(Clearwisdom.net) Huang Shangyi, born in Changhua, Taiwan, is currently a graduate student at Bielefeld University in Germany. Mr. Huang first went to a language school in Göttingen in March 2003 to study German for six months. Because of the major change in culture and environment, he was quite stressed. So the Epoch Times (a Chinese newspaper), which was delivered to the dormitory weekly, was very important for him. He found that this newspaper was very positive and informative, and gave him a unique feeling that was hard to describe. Shangyi quickly discovered that each issue of the Epoch Times had one page dedicated to Falun Gong, and he found that the stories reported there were very interesting and yet much different from what he knew.

When Shangyi was serving in the Taiwanese Army, he had seen a CCTV program about the 2001 Tiananmen Self-immolation incident (the staged tragedy which has been used by the Jiang faction to frame and incite hatred towards Falun Gong). The program left him with a very negative impression about Falun Gong, though he didn't know anything about this practice. He wasn't interested in finding out the truth as he thought Falun Gong had nothing to do with him.

The message from the Epoch Times thus made him very confused and he didn't know whom he should trust. However, to him, the stories by practitioners didn't seem to be lies. He thus wanted to find out the truth. As he learned that Falun Gong books could be downloaded from Internet for free, he thought: "Why don't I check out the books?" Therefore, he read through Zhuan Falun (1) in just a few days.

Shangyi had briefly explored several other Qigong schools before but he didn't pursue them, as the principles of those schools were either not clear or were too hard to understand. When he finished reading Zhuan Falun, however, he found that this book revealed a very harmonious system of teachings. His questions about Qigong were answered and he was completely convinced. He then started to practice the Falun Gong exercises at home.

When Shangyi was doing the second exercise, the Falun Standing Stance, following the video instruction, he felt a mighty energy flow circulating between his two arms. This unprecedented experience shocked him and inspired him to start his cultivation path in Falun Dafa.

First on the right, Huang Shanyi

Since practicing Falun Dafa, the feelings of stress gradually disappeared and Mr. Huang became more and more joyful. Furthermore, he can easily discover his shortcomings and eliminate them as long as he acts according to the teachings of Falun Dafa. Huang Shanyi is becoming very healthy both mentally and physically.

Participating in the Bielefeld Cultural Festival Parade

Participating in the Athens parade

Participating in a University activity to promote Falun Dafa

In September 2003, Shangyi started his studies at Bielefeld University. There are about 200 Mainland Chinese and several dozen Taiwanese students studying there. There are only 3 Falun Dafa practitioners at the University, who are all specializing in Education. Shangyi and his fellow practitioners practice and hold group study once a week. Because they study in German, besides studying the Fa (2), Shanyi has also benefited a lot in improving his German and his study skills in general.

From his personal experience, Shangyi saw that those who grew up in Taiwan were still misled by the Mainland media's propaganda; he therefore particularly understands the severity of the misleading state-controlled Chinese media. He realized that the more than 200 Chinese students at the University might have also been poisoned as he was, and thus his biggest wish is to help all the Chinese people know the truth about Falun Gong.

Shangyi has been actively participating in Dafa activities, socializing with other Chinese international students, distributing truth-clarifying VCDs, and joining other Fa-promoting activities. At the beginning, many Chinese students suspected that he was a spy and didn't dare to contact him. Through long-term observation, however, many of them finally accepted him as well as the truth of Falun Dafa, brought to them by Shangyi's sincerity and compassion.

In his spare time, Shanyi has been to tourist sites in Cologne and Heidelberg to distribute Falun Gong materials. There are often many Chinese tourists at these sites, and Shangyi hopes that they can learn the truth about Falun Gong from the materials he gives them, as well as through his upright demeanor.

Though once affected by the Jiang faction's anti-Falun Gong propaganda, Shanyi was able to clear up the misunderstanding through the free information channels and then begin practicing Falun Dafa himself. To him, this "crisis" eventually became the most positive turn in his life. He sincerely hopes that all Chinese people can learn the truth about Falun Gong as he did, and he hopes that all practitioners in China can regain a legal environment to practice Falun Gong as soon as possible.

1. Zhuan Falun comprises the principal teachings of Falun Dafa.
2. Fa: Law and principles; the teachings of Falun Dafa.