An Overseas Taiwanese in the United States
Since Jiang Zemin began to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in China openly,
I have read many reports from the Mainland Chinese media. They held forth such
groundless accusations as “Falun Gong practitioners are planning subversion,”
or “Falun Gong practitioners are not patriotic and are interested only
in jeopardizing China’s reputation.”
I have been friends with a Chinese couple since the end of 1995. I shared a
large apartment with them for almost a year. Since then, I have kept in touch
with them. I have gotten to know their personality, outlook, and moral character,
just as I know myself. They are not at all like the Falun Gong practitioners
that the Mainland Chinese media has described. They have neither implied any
intention nor shown any inclination to subvert anything, let alone the Chinese
government. They have been more patriotic about their homeland China than any
other overseas Chinese I have known. I enjoin the Chinese media to recant such
unjust accusations. Therefore, I would like to share the truth about Chinese
Falun Gong practitioners whom I have come to know well.
After earning my second graduate degree in 1995, I could not decide whether
to go back to Taiwan or stay in the United States and build my career here.
Housing became an immediate issue. My roommates had left for Taiwan, thus the
apartment was too large for one person. Yet, I didn’t want to take a one-bedroom
apartment, which would require another year of lease. (In our area, almost all
apartment-leasing companies require a one-year lease and month-by-month lease
after a year.) At that time, this Chinese couple happened to be looking for
overseas Chinese students to share their large apartment. That’s how we
met.
They both had a very fair and even complexion and looked very neat. The wife
(referred to as the Elder Sister from now on) is six years older than I am and
the husband (referred to as the Elder Brother from now on) is seven years old
than I am. I felt they were very much like my elder brother and sister. One
month after I moved in, I came to know their characters rather well. Elder Brother
was slender and quiet, and he always talked peacefully. He has the patience
of a saint and never loses his temper. Unfortunately, he suffered daily from
pounding headaches, which no Chinese traditional or western medical doctor was
able to cure or find the cause for. Elder Sister was the perfect embodiment
of the tempestuous Ms. Xia Jingui in the Chinese classical novel Dreams of Red
Chamber: “ She looked like a delicate flower and her temperament was like
a thunder storm.” She could make a speech to one hundred people without
a microphone and was ready to argue without having to prepare in advance. For
me, a Taiwanese, the Elder Sister’s attitude came as a complete cultural
shock! That was my first and most direct experience with the Chinese generation
that grew up under the Chinese Communist Party’s infamous “Political
Education.” But sometimes my heart would go out to her. How could a wife
remain pleasant with a husband who suffered from an unknown illness over so
many years? The Elder Brother was literally skin and bones at the time. Anyone
who had seen his skeleton frame would surely empathize with Elder Sister. On
a windy day, I happened to see from my car Elder Brother walking home from the
subway. He looked so frail that it looked as if the wind would knock him down
to the ground at anytime. Please be assured, I am not exaggerating.
I was most impressed with the fact that they both were immensely patriotic
towards their motherland China. Based on Elder Sister’s tales from the
days when all educated Chinese were sent to the countryside and up to the mountains
for reeducation through hard labor, you might actually believe that such reeducation
was no more than a pleasant vacation. She even emphasized that she learned how
to make steamed buns during the forced hard labor reeducation in the countryside
and on the mountain. All the overseas Chinese people that I later befriended
at work would be overcome with pain when they talked about the history of reeducation.
Elder Sister was the only Chinese that I know of who thoroughly enjoyed the
forced hard labor reeducation. She even took the initiative of inviting me to
attend the local gala on July 1, 1996 celebrating the anniversary of the Chinese
Communist Party. I only realized, after I arrived at the gala, that I might
actually be the only Taiwanese at this gala. Dear readers, I believe that you
can easily feel from these stories how much she loved China and how desperately
she wished me to acknowledge and praise China, the motherland that she loves
dearly.
In 1996, Elder Brother and Sister incidentally found offerings of free local
Falun Gong nine-day videotape lecture and teaching of the Falun Gong exercises.
Since they started to cultivate in Falun Gong, they stopped practicing about
a dozen qigong methods that they had been practicing over the years, going to
the local Buddhist temples to pray for Elder Brother’s health, attending
church services to pray for his health and also pleading for Chinese medicine
prescriptions that cost $3,000 each time. They felt Falun Gong was truly marvelous
and decided that they no longer were in need of any of those things. The skinny
and frail Elder Brother became plump and healthy within no time. Naturally,
they threw away all other Chinese qigong books right away. Moreover, Elder Sister
often showed off in front of me since she started to cultivate in Falun Gong.
“Well? Isn’t China the greatest country after all? They gave the world
such a marvelous qigong, called Falun Gong?”
Although Elder Sister introduced Falun Gong to me, she did so with a discriminating
mind. She would introduce Falun Gong to her family in China first, then our
Chinese roommates, and finally me the Taiwanese. She knew that I couldn’t
read the simplified Chinese characters, but she only offered me a copy of Zhuan
Falun in simplified Chinese. She also told me, “If you want to learn
our China’s Falun Gong, you must learn to read China’s simplified
Chinese characters.” Although it is obvious that her moral character was
below what Falun Gong requires of its cultivators when she first started to
cultivate in Falun Gong, you could tell that she was completely patriotic in
her queer little ways and that she was very proud of China.
Since Jiang Zemin started to oppress Falun Gong in July 1999, they hurried
to Beijing separately. I knew them well enough to understand why they had the
courage to go to Beijing and appeal for Falun Gong, although Jiang Zemin had
already given the order to persecute practitioners. They both trusted the Chinese
Communist Party and trusted the Chinese leaders. I knew that they flew to Beijing
to clarify the facts about Falun Gong to the Chinese government, just as if
they were going to talk to their families. They felt there must be some misunderstanding
because they were both proud of China as well as China’s Falun Gong. They
were determined that the misunderstanding would be quickly resolved, as long
as they clarified the truth to the Chinese government and remove its misunderstandings
about Falun Gong. Elder Brother ended up being beaten for three days, while
being hung in the air until his family went to the police station and showed
the policemen his U.S. passport. Elder Sister did not suffer from any physical
torture, but the Chinese police threw her on the next plane back to the States.
They didn’t tell me about their separate trips to Beijing right away, because
they felt ashamed of their motherland for having made such an unreasonable and
senseless decision!
Moreover, they were denied their freedom and right to express their patriotism
towards China from then onwards. Prior to China’s National Day celebration
in 2003, sponsored by the Chinese Embassy and local Mainland Chinese associations,
Elder Sister called the preparations committee to offer donations for the celebration
parade. The preparations committee was very pleased to receive her call because
not many overseas Mainland Chinese people made donations to help with the celebration
parade. But when she mentioned that she practiced Falun Gong, the preparations
committee refused to take her donation. Elder Sister also coordinated local
Falun Gong practitioners to perform traditional Chinese dance (and not Falun
Gong exercise demonstration) for the purpose of reinforcing the traditional
Chinese theme of the parade, but the preparations committee also declined her
offer of the dance performance program.
It appears that Chinese Falun Gong practitioners are deprived of all opportunities
to express their patriotism or to make contributions to their motherland China.
It really strikes me as most puzzling.
First of all, there are more than 100 million people around the world that
practice Falun Gong, including people from the most powerful nations such as
the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, etc. It is an
incredible achievement and glory that people of the most powerful nations are
attracted to China’s Falun Gong! It is a magnificent glory that compares
to, if not exceeding, Genghis Khan’s conquest. What an honor that Falun
Gong has brought to China! What a precious gift that Falun Gong is to China.
Yet Jiang Zemin does not know to treasure Falun Gong or to take advantage to
promote Chinese culture. I feel that Jiang Zemin has lost some of his marbles.
There were not many people practicing Falun Gong prior to 1999, but now there
are more than 300,000 Falun Gong practitioners on the small island of Taiwan
alone. Because of Jiang Zemin’s foolish decision, those who admire the
Chinese culture and wish to learn Falun Gong will go to Taiwan instead.
Second, I have known many people from China since I started to work in the
United States. I have not yet come across any overseas Chinese that sees as
many merits in China as this Chinese couple who practices Falun Gong. No other
overseas Chinese I know of actively supports local Chinese community activities,
attends local activities celebrating important Chinese holidays, or acts as
China’s diplomat by inviting me to attend a gala celebrating China’s
National Day. No other overseas Chinese I know of has made donations to the
local Chinese community because materialism ranks higher in their book than
patriotism. It is truly in Chinese Communist Party’s best interest to solicit
more overseas Chinese people like Elder Brother and Sister who continue to show
patriotism towards China, especially after the massacre of the college students
participating in the June 4 Student Movement at the Tiananmen Square. However,
Jiang Zemin has denied such people the opportunity to show their patriotism
because they practice Falun Gong. What a fool Jiang Zemin is!
Third, Elder Brother and Sister remain patriotic towards their motherland China
despite Jiang Zemin’s persecution. They know that Jiang Zemin does not
represent other Chinese leaders or the Chinese people’s feelings and attitude
towards Falun Gong. They also know that Jiang Zemin’s crime against Falun
Gong has crippled China severely. That’s why they keep revealing Jiang
Zemin’s crimes to the Chinese people. Wouldn’t you think they have
done the right thing for their motherland? They let all other patriotic Chinese
know that Jiang Zemin has foolishly persecuted Falun Gong, which had brought
China honor and glory around the world.
These are the facts that I know about Chinese Falun Gong practitioners. Elder
Brother and Sister are real people, and not characters I made up. The events
I mentioned are true events that have taken place. I hope all readers, especially
Chinese readers, have now learned and accepted the truth: Chinese Falun Gong
practitioners were and still are patriotic.
Posting date: 10/June/2004
Original article date: 9/June/2004
Category: Open Forum
