In Order to Be Practitioners, We Have to Be Good People First - Falun Gong's Impact on Society

Many Falun Gong practitioners in Taiwan practise the Falun Gong exercises in parks and schools early every morning. Their minds and spirits are quiet and comfortable, their demeanour calm and peaceful. Many practitioners benefit from practising Falun Gong so it is only natural that they practise the exercises everyday. They are also members of society from different walks of life, including scholars, farmers, workers, businessmen, doctors, attorneys, teachers, officials, students, police, housewives, and so on. Falun Gong requires practitioners to be good people in any environment, and it asks practitioners to do a good job at work and to always strive to improve themselves. Many practitioners, whether in their family, at work, or in society, are highly respected by those around them. Their good deeds and conduct are evident in many places in Taiwan, and these practitioners have become a stabilising force in the society. Out of many possible examples, three practitioners from Taipei, Kaohsiung and Hualian are profiled below.

Group Exercise

Huang Li-hwi Receives the Model Government Worker Award from Executive Yuan

Biographical sketch describing Ms. Huang's achievements	Certificate for recognition as "model official"

Huang Li-hwi is the Vice-Group Leader of "The Multilateral Trade Group" at the International Trade Bureau in Taiwan's Department of Economics. She was inspired by an English teacher in her high school, but frequently pondered her direction in life to no avail. She always studied hard and graduated at the top of her class in her department as a university student. Only after she read the core text of Falun Gong teachings in the book Zhuan Falun did she suddenly find answers to her persistent, lifelong questions and more clearly understand the purpose of life.

After she started practising Falun Dafa in May of 1999, she followed Master Li's teachings to always think of others first. Her calm and gentle disposition, her strong spirit, and her friendly and kind behaviour made other people feel comfortable and at ease around her. Her family life is harmonious. She handles matters efficiently, and she is glad to help her colleagues and subordinates. Because she emphasises cooperation and improving their work skills, her associates highly respect her.

The International Trade Bureau assigned her to several difficult and unrelated jobs that were not really in her area. Huang Li-hwi simply accepted the responsibility and completed them one by one. Since her work involves important matters relating to the country's economic policies, she frequently meets with senior officials. As a Falun Gong practitioner she is sincerely considerate of others, so for manageable projects she only reports to her superior for further instructions after careful consideration and planning. Only for really unfamiliar and hard-to-manage projects will she seek advice from her senior officer. This enabled them to work together harmoniously and productively.

In May 2003, Huang Li-hwi was recognised and honoured as a Model Governmental Worker of the Year. This award, given to only sixty out of hundreds of thousands of government workers in Taiwan who have made special contributions to the country and the society each year, is the highest honour. Her colleagues and superiors were also gratified and agreed that she truly is a model worker. A section chief at the time, she has since been promoted to vice-group leader of "The Multilateral Trade Group."

Huang Jyh-peng, Chief of the International Trade Bureau, described this outstanding subordinate: "I do not know what it is about Falun Gong, but I believe in Huang Li-hwi. She can accomplish her job well, and so many people who believe in Falun Gong are so good. Falun Gong must be a good school of cultivation practice."

Chang Su-shing is proclaimed an "Extraordinary Teacher" by Kaohsiung

Plaque	Certificate of Achievement	Congratulatory Letter

Chang Su-shing serves as the Director of Wufwu Junior High School in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She said that she suffered from all kinds of diseases before practising Falun Gong and she had tried all kinds of folk remedies. She relied on many medicines and tonics just to survive. In July 2002, she started to practise Falun Dafa with her family. The practice enabled her to escape the regimen of medications and diet she had followed for many years, and she felt free and light without any disease. Originally her son suffered from tuberculosis, her daughter had allergies, and her husband had hypertension. They also have recovered without using medication after practising Falun Gong.

Most importantly, she follows Master Li's teachings:

"If every one of us cultivates inward, if every one of us examines his own character for causes, if when we don't do well we look inside ourselves for the cause, and we try to do better next time, and if we think about other people first any time we do something, then the world will change for the better, morals will go back up, people's civility will improve, and crime will go down." (Zhuan Falun)

She found that her mind and spirit steadily stabilised day by day, she no longer said unpleasant words, she got rid of the habit of rushing through red traffic lights, and she got rid of her short temper. She learnt more about how to maintain self-control and how to hold herself to a higher standard.

At that time Chang Su-shing was the director of the Educational Administration of Sheaukan Junior High School in Kaohsiung. Besides her concern for the students' academic achievements, she also hoped they would develop a noble and moral character. She often used opportunities to apply the Falun Dafa principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" in her teaching. She encourages students to tell the truth and to do things truthfully, to be kind to others and to consider other people first in everything, and to be tolerant and endure hardships. She taught and led the students by example. These principles are deeply planted in students' minds, and they do not say dirty words any more, nor do they dress up improperly any longer.

Chang Su-shing teaches students earnestly and tirelessly, and has been frequently recognised by educational units. She was awarded first place in a teacher evaluation among junior high schools at Kaohsiung. The Ministry of Education also acknowledged her because of her outstanding performance in researching and developing the nine-year curriculum. In September 2002, the Bureau of Education in Kaohsiung proclaimed Chang Su-shing as an "Extraordinary Teacher."

Chang Su-shing said that Falun Gong was introduced to the public in 1992 and that 100 million people were practising Falun Gong in China within several years. Many people like her regained their healthy minds and bodies. In July of 1999, out of envy and resentment, the former President of China, Jiang Zemin launched the brutal and bloody persecution of Falun Gong. Jiang's regime used one fourth of the country's financial resources to suppress and persecute Falun Gong and utilised the state-controlled media to constantly fabricate propaganda to incite the populace's hatred against Falun Gong. They have produced a huge series of lies to demonise Falun Gong. During the last five years, more than a thousand practitioners have died due to the persecution, hundreds of thousands of practitioners have been illegally imprisoned or sentenced, and many more practitioners were forced to leave home and become destitute to avoid arrest.

She said that after serving in the educational field for so many years, her most important accomplishment was to practise Falun Dafa. She sincerely hopes that people can understand the truth of this persecution and can rescue practitioners in China who are being persecuted and tortured. Chang Su-shing appeals to everybody to exercise their morality and conscience, and to bravely step forward together to bring an end to this brutal persecution.

Lee Min-yu is proclaimed an 'Extraordinary Teacher' with the highest scores

Plaque	Proclamation Document	Shieh Shen-shan, the County Magistrate of Hualian, presents the award to Lee Min-yu.

Lee Min-yu is a teacher at MingYih Elementary School in Hualian County. Since her childhood, she has had many doubts in life and could not find the answers she was looking for, even after painstaking study. She was so feeble that doctors could not measure the pulses of her arteries. In 2001, she started practising Falun Gong. After reading Zhuan Falun, she realised that the purpose of life is to return to one's origin and true self. In the last three years, she has not needed to use her health insurance card once. Her husband, relatives and friends complimented her on looking younger and younger.

Before, Lee Min-yu frequently was anxious, suffered from insomnia, and could not eat. After practising Falun Gong, her spirits are up, she is calm, and she now can effectively and in a non stressful way complete her daily teaching. In front of her students, she is no longer a fearsome teacher who pushed relentlessly. In front of her son, she is no longer a severe and demanding mother. She is more at ease with and considerate of her parents-in-law. Her relationships with her colleagues have become more harmonious, as well.

Because both her body and mind have benefited from the practice, she always wants to recommend the goodness and wonder of Falun Dafa to her family members, colleagues, and students. She teaches her students in the classroom to have good intentions, to be polite, and to understand the principle of "doing good will accumulate virtue and doing evil will lose virtue." In the weekly group activities, she organised a group to teach students Falun Gong's five sets of exercises and read and recite the poems in Hong Yin (a collection of the founder of Falun Gong, Master Li's, poems). She also uses stories and all sorts of events in daily life to help students understand the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance." Students are gradually changing for the better after listening to these principles.

In September of 2003, Lee Min-yu was honoured as an "Extraordinary Teacher" in Hualian County. This is a major annual event organised by the Bureau of Education to encourage teachers' professionalism. She was elected to receive this honour with the highest score of all the recommended teachers in the county. Each school could only recommend one or two teachers to participate in this evaluation.

In April of 2004, Lee Min-yu led 363 students in the fourth grade to demonstrate the five sets of Falun Gong exercises at the school's annual games. The demonstration received warm applause and appreciation from the attending teachers, students, parents and guests. On the same day as the games, several other Falun Dafa activities were presented: the Falun Dafa Photo Exhibition, an exercise demonstration, videos of Falun Dafa around the world, a stage play entitled "Exposing the Staged Self-Immolation at Tiananmen," a "Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice around the World" display, and so on. She said that children in Taiwan can freely study and practise Falun Gong to obtain a healthy mind and body, but students in China will be compelled to leave school and be illegally imprisoned if they simply say the phrase "Falun Dafa is Good!" This sharp contrast is like the difference between night and day.