She was at the forefront of the 1989 student uprising in Tiananmen Square, eventually escaping to the United States and starting a new life with a new-found faith in Christ. Chai Ling is the founder of the organization All Girls Allowed and is a two-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize for her leadership in the Tiananmen Square movement.
She still speaks out on behalf of the oppressed in China—particularly against the one-child policy.
In this discussion with Neil she talks about her book and her organization All Girls Allowed.
Chai explains that she was attending graduate school at the time when the protests began. She brought water and food the the protesters before joining them and eventually becoming one of the leaders. After that experience she became a dissident and escaped from China to the U.S.
During the movement Chai felt a presence and movement in the actions leading up to and surrounding Tiananmen Square. Now she recognizes that movement and the presence of Jesus.
The aftermath of her experience at Tiananmen, her experiences in the U.S. with the media and the responses of others who she had thought were her friends helped Chai to recognize the idols that had been in her life.
When she came to the U.S. she was very successful, but she didn’t have peace.
“From other people’s point of view I was the poster child for immigrants who came to this country. I rose to the top, succeeded in every way, had a great family, three beautiful children, a successful business, was an entrepreneur, have all these degrees, all these credentials, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and all that stuff and I still felt so empty.”
She explains that a congressional hearing she attended about China’s one-child policy in 2009 was eye-opening.
“All those years I was trying to overcome the trauma and suffering of Tienanmen massacre, but what I didn’t realize is that there’s a massacre taking place every single day and every single hour and that the victims are the most vulnerable people in society, babies and unborn children.”
She discusses the impact of the story she heard at that hearing and how it prompted her to found All Girls Allowed.
We were so touched by your broadcast today as we have 2 daughters adopted from China. We have been burdened and praying for China for the past 12+ years, but our gratitude to Chai for giving insight as to how to pray more specifically. If the copies of the book are not all spoken for, we would love a copy. Thanks so much for this broadcast.
Steve (Sioux Falls)