From Labor Camp to CEO – Publishing Truth, Tradition, and Hope – with Janice Trey – [Ep. 251]

Linda J Hansen:  Welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Prosperity 101 Breakroom Economics® Podcast. My name is Linda J. Hansen, your host and the author of Prosperity 101, Job Security Through Business Prosperity, the Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck® and the creator of the Breakroom Economics® Online course.

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So with that, I will move into introducing our guest. When we talk about wanting America to be strong and great in every way, we want freedom. We want opportunity. We want growth and health and wellness and all the things that make for great families, great communities, a great nation. A lot depends on government.

We can look all throughout history and see what communism has done to people across the world. With me today is someone who knows the effects of communism first hand, and you may be very familiar with her work, but not so much familiar with her.

I'd like to introduce you to Janice Trey. Janice is the CEO of Epoch Times and NTD TV. Her story is amazing. She is a survivor. She has gone from a Chinese labor camp to becoming an American success story. I look forward to sharing her journey with you today. So stay tuned for this conversation because you will learn a lot. So thank you, Janice, for being here today.

Janice Trey: Thank you, Linda. Glad to be on your show. 

Linda J. Hansen: Well, it's a pleasure and it's just really inspirational to read your story and to think of what you and your family went through in China. I am old enough to remember some of those years that your history talks about. But I would love to have you share with the listeners firsthand, like as a child, what were you experiencing when you lived in China? 

Janice Trey: I was born during the Cultural Revolution. My parents were college graduate engineers and as a result of their education, they were sent to labor camps in the very remote part of China. The closest school, it took me 1.5 hours walking by foot, walking past the crop field, walking past the cemetery, climbing the hill, and getting to the other side of the hill that’s where the school was.

I was a forced child laborer, growing the sugar canes that financed the school. I carried fertilizers heavier than myself. Imagine first grade, second grade, third grade. And then during harvest seasons, because they use hand tools to harvest, so some crops dropped on the floor. Every day after school, I walked hours and hours on the field, hour by hour to pick up any crops dropped on the field. I must fill up a full plastic bag of crops that I picked up, otherwise I was not allowed to return to school.

We live in a very primitive conditions. Back then, I once received paper slips from the balloon that flew from Taiwan. And the slip said that we don't ride on bicycles, we have private cars, we have refrigerators and we have televisions. There was no refrigerator in the labor camps. There were no private cars. There was only one military car that the entire labor camps used.

There were no seatbelts, the sitting area was all standing. And so it was quite a world that I loved that I have no idea. During the Cultural Revolution, we were forced to praise the leader by dance and we were not allowed to be exposed to classical music like Beethoven, Mozart.

And it was a very controlled environment. But I did not know because that was the kind of the bubble, the world I live in, until I visited my grandfather in Hong Kong. And then I experienced something totally different.

So televisions, there were cartoons, there was lots of information when there was only one and only one television sets in the labor camp was only used for the funeral of the communist leaders. And everybody stood in front of the television and everybody must wear something black. And so that was a new experience for me.

When I was in Hong Kong, I compared the textbooks of mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong for the same historic periods. I found totally different descriptions. So that sowed the seeds of which version is the truth.

And so I'm so glad that now I'm into journalism, reporting the truth every day. Just what the Epoch Times focuses on: truth, tradition and hope. 

Linda J. Hansen: Well, truth, tradition and hope is something we all need more of here in America and around the world. How many countries do you publish in? 

Janice Trey: We publish in 35 countries and 22 languages. And in fact, our Chinese edition is the largest and most widely circulated Chinese language paper outside China. And in the U.S., we are among the top five in terms of subscriptions. We are a non-profit 501C3. And that sets us apart because we are accountable to the readers because the reader subscriptions fund our operations. Unlike some other media competitors, they may have a billion investors and they may have influence from certain governments.

We are independent and we are objective. We are accountable to our readers. Our readers are stakeholders. And of course, we welcome donations as a 501C3. And we have grown leaps and bounds. I mean, look at the Epoch Health.

We have published over 14,000 articles. We are not financed or funded or advertised by the major pharmaceutical companies. We're willing to share the truth with our readers, including side effects, including risks, and we also share a lot of self-help. So instead of a sick care, we focus on truly self-help, self-care and preventive holistic medicines. 

Linda J. Hansen: Well, you know, your publications in the television channel are so refreshing. In an era where we have experienced cancel culture here in America, not like you did in communist China. But, you know, we were approaching that. And it's been just really exciting to see the growth of Epoch Times and NTD News.

I've been a subscriber for a long, long time. I think I was one of the earlier ones and would give subscriptions to others and was always sharing articles because you could tell that you were independent. You were not bought and sold by some billionaire or some government agency. It's just really exciting to see. The quality of journalism and the quality of programming has just increased over the last several years. It's really exciting. 

So I'm glad I can share more about that and about you with my audience. But tell us a little bit about, again, going back to your personal journey. How did you get where you are from a Chinese labor camp? 

Janice Trey: I was very fortunate that my father sent me to Hong Kong because he did not have a chance to learn Christianity. He's an engineer. And so he knows Einstein, believes in God. And so he wanted me to have an opportunity.

So I went to Hong Kong and stayed with my grandfather. I was sent to a Christian school. They're founded by the London missionaries, because of that, I escaped the Tiananmen Square Massacre. I was taking care of my grandfather who was sick. Otherwise, I could have been killed during the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

My best friend was a medical student at the time, Dr. Pan. He personally carried dozens of dead bodies and injured students. The casualties were way far reaching than people knew. If you look at the seven plus decades of communist rule, first they targeted the landlords, and promised the farmers to redistribute the land, but they never did. And then in 1966 to 76, 10 years of cultural revolutions, educated people had no escape. I was born and grew up in the labor camps.

And then 1989, they targeted the students, you know, who have no weapons. They want democracy. 1988, 1989 was the same year where the red curtain came down, the Berlin Wall came down, Eastern Europe changed to new communist states.

However, Jiang Zemin at the time, mayor of Shanghai overnight, because he was too successful in cracking down the student movement in Shanghai, he got promoted to the head of the Chinese Communist Party. He was known as the Chinese Hitler, rose to power with the body. In fact, Jiang Zemin was the one who started the persecution of Falun Gong, which is a meditative Tai Chi type of exercise, belief in three core principles, truthfulness, compassion, forbearance.

Those are universal values being experienced and shared by people around the world. But because Jiang Zemin rose to power by propaganda, communism is about fighting, violence and propaganda and controls. So it's a stark contrast with the communist rules.

But you look at communist leaders, they use innocent groups of people, single them out and target them. So first they target the landlords, then they target the students and then they target the Falun Gongs. So people live under terrorism, they self-censor and that's how communist leaders prolong their leadership.

In fact, Xi Jinping, more than two and a half years ago, ordered the export of persecution of Falun Gong on American soil. How do they do that? They use psychological warfare, they use opinion warfare, using media, legacy media, YouTubers, and then they're using legal law affairs. And a good example is the Shen Yun Performing Arts, which is a classical Chinese dance with live orchestra that combines Western and Eastern instruments and the pattern, the animated backdrops, the interactive screen and the stage.

It's like a movie, a live theater, a live concert all in one. And in two hours, one will learn more about 5,000 years of civilization than travel to China. Because if you go to China today, you see the architecture where you have no idea how people live and what are the values, because today it's like communistic values, not traditional values.

The systematic attack on Shen Yun Performing Arts, which is a U.S. company, and how they did it, they use, for example, the proxies such as the New York Times. Within the past six months, 11 hit pieces on Shen Yun, they're trying to stop Americans to watch a show that's produced by Americans, American company, because they show China before communism, because the communist leaders have systematically infiltrated into every facet of our societies, in education, in culture, in legal systems. In fact, the Epoch Times published a book in 2018 called The Specter of Communism Through the World.

And then on November 19, 2004, we published the nine commentaries of the Chinese Communist Party. Since then, in the past 20 years, we have inspired 443 million Chinese to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliate organization, including the Youngeteers. This is the start of the transformation of China from communistic China to new communistic futures.

This is very significant. And as a media, we feel like it's so important to give a voice to the voiceless. I could have died during cultural revolutions for hunger. I could have, you know, injuries through those labor camps. I could have died during the Tiananmen Square massacres. I feel like the fact that I am alive and able to get on your show, Linda, I should give a voice to the voiceless.

Epoch Times for the past 24 years has been providing truth, tradition, and hope. And think of all the coverage that we provided. A lot of people inside China, they're trying to circumvent the censorship and read the Epoch Times and get on satellite to see the Newtown Dynasty television, NDTV.

In fact, we have four satellites that we use and we broadcast to a 100 million audience. There are two softwares called FreeGate and UltraSurf available for everyone to use in China, and they can get to our uncensored version of the Internet to watch our news. 

Linda J. Hansen: Yes. That's wonderful. You are such an inspiration for those who long for freedom now. I mean, I know that there are so many people in China now who long for freedom from communism.

They long for this new type of cultural revolution in your country, your home country. But we can look at that and say, how can we prevent that in America? You've had an amazing rise. You've gone from a labor camp to being able to be educated, to be able to work in amazing companies.

And now what a pivotal role you have in terms of this point in history. You know, we're all called to do certain things at different points in history, and your experiences brought you to this role.

But how beautiful your story is and how it is just made for the role you have because you are speaking truth and wanting to promote truth. So what would you say, one, to those in China who long for freedom and want to be a voice and help change the culture and government there and take down the CCP, right? But also, then in America, there are so many people who take our freedoms for granted, and they don't realize how close we actually were to really becoming much more communist in our government systems and in the way everything was run. Iit starts gradually.

It doesn't, you know, happen, you know, in a day. Things happen slowly until they happen all at once, right? And so what would you say to people that long for freedom in both countries? 

Janice Trey: Yeah. So for those in China, Epoch Times and the whole team stand in solidarity with the people in China. We know the freedom you want. I personally am privileged to enjoy the freedom here. And Epoch Times and NET will continue to fight for freedom for you every day.

The Communist Party is like a sinking Titanic. The best way is to get out of the Titanic, withdraw from the party membership so that you don't sink with it. That's number one.

Second, for the audience in the US, the transnational repressions by the Chinese Communist Party are infiltrated on American soils. They have nine Chinese police stations. They have, using our law, used Americans against Americans, using American media against Americans.

And so we need to be alert of that. We ask the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of States, all three should join hands to end the transnational repressions. And we should all tell Xi Jinping, Americans treasure freedoms.

We want religious freedom. We want press freedom. We want internet freedoms, not only for Americans, but we also want all the stakeholders in the world, including the billion plus Chinese, including people around the world, because there's no world peace unless there is true freedom.

And communism is anti-Christ. And so that's why it's really important. Epoch Times focuses on truth, tradition, and hope and strongly encourages the audience and Americans to watch Shen Yun performing acts.

It will come to your cities and it's a very spectacular experience. I believe anyone who watches and I know Linda, you know, that is such a beautiful, uplifting show, so inspiring, is the best way is to tell communist parties, we want to see China before communism. We will not be deterred by your bomb threats and harassment to the theaters.

This is American soil. We make our own decisions, not you telling us on American soil what we watch and what we do not watch. You know, this is freedom, it's the spirits.

In fact, the Chinese citizens want the same freedom that America has. And I think in this administration, I think we have the best chance to end communism once and for all. 

Linda J. Hansen: I think so, too.

And that's exciting, but, you know, it doesn't come without turmoil and it doesn't come without threats to those who are fighting against communism. And so, you know, to the audience here or in China, I want to just encourage you, do not fear. You know, we can't overcome, if we are held back by fear.

So, you know, courage is contagious. And the people who have helped to really change cultures and governments around the world all through history have stepped up and been a voice of courage. And, you know, freedom is worth fighting for, but it's never free.

It takes all of us. What you are doing by educating people in current times, throughout your news organizations, but then also with Shen Yun about helping people understand the history before communism. I think of times how in Scripture and in the Bible, it talks about make sure your children know, make sure generations that come after you know this history.

I think of how in America we need to make sure we don't let the truth of freedom here in America be lost in this cancel culture. When we think about communism and how it takes over and it changes, like you said, you only had a certain curriculum in your school. You had limited access to the outside world.

You had propaganda all the time. You know, as cultural revolutions happen, they take down the statues. They destroy the history. They divide the family. They work on economic warfare. And it just takes down a culture.

We've seen it really happen here in America. Like you said, this administration is turning that around. As we think, you mentioned the different organizations, the Department of Justice and others that really need to look into what China is doing in our business  and government.

But also I would say, you know, DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency is really helping to find the money trails that are tied back into communist party activities and things. So it's all very hidden and it's very hidden and it all can look really good on the surface, but it's not. So to all of our government officials watching or listening to this, we really want you to look more closely and whistleblowers, step up, step up and help us know, because we don't want America to fall to communism and we want to make sure that our freedom can be spread around the world.

So what would you say to employers? You know, one of my goals is to help employers educate employees so they understand the importance of standing for freedom and our constitution and understanding that those freedoms that are given to us by God are protected in this system of government, but not every system of government. So what would you tell employers who need to help their employees understand the importance of this issue?

Janice Trey: So recently, I have expanded our subscription into corporate America, you know, based on my experience. So we already have companies who subscribe to Epoch Times for the entire company and put it on their intranets and make the, you know, think of 14,000 health articles that could really help the employees.

You know, better health means, you know, better productivity and lower absenteeism and it's all good for the company and also better spirits. We do very good pricing for corporate subscriptions and are happy to make it available. Employers of non-profits, for-profits, any types, even parents associations in any groups, women's groups, any places.

We also have a lot of homeschooling resources and after-school programs because we focus on providing, arts and culture, healthy contents. And it's really important as a mom, we want the next generation to grow up in a healthy environment. We're connected with like, we call the ethical AI tools that remove all the harassment, toxic stuff, and then non-addictive, you know, so that children can have a healthy internet.

So we can provide those resources as well. I think it's really important as employers, when you deal with your employees, maybe in China, you know, they are under the influence of the communist leaders. So just be very mindful of what you are told, which they may not be able to tell the truth.

That's why subscribing to the Epoch Times, we provide truthful information and timely information that will save lives. I'll give you examples. In December 2019, we started the coverage about the pandemic.

At that time, there were plenty of N95 masks that you see in surgical rooms at abundant supplies at a very low price. So our readers got those N95 masks ahead of most people. Some of the subscribers who were traveling in China changed their return flights and avoided the lockdowns.

You never know when the next pandemic will be. Epoch Times and NETV have track records of being able to break the news much earlier. Back in 2003, the SARS-CoV-2 disease, according to Wall Street, Epoch Times was the first one who broke the news.

In fact, we pushed the Beijing regime to admit to the pandemic. We did the same thing with the COVID situation. And in fact, we talked about the Wuhan lab leaks.

We have the documentaries a few weeks into the pandemic. Now, everybody understood, the real situation. Back then, they did not.

We talked about the side effects of vaccines where many other media shy away from  reporting. And we have done this at the expense of demonetization by some of the big techs, because it's so important to provide truthful, accurate, timely information that saves lives. And so we have this unwavering commitment to our readers and our viewers.

I encourage corporate Americans, we have a lot of information about the freedoms and make informed decisions. Corporate Americans need to make informed decisions.We provide insights that no other media provides because we have a journalist on the grounds.

So take COVID. We don't take just the published statistics by the Chinese communist governments because they will try to hide the extensiveness of the pandemics. But we have reporters who went to the funeral homes, went to the cemeteries, went to the hospitals, where people were on the ground, and we are not afraid of reporting the truth.

I thank you for the opportunity to share with us and I hope anyone who already subscribes, you can refer to more of not yet subscribers, just go to the epochtimes.com and you can subscribe and and you can donate and I think together, we could join hands and bring religious liberty and bring freedom, press freedoms, internet freedoms, religious freedoms to everybody around the world. I think there's only true peace when communism is eradicated from the face of the earth. 

Linda J. Hansen: Well, that is a great closing statement, but I do want to encourage employers, please do go to that website. Say it again, please. 

Janice Trey: The epochtimes.com. And for those who want to see Shen Yun as shenyun.com. 

Linda J. Hansen: That's wonderful. And you can also follow them on social media and be able to see a lot of the programming and get a taste for what they do read some of the articles they offer guests.

If you are not a subscriber, you can read it as a guest so you can understand how they write and what they cover and for employers, I'm always trying to get employers to educate employees, not just with my resources, which I think are extremely helpful. I hope people will go to my website and look at that. But there's so many resources out there that we can use to help employees or family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues, to really be exposed to the truth.

We know that the mainstream media is not doing it. And we're really thankful for organizations such as yours, which are working hard to bring truth, tradition and hope to citizens around the world. So thank you, Janice Trey.

If people want to reach you personally, can they just do so through that website? 

Janice Trey: Yes, the customer service, you know, just attention to Janice. Okay, I read all of them. So I read a lot of customer feedback. Customer is the king. I pay a lot of attention and I really appreciate it. We spread by word of mouth. I think that's how we don't have a huge advertising budget and all that, but people trust us. That's how we spread. We are committed to provide, including inconvenient truth, and timely information to save lives. And that's our goal. 

Linda J. Hansen: Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. I look forward to having you back again. Thank you. 

Janice Trey: Thank you, Linda.

Linda J. Hansen: Thank you again for listening to the Prosperity 101 podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share and leave a great review. Don't forget to visit prosperity101.com to access the entire podcast library, to order my newest book, Job Security Through Business Prosperity, the Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck®, or to enroll you or your employees in the Breakroom Economics® online course.

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Please contact us today at prosperity101.com to let us know how we can serve you. Thank you.