In 1999, China was entering a period of unprecedented economic growth. Yet for tens of millions of upstanding Chinese citizens, awaiting them in the 21st century was one of the most harrowing episodes of political terror in modern history. This July 20 marks the 20th year since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began its relentless and ongoing campaign against the traditional spiritual practice of Falun Gong. Virtually unrestricted in scope, the repression has since seen countless people jailed, tortured, humiliated, and murdered for their...

The Last Emperor was, for most moviegoers, an unforgettable cinematic experience. It encompasses Puyi’s noble birth and brief reign. Born in Beijing on February 7, 1903, Puyi was declared the 12th Emperor of China at the age of three by Empress Dowager Cixi. Puyi lived a secluded life in total splendor within the Forbidden City. Millions of people adored him, but there was nothing that could prepare him for the changes that lay ahead. In 1912, the invading Japanese forced Puyi to renounce the...

Thousands of people gathered in the evening of June 4 in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to hold a vigil for those killed during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, ignoring police orders to stay at home. Candles were lit at 6:30 p.m. local time, with increasing numbers of people joining the event’s initial participants as night fell. The vigil officially started at 8:00 p.m., with a moment of silence at 8:09. People shouted slogans such as “Free Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times,”...

In ancient times, it was really rare for a queen like the Empress Zhangsun to be generous and broad-minded. Empress Zhangsun was the wife of Emperor Taizong (Li Shimin) of the Tang Dynasty who became emperor shortly after the incident at Xuanwu Gate where he defeated and killed his brothers, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, who were staging a coup against their father. As well as taking care of Li Jiancheng's and Li Yuanji's widows, Empress Zhangsun did her best to comfort and compensate...

As the situation in Hong Kong suddenly took a turn for the worse, the U.S. State Department acted to give Hong Kong citizens refugee status for the first time in its history. On October 1, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives voted to pass the Hong Kong People's Freedom and Choice Act proposed by Democratic Congressman Malinowski. Next, the bill will be handed to the House of Representatives and then the Senate before it can be submitted to the President for...