Glad to see that you printed the amazing photo ("Falun Gong meets Chiang Kai-shek" (蔣介石), page 1, Dec. 26) on your cover recently. However, the caption accompanying this photo, "The sect has in recent years fallen afoul of the Chinese government over its perceived challenge to Beijing's authority, but its activities in Taiwan are unrestricted," is a biased statement.
Please understand that Falun Gong has been part of Buddhist belief for many many years, but it was not widely spread until recently, and it is definitely not a sect. The definition of "sect" when talking of a customary practice is negatively related to extreme and even malicious deeds. Using the word "sect" may lead your readers to misunderstand Falun Gong. It is based on the virtues of truth and compassion. We hope that any articles and content printed about Falun Gong in the Taipei Times will be written in a neutral and unbiased manner. To help more people really understand Falun Gong clearly, please try to correct this error on your Web site. It would be greatly appreciated.
Moreover, please also understand that the Falun Gong is not challenging Beijing's authority but the communism it brought to its people. These are very different concepts: we are against any political authority that slaughters its people. History shows that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is still doing this even now. Since 1999, 2,799 Falun Gong practitioners have been killed through illegal persecution. This figure comes from official documents, never mind the thousands of unreleased papers. This proves that the ridiculous stories that the CCP releases to the media smearing Falun Gong are only another version of the Cultural Revolution and communist tricks and lies. We would really like people to be aware of this.
Falun Gong welcomes any kind of political authority in Beijing as long as it stops its horrible persecution of people.
There's another point regarding the last part of the description, "but its activities in Taiwan are unrestricted." If I were the editors, I would have not used the word "but," which denotes "it shall be." In which direction does the Taipei Times wish to lead its readers?
Please note that Falun Gong is already recognized in more than 60 countries and only China restricts it. Do the people of China want Falun Gong to be restricted? If the answer is yes, then why are there so many people willing to practice it knowing that it may cost them their lives? It would be a good idea for your newspaper to issue a series of articles or even create a forum about this subject to help people better understand this belief and its spirit.
Chen Yuyen
Taipei
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