(Clearwisdom.net)
(Continued from Part 3)
Part 1: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/5/18/60914.html
Part 2: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/6/13/61830.html
Part 3: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2005/6/15/61549.html
Contrast between Falun Gong in Taiwan and in Mainland China
In 1992 when it was introduced in China, Falun Gong was welcomed because of the numerous health benefits it brought to the people. According to an official government survey conducted in 1998, 70 to 100 million people practiced Falun Gong in China. Through practicing Falun Gong, people became healthier and improved their characters, thus benefiting society. Government health care costs were reduced. On July 20, 1999, fearful of a loss of control over the hearts and minds of the people, Jiang Zemin declared a crackdown on Falun Gong. The state-controlled media broadcasted rumors, defamation and lies with the purpose of inciting public hatred toward Falun Gong. Jiang's regime has conducted a systematic persecution of practitioners through ransacking their homes, extorting money, police harassment, abductions, imprisonment, brainwashing, torture and injection of nerve-damaging drugs. At least 2,144 practitioners are confirmed dead, and hundreds of thousands more have suffered torture in labor camps.
Across the strait in Taiwan, the situation is different. In these ten years, the number of Falun Gong practitioners has grown from several hundred to three hundred thousand, with more people learning every day. In Taiwan, people from all walks of life appreciate Falun Gong for its positive impacts on personal health and society.
Here is a comparison of Falun Gong in Taiwan vs. Falun Gong in Mainland China:
Government and Academic Sectors
The CCP has always relied on lies and violence to retain power. Under the direct orders of Jiang's regime, radio stations, TV stations, newspapers and other media continuously spread lies to justify the persecution.
Jiang's regime provides extensive funding to the Gestapo-like 610 Office, with its sole purpose being coordinating the persecution Falun Gong. The 610 Office directs mass arrests, torture, and the detention of practitioners in labor camps. Brainwashing classes and mental hospitals have also been utilized by the regime in attempting to force practitioners to give up their belief. Female practitioners are sexually abused. Soldiers, police, spies and hired thugs brutally persecute Falun Gong practitioners according to CCP orders. Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been mentally and physically tormented and their human rights severely violated.
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 Police in Mainland China beat, drag and arrest Falun Gong practitioners who are appealing |
 Taiwan Falun Gong practitioners hold a candlelight vigil for commemorating fellow practitioners who have died due to persecution |
 Police on Tiananmen Square drag Falun Gong practitioners to police vehicles |
 Ten thousand people gather in front of the Taiwan President's Office to support a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin |
 A mainland Falun Gong practitioner and her 8-month-old son lost their lives during the persecution |
 A mother and baby practice Falun Gong exercises in the morning. |
The situation of Falun Gong practitioners in Taiwan is like a completely different world from China. Falun Gong practitioners are supported by the government administration, the legislative body, local parliaments and lawyer's organizations. Taiwan's President Chen Shuibian and Vice President Lu Xiulian have publicly declared their support of Falun Gong over ten times. The Mayor of Taipei, Ma Yingjiu, has attended Falun Gong gatherings and criticized the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong in public. When practitioner Lin Xiaokai was illegally detained in China, all parties at the legislative body expressed strong concerns and condemnation of the persecution. Scores of professors and staff members at the National Taiwan University are Falun Gong practitioners. Some of them include Chang Ching-Hsi, former head of the Department of Economics, Chang Chin-Hwa, Chairman of the Institute of Journalism, Ming Chu-Cheng, Chairman of the Department of Political Science, and the head of the Human Resources Office.
Contrast between the educational systems of Taiwan and China
The persecution of Falun Gong permeates everything in China, including the educational system. Anti-Falun Gong propaganda has been used to target school children. Former Education Minister Chen Zhili was served with a lawsuit during her visit to Tanzania. She is charged with the crime of inflicting anti-Falun Gong brainwashing on students and teachers. Using her authority as Education Minister, Chen Zhili forced all teachers, employees and students to support the persecution of Falun Gong by forcing them to sign petitions. Students were forced to slander Falun Gong in order to get good grades on essays, pass tests and get accepted into college. She also directed the Ministry of Education to include slander of Falun Gong in textbooks.
In China, officials and intellectuals in the realm of education spread lies to defame Falun Gong in academic circles. These people have utilized large amounts of manpower, resources and time to counter "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" as a belief. Teachers and students who practice Falun Gong are subject to persecution. Many teachers have been fired from their jobs and/or forced to leave their homes to avoid being illegally arrested. Many students have been expelled from school and lost their rights to study or graduate. The persecution of Falun Gong in China has put three hundred and sixty million children under terrible pressure. Innocent children in China are imbued with false information and hatred against Falun Gong and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." Fourteen million children and teenagers are under the threat of being expelled from school, losing their parents or having to leave their homes. Countless children are already victims of the persecution. Their innocent and inherent sense of goodness has been terribly distorted by the propaganda.
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In Taiwan, which has the same language and ethnicity as China, school teachers, students and parents freely practice Falun Gong and have gained immeasurable benefits from it. Falun Dafa Study Camps held during the summer and winter vacation are well received by Education Bureaus, principals and teachers. Students obtain class credits for attendance. Forty or fifty Falun Gong organizations are operating in Taiwan's universities. Many principals, superintendents, directors and teachers practice Falun Gong. Educational environments that teach Falun Gong's principles--Minghui kindergartens, Minghui classes, and Falun Gong summer camps--are praised by students and parents.
Education is a matter of fundamental importance for generations to come. From the sharp contrast between Taiwan and Mainland China, we feel that children in Taiwan are really happy because they are able to study and grow up in an environment where the principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" is appreciated. Many children also practice and benefit from Falun Gong.
Prisons Differ Between Taiwan and China
In July 1999, Jiang's regime began a comprehensive, illegal persecution of Falun Gong. Several hundred forced labor camps currently hold more than 100,000 illegally detained practitioners. Prison guards who have been seduced with various incentives to use brutal methods of torture on practitioners in order to achieve prescribed "transformation" rates. Practitioners are forced to give up their belief in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" after reaching the limits of suffering due to brutal physical and mental tortures, extortion and other means. Over two thousand practitioners have been tortured to death and many are still being illegally held in jails, labor camps, detention centers, prisons and mental hospitals, still suffering from merciless beatings. Criminals are incited by the guards to torture practitioners in exchange for personal gain. Some practitioners have been tortured to death by them.
Methods used in the forced labor camps include electric shocks with high-voltage batons, beatings, long term sleep deprivation, standing and squatting for extended periods of time, force-feeding, "tying up" and forced injection of drugs. Types of mental abuse include forcing practitioners to write "guarantee statements," making them listen to propaganda that slanders Falun Gong for long periods of time, 24-hour surveillance by prisoners assigned to them, and incriminating their family members.
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Many Falun Gong practitioners in Taiwan have visited prisons, holding seminars and classes to teach prisoners about Falun Gong. They introduce Falun Gong and the principles of "Zhen-Shan-Ren" (Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance) to the staff and detainees. The practitioners have been welcomed and praised by both the prison authorities and the detainees. Some people who are imprisoned for drug rehabilitation have started to read the book Falun Gong to learn how to cultivate their bodies and minds. Many have begun practicing Falun Gong exercises to improve their health and strengthen their bodies. The prisoners also introduce Zhuan Falun to their families. The contrast between China and Taiwan is quite sharp, despite the same culture and heritage.
Conclusion
From 1992, when Teacher Li Hongzhi brought Falun Dafa to the public until now, 13 years have passed. Today, over 100 million people in over 60 countries practice Falun Gong. At the place of its introduction in Mainland China, Jiang Zemin began a brutal persecution out of jealousy and the need to control people's minds. As a result, people in China lost their freedom to learn and practice Falun Gong. The persecution not only did not succeed in eliminating Falun Gong, but instead Falun Gong has spread all over the world. For six years, Falun Gong practitioners in China have appealed peacefully to end the persecution. Falun Gong practitioners overseas have also reached out to people in China to tell them the facts of Falun Gong. Those who were poisoned by Jiang's lies and propaganda have started to know the truth, understanding that Falun Gong has been wrongly attacked.
I strongly believe that it is just a matter of time before Falun Gong's name will be cleared in China. With the increasing number of reported torture deaths, and with the ongoing issue of practitioners being forced to leave their homes in order to avoid illegal arrest, we sincerely hope that more people of conscience will stand up to help stop this brutal persecution.
May 11, 2005
