World Children’s Day is an annual commemorative day established by the United Nations on Nov. 20. With the global trend to focus on children and redouble attention to their basic rights, the United Nations further calls on governments, communities, and business leaders to fulfill their commitments to children, to act on the rights of children now and in the future, and to work towards the realization of every child’s right.
On the occasion of World Children’s Day, Action Alliance to Redress 1219 held an online forum with the theme “Give us Back a Hopeful Future” https://youtu.be/_jIEgDVNLxo , inviting children to speak out on the YouTube platform, reminding presidents and those in power to fulfill their promises and set a good example for children.
Holly, who is in seventh grade at the age of 12 from Taipei, shared that she was particularly timid and cranky when she was a little girl. Her family took three-year-old Holly to Tai Ji Men to practice qigong. They hoped that in the good environment of the Energy Family, Holly’s body would improve and her personality would grow more brave and generous. Her Shifu, Dr. Hong Tao Tze, Zhang-man-ren of Tai Ji Men, told to her: “Be brave! Don’t be afraid, just start by raising your hand!”
Over the years, Holly said, she has taken part in legal and tax reform activities many times. Her family and she were on the street holding signs and marching down Ketagalan Boulevard. The Tai Ji Men case has not yet been resolved. But the criminal division of the Supreme Court found Tai Ji Men was not guilty and had no tax evasion on July 13, 2007. The case of Tai Ji Men has become a global human rights issue, drawing the attention of the United Nations.
Holly hopes President Tsai Ing-wen to pay attention to children’s voices on World Children’s Day and assist in creating a positive culture and environment. She shares Shifu’s word: Good culture brings good education. Good education brings a good economy. Holly asks President Tsai should quickly revoke Tai Ji Men’s unjust and false case, setting a positive and good example for children!
Vicky is a 10-grade student. She said that she is a shy and quiet girl who tends to avoid getting in touch with people as much as possible. Vicky mentioned that there are many dizi of Tai Ji Men at her age, have learned to be confident, brave, and face difficulties in training. It emboldened her and inspired her to be brave.
Vicky said that she has learned that the law and tax persecution case on Tai Ji Men occurred on Dec. 19, 1996, which seriously damaged Tai Ji Men and the reputation of all the Tai Ji Men’s dizi, who got great pressure from the public. Vicky angrily stated that the court ruled that Tai Ji Men was not guilty and did not owe taxes, but the National Taxation Bureau still said that the court’s judgment was not counted.
Tai Ji Men has not yet received real justice, and everything is due to the ridiculous National Taxation Bureau officials. For performance bonuses and their profits, they continued to issue illegal tax bills. On August 21, 2020, they even illegally auctioned off Tai Ji Men’s sacred land, which showed Taiwan has not even implemented basic human rights although it is a democratic country.
Vicky mentioned that twenty-five years are a quarter of a century. How many Tai Ji Men dizi have been affected by this case since childhood and grew up in this environment. And she also watched Tai Ji Men dizi’s courage. They continue to speak up to the government, no matter rain or shine, for Tai Ji Men, for the rights of the people.
Vicky required that the government should not only pay attention to the protection of children’s rights, but everyone should have human rights and be valued. She urged the government to redress the Tai Ji Men case, return Tai Ji Men’s land, stop persecuting Tai Ji Men and other innocent people, and stop human rights abuses through unjust taxation. Vicky said that the government must listen carefully to the people. Instead of turning a blind eye, to today’s World Children’s Day, Vicky hopes that every generation can live in a safe and sound society.
