By Xiao Yu

(Clearwisdom.net) It has been nearly nine months since Yuko Kaneko was first illegally detained in China. This is indeed too long a time. When I thought of Yuko who is still being persecuted I thought it necessary to discuss with fellow practitioners from the perspective of the Fa. I also hope fellow practitioners and especially practitioners in Japan can improve as a whole from the Fa. I think we can look for the cause of the persecution and fact that she had not yet been released from several of the following aspects.

Ever since Yuko was illegally detained, we all made rescue efforts. The Non-Partisan Alliance of Japanese Members of Parliament was formed specifically to rescue Yuko, and Amnesty International included Yuko's name in their rescue efforts. The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Japan also made a solemn promise to rescue Yuko. More than 200 congressmen and more than 100,000 people signed their names in support. So, why is Yuko still being detained? I think this has to do with our practitioners' acknowledgement of degenerate logic and our passive attitude.

The old logic is that Yuko holds a Chinese passport and what happens to her in China is the Chinese people's business and has nothing to do with Japan. In fact, China has signed the U.N. Human Rights Agreement and has an obligation to abide by it. If it commits violations, any country has the right and the responsibility to condemn and stop the Chinese government from continuing its crime. Yuko was sentenced to one-and-a half years of forced labor simply because she distributed Dafa truth-clarifying materials. Such treatment of any Falun Gong practitioner is a violation of China's constitution and of the U.N. Human Rights Agreements. Yuko is one of hundreds of thousands of persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. This persecution tramples human nature and strikes at the fundamentals of human morality. Any person with a sense of conscience should rise up and oppose it. Rescuing Yuko is resisting the evil and upholding justice. The Japanese government and politicians should not deny shouldering this responsibility.

Persecution against Yuko has caused her family difficulties in living a normal life. A fellow practitioner once visited Yuko's home in Niigata County. Without Yuko, the persimmons in the field were not picked and grew rotten for not having enough helpers. Yuko's mother-in-law and grandmother suffered psychological trauma and their health has greatly declined. Their home is no longer tidy. This Japanese family is facing such a terrible situation only because of China's illegal imprisonment of Yuko, who was herself simply appealing for justice for Falun Gong -- how can the Japanese government ignore this?

The second piece of degenerate logic is that the Japanese government is afraid of being accused by the Chinese government of intervening with China's internal affairs and can therefore not take action. The wife of a Japanese citizen was illegally detained without committing any crimes. The Japanese government should ask for her immediate release. The government has the responsibility to protect the interest of its people. Accusing others of intervening with internal affairs is only a shield for political villains. In fact, we all know the Chinese government has never stopped interfering with other countries' internal affairs. For example, the political villains went to stop a foreign city from awarding a proclamation to Falun Gong. During Jiang's visit to a democratic country, the people there could not wear yellow T-shirts. A 71-year-old Hong Kong man was sentenced to seven years in jail only because he unfurled a banner in Burma. There are many similar examples.

We are Dafa practitioners and absolutely cannot acknowledge this degenerate logic. We must completely negate it and resist it from our hearts. Some practitioners unconsciously acknowledged this degenerate mode of thinking after dealing with congressmen for a while, and began to display a passive attitude. If we are trapped by this mindset and do not break out, we would be led by the old forces. Our efforts, no matter how great, would not show significant results.

The rescue of Kaneko Yuko and Dafa truth clarification are actually one thing. We rescue Yuko and awaken the kind nature of the Japanese people so they can place themselves correctly in Fa-rectification. However, we unconsciously separated these two during our calling for support and rescue efforts, which led to a less-than-perfect outcome for truth clarification. For example, we didn't seem to have much hope for Yuko's release or we were too hasty to promote the Fa, causing a negative reaction on the recipients, who thought we were advertising Falun Gong, not rescuing Yuko. Sometimes we went to another extreme and dared not to mention Dafa, fearing the person wouldn't accept it, which became an attachment. Seeing some people were willing to help rescue Yuko but unwilling to learn about Dafa, we were disappointed. The Fa has different levels and compassion also has different levels. When a person shows a kind thought by giving a signature or joining in the rescue activity, he would already have chosen a future position for himself. Of course, it would be better if he can directly choose to support Dafa, but we should act without pursuit. In fact, as Fa-rectification progresses, more people have become willing to learn about Dafa. I think we should have great tolerance with rationality, wisdom, and benevolence and truly rescue people. Maybe the following quote from Master's scripture would directly help us in dealing with this issue: "When promoting [Dafa] and answering questions, he should advance Dafa appropriately, as fitting the recipient's degree of understanding of Dafa and capacity to accept it." (Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa)

The Japanese society places heavy emphasis on courtesy. When talking to congressmen, journalists and other people of high social status, we must use appropriate language and we must do it right and give a good first impression when bowing and giving our business cards to the other person. Some practitioners waited for others to take action because of this barrier. We did well in many large-scale Fa promotion activities but only a few practitioners who speak Japanese well were involved when promoting the Fa to higher levels of Japanese society. For example, once a media outlet made an untruthful report about Dafa, and we all wanted to talk to them. The first thought I had was a certain practitioner should not go because it would be impolite to speak with the Japanese he learned working in a restaurant. Finally, that practitioner went and the outcome was good. I don't speak Japanese very well, but with fellow practitioners' encouragement, I decided to call magazine agencies. I made four phone calls in one day and two of them said I could mail them Dafa materials. The other two agreed to meet with me. One of the editors even taught me what to say at the reception desk and to the receptionists so I could reach him successfully. I went with a fellow practitioner who speaks Japanese well, and we talked to the editor for almost an hour. I was encouraged. However, several days later, more than 10 practitioners who wanted to promote the Fa to the media gathered and we practiced calling to make appointments with media. When I spoke, my awkward Japanese earned me loud laughter. Human notions surfaced and I thought my Japanese was not good so I should let others do the work. Half a year has passed and I haven't made a single call. In fact, I know that the true barrier is not my Japanese but my personal attachments. I didn't act according to Master's requirement. Even today, this mentality of "waiting and watching" still exists to a different extent. I feel that this mindset is also an element that prevents Yuko's release. If I don't break through this barrier, I won't keep up with Fa-rectification. I hope all of us can break through barriers in personal cultivation, encourage each other and be diligent together.

When a practitioner called a congressman for help the congressman said, "I want to see if you are truly determined to save Yuko; if you are, I'll help you." Put aside whether he helped us or not, if I place my hand over my heart and ask myself, "Did I give it my all?" I can only lower my head in shame. A practitioner said, "No matter how hard you work right now, in the future you'll only feel you didn't do enough." Not to mention I really didn't do enough. What encourages us is that the practitioners in Tokyo have been studying the Fa and making exchanges these days. We all decided to be more diligent and get Yuko out of jail as soon as possible.

Of course, there is also the element of the old forces' arrangement and their test of Dafa practitioners, which we should completely negate. The old forces are not worthy of testing us. In conclusion, I would like to share with fellow practitioners, "On the rest of the journey, may you fulfill, with godlike righteous thoughts and righteous actions, the grand vows you made before history!" ("New Year's Greetings from Master")

February 16, 2003