Taiwan and China: One Practice, Two Responses

NTD TV's Chinese New Year Spectacular opened in Vancouver, Canada on January 3rd, 2007. Since then, it has been on tour in cities such as San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal, and Tainan (Taiwan). The tickets were sold out every time, and the shows have received much attention. Recently, there have been three news reports about the Spectacular that were worth noting.

One performance, two responses

The Chinese New Year Spectacular was held on January 12th, 2007 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent a video greeting to the Spectacular prior to the show, wishing the Chinese people a happy new year and thanking the NTD TV spectacular for contributing to the multiculturalism of Canada. Officials and legislators from all levels of the government attended the performance. Canadian Minister of Environment John Baird came to the Spectacular in person to congratulate the performance, representing the Prime Minister and the administration.

The NTD TV Spectacular had four performances in Taiwan. President Chen Shui-bian, Vice President Annette Lu, Mayor Hau Lung-bin of Taipei, Mayor Chen Chu of Kaohsiung, Mayor Jason Hu of Taichung, Mayor Hsu Tain-Tsair of Tainan, as well as twelve other city or county leaders, sent 20 congratulatory letters.

In stark contrast to these festive receptions, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is very frightened of the show, which displays traditional Chinese culture. Even outside of China, the CCP has employed its sinister methods to interfere with the performance. Due to pressure from the CCP the performance in Seoul, Korea was cancelled. This turn of events actually brought more international attention to the Spectacular.

The CCP regards truthful NTD TV as a thorn in its side

NTD TV has hosted Spectacular performances for the last three years. The show gives Chinese people around the world an opportunity to enjoy traditional Chinese culture through a splendid performance. It has been well received and has contributed to the cultural exchange between the East and West. That was why it won praise from Canadian government officials across cultural barriers, and from Taiwanese government officials from different parties across political barriers.

Since its inception five years ago, NTD TV has reported on many politically sensitive issues that the CCP tries to censure yet are critical to the lives of the Chinese people. Examples include SARS, Hong Kong's Article 23, movements in China to protect civil rights, the continued persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and especially the organ harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners. The CCP has long perceived the station's unique coverage and unflinching reporting as a great threat. The cancellation of the show in Seoul is another entry in the record of CCP's suffocation of freedom of speech around the world.

The history of CCP is one of destruction of traditional Chinese culture

From the perspective of the continuation of culture, it is easy to see the contrast between how Falun Gong is treated in Taiwan and China. The Chinese culture, which spans over 5,000 years, has been infused with a culture of cultivation from the Buddha and Tao schools. The inner meaning of the Chinese culture calls for harmony and union between mankind and nature. Many stories of cultivation over thousands of years describe the experience of becoming a deity or an enlightened being. Falun Gong, which was brought to the public in 1992, may be considered the most important representation of the culture of cultivation in China. The practice encourages self-reflection and returning to one's original, true self. As a result, it spread very fast and gained a firm following.

The CCP's 80-year history is one of destruction of the traditional Chinese culture. As revealed in Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, from the 1920s, when Mao Zedong advocated the killing of wealthy land owners, to the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s, the Chinese culture has experienced an unprecedented destruction. Historic archives and books were destroyed in large quantities. Ancient temples and buildings were sabotaged at will. In various levels of Chinese schools, atheism and Marxist-Leninist thought became gospels. Young people don't understand traditional ethics such as kindness, uprightness, courtesy, and faithfulness. The persecution of Falun Gong by the Jiang Zemin group is another continuation of the CCP's efforts to cut off the traditional Chinese culture of cultivation.

Taiwan and Mainland China share the same heritage and language. For the last hundred years, Taiwan has kept up the essence of the Chinese culture. As a society, they have showed respect to heaven and earth, and faith in gods and buddhas. Common people in Taiwan generally believe that doing good will be rewarded with good, and doing evil will result in retribution. Almost every family has the custom of worshipping gods, especially around Chinese New Year's Day, to thank gods and buddhas for their blessings and receive peace.

It is easy to understand the fast spread of Falun Gong, which is deeply rooted in a traditional culture of cultivation, in such an environment in Taiwan. After ten years or so, Falun Gong has become so popular that practitioners now include people from all walks of life, including college professors, doctors, lawyers, teachers, government employees, students, police, and homemakers. There are more than 300,000 Falun Dafa practitioners and nearly 1,000 practice sites in Taiwan alone.

Sharp contrasts across the Taiwan Strait

NTD TV's Chinese New Year Gala promotes the semi-divine traditional Chinese culture. This makes the CCP very nervous. The difference between how the CCP and the Taiwanese government treated the Spectacular is a reflection of how Falun Gong is treated across the Taiwan Strait. Since July 1999, the head of the Party at the time, Jiang Zemin and the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong has resulted in over 3,000 deaths among Falun Gong practitioners. Tens of thousands of practitioners were sent to labour camps and prisons. Many more were forced to leave their homes, expelled from schools, and fired from jobs. Countless families were broken apart. In contrast, Falun Gong is widely heralded in Taiwan by the public and received many awards from the government for uplifting people's spirits and improving their health. The President, Vice President, chief legislator, former mayor of Taipei, many county and city officials and other legislators have all voiced support for Falun Gong.

On May 12th, 2002, when many around the world celebrated the ten year anniversary of Falun Gong's introduction to the public and May 13 Falun Dafa Day, Mr. Yang Wenchi of Hualien County Council, on behalf of all residents of the county, urged the CCP to immediately stop the inhumane persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. He also wished the kind-hearted people the world over to always be rooted in the higher realm of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. On June 8th, 2004, the legislature of Taiwan, crossing party lines, passed a resolution urging the CCP to immediately release all detained Falun Gong practitioners and cease the persecution of Falun Gong.

Last year, the CCP arrested and sentenced to prison terms Gao Zhisheng, a lawyer who was not afraid to seek justice for Falun Gong practitioners. As early as October 25th, 2003, the Taiwan National Bar Association, the largest association in the Taiwanese legal arena, published a resolution supporting Falun Gong practitioners' human rights lawsuits against dictator Jiang Zemin, requesting that the CCP immediately stop the persecution of Falun Gong, and release all detained practitioners from Taiwan.

In Mainland China, the practitioners were arrested, forced to go to brainwashing sessions, and tortured, because they practised Falun Gong. In Taiwan, many Falun Gong practitioners are assisting prison guards and wardens in educating the convicted criminals. They inspire the kind nature in the inmates and have received good results. The practitioners bring the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance to the prison guards and criminals. The prisons have welcomed them and given several awards to express their gratitude.

The CCP uses the education system to continue spreading lies about Falun Gong, poisoning the minds of the youth. Many teachers who practise Falun Gong were fired from their posts and forced to leave home. Many students who practise Falun Gong were driven out of schools. While visiting Tanzania, former CCP's education minister Chen Zhili was sued for using the education system to brainwash the teachers and students of China. Chen appeared in court on July 19th, 2004. In contrast, many counties and cities in Taiwan have hosted Falun Gong summer and winter camps for school teachers, teaching Falun Gong to elementary and middle school teachers. The camps are well received by the local education bureaus and have been approved for continuing education credits. In colleges and universities, there are more than 40 Falun Gong associations. Many principals, supervisors, and teachers have taken up the practice as a result.

In March 2006, the organ harvesting atrocities against Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP was exposed. Many civic organisations in Taiwan have condemned these violent acts. In the legislature, 108 members co-signed a resolution to condemn the organ harvesting. At least 17 counties and cities in Taiwan have passed similar resolutions. Vice President Annette Lu suggested that a committee be established to stop such brutality.

The contrasts between Mainland China and Taiwan regarding their treatment of Falun Gong are too numerous to list. Doing good will be rewarded with good, and doing evil will result in retribution. Although the persecution is still occurring, the truth about the persecution is now widely known. Falun Gong practitioners who follow Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance have walked fearlessly until today. The people who know the truth believe that the CCP, which has done so many evil deeds, will face its demise shortly, and this brutal persecution will soon end.