(Clearwisdom.net)
Tribulations Related to Putting Up a Falun Dafa Billboard
At the beginning of this year, Malaysian Falun Dafa practitioners hired an advertising company and entrusted them with putting up a large billboard with the words, "Falun Dafa Is Great" along a major highway. Some passers-by had the misunderstanding that Falun Gong is illegal in Malaysia and reported this to the related authorities. Not until then did we find out that the advertising company didn't follow the required procedures when putting up the billboard. They put up the billboard first and then applied for a permit from the local government. We recognized that we hadn't followed up each issue with the advertising company during the whole process. As a result, the billboard was taken down.
This deficiency or omission on our part led to a sad consequence. Some newspapers fabricated the news and covered the whole process of the billboard being taken down, making it appear as if the government doesn't recognize Falun Gong. This then aggravated the public's misunderstanding of Falun Gong.
In order to make up for the negative influence on the public, practitioners directly went to the related department to apply for an advertising permit. Though we had prepared all the necessary documents beforehand and had met all the required conditions, the related authorities didn't approve our application due to pressure from other areas, but not because we were not qualified.
Successfully Hanging Up Banners to Introduce Falun Dafa
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Banners introducing Falun Dafa along several segments of a road
In May 2004, a practitioner had the idea of hanging banners introducing Falun Dafa on lamp poles along a road. With reference to the previous incident about the billboard, he realized that we should do everything ourselves. He and several practitioners patiently went through the whole complicated procedure of getting the banners up, from looking for an advertising company to make the banners, applying for a permit, to hanging up the banners. During the application process, he explained the facts about Falun Gong to those who did not know Falun Gong. A hundred banners were thus smoothly hung up along several segments of the road in Kuala Lumpur.
Trying for a Second Time to Put Up a Billboard With the Words, "Falun Dafa Is Great"
The practitioner also applied to a related department in a different area for setting up a large billboard with the words, "Falun Dafa Is Great," and obtained assistance from the advertising company who made the banners. When the advertising company learned that the practitioners paid with their own money for all the costs related to promoting Falun Dafa, he gave the practitioners a favorable price. Therefore, a billboard with the words, "Falun Dafa Is Great" eventually reappeared along a major road.
More Tribulations Related to Hanging Up the Banners
Those banners drew the media's attention. First, a newspaper made a positive report. But shortly after, another newspaper published a statement from the City Council questioning the validity of our group. The council also claimed that banners along certain segments of the road were hung up before getting their approval, and therefore they were illegal and they wanted to take down all the banners. After the news was published, a local council member said that he would investigate the issue.
Practitioners were caught off guard by this turn of events. Since we believed that we had followed all the required procedures for hanging the banners, why were there problems? Where did we have omissions? We looked inward to check ourselves. Later, we realized that because the public has long been misled by the negative reports from China on Falun Gong, many people therefore haven't clearly understood what Falun Gong is. Our omission was that we hadn't helped more people learn the truth about Falun Gong.
Explaining the Facts at the City Council
Three practitioners went to the City Council and related authorities to inquire about the incident and to explain to them the facts about Falun Gong. The practitioners met people with widely different mentalities. Some were very stubborn. For instance, the Vice Chairman of the City Council reprimanded us for not having told him earlier that Falun Gong was banned in China. The practitioners explained to him about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, but he seemed uninterested in the facts. He abruptly told us, "I don't want to have contact with you any more." He then asked us to leave.
We also met with some kind-hearted people. The practitioners inquired at the public relations department and confirmed that there had been nothing wrong with our application. The person who claimed in the newspaper that our banners were hung up prior to approval told the practitioners that she believed a reporter who had given her incorrect information about our banners, and she had not investigated first. She offered her apologies to the practitioners. The practitioners told her about the situation of Falun Dafa in China and in Malaysia. She showed her sympathy and said she would write a letter to the Falun Dafa Association to apologize.
Further Clarifying the Truth to Council Members and the Media
Practitioners went to clarify the truth to that councilman, and showed him all the documentation of our application procedures for the permit. After that, the practitioners went to clarify the truth to the newspaper office. Practitioners clarified the truth with a kind and pure heart and didn't expect too much from the newspaper. Several days later, the newspaper unexpectedly published our statement to clarify the fact that our banners were indeed legal.
Dafa Banners Awaken the Public to Think Positively of Falun Dafa
There were a number of problematic occurrences related to our banners: someone took down some banners, and someone stole or burned banners. However, practitioners faced all the unfair treatment with a cultivator's great compassion and tolerance, and continuously explained the facts about Falun Gong to those who do not understand it. Though the newspapers' misleading reports were still frequent, practitioners continued to extend the application for permission to hang up banners. We believe that the Dafa banners are awakening the public to think positively of Falun Dafa.
