Courage on Tiananmen Square

Actually, Falun Gong practitioners are not against the Chinese Government at all, but we want justice. We want the government to correct its wrongdoings. We want to end this violence against the Chinese people. We want to end the murder and persecution. Still, there is something more important. That's why Falun Gong practitioners have appealed to central and local governments of China for more than two years. Because every dialogue channel has been closed to Falun Gong practitioners since the beginning of the crackdown, they have no alternative but to go to Tiananmen to appeal. Look at these scenes:

Daytime, Tiananmen Square. A small group of people rushes into the square, striking a qigong stance, sitting in the lotus position, or unfurling banners that read, "Falun Gong is Good." They come day after day, young and old, educated and illiterate, rich and poor, male and female, appealing to the Chinese government to stop its persecution of their spiritual practice of Falun Gong. Some days, they arrive in hundreds, or even thousands, knowing full well the violent consequences that await them. They risk everything, e.g. loss of home, loss of job, arrest, torture, and even death, simply to defend their faith. They step forward courageously and selflessly to appeal to the largest totalitarian power in the world, and to clarify the truth to everyone. Because they know that they are doing so, not just for themselves but for you, for me and for billions with goodwill in the world; for a better world in which truth and justice prevail; for "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" to illuminate everyone's heart; and because they understand the invincible power of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance."

Despite the draconian persecution that practitioners have been facing in the past two years, not a single case has been reported of practitioners fighting back or retaliating in any way. While there is ample evidence that practitioners have displayed a willingness to sacrifice everything for their commitment to "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." In labor camps, detention centers or jails, every practitioner has been offered immediate release or major reduction of jail terms for renouncing his faith in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." They could have kept their rights to have an education, their jobs and their homes, if they would lie. They could have avoided living in exile, if they had just lied. They could have avoided being charged, and tortured in jails, if they would lie. They could have avoided being mutilated, or even murdered, if they would just lie about their faith. The cost of telling the truth is so high, and the temptation of telling lies is very strong, yet they have chosen Truthfulness without hesitation!

Practitioners of Falun Gong have demonstrated to the world that one can remain true to higher principles under the harshest of conditions and at the greatest of costs. They have argued with their quiet, peaceful resistance that Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are mightier than any force of hatred.

Some ask, "Why don't you forbear? China is in the developing stage. I don't like the Chinese government either, but the economic development is quite good anyway. So for the sake of other Chinese people, why don't you simply stop practicing Falun Gong?"

Forbearance is not to tolerate evil! That's tarnishing the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." How could a person tolerate murder? Economic development is not a license for killing. Before WWII, the government of Nazi Germany also put economic development as a top priority. During Hitler's rule, the well-known automobile brand name "Volkswagen" was created in Germany, and the first major highway in the world was built in Germany. Nuclear science also achieved advanced development in Germany. (Many prominent nuclear scientists in the "Manhattan Project" initially worked for Germany.) Nazi Germany even hosted the 1936 Olympic Games. Reflecting on history, does any German today feel proud of the accelerated development of that era?

Chinese people have dreamed for one hundred years of a strong China, and to stand with dignity in the world. For that purpose, however, there is something more important than economic development. Compare China's social status with one decade ago. Have crimes increased or decreased? Have the problems of corruption, fraudulent trade practice, prostitution, AIDS, drugs, or organized gang crimes drastically increased or decreased? Ask yourself, in any city in China today, do you feel safer to walk alone at night on the street than you did a decade ago? These are consequences of the "development is overwhelming" policy.

All the social problems can ultimately be traced to one cause: moral corruption. I just read this story recently about a young man engaged in a struggle with a robber, who was raiding a store in a large Chinese city. A crowd of dozens were watching the struggle. When the young man asked people around to call 110 (emergency number in China), no one was willing to make the call. Eventually he incurred a dozen knife wounds. After the robber had escaped, he managed to crawl to a phone booth.

I would say that most of us would agree that this is not an unusual story in China today. What's the problem here? Is it indifference or a numbness of social conscience? This could destroy a nation. For too long, Chinese citizens have remained silent to injustice, to crime and to evil itself. The lack of conscience is so deeply rooted in people's hearts that one persuades oneself to believe that nothing can be done, exclaiming, "Corruption? Organized crime? Human rights violations? Oh, that's so common. What can one do about it?" Indeed, everyone can contribute to making a difference. Imagine that if not necessarily everyone, but just five among the audience in the above story could have stood up and spoke out loudly to the robber, "NO!" It might have resulted in a completely different story.

Morality, Conscience and Humanity; these are universal values recognized by human beings worldwide. During the WTC tragedy, we witnessed the great uniting power of humanity and conscience that transcends racial and cultural boundaries. In this universe, individual human beings may be tiny and weak, but these universal values bond us together; soothing our pains, our feelings of loneliness and our fears; making us stronger. So when part of us suffer, we all feel the suffering. That's the lesson of life that the universe teaches us.

Going back to China's dream: to stand with dignity in the world. If a government cannot recognize even the most basic human rights, constitutionally granted to its citizens, regardless of how developed its economy may be, how could the world respect it without feeling threatened by its high-speed development? How could the international community trust it? The Chinese government is losing its credibility, while maintaining a rapidly accelerating economic development.

Some believe that when the economy is well developed, it will naturally pull up the other, more lagging aspects of the country with it as they all advance together. I doubt it will happen this way. We Chinese have witnessed the past decade of high speed economic development and a dramatic moral deterioration of society at the same time. Along with these things, we have also seen an erosion of personal freedom. Further back in history, we witnessed the high-speed economic development in Japan and Germany just prior to WWII. There is no such thing as automatic freedom and rights.

As said by Americans, "Freedom is not free."

(To Be Continued)