Background
It has been somewhat difficult to practice Falun Gong and promote Fa in Thailand. Chinese Embassy and Consular officials continuously slander Falun Gong and put pressure on the Thai government. Consequently, the people of Thailand do not understand Falun Gong. Many practitioners do not dare to step forward to practice in public, let alone to promote Dafa, because they fear that the cultivation environment will be interfered with if the Chinese government feels disgraced. Thus fewer and fewer people come to the exercise site to practice.
When the First Asia Pacific Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference was held in Singapore in August, a group of us decided to go to Thailand to study and practice the Fa. At the time, there was no Dafa introductory material available in the Thai language. Therefore, before we went to Thailand in September, we asked practitioners in Thailand to translate some and produced 10,000 copies. We also had Teacher's latest articles translated for experience sharing.
Hong Fa in Bangkok
Around 5:00 clock on the morning of September 30th, practitioners from Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, and Sweden gathered in Bangkok at Sile Park. We hung up many Dafa banners and displayed photos documenting the Chinese government's brutal persecution of Dafa practitioners. Practitioners from Taiwan and Singapore disseminated some six thousand introductory materials and over half of the "Peaceful Journey" pamphlets on hand. Forty to fifty passersby were compelled to learn the practice on the spot. We believe that it was the power of Dafa that attracted them.
A group study was held later that day, in the afternoon. Practitioners from Taiwan suggested that a news conference be held because the Thai media dared not report positive information on Falun Gong over the past year. Now was the ideal time to change this, with practitioners from all over Asia and the Pacific now visiting. On the next day, four media including one Chinese, two English and one Thai, came and interviewed us in Bangkok's Queen's Park. As a result, Chinese government officials became very nervous. One told the local Falun Dafa contact person over the phone: "Practicing in the park was enough, why did you tell them the things about torturing and arrest of the practitioners in China?" It was obvious that they were afraid of having their crimes exposed.
On the third day, practitioners from Taiwan divided themselves into two groups. The ten in the first group stayed in Bangkok and continued promoting the Fa, while another group of 22 practitioners went to the Meisile Mountain Villa in the northern part of Thailand, to tell the truth about Falun Dafa to the people there.
North to Meisile Mountain Villa
The first stop was Chiang Mai Airport where we practiced while waiting for the plane. Right away, three airport workers came over to learn the exercises. We took the opportunity to tell them the truth about Falun Dafa. One of them read Chinese and took Zhuan Falun home to read. A Thai couple named Zhong acted as our guides and interpretors.
After a two-hour flight , we arrived at Meisile Mountain Villa located on the top of the mountain. This is a reserved land granted by the King of Thailand for the Republic of China's troops in exile. The officer in Charge, General Lei, warmly welcomed us. He broadcasted our arrival and asked the people from all the nearby villages to come to the villa to learn about Falun Gong. We brought a lot of Dafa books, exercise instruction tapes, "Peaceful Journey" brochures and other Dafa introduction materials. We set up an exercise site there, where many people came to learn Falun Gong each day.
Chinese Government Interference
The Chinese Consulate started putting pressure on General Lei the following day. General Lei had to tone it down. The local police came to investigate us. Although the local residents were afraid, we fearlessly talked to the police. We clarified the truth of Falun Dafa to them and offered them Dafa materials. The police said with regret: "Sorry, we just followed the order to investigate." And we responded : " Falun Gong practitioners practice openly in the park. Teacher Li Hongzhi teaches us to cultivate our moral standard and to become better people. . So, there is no secret at all, and any investigation is welcome."
Validating the Fa with Reason to Local Police Authorities
As the impact of our promotion activities became larger and larger, the rank of the police officers coming to investigate became higher and higher. First came local police and then the provincial police. In the end, immigration officers, the highest administrative agency dealing with foreigners, showed up as well. At the beginning, they asked impolitely: "What on earth do you benefit from practicing Falun Gong." We showed them how great Falun Dafa is with patience and compassion. We told them that Falun Dafa had truly transformed us from a microcosmic level and enabled us to gain both physical and mental health.
Further Clarifying the Truth with Wisdom
They asked with doubt: "If Falun Gong is so good, why is the Chinese government cracking down on it?" We then clarified the facts to them. The first reason is that Falun Gong is so good that it has attracted a large number of people. Secondly, a number of central government officials want to suppress Falun Gong to gain more political power for themselves. General Lei told us that one Chinese officer disclosed to him that many officials in the central government believe in Falun Gong. We also reasoned with the police with the following facts: In the past year, we never saw a Falun Gong practitioner who was arrested for committing any crime other than the practice of Falun Gong itself. Also, Falun Gong practitioners are not against the government, and no one resists government. They are being arrested and beaten only because they appeal to the government and tell them the truth, or practice Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square. Falun Gong changes practitioners lives, even under the brutal crackdown by the government. Falun Gong practitioners ignore their personal safety and bravely step forward to validate the Fa. They let the public know that Falun Gong just teaches people to be compassionate and to practice openly in the park. They just want the public to know that Falun Gong is good.
I told the immigration officers that any one who has read Zhuan Falun knows that the Chinese government is lying. We are not involved in any politics; we don't do anything against the law; and we just practice in the park openly. Falun Gong helps people become healthier and teaches them to be better people. I asked them to please try to understand it completely, and not be fooled by the one-sided propaganda from the Chinese government. In the end, they said: "We are sorry, but we are just under orders to investigate."
Spreading the Fa and Offering Salvation with Benevolence
The scale of our activities became larger and larger. We did not give up to the interference from police. We hung banners on the cars we rented and drove through the main streets and back alleys of every village we visited to distribute Dafa materials door to door. We clarified the truth to those who were confused. A school even invited us to teach two classes to read Dafa books and to do the exercise on the playground. We felt touched seeing the innocent expression and movement of the children.
It was finally time to return home toTaiwan. When we were waiting to go through Thailand customs, airport immigration officers received the order to take care of us "specially". I was wearing a yellow T-shirt printed with "China: Stop Persecuting Falun Gong Practitioners" and "Falun Dafa is Good". I stuck my chest out so that they could take pictures of the T-shirt. I also gave them Dafa introduction materials. One officer found out that we were very calm and kind, and we were not as ferocious as Chinese communists had described to him. He was touched and followed us into the lounge, and then he asked us to teach him Falun Gong before boarding the plane. He felt that Falun Gong was really good.
Looking Back
While in Thailand, we were able to let go of our fears because we had our Teacher and Dafa with us. We not only hung up banners but also held a news conference. Our promotion activities grew larger and stronger each day. We experienced that if we could let go of our attachments, demons would become smaller and smaller, and we would become larger and larger. Therefore, we must eliminate the attachment of fear and clarify the truth to people in the world. We must enable the Thai government to see through the Chinese government's lies. We will thereby give more people the opportunity to attain the Fa, and help more people earn a good position for themselves in the future.
In the course of rectifying the Fa, we have come to know that it is indeed an obligation of every practitioner to be a particle of Dafa, and to take every opportunity to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa.
Taiwan practitioners
November 29th 2000