Introducing Falun Dafa in Africa (2)
By a group of Falun Gong practitioners traveling in Africa
Please see http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/11/30/55086.html
for Part 1. (Clearwisdom.net) The following story was told by University of Dar es
Salaam Human Rights Association (UDSM-Human Rights) President Bahati Tweve, a
Psychology Professor and university activity coordinator, as well as a member of
UDSM-Human Rights Association. UDSM-Human Rights Association is a renowned human
rights organization in Tanzania. Background On October 24, 2004, the renowned UDSM-Human Rights Association passed a
resolution condemning former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin's human rights
persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. This resolution also supported bringing
Jiang to justice. The convention pointed out that just as air and water transcend national
boundaries, any person or region's air and water pollution is nothing less than
an infringement on the basic survival resources of humanity. Human rights also
transcend national boundaries. When Jiang Zemin decided to persecute
"Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance," he issued a challenge to the
human rights of all citizens of the world. The convention also passed a
resolution "condemning China's persecution of Falun Gong and supporting
bringing Jiang Zemin to justice." The resolution, along with signatures,
will be submitted to the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and
transcribed to the Tanzania Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese Embassy in
Tanzania and the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. The
resolution was also sent to all human rights organizations in Africa. Below are
some stories about what happened after the resolution was passed. October 29: Submitting the Letter to the Chinese Embassy On Friday October 29, several representatives from the UDSM-Human Rights
Association took the resolution bearing signatures of more than 600 students,
and went to the Chinese embassy to officially submit it. The Ambassador refused
to allow the student representatives to enter the embassy, nor would he accept
the letter. All representatives submitting the letter were local Tanzanian residents, but
among them was a Caucasian. However, when the Ambassador saw this white
gentleman, his stern face became even more furious. "You represent the
Western forces against China! Get out of here!" Without another word, the
Ambassador drove the Caucasian away. This representative is a law student who came here from the United States to
study. Because Tanzanian human rights organizations are globally known, many
Americans and Canadians choose to come here to take human rights courses. November 3: A Battle on Campus After refusing to accept the letter, Chinese Ambassador Yu Yongtai went to
the university the following week and urged the university to withdraw the
resolution and make an open statement. The university officials said that the
human rights organization was a student organization, and that it would be
beyond the university's authority to do that. The university officials then
suggested that the Ambassador talk directly with the human rights organization.
Yu Yongtai thus requested that the university arrange a meeting with all leaders
of the human rights organization and asked that "university faculty be
present." The university officials agreed. Two days later, on November 3, the Ambassador met with the UDSM-Human Rights
Association president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. A psychology
professor and a coordinator of student activities also attended the meeting. The student representatives found that during the three-hour meeting, the
only thing the Ambassador and his secretary wanted to say was that Falun Gong
was a (Jiang's slanderous word omitted), and was being used by
"Western forces" against China. However, he did not have any facts to
support that assertion. The students also found that the Ambassador tried as
much as he could to deny that the persecution of Falun Gong in China was even
happening. The students asked, "Since you deny the persecution, could you tell us
how you feel the Communist Party treats Falun Gong practitioners?" The
Ambassador said, "We educate them again and again, patiently and kindly
like a teacher towards a student." Students then asked, "What if such
education failed?" The Ambassador said, "Then we continue
educating." The students thought that was funny, because it sounded more
like brainwashing to transform them. In the United Nations Human Rights reports
and Amnesty International's Annual Reports, there were many reported cases of
healthy persons being persecuted to death in the brainwashing classes. The
students then asked, "Since you deny the persecution, how do you explain
those persecution pictures?" The Ambassador said that they were
"faked" by Falun Gong practitioners. Then the Ambassador gave an example of how Falun Gong practitioners
"faked" stories. He said the South Africa shooting was a good example,
since it did not exist, and the injury of David Liang (1) was also "made
up." The students could not believe that the Ambassador would use that as an
example. UDSM-Human Rights Association President Bahati Tweve thus said,
"Are you talking about the Falun Gong practitioner David Liang who came
from Australia to sue China's Vice-Chair, Zeng Qinghong? We just met him on
campus last week. I have also read a lot about him. He came to our university to
give lectures and confirmed the miracles that happened to him. We also saw the
scars left by the shooting of both of his feet. It is only now that he can do
the sitting meditation and walk without crutches." Bahati Tweve recalled that, "[At that moment] the Ambassador was
shocked, and did not know what to do. Then he said, 'What? David Liang came?
When?'" Unfortunately, the Ambassador continued to lie and repeat his
previous lies. However, now it was already very clear to the students, the
difference between night and day, true and false. Finally, seeing the students were undisturbed, the Ambassador said, "You
cannot just stand on the side of Falun Gong. You also need to listen to
us." The students then said, "This is a democratic country. And a
resolution is not decided by one person, either. The resolution 'supporting
bringing Jiang Zemin to justice' was passed after being discussed by all our
members. If you want us to listen to you, why don't you also come to our
university and give a lecture to explain your opinions?" The Ambassador
then said, "I am too busy. I have already spent more than two hours talking
with you, and have no more time. Now, it is your responsibility to pass the
information onto your members." In the end, he added, "[Passing the resolution] is damaging the
friendship between the people of China and Tanzania." The students replied,
"We are not against the friendship between our two countries. What we do is
just on the issue of human rights. We are safeguarding human rights. We hope
Falun Gong practitioners will have the freedom of belief and human rights that
they are supposed to have." The discussion ended like that without any agreement. "Everyone on Campus Says We Are Heroes" After about one week, overseas Falun Gong practitioners traveled to Tanzania
again. After hearing these stories, the practitioners went to meet the professor
who had been present at the discussion. Upon hearing that Falun Gong
practitioners were coming, the professor set aside what he was doing and talked
with the practitioners. The Falun Gong practitioners were initially worried that the professor might
not understand much about Falun Gong, perhaps being misled by the lies. It
turned out that the professor was very open-minded. After hearing the true
situation of how Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted, he also asked several
questions, and was satisfied with the practitioners' detailed answers. In the
end, he said happily, "I now understand the situation. I am happy you came
and told me the facts, so that I can see the issue of Falun Gong
correctly." We practitioners were glad to hear that. One of our group also
told the professor his personal experience and the things that had happened to
him during his trip to China. He also showed the professor some pictures, so
that he could have an idea of what the persecution was like. The practitioners also met with the president of UDSM-Human Rights
Association again and said, "Thank you for your righteousness. We really
appreciate that you could resist the vicious influence under pressure. Between
justice and evil, there is no middle ground, since a neutral position is
actually on the side of evil. Therefore, please do not give in, even under
pressure, but, instead, step forward to oppose the evil. Please continue to
support justice until the issues are resolved. In the future, you will know what
an important and magnificent thing you have done." The students were also very happy to see Falun Gong practitioners again. They
said, "Please do not worry. We know what is right and what is wrong. In
fact, whenever we see you, we are more confident and feel more powerful. Plus,
even on campus many consider us heroes--heroes who dare to oppose evil and
safeguard human rights." The practitioners were glad to hear that. "That is great. Falun Gong
practitioners around the world will firmly support you in their hearts." Concluding Remarks People in Tanzania are peaceful and kind. The word "Dar es Salaam,"
the name of the capital city, means "peace." Interestingly, the
geographic outline of the city forms the shape of a dove, representing peace.
More and more practitioners have found that people here are easily moved upon
hearing about Falun Dafa. Then, they would immediately make a decision as to
whether they would start practicing. Falun Dafa already has a foundation in
Tanzania. Moreover, Tanzanian's upright decisions during these recent contacts
with evil interference will certainly create a wonderful future for them. In the
future, Dafa will transcend all issues of race and religious differences and
attract more and more people to the practice. Note - (1) On June 28, 2004, several Australian Falun Gong practitioners arrived in
Johannesburg, South Africa to raise awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong
in China during the visit of Chinese Deputy President Zeng Qinghong. On their
way to the Capital City, Pretoria, they were attacked by gunmen in a drive-by
shooting. This obvious attack by the Jiang faction's hired gunmen drew worldwide
attention to the persecution of Falun Gong. In the shooting incident, the story
of Falun Gong practitioner David Liang, who had both feet severely injured in
the attack, stuck a sympathetic chord in numerous people. Through practicing
Falun Gong, however, David Liang made a remarkable recovery, and in October of
this year, Mr. Liang returned to South Africa to thank the African people for
their support and to show the amazing effects of Falun Gong. Mr. Liang also
attended the conference in Dar es Salaam, where he was a key speaker. November 27, 2004
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/11/29/90211.html
Yearly Archive
Printer Version
feedback@clearwisdom.net