(Clearwisdom.net) After hearing that the number of Falun Gong practitioners in China who have been tortured to death was reported to be dramatically increasing, from January 12-14, 2003 practitioners in major cities around the world held a three-day peaceful appeal at Chinese embassies and consulates to demand an end to the persecution of fellow practitioners in China.
Since there was no Chinese embassy or consulate in Boston, we decided to hold press conferences and candlelight vigils in Boston Common [a famous park in Boston], Chinatown and in Brattle Plaza, which is close to Harvard University. In order to let more media outlets know about the event and report on the facts, we decided to visit them instead of waiting for them to come interview us.
On January 13 and 14, three or four of us practitioners visited several newspapers, TV and radio stations to tell the editors and reporters about what is going on in China. The stories of Dafa practitioners worldwide working to rescue their relatives in China moved the editors and reporters and deeply touched their consciences. Their becoming involved in the call for righteousness and justice positioned them well for the future.
Before we entered the office of one particular media outlet, we held a strong righteous thought: They should listen to us and report on our urgent appeal. When one practitioner talked to a reporter or editor, the other three sent righteous thoughts to eliminate the interference. The chief editor listened carefully to local resident He Haiying, who talked about the persecution story of her family in China and many other cases of brutal persecution in China. The editor was shocked to find out that all the media in China slander Falun Gong, and that some overseas Chinese media also spread the fake stories and lies under the control of the Jiang regime. A reporter later joined us. The editor briefly told her the purpose of our visit and asked her to interview us immediately. We were invited to the studio for an interview. During the interview, we told the reporter about how Falun Dafa has been welcomed worldwide, but it has been systematically persecuted in China.
The reporter was moved by the stories. She said she admired those brave people and asked how Americans could help us. She thought it would make sense to help by asking local residents to make a call or write letters to the Chinese embassies or consulates, calling on the Jiang regime to stop the killing.
This radio station (the largest radio station in New England area) broadcast the interview in a very positive light and asked the residents in New England to write a letter to the State Department of the United States or to make a call to a Chinese embassy to ask for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
In clarifying the truth to the media, we usually started with the campaign to rescue family members of the practitioners in China, which immediately raised the interest of the editors and reporters. The persecution cases bring them closer to us, as the suffering of the local residents is right before their eyes. Then we tell them more: Falun Gong has been systematically persecuted in China and practitioners have been tortured to death; the killing has escalated dramatically, as there are 43 practitioners reported to have been killed in less than two months; a three-day worldwide appeal and local events have been held to alleviate the situation in China; and a lawsuit charging Chinese dictator Jiang with torture and genocide against the Falun Gong practitioners is ongoing. As a result, the effect of these truth-clarifying activities has been very good.
During our contact with the media, we found that they all have some knowledge of the persecution of Falun Gong, but know little about Falun Gong itself. Usually, their first question is, "What is Falun Gong?" So we introduce Falun Gong to them first and tell them about the greatness of Falun Gong. After they find out about the goodness of Falun Gong and then how many kind people have been systematically persecuted or tortured to death in China, they can deeply perceive the evil nature of the persecution. When the reporters ask why Jiang started the persecution, we answer them with the questions, why did Hitler kill Jews? It was due to his evil nature. Likewise, the persecution of Falun Gong is due to Jiang's evil nature. The reporters quickly grasped our message.
During the visits to the media, we deeply felt how important it is to send forth righteous thoughts. With our righteous thoughts and belief being gradually strengthened with our successive visits, the time spent with the reporters was gradually increased from a few minutes to many minutes, and the interviews went deeper and deeper. We truly realized, "Matter and mind are one thing" (Zhuan Falun, Lecture 1), "How was the cosmos created? It was created just by a Great Fa Enlightened Being's one thought." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
Master has told us, "You are Gods, and you are the future rulers of different cosmoses, so who would you count on? All the beings are counting on you!" ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.") When we do Dafa work with strong godlike righteous thoughts, when we rectify every thought or notion by standing in the realm of future rulers of different cosmoses, when a thought of us as a whole reaches the requirement of the righteous principle of the Fa, the things we do will be developed toward the direction that has been rectified by the righteous principle of the Fa.
Let's remember Master's teaching, "On the rest of the journey, may you fulfill, with godlike righteous thoughts and righteous actions, the grand vows you made before history!"("New Year's Greetings from Master", 12/31/2002)
