(Clearwisdom.net) A Chinese couple, Mr. Bian Xuzhuang and Mrs. Shen Shumin, were recently rescued from Thailand to the US with the help of a member of Congress. On July 21, they went to Capitol Hill during the Washington DC Experience Sharing Conference to thank California Congressman Pete Stark for his help when they were in great danger.

The rescued Chinese Couple (Front row from right: Mr. Bian Xuzhuang and Shen Shumin) with Congressman Stark.

The couple was very happy because they were rescued to the US after they escaped to Thailand to avoid persecution in China. They came to attend the Washington D.C. Experience Sharing Conference with their son, Bian Ke and also took the opportunity to express their appreciation in person to the Congressman who had help them.

Congressman Stark met them in person in his Washington DC office. He said, "They should have been able to practice Falun Gong freely, like in America. I'm glad they could come to the US. And today I welcome them here."

The couple, who now live in the San Francisco Bay area of California, originally lived in Beijing. Because they practiced Falun Gong, they had been subjected to all kinds of persecution. They had to escape to Thailand to avoid persecution in August, 2001. However, the Chinese government didn't stop persecuting them, and pressured the Thai government to force them to leave the country by July 2003.

Mr. Bian Xuzhuang said, "Since the Jiang regime started persecuting Falun Gong in China on July 20, 1999, our phone has been tapped, our apartment has been ransacked, and the police often came to our home to harass us. In a very cold winter, the police broke our window and did not allow us to go out for seven days. Our freedom was severely limited." He also said, "They would not leave us alone even after we got to Thailand. They would often follow and take photos of us, and even came to our apartment to intimidate and harass us, which endangered our personal safety.

When talking about how he felt about his Washington DC trip, Mr. Bian Xuzhuang said, "My deepest feeling about America is that it is a country of freedom. Here we understand the preciousness of freedom. We can freely practice and express our opinions." He also said, "When we were participating in today's march, I saw police smiling and waving at us, and protecting us. But in China, the police are the tool for suppressing and persecuting people. Just for saying, 'Falun Dafa is good,' we would immediately be arrested, beaten up and imprisoned. Many fellow practitioners have been tortured to death."

Bian Ke said, "While my parents were in exile in Thailand, several congresspersons offered help to bring them to America. For a year I had been worrying about their safety. I am very happy that finally they are in the US now. Now American citizen Charles Li is still detained by the Chinese Government, and we should continue to put effort into rescuing him."

We hope more people will, like Congressman Stark, be concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang's regime in China, work together to stop it, and demand the Chinese government to immediately release all the detained Falun Gong practitioners unconditionally.