(Minghui.org) Greetings, venerable Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
People who are familiar with The Epoch Times situation in Hong Kong know that the newspaper’s human resources are very limited and that practitioners have to face the CCP’s suppression directly. In order to guarantee the daily running of the office, most employees have become multi-skilled, and their responsibilities constantly change. It is essential that every practitioner lets go of self and cooperates with others under all circumstances.
Spreading the Truth Despite Adversities
In 2019, The Epoch Times newspapers were on sale in 500 convenience stores. All employees—from the editors to the layout artists, from sales representatives to the accountant, cooperated and became part of the distribution team.
But our papers were removed within three months because the convenience stores were unable to bear the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) pressure. We then put our newspapers, magazines and other books in over 100 newspaper stands. We also added online versions and weekly free newspapers so that our clients’ ads would not be affected. Our goal to run our office through newspaper sales was temporarily placed on hold. We had to think of other ways to keep our office running.
At that moment the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement started. We began to produce front-line reports and videos. The sales representatives started to learn video editing themselves and put the videos on social media platforms. Although we didn’t have time to train our staff members and had very few employees, our office launched our social media news channel for the Hong Kong Epoch Times and NTD.
By August 2019, the anti-extradition bill movement was in full swing. Our reporters were always on the frontline. On weekends we had several simultaneous live broadcasts for four to eight hours. The truth started to spread extensively via our reporters’ cameras.
Behind the scenes, the editors edited videos of touching stories, as well as the clashes on the streets and the perseverance of Hong Kong people and uploaded them to our channels. Each video received thousands of views, and some even reached hundreds of thousands of readers. The overall average viewership reached one to three million. The highest reached was six million. We reached more than a million unique viewers a day. Our subscribership reached four hundred thousand within a year. Most of them are locals, with 90% speaking Cantonese, which means most Hong Kong people who visit social media platforms with their mobile phones have watched our reports.
Previously most locals paid no attention to our newspaper or Falun Dafa and dismissed us. Some looked down on us. But because of this anti-extradition movement, many of them learned the truth through The Epoch Times.
People Are Awakening
When Hong Kong citizens saw our reporters on the streets, many were ready to be interviewed and express their reactions. Several people thanked our reporters. Some apologized to them with tears. Many said they misunderstood us and that they were wrong. They say they now know that we are reporting the truth and that everything the CCP says about Falun Dafa are lies.
They realized that The Epoch Times is giving them a voice through its factual reporting and that we are courageous. Some people even gave reporters food and water at the live broadcast scenes. Some became our volunteer reporters after they learned the truth. One volunteer reporter was attacked by a CCP thug with a knife. A local citizen protected him and was injured himself instead. He had recently moved to Hong Kong and admired The Epoch Times.
Many people posted messages online. When CCP agents attacked our website, we were so busy that we didn’t have time to monitor the site. Many netizens clarified the truth about Falun Dafa and thus formed a positive field on the platform.
Previously Hong Kong people could not distinguish the difference between the CCP and the Chinese people. They looked down on our reporters because some speak Cantonese with accents. During the anti-extradition bill movement, they admired our frontline reporters. They praised and respected our Cantonese reporters who endured so many difficulties. On one occasion, an elderly practitioner at a Falun Dafa information site got hold of a thug who was attacking the site. Because the practitioner spoke Cantonese with an accent, a passerby thought she was a CCP agent. When he saw the Falun Dafa materials, he turned back and caught the thug. He offered to be a witness for our practitioner.
While we were reporting, I felt Master and the Gods were with us, helping us. Several times our exclusive reports were done on very special occasions. Those reports were widely spread among viewers. They also witnessed our reporters’ wisdom, courage and calm.
One day, one of our reporters saw what appeared to be a fake reporter and suspected he was a CCP agent. She later learned that he held a fake press card. Several audience members contacted our hotline and told us that this man was a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and had a close relationship with the police. He was also a member of Hong Kong Youth Care Association Limited and participated in activities that slander Falun Dafa. The CCP has infiltrated Hong Kong extensively and utilizes local officials, businesses, and criminal elements.
Hong Kong residents can increasingly see the truth and know which media have been bought out by the CCP. They are awakening and judging things for themselves. They often say that only The Epoch Times has a conscience.
Back when the CCP started to persecute Falun Dafa, practitioners began distributing fliers. People often cursed us or tore up our materials and threw them in our faces. Some people even spat at us and shouted at us. The best reaction we could hope for was when they accepted our fliers. Now, their reaction has completely changed and they support us. It’s amazing!
Even though there are many newspapers in Hong Kong, people rely on The Epoch Times for factual reporting. We have taken a big step forward and are now closer to becoming the biggest worldwide media as Master asked of us.
The process is nothing short of miraculous. When we were short of hands, overseas practitioners came to help with frontline reporting, video editing, transcription, captioning, proofreading, editing and photograph design. It was also a good opportunity for us to cooperate with each other and form one body. When practitioners with different educational and cultural backgrounds work together, we must let go of ourselves. Even if I thought I was right but there were different opinions and we couldn’t reach an agreement, I must step back. As long as we try to understand each other, the changes are immediate and Gods will help us complete our task.
The Hong Kong judicial system was crippled this year, and many well-known politicians were sentenced. People felt sad. Many chose to immigrate to other countries. One person persuaded a famous human rights lawyer to leave Hong Kong. He didn’t say anything but asked my colleague what our plan was. My colleague said that we would not leave because the CCP wants people with a conscience to leave so that it can achieve its goal. He said, “I am with you. Twenty years ago, practitioners said this was an ideological battle. I didn’t understand it at that time.”
The Hong Kong Epoch Times printing plant was set on fire in November 2019. It was sabotaged again by the CCP thugs this April. Several Falun Dafa information sites were attacked within a few days. The CCP mouthpiece published articles slandering Dafa on consecutive days.
Many overseas practitioners were worried about us. Some tried to persuade Hong Kong practitioners to leave. But practitioners are the only hope for local people to be saved. How could we possibly leave? Ordinary people might be not able to let go of fear, but we practitioners have Master and the Fa. We cultivate, clarify the truth and save people wherever we are. So why should we be worried?
Cultivating and Letting Go of Attachments in My Family and Work Environments
My family members in China were harassed by officers from the National Security Bureau from 2013 to 2019. The CCP pressured me via my family members in China. My non-practitioner family members worried about the safety of my family in Hong Kong and my child’s education environment. They tried to force me to move to another country. But I persisted and stayed in Hong Kong. I know that my mission is here because I have studied and lived in Hong Kong for almost thirty years. I obtained the Fa in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Epoch Times was launched the same year I graduated from university in Hong Kong. I immediately joined The Epoch Times—I grew up with The Epoch Times and weathered the wind and rain.
Master said,
“If you are not afraid, the factor that would make you afraid will cease to exist. This is not to be self-imposed, but is achieved by truly and calmly letting go of it.” (“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s),” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I said to Master in my heart, “Master decides my cultivation path. Wherever I am and whatever I do, I will try my best to clarify the truth and save sentient beings.”
When I was no longer worried, things turned around.
The CCP virus epidemic erupted and became a global pandemic. My family members in China felt that it was safer in Hong Kong, so they stopped pressuring me to leave.
I became a sales manager in 2019. Due to the changes in the editorial department at the beginning of this year, I was assigned to be chief editor of a new editorial department. If it were an everyday person’s office, my promotion would have meant fame and gain. But as a manager for The Epoch Times, it meant I had to assume more responsibilities and face more conflicts. I preferred to do the graphic design for my ads for my clients. When I saw clients with my colleague, I clarified the truth to them and also asked them to put ads in our newspaper.
I knew that I had to fill in whatever the project required. I knew this was the test I had to get through. I should have the courage to face different opinions and even condemnation, and my heart should be truly unmoved. It was indeed a hard test, but I realized Master arranged it for me to improve.
I was always a caring person who redressed injustices. I thought it was one of my strengths. But after I started cultivating, I found it was actually an attachment that I had to eliminate.
Previously I would scold a practitioner relentlessly if she didn’t do the design as I required. Whoever didn’t do the layout or edit video or images according to the sample, I would keep asking them to change until it I was satisfied. I always thought the practitioner was not doing her job seriously if she didn’t do as required, I would keep asking her to change. If she still failed after several tries, I kept scolding her and even raised my voice. I behaved this way at home as well.
My son’s academic scores dropped from the top to the middle when he was in Grade Five. After he got a mobile phone, I noticed that he was distracted. When I discovered he secretly played games on it, I was very angry. He studied the Fa every day, and we read what Master said about video games. Why didn’t he remember? I deleted his game apps and scolded him. He talked back, saying that I never let him play anything. When I tried to reason with him, he slammed the door and left.
My son helped my cultivation a lot. I might be able to avoid conflicts at work, but I could not avoid them at home. Every time I lost my temper with him, I thought of Master’s Fa:
“Some people will lose their temper in disciplining children and yell at them, making quite a scene. You should not be that way in disciplining children, and neither should you, yourselves get really upset. You should educate children with reason so that you can really teach them well. If you cannot even get over a trifle and lose your temper easily, how can you expect to increase your gong?” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
I knew I should maintain my xinxing even better at work.
Practitioner Hui didn’t cooperate at work. Whoever suggested changes, he would present a pile of reasons and excuses for not changing. He always complained and scolded others. No one was able to convince him, and problems remained unsolved. Our director reminded us that we were talking about things theoretically.
Master said,
“I have not only taught you Dafa, but have also left you my demeanor. While working, your tone of voice, your kindheartedness, and your reasoning can change a person’s heart, whereas commands never could! If others are not convinced deep down inside but only superficially comply, they will still conduct themselves according to their own will when no one is around to see them.” (“Clearheadedness,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I didn’t think that what Master said applied to me because I was not an assistant, so I didn’t measure my actions with it. All practitioners have sides that haven’t been cultivated well. I should not focus on other people’s uncultivated sides or develop negative thoughts about them. Cultivation is about cultivating oneself. I shouldn’t always examine other people and demand that they change.
I should remember that Master is looking after Hui’s cultivation and that I shouldn’t demand anything from him. While working for The Epoch Times, we have to remember to have compassion.
Furthermore, we need to be professional. Everyone is different with different strengths and shortcomings. Some practitioners work harder so they can become professionals, but some are not able to achieve it due to various reasons, and then I have to make it up. I knew this might be a test for me and that I had to work harder and forbear more while my heart shouldn’t be moved.
My son was born into my family. He studied the Fa every day by himself, but he didn’t have a cultivation environment that a little disciple should have. I was busy with work and unable to interact with him. He was unavoidably influenced by the ordinary social environment. He knew Falun Dafa’s principles, but it was difficult to control himself, look within and cultivate solidly. I knew I should not scold him.
I stopped blaming him the next day. I read Master’s earlier lectures with him and we did the exercises. I talked with him calmly about his studies and raising his grades. As a result, he voluntarily went to do his homework.
As to practitioner Hui, I started with improving myself. I eliminated the factors that caused me to dislike him. I resolved to let go of any negative thoughts and dissolve them in other dimensions so that he wouldn’t be provoked. I shared my situation with other colleagues. We all realized that Hui’s behavior might be a test for our cultivation. If we continued to be attached to his uncultivated side, the old forces might take advantage of our loopholes until they destroyed the project. First, we must maintain our xinxing and our hearts should not be moved. As for the work that needed to be addressed, we just talked over it without blaming anyone. We became mature during the process. The page views of the website have also started to rise steadily.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, all!
(Presented at the 2021 International Online Fa Conference)
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