Truth in China

By Genevieve Long
Epoch Times Staff
Nov 4, 2009

A screenshot of the website showing 'tweets' about the Berlin Wall. Before the site was blocked in China, most were in Chinese. (berlintwitterwall.com)

A virtual wall created for Twitter users to express their thoughts and hopes on the 20 year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall has been blocked in China.

The “Berlin Twitter Wall,” as it’s called, is an initiative of KulturProjekte Berli, a not-for-profit organization that promotes networking and mediation of art and culture.

Launched on Oct. 20, according to the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the virtual wall was blocked by Chinese authorities after almost 2,000 Chinese Internet users left Twitter messages there. The wall currently has just over 4,000 tweets posted on it, mostly in Chinese.

“Chinese Internet users must not be prevented from accessing the Berlin Twitter Wall,” said Reporters Without Borders in a statement released Tuesday morning. “Initiatives like these are important platforms for the promotion of freedom of speech as well as for critical voices and protest.”

RSF added that many foreign news outlets and social-networking sites remain inaccessible to Chinese users.

Twitter account holders can post comments that appear automatically on the berlintwitterwall.com site by using the hashtag #fotw (fall of the wall).

The site exhorted users to “share your thoughts on the Fall of the Berlin wall now or let us know which walls still have to come down to make our world a better place!” Chinese on twitter drew comparisons between the Berlin Wall and the Great Firewall of China (GFW), the name given to the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s program of pervasive Internet censorship.

“Overturning the GFW is an urgent priority, communism is just a red terror that deceives people,” one user wrote.

“The Berlin Wall has a Chinese version. German friends have given us a rallying point to overturn the GFW!” a writer identified as cx0878 wrote.

“Why is getting on the net now to say true words so hard?” another user said, calling themselves guozili.

The Golden Shield Project, often called the Great Firewall of China, is a censorship and surveillance project operated by China’s Ministry of Public Security. It is intended to increase up the Chinese Communist Party’s control of the Internet in China. It includes tens of thousands of personnel who monitor and delete content deemed subversive, as well as an elaborate system for making Web sites inaccessible.

Last Updated
Nov 4, 2009

Understandings on Cultivation

Author: Guan Ming

(PureInsight.org) When I was young, my grandmother told me a story that I still remember clearly to this day. The story was about an active young boy who lived in the East several hundred years ago. He lived on a mountain, and everyday he climbed up to the top of the mountain to look out at the sea far away. He was told that on rare occasions, one could see a golden pyramid rising from the sea that is as glorious as a fairyland. He told his mother that someday he would travel to and live inside the golden pyramid after he had grown up. His mother always smiled when hearing that. She would reply, “All right. I hope you will grow up soon.”

On the day the boy turned 18 years old, he told his mother that he would leave to search for the golden pyramid. His mother was surprised: “Son, that story is just a legend. There is no such pyramid in this human world.” But the boy was determined: “Mother, trust me. I will find the golden pyramid.” After traveling a long distance and encountering many hardships, the young man persevered every day in walking in the direction of the pyramid. One day, he finally reached the sea that he had viewed from his mountain home. Although, he couldn’t see the pyramid that he was searching for, he still believed that he would see it some day. Day after day, he waited by the sea.

As I grew older, I also believed that there was no such golden pyramid in life. However, I kept remembering this beautiful story. One day, I casually entered a Chinese bookstore and saw a copy of Zhuan Falun which was golden and shiny. This reminded me of the above story. Since then, I started to read this heavenly book and still enjoy reading it to this day. This became the golden pyramid inside my heart.

In the sweltering heat of June, people like to go and stay in places where air-conditioning is available. However, when I pick up my trumpet and practice music as a Celestial Band member, all those discomforts due to high temperatures are diminished. I believe it is because of the pyramid in my heart that helps me dissolve into in the music and enter into the state of feeling as if I am walking in the breeze.

When marching in the rain with other Celestial Band members or practicing the Falun Dafa exercises in the rain, I sometimes felt a little cold after my clothing was soaked. However, the pyramid in my heart would warm me up from dantian (point in the lower abdomen) throughout my entire body and I would become very comfortable again.

When experiencing tribulations, such as threatening or humiliating situations, this golden pyramid always shines with a light of compassion. This strengthens my determination in following the truth and makes me more diligent. I know that no test can change my determination as a Dafa practitioner.

Translated from Chinese