[Duowei News, Sept. 30] Special article by XX: A few days ago, I read an article by Tan Zhen from the Duo-Wei news web site. This article lists some materials to show that Falun Gong is organized. Let's for now ignore where these materials come from ; let's just consider the reasoning style of Mr. Tan. Since the debate is about whether there is an organization to Falun Gong, the challenger should first define his use of the concept of 'organization'. Otherwise, not only will the debate fail to lead to any meaningful result, but it will also confuse and mislead readers. For example, would it be considered an organized activity when two friends talk about and coordinate their plans? How about the assembly of more than three people? If yes, Falun Gong can certainly be considered to be organized. However, when compared with formal groups such as the XX Party, in which introducers are required for membership, members must swear for devoting one's life to some cause, pay membership fees, report their thought activities, and must absolutely follow the decisions of their superiors, etc., it is very difficult to assert that Falun Gong is an organization. Of course, the definition should be decided by the two sides participating in the debate. Here, this author only presents his own experience.
I am a member of some scholarly organizations in America. To join these types of 'organizations', one must do two things. First, one needs to fill in one's name and address. Second, one needs to pay membership fees. Otherwise, one won't be able to become a member. Over the last two months, I have also begun to practice Falun Gong.
It started like follows. I have been in America for over ten years, and originally knew nothing about Falun Gong in mainland China. Since last July, I have occasionally seen from TV that the Chinese government was criticizing a group of people who practice some Qi-Gong. All I heard was one-sided attacks from the Chinese government. This method of using all government apparatuses to attack people overwhelmingly, and yet not allowing any explanation from those being attacked, did not help me to know what Falun Gong is. Instead it reminded me of the horrifying atmosphere during the Cultural Revolution.
Because articles and news about Falun Gong have been continually reported in various media over the last year, I became curious. I found the Falun Gong web site not long ago, and studied some materials. Here, I am not going to talk about my personal understanding and experience ; I merely point out that I have a Ph.D. degree, and so I'm not a person who does not know how to think. About two to three months ago, I decided to practice Falun Gong. Therefore, I downloaded the Exercise Instruction Video from the web, and started to imitate the movements at home. In daily work and life, I follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Over time, I feel some significant improvement of my health. In addition, I often receive compliments from family members and friends.
I also frequently recommend Falun Gong to others, although no one asked me to do so. Based on my thoughts and activities, you may say that I am a Falun Gong practitioner. However, from the very beginning till today, I have never visited any group practice site to learn the exercises, and don 't know any other Falun Gong practitioner. I have neither had to report my name and address, as I did when joining scholarly organizations, nor did I have to pay any membership fees or instruction fees. Then please tell me, do I belong to an organization or not? Am I a member of Falun Gong? If I go to practice on the street in China, would I be treated as a Falun Gong member and arrested?
While you are trying to find a definition for the word 'organization', I hope my example can be of aid.
