the time, Jiang Zemin, ordered authorities to use national resources and publications to slander and persecute the faith group.
Like many other practitioners, Chen went to Beijing to appeal for his freedom of belief. Because he wouldn’t give up his faith, Chen was tortured to death in China in 2001 at 34 years old. At that time, Fadu was a 15-month-old baby.
Her mother’s hair turned grey overnight due to her enormous grief. The mother and daughter traveled to over 40 countries to tell the world about the persecution of Falun Gong.
Fadu and her mom won a humanitarian award for their dedication in Australia 18 years ago.
“Shen Yun is trying to bring awareness to this persecution, and I think that is a very grand action, and I want to support this action,” Fadu said.
“Before I joined Shen Yun, I was a very different person. Because I never had a father since I was young, so I was more self-centered and protective of myself. But after I joined Shen Yun, it changed me a lot.
“I learned through studying in Shen Yun that to achieve something great is not about how well I can do; it’s about how well I can support the people beside me. Achieving greatness is done by the entire group, not just by myself. I’m very grateful that I can learn such wonderful values in this group.”
Chinese authorities have made many attempts to interfere with Shen Yun performances, even in America. Lawmakers have called for awareness of the CCP’s transnational suppression on American soil and for protecting American businesses from China’s threats.
Fadu said the persecution has destroyed many families inside China. Now she’s using her art to give them a voice.
“The tragedy that happened to my father and my family is not the only case. There are thousands and thousands of cases similar to mine. There are also many orphans in China who are persecuted simply because they believe in truth, compassion, and tolerance—principles that differ from what the Chinese Communist Party believes. Shen Yun is trying to bring awareness to this tragedy, and Shen Yun is trying to stop this persecution.
“I hope all the people watching this program can realize the seriousness of this persecution and how much it is harming innocent people in China. I hope that we can stand together and stop this persecution.”