SAN GABRIEL VALLEYWIDE NEWS
Winston Chua

Although her daughter was released in August, San Gabriel Valley’s Mary Ling still feels the emotional roller coaster she endured for more than five months.
That is the length of time the North Korean government held Mary’s daughter Laura Ling, along with Euna Lee, hostage beginning in March. The two journalists briefly left the borders of China and momentarily crossed into North Korea before their capture.
“I was very frightened, especially on March 17, when we got the call from one of Laura’s colleagues that they had been captured,” recalled Mary Ling, former president of the San Gabriel Valley Hospital Foundation. “It was devastating.”
Laura Ling and Lee had been working to expose some of the atrocities they witnessed in China when they were arrested, like sex trafficking. Once in North Koran lands, the two were eventually isolated from one another, put on trial and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor.
“We didn’t know what had happened, where they were. It was incredibly hard,” said Mary Ling. “We started calling China and they didn’t know what was going on.”
Mary Ling and her friends sat glued to the television set for days before finding out more details. With her back against the wall, she leaned on the help of two notable politicians, former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore. Laura Ling and Lee eventually made it back to the United States safe and sound, for the most part. The two remembered the pain they felt during their capture.
Throughout their experience, the intrepid reporters maintained a high standard of journalistic integrity, not revealing sources who would otherwise be endangered if their identities were released.
For May Ling, these trials come with the territory.
“Although this was a heart wrenching experience, I think that you must encourage children to do things they are passionate about. Both of my daughters (Laura’s sister is Lisa Ling) have been the voice for people. I’m very proud of what they do,” Mary Ling said.
She sais she worries when they travel, but that she trusts her daughters ability to navigate themselves out of difficult situations.
Recently, Laura Ling and Lee were recognized as the 2009 women of the year from Glamour magazine in Carnegie Hall in New York.