Lily making friends with her new neighbor’s puppy, Weare, NH, November 2019. Credit: Lily Tang Williams
Growing up in China under Chairman Mao
I was born and grew up in Chengdu, the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. Today, it is one of the most populous cities in Western China. Our lives there, for as long as I can remember, were totally controlled by the Communist Party of China (CPC), and its Chairman at the time, Mao Zedong. Like many, I was brainwashed in public school from a very early age to conform and obey, and oppressed throughout my youth for having my own opinions. I remember being told things like: Chairman Mao was our supreme leader who loved us more than our parents, the CPC was the only Party for the poor and working class, and the Capitalists and dissidents must be eliminated. We chanted every day “Long live Chairman Mao, 10,000 years and another 10,000 years.” Mao became a God to my generation. We had to worship him, obey him and the CCP.
Although we were oppressed in our daily lives, we never challenged the authorities. We could not voice our own opinions on anything, could not access any truth – only government-controlled press. We lived in a primitive community housing with eight families sharing one bathroom and one outdoor water faucet. We were issued food rationing stamps based on my parents positions in a state factory. I was hungry all the time. We were told in schools what hair styles to use, what colors of clothing to wear, what pictures to draw, what songs to sing and what dances to do, and when was the appropriate time to laugh and cry. Dating was banned until I was a junior in college. Then I became a rebellious teenager.
I didn’t know anything about liberty at the time, I didn’t even know what it meant. However, I often found myself fighting with my Party Committee Secretary a.k.a party boss, while I was a faculty member of the Fudan University Law School in Shanghai. At the time, I didn’t really have a clear conception or understanding of what I was fighting for, or against. All I knew is that I just wanted to be left alone. That’s when I became interested in the rest of the world.
In 1988, I left China, and came to the United States to attend graduate school. Even after moving here, it took me over 20 years in the U.S. to rid myself of all the educational garbage I received growing up in China.
Lily on her first visit to The U.S. to continue her studies. Austin, Texas Intl. Airport, 1988. Credit: Lily Tang Williams
Running as a Libertarian for Office in Colorado
By 2008, after countless hours of self-education, and discussions with liberty minded individuals, I became a true independent thinker, and started getting involved in political activism. So much so that in 2014, I ran for Colorado State House District 44 and later in 2016, I was a candidate for U.S. Senate in Colorado. After my campaign was over, and all the experience I gained from that adventure, I started looking for a new direction in life.
Visiting New Hampshire for the First Time
I recall a while ago, someone told me about the State of New Hampshire, and how things were different there, so I decided to check it out with my own two eyes to see what all the hype was about. In November 2016, in the middle of fall, I traveled to New Hampshire for the very first time and spent four days there.
I went to meetings with local activists, visited the State House, read the New Hampshire State Constitution and even got myself a personal copy. I also used our time visiting to look at homes in various towns.
I fell in love with New Hampshire for its natural beauty, the White Mountain, rivers, lakes and beaches, its wonderful decent people, and of course its motto, “Live Free or Die.” After that visit we were determined to move and make New Hampshire our new home.
The Challenges of Moving
I have been self-employed and working from home for the most part, but my husband John had built a 20 plus year career with the company he worked for as an engineer and manager. It was not easy for us to leave family, friends, and businesses behind after our many years in Colorado and Wyoming.
All in all, I visited New Hampshire eight times between 2016 and 2019, and we took two years to prepare for the move. There were just so many things we had to take care of before the big move, like helping my brother, a new Chinese immigrant to buy a home in Colorado, and taking care of my aging parents’ living arrangements, selling a rental house, and buying a house in New Hampshire where we wanted to live, but also helping our youngest daughter to settle down in a college. Plus we even had to close down a couple of home businesses that weren’t so profitable, and work out our financial plans and health insurance coverage post John’s retirement. We had our work cut out for us.
3000 Miles Later
Last November, we finally made the move to Weare, in two separate moving trips that covered over 3000 miles each way. When we arrived the 2nd time in a 26-foot truck, there were 15 freedom lovers to help us unload it — it only took 90 minutes to get the job done. The best part was that some of the people who showed up, we had never met before.
It was a great, heartwarming experience to come home to a community where people share the dream of “Liberty in our lifetime.” I sincerely hope more freedom lovers would move to New Hampshire and that people who are already here will make the maximum efforts to create a freer society.
Free Staters helping Lily and John move into their new home, Weare, NH, November 2019. Credit: Lily Tang Williams
I feel like New Hampshire is one of the last bastions of freedom in the U.S., and a unique chance to live in a relatively free society. I am shocked to see so many places in America, starting to look more and more like my native country, China. This is scary. I feel like I would have no other place to go if we were to lose our liberties in New Hampshire.
Lily Tang Williams: Spreading the Message of Freedom
Lately, I have been traveling around the country to tell my story to as many people as I can. The story of what it really is like to grow up under the tyranny of socialism and communism. My hope is to help educate youth about the importance of freedom and the fight to preserve it. And nowhere is that fight more relevant than in New Hampshire.
Behind the scenes of an interview with the one and only John Stossel, 2017. Credit: Lily Tang Williams
So come up and visit us! Join us at PorcFest, or Liberty Forum, or at any time during the year, there is always something going on, and a lot of awesome people to meet!
If you like my message, please follow me on Twitter and Facebook and share my posts far and wide.
By: Lily Tang Williams
Lily, Your story is very inspiring, and I think the sort of story so many American’s (like me) need to hear. I worked for a number of years with several people from the USSR who told their “escape” stories, as well as a Mathematics professor I had in College who had escaped from Cuba with his family. All of these (like yours) are stories we need to hear because many of us don’t understand the dangers of a “Big Brother” collectivist state. It is unfortunate that so many Americans look for government to “take care of them”, and they don’t appreciate that freedom and personal responsibility is so valuable. Thanks for your continued work for Liberty!
Lily 你好！读你的故事我就很感动。我的太太也是中国人（我自己是个本地的老外）。我们也知道中国政府的洗脑可以多么的深多么的严重。反正黑暗越深，光就显得越亮！
Translation by DeepL.com:
Lily, hello! Reading your story just touched me. My wife is also Chinese (I’m a local foreigner myself). We also know how deep and severe the brainwashing by the Chinese government can be. The deeper the darkness, the brighter the light appears anyway!
As a grown up in the former GDR (east germany) under sovjets i can widely understand your experiences in socialism / communism. Unfortunately germanies development today tends once again (after the nazis socialism as communism in our former eastern zone) – slowly but steady – toward socialism / forced collectivism by the old “cader” (regime staff) which now governs the whole country and 1989 i sweared to me, to getting a puppet / slave in a socialists experiment never again.
My family – since generations – was non conform to the regime, expropriated by different german govs multiple times within last 100 years and while i got indoctronated in public shools by the gov, i had to learn very early as child what to tell about my thoughts as my family outside and inside our home.
As a private business owner in IT, i see how our neo-marxist gov destroys real markets day by day with regulation and corruption while the planned economy is expanding more and more while the freedom of speech is getting destroyed through new laws.
Curiously our german gov is much more on the side of the communists party of China today then to our old (real) friends in the US.
Would love to live in NH and i’m working on since 2 years now (as an EU alien it’s not easy today to get a permit).
Hope to see you once in the future at a FSP event or so – would be really nice to meet you.
Quite a story and inspiration. Freedom is innate to the spirit; that called you for what you needed to do. I as well as many in the US have our spirits shaken lately with evil deep state attacks on our liberty. I refuse to subscibe to scamdemic mania, nor do as I’m told. Looking for my own way out of this to a better place. Continued blessings for your happiness and freedom.
hi, Lily. I am a mainland Chinese. Needless to say, it is more and more like a prison here now. You made a very wise and brave decision to leave China for the US and then for the Free State.
Thank you Lily! I am thinking of moving to NH and your story is helpful.
same here, from Guam, the US territory of ultimate socialism. We’re a family of 4 teenage kids, exploring a grand relocation…
if any other family of anti vax is interested in exploring together, pls feel free to contact: rainmakersammy at gmail.com
my Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCBP8XhBpOg&t=132s
Lily – excellent write-up of your story. Glad to see all the details here. My wife and I are trying to clean up our house and affairs here in CA so we can move to NH asap too. Hope sooner rather than later, but some things take a while.
自由当然可贵，我也不喜欢共产党。但是我所见过的在政治这潭浑水里搅合的人没有一个好东西。特别是那些在西方社会里吓捣鼓政治的中国人。人要有自知之明。这些中国人心理阴暗，精神变态，不适合做政治
Translation by DeepL.com:
Freedom is certainly valuable, and I don’t like communists. But none of the people I’ve met who get mixed up in the muddy waters of politics are any good. Especially those Chinese who scare up politics in Western societies. People need to be self-aware. These Chinese are psychologically dark and psychopathic, not fit for politics.
Lily Tang Williams, you are one brave lady! I’m saddened by the description of our nation having its own “communism” tactics, but it has been brought to the surface in our last election. I would be very interested in hearing more of your story because I have a radio program and yours might be an appropriate interview. Please feel free to contact me.
Lily, your generation paved the way for mine. My father also survived the Cultural Revolution. I was very inspired when I heard of your story last year, and am now running for Congress myself in Seattle, WA.
We need to get the message out even more in warning Americans of the danger of this divisive partisanship and inversion of sensibility which elders like you endures under the CCP.
I hope we can connect soon. Best Regards ~Sea
Live Free or Die!
You’re awesome. I was stationed in Austin back in 1988-1992 but returned to NH as well. Best state in the country. We also share a China connection. We adopted our middle child from Linfen when she was 8. She’s 22 now and serving in the Air Force. Love your conservative values and I, along with my entire family will be voting for you. Good luck and God bless🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸