Li Weixun, 48, arrived at Baltimore/Washington International Airport on Sept. 19 on refugee status, leaving behind a hard life in Thailand after fleeing from persecution in China.
In Oct. 1999, Li Weixun went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and was arrested, expelled from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), lost her job, and was detained and tortured.
On April 19, 2002, Li escaped and left China with the help of her family, later becoming a resident of Thailand. She became one of many Chinese to apply for refugee status through the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
Li’s case is the first time the U.S. government has successfully relocated a Chinese Falun Gong practitioner residing in Thailand through the UNHCR.
Li is also one of the plaintiffs for a U.S. lawsuit against Bo Xilai, China’s Minister of Commerce, who is believed to be responsible for genocide of Falun Gong practitioners and crimes against humanity in China.
Other Falun Gong practitioners, especially children who have become homeless because of the persecution, are still seeking assistance.
