Painful Lessons from Not Paying Attention to Cell Phone Security

(Minghui.org) In the Minghui Editorial “What All Dafa Disciples Must Know,” Dafa disciples were asked to uninstall WeChat and delete their personal information immediately from their cell phones. While some took immediate actions, some others didn’t. This has resulted in practitioners in China being arrested from time to time.

In early June 2021, news broke from Liaoning Province that thirteen Dafa disciples were arrested, and the police confiscated their Dafa books, Master's pictures, printers, computers and other items, as well as more than 100,000 yuan in cash.

Given the painful lessons, I think we should pay more attention to cell phone security. Below are some of my observations and I hope fellow practitioners can take it more seriously.

Usually, when discussing Dafa-related things, such as buying supplies to print materials or other things in cultivation, we should discuss it in person instead of over phone calls. But out of convenience, fellow practitioners in our area often contact each other by phone. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is now using big data, cell phone tapping, tracking, and other means to persecute Falun Dafa. However, fellow practitioners still neglect this serious safety issue even though several of them have already suffered a big loss five years ago when they were arrested and incarcerated. But they still have not learned the lesson and do not pay attention to cell phone security. Some elderly fellow practitioners call fellow practitioners and ask for Dafa-related supplies openly.

Some fellow practitioners think they are clever. When speaking on their mobile phones, the first two or three sentences are more cryptic. Gradually they let their guard down, and in the end, they leak all the information that need to be kept confidential.

Some fellow practitioners use their cell phones to watch New Tang Dynasty TV programs, and they are addicted to watching them every day.

Some fellow practitioners take their cell phones wherever they go, including when they are clarifying the truth to people or attending group Fa study. When others pointed out the serious security concerns, they took it lightly: “I have done this for many years without any problems. Plus, I don’t say anything sensitive on the phone. I also have strong righteous thoughts. It’s not a problem.”

Master specifically warned us about cell phone safety:

“All of the mobile phones, computers, and other electronic devices that you carry on you that are connected to the Internet, act as listening devices. The wicked CCP isn’t the only entity that is interested in Dafa disciples. I can tell you that many countries have grown increasingly interested, and are monitoring you. You might think that you’re just a regular practitioner, and of nobody’s concern, but when you make a phone call even things like chitchat, when you went grocery shopping, and when you will eat are recorded, and they analyze everything they can about you. Are you aware of how companies go about analyzing commercial intelligence? It’s based on these things. As long as you carry a mobile phone on you, they have already learned a lot about you.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference”)

In the past, cultivators who didn’t follow their master’s words would have been expelled from the cultivation school and not given a second chance.

Master taught us:

“When the gong and energy that I left at this place in the cosmos, in the Three Realms, do things, if our students don’t act righteously, then the old forces resist, and a state of obstruction appears. That’s why I’ve told our students to walk a righteous path and not to let them find an excuse. Once they find a big one they’ll ruin you. And that’s especially so when it’s at the end and they’re making a last-ditch effort. When they can’t find an excuse they don’t dare to persecute you, because then they too would be violating the laws, and they understand that, so there would be no need for me to eliminate them—the old cosmos’s laws would eliminate them. That’s because they are old beings who take strictly safeguarding the old laws to be what’s most essential.” (Teachings Given on Lantern Festival Day, 2003)

The days for the CCP and the old forces are numbered, as the 100-year red scourge has killed countless lives and it’s time to hold them responsible. Justice will prevail. We must steadily follow Master to the end of the Fa-rectification, follow the path guided by Master, leave no regrets in cultivation, and listen to Master’s words, practice diligently, and save more people.

Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare with one another in study, in cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)