Falun Dafa Minghui.org www.minghui.org PRINT

Taiwan: Reaching Out to Tourists from China with Compassion

Aug. 2, 2021 |   By Minghui correspondent Liu Wenxin in Taichung, Taiwan

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa is very popular in Taiwan, with the number of practitioners being second to China. For many of the Taiwanese practitioners, it was the lies that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) broadcast to the world to defame Dafa that triggered their curiosity about the practice.

This led some to begin practicing, and, having experienced the goodness of Falun Dafa firsthand, many felt compelled to reach out to their counterparts in mainland China to let them know the truth behind the regime’s propaganda against the practice.

Fully Recovering from Illnesses and Becoming Broad-Minded 

Ms. Liao Yuwei is one of them. In 2000, when she was 50 years old, she had pain from head to toe and always felt that something was wrong with her body. She couldn’t sit still, and her nose ran all night from allergies. She also had severe allergic reactions to injections and medications. Her knee joints were severely deteriorated. As a result, she had a hard time walking up and down stairs. Her brother-in-law, who was a doctor in Kaohsiung, suggested she practice Dafa. 

She said, “Back then, the suppression of Falun Dafa was very intense. But I wasn’t convinced. Whatever the CCP said was bad, I knew it must be good.” 

After Yuwei began practicing, her friends and relatives praised her, saying that she looked much younger, and more broad-minded. She introduced Dafa to her husband and children. Because she gained so much from Falun Dafa, she wanted to share her personal experience with Chinese people. She tells people, “Falun Dafa is righteous, nothing like what the CCP says, please don’t listen to the regime’s lies.” 

Yuwei offers truth-clarification materials to Chinese tourists.

Helping Chinese People Learn the Truth 

Soon after she began practicing Yuwei went to Hong Kong to help people, especially tourists from mainland China, learn the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution. She went a few times a year and usually stayed for a month. In 2002, she started going to Taiwan’s Sun Moon Lake to talk to tourists from mainland China.

“In the beginning, many Chinese tourists swore at us. Sometimes an entire group or tour bus came—and their attitude was very vicious. But sometimes if the tourists traveled alone, I could talk to them much easier.” She recalled one experience—a mother and son came to the truth-clarification site. The mother said, “I’m a CCP member, but I want to quit. Where can I do that?” 

Tourists from China stop to read Falun Gong display boards on the Qinglong Trail. 

Chinese Tourists Shout: “Falun Dafa Is Wonderful!” 

Now, more than a decade later, an increasing number of Chinese tourists know the true situation. Yuwei has run into many tourists from China who shouted, “Falun Dafa is wonderful! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is wonderful! The whole world knows!” when they see practitioners. Every day she and other practitioners meet local residents or tourists who support Dafa and give them thumb-up, saying, “Thank you for everything you do for us! We support you.” 

There was a mother and daughter from Shanghai. The mother wanted to take the informational materials, but the daughter tried to stop her. Yuwei said, “You shouldn’t stop your mom from learning the truth, she has the right to know and judge for herself. It’s not good for you to stop her.” Then the mother told her daughter, “What am I afraid of at my age?”

Chinese People Actively Quit the CCP

Yuwei always cheerfully greets tourists and says, “Welcome to Sun Moon Lake. I wish you a safe trip. Please remember Falun Dafa is wonderful. It is practiced in more than 100 countries around the world. Now that you are in country where you can freely access information, please seize the chance to learn the truth.” 

Every day, 10 to 100 Chinese tourists decided to quit the CCP with Ms. Yuwei’s help.

Yuwei recalled, “One tour guide was very supportive of us. He invited me to get on his tour bus so I could talk to people. Nearly everyone on the bus accepted the informational materials from me. One person saw everyone else took it except for him. He quickly ran after us to get a copy. Actually many tourists from China have a strong desire to learn the truth. Sometimes, however, the whole group is monitored. One lady whispered to me that if she accepted a pamphlet she would be photographed. Even her son back home would be arrested and thrown in jail. 

Before the outbreak of the CCP virus (aka Coronavirus), many tour groups came from China. The Sun Moon Lake tourist attraction was crowded. The walkways on the hiking trail were so crowded that Yuwei said, “Some days we practitioners had no space to stand. Seeing so many tourists from China, I tried my best to talk to them all, to the point where I kept shedding tears. Now the virus came—will we have another chance? Some opportunities only come once.”

Awakening People’s Consciences 

Another practitioner, Ms. Lin Tingting, retired from teaching four years ago, and began going to the Xuanguang Temple tourist attraction at Sun Moon Lake to talk to tourists from China. As the tourists passed by the informational boards, Tingting greeted them warmly, “Falun Dafa is wonderful! Welcome to Sun Moon Lake.” 

One time, three Chinese tourists didn’t immediately take the informational materials from her. But when they returned, they stopped in front of the display boards and began to read them. Tingting walked up and to talked to them about the beauty of Dafa and the persecution. All three tourists decided to renounce their memberships from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Tingting gave them pseudonyms, “Happiness, Joy, and Peace.” They kept thanking her. 

She noticed that some tourists wanted to take the materials, however, they were afraid. One person told her, “My head would be chopped off if I took it back to China.” His group had already left, but one man quickly came back by himself and rushed over to the display where the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was kept. He took a copy and then quickly hurried off. Another time, she stood on the stairs and handed out informational materials. A Chinese tourist passing by her suddenly grabbed the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party from her, and quickly put it into his pocket. She was caught off guard. Tingting said she never expected them to be so afraid of the CCP even while outside of China. 

Master Heard My Wish 

Before Tingting began practicing Falun Dafa, she had difficulties at work, had to take care of her family, took care of herin-laws and other petty things in life. She kept getting more depressed. She remembered when she was in high school, she was very indifferent to materialistic pursuits and thought about practicing Buddhism. In 2004, she was fortunate enough to learn about Falun Dafa. After she finished reading Zhuan Falun, she was surprised and delighted. She said, “It turned out that Falun Dafa was what I had been searching for.” 

After she began practicing, Tingting realized that the pain and joy in life requires courage. Her ailing mother-in-law was very difficult to take care of, even her sister-in-law was afraid of the hardship and didn’t want to take care of her own mother. However, Tingting has taken care of her in-laws for more than 10 years. Before that, she always felt it was so hard. Now she was willing to handle it with ease. During her day-to-day routine, she was tied up with work and was busy. Then she made a secret wish—after she retired, she would go to sightseeing spots to raise awareness about Falun Gong. As a result, things went surprisingly well, her family was supportive, and all the family matters were arranged. Tingting said, “Master heard my wish.”