(Minghui.org) Despite being persecuted on the mainland, a Chinese traditional spiritual practice was celebrated in Taiwan by nearly 6,000 practitioners on Saturday. Visitors from mainland China were taken by the scene of the large-scale group Falun Gong exercises and character formation at Liberty Square near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Chinese tourists to this major national landmark took pictures of display boards with information that is censored on the mainland: the truth of the staged self-immolation on Tiananmen Square, lawsuits against high-ranking Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for persecuting Falun Gong, and the state-sanctioned organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience in China. Many Chinese visitors had photos of themselves taken standing next to the display boards.
Nearly 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners formed characters on Liberty Square near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on November 8, 2014. The eight Chinese characters translate as “The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities.”
Group exercises on Liberty Square on November 8, 2014
Tourists from mainland China photograph and pose with the display boards.
Falun Gong practitioners (in yellow tops) talk to visitors about Falun Gong and the persecution at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
A Tourist Condemns CCP Organ Harvesting Crimes
Mr. Hong from Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, China, was visiting Taiwan with a tourist group. The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was their first stop. He spent some time reading the display boards during his free time on the tour schedule.
“He should be sued,” Mr. Hong remarked as he read the board that talked about a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in Spain. Jiang is responsible for initiating the brutal persecution of Falun Gong, which has resulted in thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of imprisonments and disappearances.
“This is a very bad official,” said Hong as he pointed to another board with information about a lawsuit against Bo Xilai, a high-ranking CCP official directly involved in organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners.
This was the first time that Mr. Hong had heard about the regime's state-sanctioned organ harvesting from persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. Surprised, he said, “They [the CCP officials] are so bad! Everyone is cursing them...”
He took pictures of every display board and said that he wanted to show the information to his friends when he got back to China.
“Falun Gong Is Very Good”
Taiwanese tour guide Mr. Chen brought a group of over 10 visitors from Jiangsu Province, China to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on November 8. Upon seeing so many Falun Gong practitioners, they started a discussion among themselves.
“What are so many people doing here?” a member of the group asked.
“It is a large-scale group activity by Falun Gong. They often hold such events,” Mr. Chen replied.
“Falun Gong? Is Falun Gong allowed in Taiwan?” another asked.
“Doesn't it look so? Falun Gong is very good. We have freedom of belief here in Taiwan. Falun Gong is big here. They are very good people,” Mr. Chen answered.
“I heard that not just Taiwan, but there are Falun Gong practitioners in other countries too!” another member chimed in.
“I know, I know! And many people practice Falun Gong in Hong Kong, too.”
Respecting Freedom of Belief and Quitting the CCP
Mr. Li from Beijing was in Taiwan with his mother, wife and daughter. The three adults in the group quit the Chinese Communist Party and/or the Communist Youth League, which they had joined previously. The teenaged daughter also quit the Young Pioneers.
Ms. Wang, also from Beijing, was traveling in Taiwan on leisure. She sat on the steps of the National Theater to one side of the square and quietly watched the character formation.
She said she had thought that Falun Gong was practiced only by senior citizens; so she was surprised to see that people of all ages and all walks of life practice Falun Gong in Taiwan, including faculty members and students from prestigious universities.
Ms. Wang remarked, “Even though Falun Gong is suppressed on the mainland, many of the younger generation support and respect freedom of belief.” She said she liked the politeness and kindness of the Taiwanese and thought that Chinese traditional culture has been better reserved in Taiwan than it has on the mainland. She looked forward to returning to Taiwan to experience more of the island's goodness.
Chinese tourists view the display boards
“It Was Good that I Came Today”
“So many people in so many countries are practicing Falun Gong? This [Falun Gong] is good!” exclaimed Ms. Xu as she read the display board about Falun Gong's wide spread throughout the world.
Ms. Xu had come across information about Falun Gong for the first time. Originally from the mainland, she was in Taiwan with her husband after living in Macau for a number of years.
Ms. Xu was interested in learning the exercises and asked for information about practice sites near her. She quit the CCP and exclaimed, “It was good that I came here today!”
Visitors from different countries take pictures of the large-scale group exercise demonstration
Much Meaning in the Character Formation
Mr. Wu Qingxiang, who designed the character formation, talked about the day's imagery: “The main picture is a Bodhisattva holding the book Zhuan Falun. She poses as a celestial maiden spreading heavenly flowers – this symbolizes the fact that Falun Gong is practiced around the world. Falun Gong is well received in over 100 countries on five continents. Unfortunately, it is persecuted in its country of origin, China.”
The eight Chinese characters mean, “The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities.” Mr. Wu explained that the sentence represents the benefits that Falun Gong brings to practitioners and to society as a whole.
He elaborated, “When everyone follows Falun Gong's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and thinks of others before themselves, the entire society will be in harmony and manifest the impact of the Buddha-light illuminating everywhere and rectifying all abnormalities.”
The event was held at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, a major landmark in Taipei, Taiwan. The large square, flanked by the Memorial Hall, the National Concert Hall and the National Theater, provided a grand stage for the character formation and group exercises.
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