Taiwan: An Introductory Workshop on Falun Gong at Fujen University

On the afternoon of June 2, 2005, invited by Professor Chen from Fujen Catholic University, Falun Gong practitioners introduced Falun Dafa to students in a class. Practitioners talked about the wide spread of Falun Dafa and how the practise was warmly received in China in 1992. They also talked about the unreasonable persecution launched by Jiang Zemin's regime on July 20, 1999 against Falun Gong practitioners.

Professor Chen initiated a new course, "Emerging Religions," this semester. Newly emerging religions and spiritual beliefs have become Professor Chen's focus of research in recent years. In order to allow students to look at different beliefs from a more open angle and to pay attention to communication between different beliefs, Professor Chen wanted his students to have a deeper understanding about Falun Gong. Therefore, he invited Falun Gong practitioners to his class to give an introduction to the cultivation practise.

Professor Chen is fond of jogging at the sports field. Practitioners doing the Falun Gong exercises by the side of the field caught his attention. He went over to learn about the practise and borrowed a copy of a Falun Gong book. When he learned that Falun Gong does not collect money or charge fees, Professor Chen was deeply touched. Therefore, he hoped that his students would also learn about Falun Gong.

Most of Professor Chen's students are Christians. The Falun Gong practitioners first presented a copy of Zhuan Falun to the students. Then a practitioner talked about how Falun Gong was warmly received when it was first introduced in Mainland China and how the practise helped the people and the whole country. The practitioner also talked about the severe persecution encountered by practitioners in Mainland China over the past several years. The students attentively listened to her explanations.

Then the practitioner taught the Falun Gong exercises. Students also followed along with the practitioner to do the exercises. When I tried to capture the scene with my camera, the students became shy and stopped. In order to allow them to learn the practise without any concern, I put down my camera and quietly watched them learning the exercises. After the class was over, the students came over to express their appreciation to the practitioners.