UN International Youth Day 2022/ The Stolen Youth of Tai Ji Men
Paper presented by HRWF at the hybrid webinar “The Stolen Youth of Tai Ji Men” in Los Angeles on 8 August
HRWF (08.08.2022) – This week, the UN International Youth Day will be celebrated in various ways across the world.
This year, the theme is intergenerational solidarity. The link between generations is extremely important because it is through the transmission of knowledge and know-how that human beings have survived over the centuries and millennia, that they have become what they are now and that humanity has become what it is in the 21st century. However, the transmission is not one-way from older people to younger people. The older generation also learns from the younger generation. I am sure that all of us, we have experienced this interaction and could give many examples. In my case, as a teacher, I have passed on a lot of things in a certain area to thousands of my students during my whole career, but they have also changed my life a lot, without most probably realising it. My lifelong commitment to religious freedom came from one of my very young students. Without her, you would not have found me and I would not have found you. Another example, my constant adaptation to new communication technologies also comes from my young interns in the office of our NGO Human Rights Without Frontiers.
Intergenerational solidarity is in constant interaction between generations that follow each other, partially overlap and interpenetrate each other. Older people share their personal experience gained at a certain time in a certain environment; younger people appropriate it in their new environment and build on it.
Legacy
Every generation leaves behind a legacy, with good and bad things but also with unsolved problems.
For 26 years now, Tai Ji Men has been persecuted by the National Tax Bureau and Prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen who fabricated evidence to falsely accuse Tai Ji Men of fraud.
In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that Tai Ji Men was innocent of all charges and did not owe any taxes but the saga went on because the National Tax Bureau refused to fully apply the court decision and on 21 August 2020, the National Taxation Bureau, in cooperation with the Administrative Enforcement Agency, unlawfully auctioned Tai Ji Men’s land.
For 26 years, the taxation administration has been turning a deaf ear to outside experts and has not consulted any. It has ignored all the court rulings and even the Supreme Court. It has illegally imposed taxes and auctioned Tai Ji Men’s property instead of abiding by the highest national court, instead of apologizing and reimbursing Tai Ji Men.
A whole generation of dizi has lost their youth and more because of this persecution but has also been strong in the defence of the values and the honor of Tai Ji Men. Despite their obstinate fight for a quarter of a century they have reluctantly to transmit this unsolved burden to the next generation but they have also been infusing their determination to fight against injustice and human rights violations in the education of their children.
Another great challenge today, inherited from two centuries of unbridled industrialisation, is the rapid climate change, which threatens the survival of humankind if individual and collective behaviors are not taken into account, in practice, in all human activities. Tai Ji Men has long been involved in intergenerational solidarity for saving the planet.
One only has to look at the number of young people in Tai Ji Men to realise the impact of Dr Hong’s teachings on personal and collective morality and sense of responsibility.
Many dizi have traveled around the world with Dr Hong to participate in events and actions aiming at spreading love, peace, solidarity and humanity.
With such a mission in mind, Dr. Hong Tao-Tze has led the Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL), the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy, and the Association of World Citizens (AWC) to hold activities such as cultural exchanges, ceremonies of ringing the Bell of World Peace and Love, and world summits to promote appreciation of and respect for different cultures, and to ignite the goodwill and kindness of all and consolidate their consensus.
Dr. Hong also encourages the youth to participate in international volunteering that allows them to utilize their talents and skills and contribute to society and community well-being. This is creating a culture of conscience and awareness that transcends national boundaries and immensely benefits global citizens.
Young people in Tai Ji Men are Dr Hong’s peaceful army for spreading peace and brotherly love among all human beings. This is the mission of the next generation of dizi, this is your mission here and now.
Photo credits: Nations Online Project