(Clearwisdom.net)

Personally, I think that Article 23 of the Basic Law was pushed by the Chinese ruling Party under the control of the old forces. The arrangement is quite concealed and deceptive. The reason they chose to set the consultation date in September is because

1. Since the economy in Hong Kong is currently not good, Hong Kong residents would only pay attention to the economy and may not care about political issues;

2. The U.S. and the U.K. are busy with anti-terrorism efforts, and they would have no time to focus on what's happening in Hong Kong;

3. Dafa practitioners were busy with Fa-rectification work during Jiang's visit to the U.S. Therefore, people would be focusing on other issues and would not have a strong reaction against Article 23.

If this is the old forces' arrangement, as Dafa practitioners, we must firmly negate it. No one is worthy of testing this Fa. As Dafa practitioners, we oppose this persecution. Although the old forces made secretive and sly arrangements, they are in fact all within Master's control. Master has clearly told us about the Fa principles and the situation in "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Experience Sharing Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.," "And as your Master I don't acknowledge this thing, and I don't acknowledge the whole arrangement the old forces made." Hopefully we will study the Fa together and improve together.

Master said, "As I've said, everything that happens today in the ordinary society is the result of Dafa disciples' attachments. Even though the old forces do exist, if you don't have those attachments they can't do anything. When your righteous thoughts are strong enough the old forces can do nothing. If the ordinary society really did restore our Dafa's name, think about it, maybe a human being will do this, but have you thought about this: how high would I have to position that person? Isn't that right? You're cultivators, and all the changes come from your cultivation and the Fa-rectification; everything that you yourselves validate and enlighten to, and everything that you'll receive, all this comes from what you have done on your path. Absolutely don't think about any favors the old forces might do for us, or about how the ordinary society might help us. You are the ones saving the ordinary people's society, and you are the ones saving sentient beings!" ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Experience Sharing Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")

Then which mentalities of our Dafa practitioners are the old forces aiming at in arranging this?

Personally, I think the mentalities are: paying attention to and waiting for changes in society, and becoming less diligent in our efforts to actively clarify the truth to the world's people and save them. If the old forces arranged this according to this mentality, I think we should keep our powerful righteous thoughts and act without pursuit. Only when we keep the powerful righteous thought of "we are saving people" can we prevent being attached to the results in ordinary human society and not be affected by the illusions of human society.

We have learned a big lesson from the behavior of the premier of China back in April 25, 1999 [acted differently from how he acts now] to the recent 16th Party Congress. If Dafa practitioners are attached to non-practitioners doing something that is beneficial to Fa-rectification, in other words, if we hope they will make decisions that are beneficial to the Fa-rectification, then the old forces would make the final outcome different from what we had expected.

Moreover, I want to share with fellow practitioners a part of Master's lecture in Philadelphia: "When you've been persecuted or been under pressure in the ordinary society, it's hard to prevent your human attachments from having an effect, so some ordinary people's thoughts might surface, but don't think too much of it. Fa-rectification disciples, the persecution has already come to this stage, and Dafa has already come to this step in Fa-rectification: what's there for us to still be afraid of? Haven't you already seen your future well? So when it comes to these evil beings and their arrangements, as long as your righteous thoughts are strong enough you can reject them, repel them, and make them helpless." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Experience Sharing Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")

Right now, the economy in Hong Kong is bad and many Hong Kong people are paying attention to the economy and ignoring politics. We don't have to be attached to politics and human rights during truth clarification. In fact, Article 23 of the Basic Law has its greatest impact on Hong Kong's economy. The reason Hong Kong was prosperous before it acceded to China was because it had a free political and economic environment in contrast to the surrounding environment in China and other regions. The founding of Article 23 will completely destroy this environment and will necessarily cause funds and business organizations to migrate, which will further affect Hong Kong's economy and increase unemployment. In fact, many economic institutions and business organizations are opposing the founding of Article 23. From the perspective of economics, it's easier for us to show that we are helping people.

For overseas practitioners, it is better if we clarify the truth to the governments from the perspective of human rights, but if we add the impact that "Article 23 of the Basic Law" will have on other countries' economy and how the interest of citizens of other countries will be affected in Hong Kong, the outcome might be better.

Above are my shallow understandings; please benevolently point out anything inappropriate.