The author's sister in Taiwan
In July 2009, my sister married a man from Taoyuan County in Taiwan and settled down there. In May 2010, after going through the procedures of applying for a visa, she went home to visit our family. All my family members felt very happy at seeing her, and so did my sister. She kept on talking to us about what she saw and heard in Taiwan. When we were all entranced by her stories, she turned to another topic and said that in Taiwan, Falun Gong practitioners spreading propaganda materials made tourists lose interest in sight-seeing.
One day in December 2009, she paid a visit to the Palace Museum in Taipei with her husband and parents-in-law. After that, they drove to the Cultural Exhibition Hall on Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty (1723-1735). They parked the car by the road 200 meters away or less from the Hall, and got off. There they met several people, who appeared to be vendors, peddling some thing before merchandise booths. Soon after they got off the car, a woman of about 50 years old came up and gave them some throwaways. My sister was so curious that she wanted to have a look, but was stopped by her husband. He whispered to her: "Those are Falun Gong propaganda materials. I have seen that in many occasions and what these materials advocate are nonsense." On hearing this, my sister did not take the materials. But it seemed as if the woman had made out that my sister just came from the mainland. So she didn't want to miss the chance and chased my sister to give her several pieces of such plugs as Minghui Weekly and Epoch Times. Being a stranger in Taiwan, my sister was unwilling to refuse the woman flatly for fear of possible retaliation. Therefore, she accepted the throwaways for the moment and hurried to catch up with her family members. Once they bought tickets from the ticket office and stepped into the Exhibition Hall, my sister found a trash can, torn the papers into pieces and dumped them into it immediately. And many other tourists behind her did the same.
After finishing the visit, my sister noticed that those who distributed Falun Gong materials still continue their "work", but they were certainly not very popular among tourists. Most of the visitors either dodged them or turned a blind eye to them. On the way home, my brother-in-law said: "Those people are really shameless and always annoy travelers by handing out materials forcedly."
"We've read some of these materials before. We feel the contents untrustworthy because it is incredible for patients not to seek help from doctors. What's more, they made Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party of China, aiming to wage political campaign. But we prefer peace and quiet and feel awesome as soon as seeing these stuffs. You just arrive here, so you don't know the fact that there is few people practice Falun Gong in Taiwan, not mention those who trust it. You'd better not show interest in them from now on." Her parents-in-law told her.
My sister also went to visit the Sun-Moon Lake together with her friends in March 2010. This time, they hire a girl to take them on a tour of this famous lake. On way to the spot, the guide carefully introduced the Sun-Moon Lake to us, including some ancient legends about it. The introduction aroused so great interest that they wished they could enjoy a complete sigh-seeing tour at once.
Nevertheless, when the bus stopped, a man in yellow waistcoat came towards them, waving the materials in his hand and keeping mumbling. They paid no attention to him, whereas the man kept on at them, attempting to put the Falun Gong propaganda materials into their travel bags. My sister and her friends still ignored him and went further into the scenic area. In the end, the man had to go back to his booth, tail between his legs.
Interrupted by the man, especially on hearing his words insulting the motherland, my sister and her friends immediately had no interest in continuing their sight-seeing. Noticing that, the guide told some jokes at once and made them happy again. On the way back, deeply impressed by the event, my sister said: "Sun-Moon Lake is so pretty that it is worthy of the name of Crown of the Bright Pearl. But the Falun Gong practitioners really brought disgrace on the Sun-Moon Lake."
"Yes. Many tourists all complain about why they can do that freely. I hate them too. I have to clear all the materials and CDs left on the bus by tourists, and that's really annoying." "In fact, these people are paid for handing out leaflets; otherwise, they would have to do other jobs to make a living. Look at the materials they are peddling. Who care about them? People generally throw them away. If you meet with them the next time, neglect them and just treat them as the dead."
Her words brought mixed feelings of joy and sorrow to me. What I am sad for is that Falun Gong, the cult which has ruined so many people and their families, is still rampant in Taiwan, a few Falun Gong adherents can still openly distribute leaflets and disturb tourists at scenic spots in Taiwan. However, I am also pleased to see that most people in Taiwan distrust or even hate Falun Gong. I wish I had a chance to visit Taiwan some day, when Falun Gong is prohibited from activities which spoil the tourists' mood of sight-seeing.
