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Taiwan: Falun Gong Practitioners Invited to National Tsing Hua University's 54th Anniversary Celebration (Photos)

May 3, 2010 |   By Song Ximing

(Clearwisdom.net) National Tsing Hua University in northern Taiwan's Hsinchu City celebrated its 54th anniversary of reestablishment in Taiwan on April 25, 2010, which was also the 11th anniversary of the day when approximately 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered peacefully near Zhongnanhai in Beijing, the Chinese leadership compound, to ask the Chinese communist state to stop its harassment of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioners demonstrate the peaceful Falun Gong meditation exercise

Falun Gong practitioners from Hsinchu City, and the neighboring Miaoli County were invited to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises and to give a waist drum performance on the Tsing Hua University campus. Their performance added a pleasant and peaceful spirit to the anniversary celebration. Many people were attracted by their performance, and took out their cameras to capture the beautiful scene.

Waist drum band marches on the campus of National Tsing Hua University

Ms. Wu works for a well-known Internet company, and is currently studying in National Tsing Hua University's EMBA program. She came to see the anniversary celebration with her niece and parents who came all the way from southern Taiwan's Pingtung County. Her niece was captivated by the waist drum performance and could not take her eyes of it. Ms. Wu's first impression of the waist drum performance was, "Everyone looks so healthy and energetic." She said that she thought the performance was good and she could not understand why the Chinese communists regime would want to persecute Falun Gong.

A little girl claps her hands as she watches the waist drum performance

Mr. Zheng had a booth at the anniversary fair. He said he enjoyed the waist drum performance very much and felt good and uplifted after watching it. He said, "I think they were very well coordinated and moved together in great unison. The golden-colored costumes were bright and beautiful."

Demonstration of the Falun Gong Exercises the Most Beautiful Sight on Campus

At another end of the campus, Falun Gong practitioners demonstrated the five sets of exercises along Cheng Kung Lake.

Mr. Zheng (another Mr. Zheng), who used to work as a factory director for the Far Eastern Group, saw the Falun Gong exercises for the first time. He stayed to see the beautiful and peaceful demonstration of the full fives sets of exercises and took several pictures. He said, "I was walking along the lake and saw the Falun Gong practitioners' demonstration, and noticed that everyone looked so great. I think this is good. Keep up the good work."

Falun Gong practitioners sit in meditation along the edge of Cheng Kung Lake

Practitioners who demonstrated the exercises included second and third graders and elderly people in their 70s and 80s. One of them, Ms. Song, has been practicing Falun Gong for 12 years. She said, "We come here on Saturday to demonstrate the exercises because we have personally benefited from practicing Falun Gong. We hope to tell everyone that Falun Gong is truly good for the mind."

New Practitioner: 'Falun Dafa Opened a New Door for Me'

Mr. Peng is a materials analysis engineer who has just recently started practicing Falun Gong. Three months ago he was surprised to discover blooming Udumbara flowers on the side-view mirror of his car. According to Buddhist scriptures, the blossoming of the Udumbara flowers signals that the Holy King Who Turns the Wheel has come to the human world to save sentient beings. The seed for Mr. Peng to cultivate the great Fa was therefore sown.

Mr. Peng quickly bought the book Zhuan Falun and read the entire book within two days. He said, "After reading the book I felt as if I had found something I had been pursing in my mind for the longest time. I used to practice qigong and I was able to feel some energy. But something was always missing. I finally discovered what I had long been looking for from Zhuan Falun." Mr. Peng also indicated that Zhuan Falun was written in a very easy to understand language.

Originally from Mainland China, Ms. Liu moved to Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man. She is also a Chinese dance teacher. She came in contact with a group of Falun Gong practitioners in July of 2008, and discovered that, contrary to what the Chinese communist regime's propaganda and defamation said, Falun Gong practitioners were all very good people. She asked them about the self-immolation incident at Tiananmen Square, and she later found more information about it by surfing the Internet. Ms. Liu suddenly came to realize the truth. She said, "It turns out that we have all been lied to since we were small kids. It was unimaginable. How could the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) lie to us like that. They are just so vicious." Out of curiosity, Ms. Liu read through the book Zhuan Falun in just one day. She said, "I was so surprised at the time. I felt as if a door had been opened for me--so that is how the universe is. I was shaken. I desperately wanted to tell my relatives and friends in Mainland China the truth about Falun Gong," Ms. Liu's eyes filled with tears as she spoke.

"My heart was moved as soon as I heard the sound of the waist drums. I felt like crying. In particular, when the melody 'Falun Dafa Is Good' was played, I really felt like crying. I was so excited," she added.

Two Tsing Hua Universities, Two Different Scenarios

Lin Shengxiong, a graduate student who is the chairman of National Tsing Hua University's Falun Gong Association, said that Falun Gong promotes Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Millions of people around the world are practicing Falun Gong. The Falun Gong Association invited other practitioners to the campus to enrich the anniversary fair, and to also let more people understand the goodness of Falun Gong.

However, students at China's Tsinghua University, which Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University originated from, have not been so fortunate when it comes to practicing Falun Gong freely.

According to a Clearwisdom report on February 8, 2010, Ms. Liu Zhimei was admitted to the Chemical Engineering Department of China's Tsinghua University in 1997 and was expelled in March 2001 for practicing Falun Gong. She was subsequently arrested in Beijing and sentenced to 12 years of incarceration and tortured at the Shandong Province Women's Prison. Right before she left the prison in November 2008, prison officials injected her with a harmful cocktail of narcotics and anti-psychotic drugs. The effect of the drugs began to show on the third day after she returned home. She suffered a sudden mental collapse, and the symptoms became worse and worse. She started talking nonsense and had involuntary body movements, along with memory loss. Though this happened more than a year ago, Ms. Liu's condition has not been improved.

Mr. Huang Kui was admitted to the PhD program of the Department of Precision Instruments and Mechanics at China's Tsinghua University in 1999. He was awarded with different prestigious scholarships and was once named an "Excellent Graduate" of the university. In June 2006 Mr. Huang was beaten by the campus police for practicing the Falun Gong exercises on campus, and later was expelled by the Tsinghua University authorities.

Mr. Liu Wenyu enrolled in the graduate school of the Department of Thermal Engineering at China's Tsinghua University in 1997. He was once a class chairman and was awarded the Excellent Student Scholarship of Tsinghua University. He was admitted to the PhD program ahead of schedule in May of 1999 because of his excellent academic records. In June of 2000, Mr. Liu was illegally detained for
one month because he went to Tiananmen Square to make a peaceful appeal for Falun Gong. Afterward, he was expelled by Tsinghua University.

The persecution against these Falun Gong practitioners is just the tip of the iceberg. It is difficult to know the full scope of the persecution amidst the CCP's tight information blockade.

Contrary to China's Tsinghua University, the atmosphere at Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University is open. The school authorities at Taiwan's Tsing Hua respect different cultures and freedom of religion. There is a Falun Gong Association at Taiwan's Tsing Hua with college, graduate, and PhD students and professors as members.

Falun Gong practitioners from the two Tsinghua Universities have received completely different treatments from their university authorities and their governments.