(Clearwisdom.net) Taiwan is located in the Pacific Ocean about 160 km
(100 miles) off the southeastern coast of the Chinese Mainland and faces Fujian
Province from across the Taiwan Strait. Besides the main island, there is also
the Pescadores Islands, Island of Quemoy, Matsu Islands, South China Sea
Islands, Green Island and Orchid Island. Since Taiwan is part of the tropical
and sub-tropical region, it is a land of enchanting beauty with a great climate
and abundant resources. Since ancient times, it has been called the fairy island
of Penglai. Today, the saying is that it is west of Formosa, which stands for
"beautiful island."
The Taiwanese have a tradition of worshiping Buddhas and also upholding Chinese
traditions, such as virtue, honesty, kindness, loyalty, and filial piety. Falun
Gong originated in China. This spiritual practice has swiftly spread to over 80
countries and regions over 15 years and become an important part of life for
tens of millions of people. Falun Gong was first introduced to Yangming Shan,
Taipei in 1995, where it spread quickly. Now, there are about 500,000 people in
Taiwan practicing Falun Gong. The number of practitioners is second only to
China. Among the practitioners, there are people of all ages and occupations,
including senior government officials, military personnel, policemen, workers
and farmers, business people, entrepreneurs, artists, doctors, professors, and
many other professions. They play an active role in society in Taiwan.
May 13 is "World Falun Dafa Day". On that day in 1992, Mr. Li
Hongzhi brought Falun Gong to the public. May 13 was designated as "World
Falun Dafa Day" in 2000, as suggested by practitioners worldwide. They
wanted to celebrate this special day and hoped that it would be a tool to spread
Falun Dafa more widely. They also wanted to spend that day to appeal to all
kind-hearted people throughout the world and ask their support to stop the
persecution against practitioners in China and help practitioners in China
regain their right to belief and cultivate in Falun Gong.
On May 13, 2002, Taiwanese practitioners formed huge Chinese
characters at Sun-Moon Lake to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day
To celebrate World Falun Dafa Day in 2007, Taiwanese practitioners decided to
hold a parade in Taipei and form Chinese characters in front of the Chiang
Kai-shek Memorial Hall. At the same time, distinguished guests were invited to
participate in this grand ceremony. Practitioners received greetings and
calligraphy from Wu Bichu, speaker of the Taipei City Council, Jiang Hui Chen,
mayor of Banchiao, a number of city and county councilors, as well as from
members of the Legislative Committee.
Beautiful Performing Troupe
Falun Gong is well recognized and welcomed in schools, industrial and
commercial organizations and communities in Taiwan and elsewhere outside of
China. Practitioners are often invited to demonstrate the five sets of peaceful
exercises. Many people are drawn by the graceful exercises, especially people
who are interested in tai chi and qigong.
On April 14, 2007, practitioners were invited to demonstrate the
exercises at the opening of the sports event to celebrate the establishment of
Jiapei Elementary School in Chiayi City
On February 7, 2007, employees from the Taipower learned Falun Gong
at an employee sports event
December 23, 2006, practitioners from Kaohsiung City were invited to
demonstrate the five sets of exercises at a sports event to celebrate the
establishment of Mituo Elementary School
On November 12, 2006, practitioners demonstrated the exercises at a
sports event of Shan-Jiao Junior High School in Taoyuan County
On October 29, 2006, practitioners demonstrated the exercises at the
National Autumn Track and Fields competition at Taipei Municipal Stadium
On October 21, 2006, practitioners demonstrated the five sets of
exercises at the Third Taipei Senior Citizens' sports event
On September 25, 2004, the Tainan Municipal Sports commission
invited one thousand local Falun Gong practitioners to demonstrate the exercises
at the opening ceremony of the sports festival
In 2005, the Pingtung County Department of Education invited Falun
Gong practitioners to organize an exhibition at the County Sport Stadium on the
achievements of Falun Gong
The sports event to celebrate the establishment of Ming Yi
Elementary School
Hualien City was honored on April 18, 2004, as having demonstrated
the best activity -- the exercise demonstration by 4th grade students
Falun Gong practitioners demonstrated the peaceful and graceful
exercises at the Hsinchu County 2005 sports meet
Demonstrating the exercises at a Kuang Fu Elementary School, Tucheng
City, Taipei County celebration on May 7, 2005
Practitioners were invited to demonstrate the exercises at an event
by Wuchi Township in Taichung County. They received a certificate, thanking them
for their participation, from the County Magistrate
On November 14, 2004, practitioners demonstrated the exercises at
the sports meet to celebrate the establishment of Dapu Elementary School, Miaoli
County
On June 12, 2004, TV reporters filmed practitioners from Taipei
during the morning exercises at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
On May 9, 2004, practitioners from Yilan County were invited to
participate in a photo exhibition and demonstrate the exercises at a gala by the
Suao Veterans Hospital. They won praise from the hospital's director, deputy
director and the guests
Falun Dafa Has Spread Widely on Taiwan's Campuses
Many principals, teachers, students and parents are practicing Falun Gong.
They are living in an environment filled with "Truthfulness, Compassion and
Tolerance." Many children have achieved better grades and become better
people.
At a sports meet to celebrate the 78th anniversary of a
high school in Pingdong District, around 300 young 5th grade
practitioners demonstrated the five sets of exercises.
These students marched into the playground, accompanied by melodic music
composed by practitioners. The master of ceremonies introduced the group on the
microphone, "People say that kids nowadays are unable to sit still and
cannot calm down. The next performance will be a group of kind-hearted, brave
children ... Having learned Falun Dafa, they will no longer misbehave."
Teachers from Ming Yi Elementary School in Hualien formed a Minghui Group to
teach the five sets of exercises and to read Hong Yin at a weekly
community activity. They teach the children the principles "Truthfulness,
Compassion and Tolerance" through story telling and daily activities.
Pupils from Ching-chi Elementary, Taoyuan use the lunch break to
practice Falun Gong.
There are many teachers and students practicing Falun Dafa in Sishih
Elementary School in Sishih Township, Tainan County. On October 21, 2004, the
school invited the children to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises at a
gathering of staff and students.
Young practitioners at an elementary school in the suburbs of
Keelung City are doing the second set of the exercises
The 6th grade Teacher at Taihe Elementary School,
Changhua City shared that students have benefited greatly from reading Zhuan
Falun and Teacher Li's recent articles during morning self-study time,
practicing the exercises at noon, and sharing experiences during coaching time.
Teachers at Taichung County have formed a "Falun Dafa
Society." They teach students during lunch break to study the Fa and do the
exercises three times a week
Teachers at Jhutian Elementary School, Pingtung County teach
students the five sets of exercises and read Zhuan Falun.
Teachers of an Elementary School in Taichung County teach 6th
grade students Falun Gong. After they learned the Falun Gong exercises and
studied the Fa, the students' behavior improved greatly.
Sing Chia Elementary School, Chia-Yi City formed a Falun Gong group.
Every time Falun Gong is taught, the classroom is packed with students.
Teachers and students at Fengtian High School in Hualien County
learn Falun Gong
In many elementary and high schools there are students and teachers learning
Falun Gong. The number of practitioners could be as little as a few dozen to as
many as hundreds. Also, Minghui kindergartens and Minghui schools, which teach
the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance", have been
officially registered in many places including Taipei, Tainan, Taichung, Taoyuan,
Hsinchu, Miaoli, Keelung and Kaohsiung.
Meanwhile, a Falun Gong group has been formed in at least 37 universities and
a dozen or so colleges.
The sixth Falun Dafa Youth Camp was held at the Taiwan National
Cheng Kung University in Tainan from February 4 to 6, 2006
During summer vacation, from August 18 to 20, 2006, the sixth Falun Dafa
Youth Camp was held at Chung Hua University in Hsinchu. It attracted a lot of
young people from all over Taiwan, including high school students, university
students and new graduates who had entered the workforce. They studied the Fa
and practiced the exercises. They shared how to properly deal with the
relationship between study and cultivation. They discussed how to clarify the
truth based on the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and
Tolerance." This not only helped new practitioners to further understand
the profound inner meaning of Falun Dafa but also encouraged them to be more
diligent in their cultivation.
The seventh Taiwan Falun Dafa Youth Camp was held at National
Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology from February 4 to 6, 2007
According to an article published by Taipei Times on October 13, 2002, Falun
Gong has been accepted by more and more people on campuses across Taiwan and
Falun Gong groups have been formed everywhere, although the Chinese Communist
regime banned Falun Gong in China.
On this side of the Taiwan Strait, Falun Dafa has been blooming and brought
its wonderfulness and broad and profound inner meaning to the Taiwanese people.
Falun Gong has played a positive role for people of all walks of life and among
all age groups in terms of improving their health and their xinxing.
