Gao Zhisheng's 17-year-old daughter Grace accepted the International Human Rights Lawyer Award on his behalf at an event held in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 6. (Huang Yiyan/The Epoch Times)

As daughter to Chinese human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng, Geng Ge grew up among hardship and misery. Back in 2005 when attorney Gao first encountered persecution, Geng Ge was only a 12-year-old girl. Now she is a 17-year-old young lady. In a recent interview with Radio Free Asia, she talked about attorney Gao, expressing her yearning to be reunited with, and pride for her father.

Gao Zhisheng was awarded the International Human Rights Lawyer Award from the American Bar Association (ABA) last week on Aug. 6 in San Francisco. As Gao was abducted by Chinese communist security forces earlier this year and has been missing for several months, Geng Ge accepted the award on his behalf.

“I am so very proud of my father,” Geng said, “I also feel happy for him. It is the first time that this award is granted to a Chinese person. If my father knew that I accepted this award for him, he would be very happy.”

Attorney Gao Zhisheng published three open letters addressed to top Chinese leaders one after another between October and December of 2005, demanding the Chinese Communist Party stop the persecution of Falun Gong; he regarded the persecution as “barbaric” and “brutal.” Since then, he himself became a target of the regime: he was arrested, sentenced to prison, and suffered torture, kidnapping, etc.

“Before my father’s encounter of the persecution, I did not have any first-hand experience of China’s policemen,” Geng recalled of the earlier days. “When I was a kid, I thought the policemen were most reliable and trustworthy. Later I found out it was precisely these policemen who bullied my family. Very soon I figured out that what my father had done was right, and I was really proud of him. That’s right. I really feel my father is doing a great thing!”

Geng Ge said her father is not an average attorney, because he specialized in helping those who were suffering persecution.

“Several years ago my father opened an attorney’s office in Ditan district of Beijing. Many impoverished people came to his office to seek help,” she said. “Some even came from Xinjiang Autonomous Region, begging all the way to make it to Beijing. No one wanted to help them with their lawsuits in their local regions. They were telling each other that Gao Zhisheng in Beijing would be willing to offer help. At that time, I felt that my father was kind-hearted. Later, my father ran into trouble. I did not know how he offended the government. As time went by, I gradually understood that my father was always kind-hearted, and that it is the government that is on the wrong side.”

Unable to lead a normal life in China, Gao’s wife Geng He took Geng Ge and Gao Tianyu, Geng Ge’s younger brother, and fled to the U.S. in March last year, with the help of friends. Geng Ge is a grown-up now, and misses her father ever more as time goes by.

“Deep in my heart, my father is the type of person I admire very much. He can get over any difficulties, and he is not afraid of anything. On one occasion, when my father sent me to school, many cars were following us, trying to ram into our car. Seated on the passenger’s side, I was frightened. My father simply told jokes to me, and got me to school. Later I asked him [why he could remain calm], and he said ‘Daddy just wanted to send you to school. Daddy doesn’t want to see you go to school with fear. Daddy will try his best to make you happy.’ I feel that my father is an outstanding father.”

Ever since Geng Ge realized that her father devoted his life to promoting human rights in China, she was willing to endure the ordeals with him. As attorney, Gao was honored by the American Bar Association with the International Human Rights Award. She firmly believes that her father is striving for righteousness for mankind.

At the end of the interview, when asked what she would like to say to everyone, Geng Ge said: “I don’t have much to say. If you are doing the right thing, keep doing it. Do not give up.”

Read the original Chinese article.