(Minghui.org) From establishment to stable operation, every tourist site for clarifying the truth about Falun Gong has gone through many hardships. How do we eliminate interference when these hardships occur?
As we are Falun Gong practitioners, we must first look inward when we face any interference: Is there anything wrong with the coordination or cooperation among us? Do any of us hold any grudges against one another? Or is there anything we should have done well but did not because we have not yet elevated our xinxing? When the problems among us are resolved, the interference from the outside can be easily removed.
The following are three examples of eliminating such interference at tourist sites in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
1. Clarifying the Truth to the Officials of the Tourism Bureau and Maintenance Office
When interference occurred after a park administrator kicked over and damaged display boards for clarifying the truth at the Lianchitan (Lotus Pond) tourist site, local practitioners immediately went to the Kaohsiung City Council to lodge a petition about the incident. A city councilor questioned the Tourism Bureau about the improper conduct displayed by the administrator involved in the incident.
Afterward, we tried to visit the director general of the Tourism Bureau, but we were instead received by various personnel including the chief secretary and a section chief. The section chief said, “It is against the Park Administration Regulations for Falun Gong practitioners to place display boards in the park.” We took the opportunity to clarify the truth to the officials. We said, “In China, the Falun Gong practitioners there, who, like us, believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and insist on doing good things and being good people, have been slandered and severely persecuted by the totalitarian Chinese Communist Party (CCP). When one's belief and basic human rights are violated or persecuted, one should be allowed the right to free expression. In addition, the display boards are all movable and not fixed; they are always placed at the site in the morning and retrieved at night.”
We gave the example of a police officer who issued a ticket to a Falun Gong practitioner who was clarifying the truth at the Taipei 101 Building. The practitioner appealed his case in court, and the court ruled that the practitioner who clarified the truth there was exercising his constitutional right to free speech.
Furthermore, in Hong Kong, a place under Communist rule, Falun Gong practitioners have been placing display boards to expose the CCP's atrocities to the public at all the tourist sites. After listening to the facts, the chief secretary indicated that he would take our petition seriously, and the situation that was once quite tense finally eased up.
After that, a new director general was sworn in and we faced more interference: A park administrator slashed the banners with a knife, and the Maintenance Office did not allow us to place the display boards at the site. We went to the city government to request assistance and to the Maintenance Office to ask for an explanation. The person in charge explained that he had to do his duty when someone reported an issue. We again clarified the truth with the person in charge and told him, “If there is anything we did not do well, we will work on it. If the report is not based on sensible reasons, it should be disregarded.”
Since then, the display boards at the Lianchitan have been allowed to be placed on the grounds, and practitioners do not have to hold them up day after day. After this incident, the practitioners involved also became more mindful of the way the display boards were placed to better maintain an orderly public appearance.
2. Dealing with Interference Caused by Vagrants at the Kaohsiung Liuho Night Market
Around last year's Double Tenth Day (October 10, Taiwan's National Day) and before the presidential election, some vagrants occupied the main location where tourists usually rest at the Liuho Night Market. Some vagrants were sitting and some were laying around, and they really smelled. This incident also caused a great deal of interference with our clarifying the truth at the night market.
At first we sent forth righteous thoughts about it and kindly asked them to leave, but the situation did not improve. I started to get impatient and thought, “We will send forth righteous thoughts to make them leave of their own accord.” As a result, they did not leave. Then I looked inward and realized that I should not have the mindset of returning evil for evil. Was I a disciple of Falun Gong when I thought that way? I changed my mindset and called for the local police to deal with the situation, but the problem still was not resolved.
The next day, I called as a Kaohsiung citizen and asked for an opportunity to meet with the mayor. The mayor's secretary took my phone call. I explained the situation and asked him to resolve the problem. After listening to my account, he agreed and said he would step in to deal with it. However, the vagrants only left for a few days and then re-appeared. This time, they even piled up some old bikes and some other things they had collected. I called up the mayor's secretary again and asked the city government to settle with these vagrants or to have the police pick them up for a record of inquiry for loitering around a tourist site. After that, the vagrants no longer caused interference at the Liuho Night Market.
3. Obstacles from the Liuho Night Market Management Committee
Since we began clarifying the truth at the Liuho Night Market, we have had some conflicts with the market chief, because he wanted to limit the ways in which we operated. As we also had our own considerations, we could not completely comply with his limitations. Furthermore, most of the area we had used was the spare land around a school, and it therefore did not fall within the jurisdiction of the Liuho Night Market Management Committee. The committee office, however, is right next to the site where we clarify the truth to tourists. The committee created many obstacles and did not allow us to use a widescreen television to play DVDs such as the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.
The market chief was determined this time not to help mediate our conflict with the committee director. Some practitioners sent for the Divine Land Marching Band to perform there and hoped the performance would help eliminate the interference. However, the plan did not work. Afterward, we all gathered for a group Fa study and experience sharing. We discussed how we should handle the situation. Some practitioners thought we should have the Epoch Times expose the committee director's wrongdoing. Some practitioners felt that the director's wrongdoing was not so grave, and that the exposure would be inappropriate. They also considered that handling it in such a way would only fuel the conflict between us.
The incident also included our own cultivation factors. Are we not here to save all sentient beings? Compassion is the best way to dissolve conflict. When we looked inward, we recalled what the market chief had complained to us about. Whereas ordinary people have their opinions, we Dafa disciples have things that we should do. However, when problems arise, we should look inward to see where we should elevate our xinxing.
The day after our discussion amongst ourselves, several of us decided to visit the market chief together. When we met him, we first greeted him with kind and polite remarks to show our friendliness and respect. We indicated that we would continue to play Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party at our truth-clarification site at the Liuho Night Market on that day, and we asked him to help stop the committee director from interfering. The market chief called the committee director on the spot and asked him to let us play Nine Commentaries.
During the process of eliminating the interference, we also encountered many obstacles from different sources. We later learned that the committee had a good relationship with the speaker of the city council. I called the city council speaker to clarify the facts to him, and I sought his assistance in resolving the problem. We also showed respect for the Liuho Night Market Management Committee with utmost sincerity. All of the practitioners involved also came to form one body after exchanging views amongst ourselves, and we sent forth righteous thoughts to eradicate the evil behind the ordinary people in the incident. When we had rectified our path in every way, all the interference finally ended.
4. Clarifying the Truth to High-Level Executives of Tour Guides and Travel Agencies
First we have to point out that many tour guides hold positive views about Falun Dafa and are supportive, but we have also heard tour guides tell us, “Our superiors instructed us not to let tourists from mainland China take Falun Gong materials.” Several times I, myself, have also heard some tour guides telling Chinese tourists not to take materials. For some Chinese tourist groups, the entire group did not look, listen, or take our materials. This situation has prevented sentient beings from being saved, and it has created severe interference with the truth-clarification we do at the tourist sites, which calls for an urgent resolution. Such interference points to the places where all of us practitioners involved at the tourist sites around Taiwan need to elevate our xinxing.
On the other hand, if Taiwanese practitioners can come up with approaches to address the problem and extensively talk about the truth of Falun Gong with tour guides as well as the high-level executives of travel agencies who lead Chinese tour groups, our strength to save sentient beings will make great strides.
The above-mentioned accounts are meant to serve as a modest spur to encourage valuable contributions. We invite all practitioners to share their experiences in dealing with the interference, hindrances, and destruction to your truth clarification activities so that we may all elevate. Please kindly point out any impropriety you may find.