(Clearwisdom.net) Last year when Taiwanese practitioners came to the
Philippines to introduce Falun Dafa, they were warmly received by the Philippine
people, who hoped the practitioners would come again to introduce Falun Dafa and
teach them the exercises. On August 7 this year, about 22 practitioners in two
groups from Taiwan traveled to Manila to introduce Falun Dafa. We visited people
from different circles and gained extensive support from them. We also held a
nine-day seminar.
1. Practicing the Exercises and Introducing Falun Dafa in a Park
At 5:00a.m., we went to Manila's Luneta Park to practice the exercises and
introduce Falun Dafa. Many Chinese people do morning exercises in this park
every day. Practitioners in the Philippines felt that it was difficult to
clarify the truth to these people, because the practitioners don't understand
Chinese. This time, the Taiwanese practitioners helped the Philippine
practitioners make a placard with a message that people could freely take and
read the materials, so that Chinese people could come to take materials on their
own.
There are three million Chinese in the Philippines, and many of them have
been deceived by Jiang's group's propaganda and have a negative impression of
Falun Gong. Especially the senior Chinese, some of them do not dare to read or
listen to anything about Falun Gong. Last year, several Chinese tore our banners
and kicked our display boards. This year, once again a person came to kick over
our display boards and report us to the police. Taiwan practitioners were not
bothered by his presence, as whoever came, we would clarify the truth to them.
Every day, that malicious person reported to the police, but the police were
tired of him, and simply came to walk around and leave. One day, the chief of
the police came by bicycle and said, "Do whatever you want to do." He also
joined a large group of people to sing the song, "Falun Dafa is Great." The
Philippine police support Falun Gong.
Practice Sites in the Philippines
Introducing Falun Dafa at a practice site
Many people come to learn to practice the exercises
Many people come to learn the truth about Falun Gong and learn to practice
the exercises
There are several practice sites in Manila. Philippine practitioners hold a
group practice at a park on Sundays. On holidays, many people came out to do
morning exercises. Most of them were Philippine citizens, and many of them were
glad to listen to the truth about Falun Gong, and even learned to practice the
five sets of exercises on the spot. Taiwan practitioners gave out balloons to
children with the words, "Falun Dafa is Good," and "The World Needs
'Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance'" in both Chinese and English, and the
children took them everywhere in the park. A Philippine man came along with his
wife and their child to spend their holiday. Seeing us teaching the exercises
free of charge, the whole family came to learn to practice the exercises.
There is a practice site in a suburb of Manila. Philippine practitioners
there did not practice the exercises quite correctly. Taiwan practitioners went
there to teach them the exercises and help correct their movements. After
practicing the exercises, they studied the Fa together and also presented the
practitioners with a copy of Teacher's exercise instructional VCD, telling them
about the importance of studying the Fa, and hoping that they could hold group
Fa study regularly. The Philippine practitioners happily accepted our
suggestions.
Practicing the exercise and having a photo taken with practitioners at a
practice site outside Manila
2. Clarifying the Truth to People from Different Circles in the Philippines
Philippine government: We had to apply for a permit to hang banners in Luneta
Park. Practitioners went to related department to apply, and at the same time
introduced Falun Dafa and clarified the truth in the park. The related
department could not grant us a permit immediately, citing various reasons. So
we set up display boards, and in the end, practitioners made a large display
board with the words "Falun Dafa is Good" in both Chinese and English. Some
practitioners went directly to the tourist bureau and the Senate to clarify the
truth and gained positive support from them. Several people in the tourist
bureau learned to practice the exercises immediately on the spot. Officials in
the Senate asked the practitioners to teach them to do the exercises every
Friday.
Educational System in Philippines: Practitioners visited some schools, and
most of them had no understanding of Falun Gong, but through truth
clarification, they all had a positive attitude toward Falun Gong. An official
in the educational system warmly received the Taiwanese practitioners, and when
he learned the truth about Falun Gong and Falun Gong's tremendous effect on
healing illnesses and keeping fit, he was glad to pass the truth clarification
materials to principals of all schools. He also suggested that we seek help from
the Physical Education Association to introduce Falun Dafa.
3. Holding a Nine-Day Seminar
On the third day of a nine-day seminar at the YMCA, a
journalist from United Daily News came to conduct interviews and file a
report that was published the next day
The YMCA originally promised to provide us a site to hold a nine-day seminar,
but it suddenly notified us that they would not let us use the site. We knew
they might have received some pressure from somewhere. Falun Gong practitioners
then found another place and published a notice about the change of venue in the
newspaper the next day (Please see the photo)
The afternoon the notice was published, when we went to Chinatown to
introduce Falun Gong, someone told us they had read about it in the newspaper.
That evening, when the nine-day video series began, some Chinese people came to
inquire and learn to practice the exercises. Some other news agencies saw the
positive effect of our ads in the newspaper, and were willing to publish our
ads. They left their telephone numbers and hoped that we could find them to
publish ads in their newspapers.
During the days when Falun Gong practitioners were staying in the
Philippines, except for morning group Fa study and group practice, during the
daytime, we all separated into different groups and did different things. Some
practitioners wore formal suits to visit different departments; some
practitioners went to Chinatown to hand out flyers on the streets. Some held the
nine-day seminar; some drafted a speech for a press conference, some translated
it into English and the language of the Philippines. Some contacted news
agencies; some went to schools. Practitioners' efforts received positive
feedback: the Philippine Senate expressed hope that the practitioners would come
to teach them to do the exercises. A school principal hoped that someone could
go to the school to teach the exercises every Friday morning in September. The
seeds of Falun Dafa and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" have sprouted in the
Philippines, and we believe there will be blossoms and fruit in the near future.
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