Holding Onto Faith and Love: The Fifth Valentine’s Day Apart
In an interview with the Falun Dafa Information Center, Sunny Wang shared that this Valentine’s Day marks a painful milestone—the fifth year she must face the day without her beloved husband, Ren Haifei. Separated by distance and by the harsh reality of an unjust imprisonment, Wang, a former nurse, and her husband’s enduring love and unyielding faith stand in defiance against the persecution of the Chinese regime that has repeatedly tried to break their spirits.
Committed to their bond
Ren and Wang’s first fateful encounter began at a cultivation experience sharing conference for young Falun Gong practitioners in Dalian in the 1990s. Both arrived independently, and what started as an innocent friendship grew into a deep connection. Ren Haifei, born in 1975, was a warm and bright young man who liked to help others. Sunny Wang was an aspiring nurse in her twenties, balancing her time between studies and work as she moved closer to her dream.
They would continue their friendship for over a decade, sharing insights and their faith in Falun Gong—a spiritual discipline that has shaped the couple’s journey together. Their marriage was sealed on March 27, 2012, a date chosen for its deep significance. It commemorates the day in 1994 when Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, visited Dalian and shared his teachings.
Wang recalls how the couple’s shared commitment to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance helped them build a life grounded in strong moral values and mutual support.
Upended by persecution
Ren’s steadfast belief, however, has made him a target of the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution. His first brush with severe detention began early in 2001 when he was arrested for producing informational materials on Falun Gong. Convicted by the Ganjingzi District Court, he served a harsh sentence of seven and a half years under brutal conditions—including solitary confinement, a hunger strike, and severe torture at prisons in Liaoyang and Dalian.
Like others, Ren had been severely tortured. He was locked alone in a three-by-three-foot room for days on end, wearing shackles and handcuffs.
Even after his release in 2008, the specter of state repression loomed large in his life. Ren would often weep as he recounted the brutal killings of Falun Gong practitioners around him in prison.
The nightmare rekindled in June 2020. Ren was once again arrested—this time by officers who failed to produce proper identification during the arrest.
Authorities not only confiscated large sums of cash and valuable computer equipment from his residence but also subjected him to savage beatings. In one particular brutal day, Ren suffered heart failure and kidney failure. His health deteriorated sharply. He was rushed to the emergency and spent 19 days in Dalian Xinhua Hospital. Soon after, he was transferred to the Dalian Yaojia Detention Center and later sent to Jinzhou Prison in Liaoning Province, where he remains to this day.
In October 2021, the Ganjingzi District Court imposed a 10-year prison sentence on Ren along with fines totaling 100,000 yuan. Despite the couple’s attempts to secure a retrial through legal channels, the Dalian Intermediate Court upheld the ruling without a fair review in January 2022, mirroring the routine denial of due process in Falun Gong-related cases.
Relentless fight for freedom
Separated by thousands of miles—Ren Haifei in a Chinese prison and Sunny Wang in New York—she agonizes over the physical separation. Yet, Wang refuses to surrender to despair. From the moment she learned of his rearrest, she mobilized every resource available to her.
Hiring a Chinese lawyer to trace her husband’s whereabouts was only the first step in a lengthy rescue mission that was met with obfuscation by the Chinese authorities. Previously, she was threatened over the phone by a Chinese judge who handled Ren’s case. “Come back to China,” Judge Jin told Wang. “I’ll put you in jail, too.”
Undeterred, Wang, along with friends and fellow Falun Gong practitioners, took her plea to the international stage. In July 2020, they visited the United Nations Headquarters and the Chinese Consulate in New York, urging Ren’s immediate release. Later, on July 18, 2021, she took her case directly to lawmakers, attending Representative Sean Patrick Maloney’s town hall to ask for his assistance in securing her husband’s freedom.
The 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by the U.S. Department of State has since noted Ren’s case as one emblematic of arbitrary arrest and prolonged pretrial detention—further evidence that his continued imprisonment is not only a personal tragedy but also a stark reminder of the broader human rights abuses faced by Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Sleepless nights of separation
Every Valentine’s Day, Wang is forced to confront the profound emptiness left by Ren’s absence.
“I often think back to his voice and smile, to the good times we shared, and to his inherent kindness and simplicity. These precious memories are forever etched in my heart,” she confessed.
“I worry constantly about his physical and mental well-being, yet I fear any news that might confirm my worst anxieties. The years of brutal persecution have cast long, dark shadows over his life, and those haunting images are hard to dispel.”
This fifth Valentine’s Day apart stands as a testament to their everlasting commitment to each other and the practice of Falun Gong. It is a journey founded on mutual respect, shared beliefs, and an unbreakable commitment.
Even amid overwhelming hardship, Wang clings to hope. Each day without him not only deepens the ache of separation but also reinforces the enduring strength of their love and the unyielding power of faith.
The human ‘cost’
Ren Haifei’s ongoing plight is more than a personal tragedy; it is a human rights issue that calls on the international community to stand up against arbitrary detention and state-sanctioned torture. His ordeal mirrors that of countless other Falun Gong practitioners, who face arbitrary arrests, forced labor, and even the looming threat of forced organ harvesting—a crime China has been accused of by international human rights bodies.
While Sunny Wang fights tirelessly for her husband’s release, her story also serves as a poignant reminder that love and conviction can endure even in the darkest of times.
This Valentine’s Day, as the world celebrates love, Wang continues to hold onto faith and love—a beacon of hope in a landscape overshadowed by injustice. Her unwavering commitment to Ren not only honors the sanctity of their bond, but challenges us all to consider the true cost of suppressing human rights and the indomitable spirit that love can inspire.
