February 29, 2004
(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, the subject of the Taiwan referendum has been spotlighted in the news among Chinese communities. My personal understanding is that everything in today's human society does not just accidently exist without a reason, and "everything of today's human society was brought about by Dafa disciples' thoughts." (from "Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference") Therefore, how do we understand "the Taiwan Referendum?" I would like to share my understanding from the following perspectives.
Understanding from the Viewpoint of Confrontation between the Righteous and the Evil
On the surface, the issue of whether the Taiwan referendum will be held or not looks like a matter among everyday people. But the evil still has its insidious plan.
This is similar to the effort the Jiang faction took to enact Article 23 for Hong Kong to restrain practitioners there. Why are they so resolutely taking a stand to oppose the Taiwan Referendum? It is because Taiwan has hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners and both the government and the people support Dafa. This phenomenon exhibits a striking contrast with the evil's persecution of Dafa.
Furthermore, since the parade when more than 500,000 people in Hong Kong protested against Article 23, the momentum and forces of the evil regime were greatly set back. At present, its propaganda is to equate "Taiwan Referendum" with " Taiwan Seeking Independence." This is their logic. Why does Jiang's group promote this propaganda? The truth is they are blustering to conceal their weaknesses. More importantly, they are trying to use this subject to divert the Chinese people's attention and to reduce the impression of the persecution of Dafa made on the public. It uses the subject of Taiwan Seeking Independence (which has nothing to do with the referendum) to arouse the emotions of the Taiwanese people. On the surface, it looks like they just oppose the referendum, yet the truth is that they want Taiwan, which has been supporting Dafa, to become unstable.
From the perspective of individual cultivation, if practitioners have this type of attachment and spend their time and effort on these subjects, this not only will breed attachments and produce differences in opinion, but will also waste and misuse the limited time we have to validate Dafa.
Of course, there are some differences between the "Taiwan Referendum" and the Article 23 legislation in Hong Kong. Based on the standpoint of democracy, we opposed the legislation of Article 23 in Hong Kong. But, with respect to the referendum, it is not appropriate for us to take a clear and common stand in public, because this is a political issue inside Taiwan.
Therefore, we should do more sharing based on the principles of the Fa. First of all, I think that we have to view the Taiwan referendum as a confrontation between the righteous and the evil in other dimensions. We should also view the campaigns such as "Safeguarding Taiwan" in the past in the same manner.
Referendum and Politics
Nothing in today's human society just accidently exists without a reason. As Teacher wrote, this "was brought about by Dafa disciples' thoughts." ("Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")
Among practitioners in Taiwan, some support one party and others support another party. But, basically the incumbent party strongly supports Dafa. On the other hand, some public figures have not taken a stand to support Dafa. This phenomenon has created some regrets in us. This phenomenon has also triggered some conflicts among practitioners, which also helped to expose the attachments of some individual practitioners.
Therefore, are the two extreme stands concerning the subject of the Taiwan referendum in human society brought about by Dafa disciples' thoughts? I personally think so.
It is precisely because Dafa disciples have not let go of some attachments that gives the evil the excuse to create this farce and then watch us resolve and deal with it. Are we using everyday people's mentality to look at this conflict, so that if a certain party shows more support to Dafa, then we support it, and if another party is the incumbent party, that will benefit us more? If a certain party's stand does not meet my stand and notions, then should I not support it? Or should we search inward to let go of those attachments and look at this subject from the perspective of the confrontation between the righteous and the evil, truth clarification and saving all sentient beings?
Are we using everyday people's mentality to look at these matters and thinking that the result of the referendum can really affect Taiwan's situation and affect the situation of spreading Dafa in Taiwan? Some practitioners even thought that certain matters will turn out this or that way depending on who becomes the president. Some even unknowingly developed a political stand of "Supporting someone, Opposing someone" and thought that this was needed due to Fa-rectification. Isn't this putting our hopes and expectations on everyday people? How can it be developed this way?
This is similar to practitioners setting their hopes and expectations on international human rights organization. The outcome was that the delegates from the countries with nortorious human rights violations became the chair of the UN Human Rights Commission. We have seen many similar examples, so we have to awaken and be clearminded.
500,000 people in Hong Kong taking to the streets to oppose Article 23 sets a precedent
When we view this as a confrontation between the good and the evil, we realize that 500,000 people taking to the streets in Hong Kong and the Taiwan referendum are similar. That is, how can we utilize this chance to clarify the truth and to guide everyday people to negate all the interference and arrangements of the evil?
If we agree that the evil's opposing public voting in Taiwan is specifically targeting the wide spreading of Dafa there, then I would like to think of the estimated more than two million people that are safeguarding Taiwan, public voting and the election, etc, as ordinary people coming together to negate the evil manifesting in the human world.
To the evil, which has encountered setbacks with every single attempt, this sounds the bell of thorough despair.
Of course, we must also remember that politics is the product of degeneration. As cultivators, we are not interested in politics and do not hold a certain preference because we have a higher understanding. Nevertheless, Taiwan practices political party democracy and we conform to society in our cultivation. Therefore, as members of society, which party or which individuals we support or vote for is entirely our own personal decision! It should not be confused with Fa-rectification.
Now, I would like to share with everyone a section from Teacher's new article, "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference":
"So many people in Hong Kong stood up to oppose it. No matter what kind of perspective or what kind of motives they had at the time, they were, just the same, able to play a positive role in this matter. I think that with Hong Kong's residents, you could say they've chosen a very good future for themselves and in terms of their attitude towards Dafa they already have a good start. Many people knew Falun Gong well, and they were precisely against it [the legislation] for that reason. They laid a very good foundation for being saved in the future."
What about the people who intentionally or unintentionally echoed the evil political power regarding public voting?
Teacher said,
"As for those who are still unclear about Falun Gong and the reality of it being persecuted, you should clarify the truth in more depth, that's all." (Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference)
It is my understanding that public voting in Taiwan, from the perspective of confrontation between the good and the evil, is actually the same as that of Hong Kong citizens opposing Article 23. This is not just a matter for practitioners in Taiwan. Practitioners around the world should have a clear understanding on this issue based on the Fa.
The above is my personal understanding at my level. Please point out anything inappropriate.
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