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South Africa: Introducing Falun Dafa and Clarifying the Truth (Photos)
By a Practitioner from Taiwan
(Clearwisdom.net) On February 28, 2003, we arrived at the economic capital of South Africa --
Johannesburg. Soon after we dropped off our luggage, we went to the local
Chinatown to clarify the facts about Falun Dafa to Chinese people. While
distributing Dafa truth-clarifying materials, we met some fellow Taiwanese,
including the president of the local Women's Association and her husband,
president of the Countrymen Association. They warmly welcomed us and expressed
their support after they learned the truth. We then demonstrated Falun Gong
exercises in front of a shop. Local residents expressed their wish to learn the
practice. After watching the exercise demonstration, Mr. Chang, the president of
the Countrymen Association, immediately phoned local media reporters to invite
them to attend the press conference to be held at 10:30 am the next day outside
his shop. He also invited us to attend the moving-celebration party of the Voice
of Overseas Chinese Daily and perform the exercises after the press conference.
On the next morning, we went to the shop and put up Dafa banners. Some
practitioners also helped to clean the shop. Local residents were all very happy
for our volunteer help. Meanwhile, a number of Chinese people came to ask for
information and find out the real situation in China. When reporters came to
learn the facts, a few people people who had been deceived by the Chinese
government propaganda also came over, threatening us and demanding that we
leave. Apparently they were instigated by a shopkeeper from a Chinese medicine
store, because he knew that Falun Dafa is good and feared that if local people
learned Dafa and became healthy, his business would be affected. We kindly
explained the facts to them. Later that day, when the 13 of us were late to the party because we were not
familiar with the route, they were all very worried about us. We found out later
that the public safety in the area was not very good, and local Chinese people
frequently encountered robbers. They acted very surprised that we actually
arrived safely, even though we dressed in bright yellow Dafa T-shirts, drove
ourselves and asked the way along the route. At the party, we met the
Representative of Taiwan in South Africa, Mr. Du Leng. Mr. Du shook hands with
us and expressed his concern about our safety. He asked the president of the
Overseas Chinese association to learn the details and help to arrange our
scheduling. Very quickly, we explained the facts about Dafa. People all eagerly watched
our exercise demonstration. The president of the Overseas Chinese Association
and the wife of the secretary-general as well as many gentlemen and ladies
expressed their wish to learn the practice. Practitioners individually explained
the facts and they all knew about the persecution occurring in China. Some
practitioners also presented them with their own copies of Zhuan Falun.
Before we left, they kept telling us to be careful. They also asked us to
immediately contact Mr. Yang from the Taipei Liaison Office in Kempton when we
got there. We then visited a few Chinatown supermarkets and tourist attractions. We
practiced exercises there and introduced Dafa to the public. Lots of Chinese
people accepted our materials and most of them were quite clear about the
Party's deceptions. People said frankly, "We are abroad already. What is there
to fear? What is the big deal about reading it?" While saying that, they
accepted the truth-clarifying materials in front of others and put them into
their pockets. Some people said that they would like to read it but they dared
not, because they were pressured from above. We talked with them. Some
practitioners showed them photos, some chatted with them to explain the facts.
Most people who became aware of the facts held a very positive attitude. We felt
very happy for them and even more so, we felt grateful for Master's kind
arrangement. Stores in Johannesburg often closed around 5 or 6 pm. Most people normally
don't dare to go out in the evening. Fortunately, public safety in Kempton is
much better than Johannesburg. In the evening, people could freely walk around.
Guided by local practitioners, we carried out a three-day activity here. In the evening, we first went to a shopping mall at the famous Table Mountain
to practice the exercises and introduce Dafa. Many people watched our exercises
and wanted to learn them. Because we did not apply for approval to do the
exercise demonstration, we had to stop at the fifth exercise. The police
officers welcomed our demonstration, but according to the regulations, we had to
apply for approval. Therefore, they invited us to come the next day after we
applied for approval. In the end, they took group pictures with us and asked us
to make sure to come again the next day. At the dock, some people said that they
were willing to help us to distribute the truth-clarifying materials so that the
people passing by could learn the truth. On the next day, we visited Mr. Yang, the director of the Taipei Liaison
Office in Kempton. He received us and consented to give the materials to his
staff. Half an hour later, we separated into two groups: one group went to the
Kempton University and another went to the Kempton Institute of Technology to
introduce Dafa. Apart from that, three practitioners went to the Capitol to
visit the commissioner of the Department of Education. While waiting for the
meeting, practitioners also clarified the facts about Falun Gong to the
receptionists. The commissioner was very kind to us and was very supportive of
Dafa. He kept asking us what he could do to help. We expressed our wish to
introduce Dafa to the public and they were willing to help promote it. Because
the Minister of the Foreign Affairs was in a meeting, we asked his secretary to
pass on the message. The effects of the Fa-introductory activities in the two
universities were also very good. Our truth-clarifying materials were instantly
distributed. At the same time, what was even more interesting was that, although
some practitioners were not very good at English, they tried very hard to
introduce Dafa to westerners. They broke through the feeling of embarrassment,
and their precious pure hearts gained westerners' kind responses. We realized
that "compassion" was not only expressed by words, but what was more important
was that every single word and action should embody
"Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" through our cultivation of Dafa. The Cape of Good Hope is a famous tourist attraction in South Africa. We
climbed to the lighthouse and unfurled our Dafa banner at the tip of the Cape.
One after another, tourists stopped to watch our exercise demonstration. Looking
ahead from the apex, the scene was very beautiful. The beautiful mountain and
water as well as the kind people seemed to predict that the wonderfulness of
Falun Dafa will spread more widely in South Africa in the near future. |