Yuan Li's Daughter: Dad, I Am Proud of You

Atlanta - On Feb. 8, Dr. Yuan Li, global IT director for The Epoch Times , was beaten at his home. The Epoch Times interviewed Dr. Li to ask how his family is coping with the assault and how Li is recovering from his injuries.

Dr. Li's Condition Is Stable

"I appreciate Epoch Times readers' concerns for me," Dr. Li said. "The day the hired thugs assaulted me, besides my eyes and temples, my lower jaw, chest and waist were also beaten. Because my right eye bled badly and was in a great pain at the time, I did not pay much attention to other parts of my body. I was worried that my eyeball had been knocked out and that I would become blind. It turned out better than I thought; both eyes are still with me, shining brightly.

"I do not feel as much pain in my right eye now, but the bruise on my left eye started to form a couple of days ago. My lower jaw and teeth are still in a great pain. I had difficulty opening my mouth, which makes me unable to eat sometimes. I still feel pain in my cheek and waist, and only when I'm doing the Falun Gong exercises does the pain subside. This is why I have been more diligent in doing the exercises." He said, "Please rest assured that I have confidence in my health and that I believe I will be totally recovered soon."

Dr. Li came to the United States from China in 1987 for graduate study. He graduated from Princeton University with a Ph.D. in electronic engineering. His advisor is a Nobel Prize laureate. Dr. Li himself has a list of many inventions to his credit. In 1997, he began to practice Falun Gong in the United States. He joined The Epoch Times in 2000.

Dr. Li Was Prepared for the CCP's Attack

Dr. Li said, "The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] deliberately planned the attack. The Atlanta neighborhood I live in is a very safe one. After this happened, the police said that this kind of attack had never happened in this neighborhood before, and they were very surprised. The motives [of the attackers] can be deduced from what they stole. The fact that the ruffians attacked in open daylight shows that they were familiar with the inside of the house. They took away the computers, the external hard drive, and written materials but left the more valuable stuff such as a video camera. It's apparent that the criminals did not come for money. Given the cruelty of their beating and the time it happened, the attack was motivated by intimidation and revenge.

" The Epoch Times often reports and exposes the Chinese communist regime's evil nature and crimes, so I think this attack was to threaten me, warn me, or take revenge on me in this way. They must know that I do work for The Epoch Times . The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party , published by The Epoch Times , has caused great a swell of withdrawals from the CCP within mainland China, and the CCP is scared.

"Two years ago, when we went back to my hotel room after Epoch Times meetings in Washington, D.C., we were all very tired after the whole day meetings, and everyone fell asleep quickly. I noticed someone was searching through the room when we were in our beds with the lights off. The next day, I asked my son if he had gone to the bathroom the night before; he said no. Later I found that my pants and some important information had been stolen. Since that time, I have been very careful about computer security to make sure the information in the computers will not get lost even if the computers are lost or stolen.

"Among my colleagues, there are at least four others who have been aware that they have been stalked by special agents, especially my friend Mr. Huang Wanqing, who is the Vice President of The Epoch Times News Group. His family in China is often assaulted or threatened by people from State Security. Agents from State Security told Mr. Huang's family that they "know everything" about Mr. Huang in the United States, including personal details of his life. These events expose the behaviors of the people that work for the Chinese communist regime," Dr. Li said.

Does Dr. Li Hate His Attackers?

"I don't hate them" said Li, "but I feel they are deplorable and pitiful because good and bad will have its retribution; this is a law set up by God. One of the criminals speaks Mandarin, and he definitely knows the truth about Falun Gong. He also knows that The Epoch Times is one of the few media in the Chinese community that dares to speak the truth and uphold justice. Yet even knowing the truth, he still chose to do such an evil thing, God won't tolerate that.

"I hope those in the Chinese community who still did not know the truth before this attack now understand the truth from this incident. Especially after reading news reports, after understanding the truth about Falun Gong, understanding that Epoch Times staff are doing selfless and righteous actions with great courage, I hope they will support us."

Concern for Attorney Gao and Other Mainland Rights Advocates

"After this attack on me," Dr. Li said, "I have even more admiration for human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng and other mainland rights advocates. The Chinese communist gangster regime is so violent even in a land that protects freedom and human rights like America, that one just can't imagine the pressure that is on the people like Gao Zhisheng inside China. I admire them, and because of them, I will do my job even better to expose the evil nature of the Chinese communist regime."

On Feb. 15, 2006, the Relay Hunger Strike for Supporting Human Rights group, initiated and led by attorney Gao, conducted a relay hunger strike. People from 10 provinces began the relay hunger strike together to protest the regime's illegal persecution of the Chinese people. Many Chinese people from democratic political parties, religious groups, and ethnic minority groups stood up fearlessly to protest with the only thing they have left—their own bodies.

His Daughter's Pride

Dr. Li said that what he was most grateful for after the incident was his children's understanding and support. He has two children, a 15-year-old daughter, in the ninth grade at a local school, and a 14-year-old son, who Li says is very pure, and doesn't worry about anything.

"On the day of the beating incident, after seeing my face beaten so badly, the children were very scared and cried. My wife and I had to comfort them and tried to explain to them what happened in a way they could understand.

"My daughter's studies at school are excellent. For the commemoration of Martin Luther King's birthday, she was chosen by the school to recite Dr King's poem. So I explained the incident to her from that angle.

"I said that in history there were many people who sacrificed a lot, even lost their lives to fight for freedom. Dr. King is one of them. Do you still remember your article that was submitted to the Martin Luther King Center? You wrote, 'Dr. King's idea of non-violence and freedom gives me courage to continue his dream, to make the world even better.' Dad was very moved by reading that! Dr. King was assassinated because he used peaceful means to fight for democracy and freedom, which are basic human rights. Dr. King was not even 40 years old when he died.

"Today, Dad is doing the same thing. Dad is not afraid of that and will not have any regrets, so you should not be afraid either!

"After listening to what I said, my 15-year-old daughter looked at me and said, 'Dad, I am proud of you!'"

Response from Community and Police

Because this kind of crime has never happened before where Dr. Li lives, local police are very concerned about the case. They have already cooperated with the community and have distributed notices regarding this crime to call for local residents to pay more attention about their own safety and also inform police of anything suspicious.

The local FBI also emphasized to Dr. Li's family that this kind of thing will never happened again. They guaranteed the safety of Dr. Li's family.

Dr. Li asked us to convey his heartfelt thanks to Epoch Times readers who have expressed concern for him and to convey a few words that he would like to say to his overseas Chinese friends: "I will not give in to the evil. On the contrary, what happened will only make me walk this path more steadily and persistently. I'd like to say to overseas Chinese friends, do not be afraid of the evil. As long as we all stand up and do what we are supposed to do, what we are able to do, this Chinese communist hoodlum regime will be exposed. The day that the Chinese communist regime will collapse is just round the corner."