The little girl of those happy days now has grey hair on her head. The more grey hair grows, the greater her love for her far away homeland. She has heard many times about the glorious stories of emperors Yao and Shun(*) who had brought peace and happiness to their country. These were the feelings of the little girl in that peaceful, abundant, and happy time, in her tender childhood living in Hoa Hao Village.
The peace and happiness of Yao and Shun's age are not possible to verify as a matter of history; they might have existed merely as embroidered imagination, or perhaps just as a symbol of peaceful times. On the other hand, the peace and happiness she had experienced during her childhood in Hoa Hao Village were so true, and they penetrated her heart so deeply, that many years later and several thousands miles away her heart feels excruciating pain to hear about all the changes and miseries in her village.
Through the stories told by believers who managed to flee the country, she knows that the people of Hoa Hao Village suffer in the same way as the rest of the country. In former times the villagers lived in harmony with nature, blessed with a simple and quiet but happy life, having time and favorable circumstances to practice their religion and to discover the true meaning of their lives. Today, they live under the control of outsiders. The communist regime controls and suppresses all aspects of life and religion; they are required to increase productivity in their work in order to serve the government, and they do not have time for religious practice, which is also inhibited by the atheist doctrine promoted by the Communists.
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(*) Emperor Yao (2357-2261 B.C.) and emperor Shun (2261-2205 B.C.), his successor, were exalted as leading ancient China into a period of legendary Golden Age.
