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Insights on the European Parliament's Resolution Opposing Article 23 By a European practitioner (Clearwisdom.net) [Editor's note: On the afternoon of December 19,
the European Parliament passed a resolution against the legislation of Article
23 of Hong Kong's Basic Law, by a margin of 59 to 1, with 1 abstention. See http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/12/20/29982.html] About a month ago, I learned that the European Parliament drafted a
resolution against the enactment of Article 23, and members of Parliament would
vote on the draft. If the resolution was passed, undoubtedly it would have a
significant effect on blocking the implementation of the anti-subversion law in
HK. Nevertheless, I was too busy to pay much attention to this issue at that
time. In mid-November, the practitioners in Ireland held a Fa Conference. After
those who attended the Conference shared their understanding of the
anti-subversion law in the Conference, it finally dawned on me that I was too
indifferent and even too insensitive to realize the seriousness of this issue.
What's even worse was that I noticed quite a few practitioners around me also
bore the same sentiment. It reminded me of the situation in last April when the
head of the evil paid a visit to Germany. Since many fellow practitioners were
tied up with their work in hand, they didn't perceive the importance of the
opportunity. After that incident, they woke up to the seriousness of the
situation, and thus started do a better job in eliminating the evil afterward.
This time, the evil forces took a new approach, and apparently it is aimed at
Dafa. Should we be restrained or deceived by this evil tactic. After exchanging viewpoints with local practitioners and the practitioners in
Hong Kong, we came up with a consensus: We should take advantage of this
opportunity to further clarify the truth to a broader extent, because the
influence of Article 23 involves more people and it is closely related to
ordinary people's benefits. By doing so, not only can we let more people realize
the evil's intrinsic nature, but we can also thwart the evil altogether and save
these sentient beings. Some practitioners also perceived that this would be an opportunity for us to
clarify the truth of Falun Gong to parliamentarians, in particular the members
of the European Parliament. They then started to call members of the European
Parliament, and arrange meetings with them. Their main objective was to let them
know the cruel persecution of Falun Gong in China, and the serious consequences
of banning Falun Gong in Hong Kong. The members of the European Parliament
realized the harmful nature of the legislation right away, and wanted to help
our practitioners. Seemingly they are helping our practitioners, but
practitioners clearly understand that they in fact are positioning themselves.
However, the evil would never stop its last ditch struggle. They had some people
interfere with the Parliament Members, and urged them to support the legislation
of Article 23, saying that it would be a protection for Hong Kong. According to
some Parliament Members, the evil would have someone lobby them before casting
votes. Of course, no matter what kind of tactic they employ or in what form it
manifests, we should maintain powerful righteous thoughts, and should not slack
off a bit. Some practitioners didn't show much enthusiasm to the group practice
of exercises in front of the European Commission. They held the view that a few
practitioners there would suffice; others felt that they were tired; still
others were tied up with other matters. All kinds of mentalities, however, are
tests for us. As we all know, the interference from the evil is aimed at our
heart. Master Li once mentioned: "Even though the old forces do exist, if
you don't have those thoughts they can't do anything." Therefore, our
complete body as well as individual practitioner's thoughts should be with
sufficient righteousness, and "our mind has to be absolutely clear and
rational, the force of our thoughts needs to be focused and strong, with an air
of supremacy and of destroying all evil in the cosmos." ("Righteous
Thoughts") We should not be attached to everyday people's achievements, but we should do
what a Dafa disciple is supposed to do well in order to help more sentient
beings position themselves. The above is my personal understanding; your comments are welcomed. Posting date: 12/26/2002 |