(Minghui.org) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has suppressed Falun Gong in China for 20 years, turning a large number of Chinese people against practitioners and the practice's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Practitioners in Taiwan have continued to inform the people of mainland China about the real story of Falun Gong through face-to-face conversations at tourist sites, and with phone calls, text messages, and through the internet. Practitioners involved in such efforts gathered at an elementary school in Taichung on Sunday, July 7, 2019, to share their experiences to help each other do better in cultivation practice and with their efforts to awaken people.
Group gathering of practitioners in Taiwan who often talk with people from mainland China about Falun Gong
Christian: You Are the Hope of China
Xia Cuimiao from Kaohsiung has made phone calls to mainland China for many years. One day, another practitioner gave her a phone number and said that this person had refused to hear the facts about Falun Gong. Ms. Xia called that person and explained what Falun Gong is. She recommended the man quit the CCP organizations, since the Party has harmed many Chinese throughout its numerous political campaigns.
The man said that he was a Christian and said he was not a CCP member. As Ms. Xia continued chatting with patience and compassion, he was moved by her sincerity and decided to renounce his membership in the Young Pioneers, which is a CCP organization that children in China are made to join. When Ms. Xia mentioned that the CCP suppresses freedom of belief, including the belief of Christians, the man agreed and said, “Without belief, people will lose their moral values and do all kinds of bad deeds.” He told her that he admired practitioners’ perseverance and considered Falun Gong practitioners the hope of China.
Internet Spy: Please Take Care
Guo Ling, also from Kaohsiung, has been chatting with Chinese people about Falun Gong online since 2006. She has met with all kinds of responses, including surprise messages of support, as well as negative comments and bad words. Ms. Guo felt exhausted in the beginning doing this task and had to take lots of breaks. Then she remembered the words of Mr. Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Gong,
“Compassion can harmonize Heaven and Earth, ushering in springRighteous thoughts can save the people in this world”(“The Fa Rectifies the Cosmos”, Hong Yin Vol. II)
This poem reminded her to be more compassionate and have stronger righteous thoughts. She has now helped more than 10,000 people renounce their memberships in the CCP organizations.
Because the people she calls come from different backgrounds, Ms. Guo needs to cover broad topics, such as what Falun Gong is, and the mind and body benefits of the practice. She also has to clarify people's misunderstandings that were caused by the defamatory propaganda in China, and explain to people why they should stay away from the CCP. Some people who initially said negative things to her were later moved by her kindness. She has also had many positive experiences when she played videos or short movies for people, and many people would come to watch.
“There were lots of people who did not have tools to access overseas information, and they really do rely on us for such information,” Ms. Guo said.
Sometimes people lined up to wait for her to help them quit the CCP organizations, and some people were curious about learning the exercises. “I have traveled to other countries before, and I know all these things,” one person commented. “Have you quit the CCP organizations?” Ms. Guo asked. “Not yet. Can you help me with it now?” the person responded.
Ms. Guo was having breakfast in front of her computer one morning when a netizen who often gave her a hard time came to chat with her. “Do you guys want to overthrow the CCP?” Guo stopped eating and replied, “No, we just want to tell you about the tragedies that are going on now. If the CCP did not block information, there would be no need for me to do this. After all, we just want you to have a safe future.” “I see,” the person replied, “I am actually an internet spy and I have monitored you guys for quite a long time. I respect you, please take care.” That person actually agreed to quit the CCP organizations, and Ms. Guo was moved to tears.
Lawyer: Willing to Help Practitioners
Chen Boxiang, 70, has practiced Falun Gong for 17 years. He disliked school when he was younger and had poor handwriting. Now, he enjoys reading the Falun Gong teachings and transcribes them by hand very well. His family life has also changed dramatically. In the past, he and his wife often argued with each other, almost like enemies. As he improved his xinxing in accordance with the Falun Gong principles, they have come to respect each other and the family has become harmonious.
In his spare time, Mr. Chen spends a lot of time making phone calls to China. One time he dialed a number and a college student answered, but she hung up as soon as she found out the call was related to Falun Gong. When Mr. Chen called again, the student regurgitated some hate propaganda phrases from the CCP and hung up again. When Mr. Chen called the third time, before the student could speak, Mr, Chen asked, “Miss, what you just mentioned, did you see it happening or did you watch it on some news media? If you saw it on the news, could you give me two or three minutes to explain what happened during the staged self-immolation at Tiananmen Square?” The student did not hang up this time and instead listened quietly. After Mr. Chen finished, the student replied, “I finally know what happened. Thank you.”
Another time, Mr. Chen spoke with a lawyer surnamed Huang. The lawyer said that he had been to Paris and accepted materials from practitioners there. Mr. Chen told him that lawyers who defend practitioners in China have entered not guilty pleas in courtrooms for their clients. The lawyer said that he had not encountered such cases but he would like to do the same in the future. In the end, the lawyer said that based on the current chaos in China, the CCP will not last long and he would like to separate himself from the regime as well.
Stories from Tourist Sites
Kang Caifeng, a practitioner who volunteers at tourist sites, said it took her some time to overcome her fear and talk with Chinese tourists about Falun Gong. She still remembers clearly the first time she helped someone quit the CCP organizations. She first told the person that Falun Gong practitioners are good people and that they practice the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Ms. Kang then asked the person, “How about I help you renounce your membership in the CCP organizations with a pseudonym? Have you joined the organizations before?” By then, the man’s tour bus had arrived to pick the group up. Ignoring Ms. Kang’s question about a pseudonym, he stated his real name and said he was a CCP member. Ms. Kang confirmed if he meant he wanted to quit the CCP with his real name, the person replied, “Sure!” Ms. Kang was very touched—this was the first Chinese person she had talked with about quitting the CCP and he was not afraid to quit using his real name, despite the danger he might face when he returned to China.
Ms. Kang met a young man one day who had come from mainland China to study at a college in Taiwan. The young man was reading the posters about Falun Gong very carefully, so Ms. Kang chatted with him and learned he was interested in learning more about history, as he had learned that the history books in China had been truncated or modified. Ms. Kang explained Falun Gong and the persecution of it in China in detail and gave him a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. The man was very happy and decided to quit the Party organizations he had joined.
Courage in Hong Kong
Ms. Liu is already retired and she could have chosen to lead a quiet life with her pension. However, six years ago she chose to come to Hong Kong to tell people from mainland China the facts about Falun Gong.
Three years ago, she started going to train stations and popular shopping areas to distribute materials about Falun Gong. She once gave Minghui Weekly to a group of Chinese tourists, and one of them called out in fear, “It’s Falun Gong!” “Falun Gong practitioners are good people. There is nothing to fear,” Ms. Liu smiled in reply. The tourists also smiled and accepted the materials.
She has also faced difficult situations. Some tourists had misunderstandings about Falun Gong and said practitioners were paid to talk to people. Ms. Liu told them she spent her own money to travel here to help people learn the truth about Falun Gong. Another time, pro-CCP group members followed Ms. Liu wherever she went and used boards to block her from being seen by tourists. After witnessing these scenes, one tourist could not take it any longer and called out for them to stop harassing Ms. Liu.
Compassion Makes a Difference
After finishing her daily job, Liu Cunhui often goes to tourist sites such as the National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall and Taipei 101. She said many tourists, especially those from South Korea, accept Falun Gong materials. Tourists from mainland China, however, tend to have a different attitude, and this had often bothered her.
After going to Hong Kong and witnessing the challenges there, Ms. Liu changed her mentality. “One of the tourists said that before leaving China, they were told not to talk with Falun Gong practitioners and there would always be someone watching them. I feel so bad for them,” she said. Seeing that tourists only dared to listen, rather than read materials or talk with practitioners, she had a deeper understanding of why she needed to continue doing so with perseverance and compassion.
Lai Shumei from Tainan often informs people about Falun Gong using Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). In the beginning, she had her doubts about how many people could be reached this way. But thinking that those people have very few other options to learn about Falun Gong and that one person could pass on information to many more, she knew her time would not be wasted. With this understanding, she has continued sending these messages for several years.
Wang Huiguan, also from Tainan, said she used to be an introverted person. It was very difficult for her to talk with Chinese tourists, because she was scared and was attached to comfort. Plus, she had to balance her family life to find time to come to the tourist sites. “I later learned a lot from other practitioners. When purifying my mind, I consider those tourists to be my family members or friends. Once I focus on awakening them, I found that I had no pressure or fear, and I could easily talk with more and more people.”
Precious Opportunities
Besides perseverance, many practitioners said they consider it a precious opportunity to talk with Chinese tourists. Their kindness and wisdom also make a difference.
Ms. Wang once encountered a high school student and his parents. She took out a copy of The Ultimate Goal of Communism and told them that this book explains communism very clearly and it was very popular among the young people in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. The family appeared to pay no attention to her. But a while later, the student returned and asked her for a copy of the book.
Lin Tingting from Taichung often goes to a temple near Sun Moon Lake to talk to tourists. Along the walkway leading to the temple, there are posters from practitioners on one side and an exercise demonstration on the other side. “Almost all the visitors to the temple will pass through there. They are from various countries with different ethnic backgrounds,” she said, “One greeting, one smile, or one sentence of ‘Falun Dafa is good’ will bring them closer to the truth.”
The gentle exercise demonstration was a special experience for tourists from mainland China. Even when they had almost passed by, they would often look back in surprise. Ms. Lin would talk with them softly, “Hey, come and take a look. Although you cannot see it in mainland China, this meditation is practiced all over the world.” A Western woman once came up to Ms. Lin with tears in her eyes and said she had found the scene so peaceful and memorable.
