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Safety Issues Regarding Group Chat Platforms

Nov. 22, 2018 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner in the U.S.

(Minghui.org) I was surprised to learn from articles on the Minghui website that practitioners in China are continuing to use group chat platforms. Practitioners in the U.S., where the Internet is more secure, don't engage in large-scale group chats. We all have our own work and projects and don't have that much time to socialize.

We cultivate within our projects and social environments, and just a few practitioners tend to participate in Fa study online. Cultivation is an individual matter. Some practitioners say they have joined group chats to share cultivation experiences. Minghui.org has collected cultivation sharing articles for many years.

Sending messages and articles on group chat platforms takes up time that should be spent studying the Fa, doing the exercises, clarifying the truth, and reading the Minghui website. Why install group chat software to add extra distraction to our cultivation?

Sometimes we need to discuss things that have to do with our projects. But are group chat platforms the best way to do that? Are they safe enough? Have we inadvertently allowed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members to join our discussions? Master has told us that the mobile phones of all the practitioners outside of China have all been tapped. Then, what about the electronic devices in China?

Could group chatting be an indication that we have let up in our cultivation? If we have spare time, shouldn't we spend it doing the three things instead of “chatting?” Have we let down our guard when it comes to the CCP? Group chats aren't safe.

Some practitioners are still attached to spreading rumors and gossip. They want to know everything and want to have a say in everything. Spreading gossip and rumors may be an attachment to showing off.

What's most fundamental to cultivation is the improvement of one's xinxing. It has nothing to do with how much one knows about a project. Seeking inside information may be the attachment of pursuit and may be easily used by negative factors. When practitioners get worked up and allow themselves to be led by negative impulses, they may be damaging projects and their own cultivation.

Master said in “Teaching the Fa in Washington D.C. In 2018, Team Yellow Translation:”

“Minghui.org provides Dafa disciples with a forum for sharing and exchanging ideas, while also offering non-practitioners a window into our world. So you can share whatever ideas you have through the site. But coordinating things on a large scale is not something you should be doing [in China] at this time. You really need to be mindful of everyone’s safety.”

Master has told Minghui.org that practitioners in China shouldn't engage in large-scale coordination. I feel that group chats are a form of “large-scale coordination.”

To qualify as a genuine disciple, we have to follow Master's guidance. I don't see how any form of large-scale coordination in China could avoid being monitored and possibly used by the CCP. That means you may be collecting information for the CCP and exposing yourself and others to danger.

The above is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.