Prominent people decry the genocide in Dafur; several politicians are pro-Tibet. Millions of people in China suffer from persecution, torture and death, and much of the world keeps silent.
The recent release of Bu Dongwei from detention in China, however, calls for a review of the book detailing his tragic story, and offers some hope for the fate of others still suffering.
The book, a love story, tells a heartbreaking, true-life tale of a young couple who was separated because of the persecution of Falun Gong. As customary, Ms. Hongwei Lou, a student at Cambridge University, places a call to her husband, Bu Dongwei, in China in May 2006, and discovered that he has disappeared. A nightmare ensues—Dongwei was taken to the notorious Beijing Detention Center and then, absent of any legal procedures, ended up a prisoner in a forced labor camp.
“Physical separation is not the worst for me. Even though we are not together, we know that nothing can separate us.”
The reader is lead into the story imperceptibly, and comes to be reminded of a saying that circulated following World War II: “Never again.” Why have we human beings learnt so little from the painful lessons the previous century tried to teach us?
The author describes her worst dilemma: “Physical separation is not the worst for me. Even though we are not together we know that nothing can separate us. But this forcible separation, coupled with the constant danger and fear of death, that torments us terribly - and only because we believe in Truth, Compassion and Tolerance.”
News released in late November comes as some comfort, as Bu Dongwei was released from detention months earlier. Amnesty International reminds, however, that many more still languish is similar conditions.
