Every midnight, Yun turns on the computer immediately after arriving home from her night shift. She first browses the Internet for the latest news about the persecution of Falun Gong and passes the news to surfers in mainland China. "I have been doing this everyday for about 7 years now, except when I am on an overseas trip." said Yun.
Yun is a Falun Gong practitioner in Taiwan. She describes herself as one of many volunteers supporting the "Quit the Chinese Communist Party" (CCP) campaign by operating small communication centers to help their mainland compatriots quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. "Telephone, mobile phone text messages, chatting online are the main channels we use to deliver our message," said Yun.
"The earliest chatting software we used was in black and white, it did not support sending pictures or vocal communication. One could only communicate through typing," Yun continued. With improvements in technology, Yun's team divided into several more specialized groups, such as multimedia design and breaking through the CCP's Internet blockade.
Piercing the Golden Shield
"Whenever there is a large-scale Internet blockade upgrade by mainland Internet police, our team will immediately write programs to break through the blockade. Sometimes our technique is too complicated for average surfers, so I have to teach them how to use the new software," said Yun.
"Whenever I send a message into mainland China, the first response I get is 'Is this true?' Many people don't believe what we say initially, but they soon realize the true situation. Many of them will say 'Thank you very much!' when they sign off." Yun said that what she does is worthwhile because a lot of her Internet friends from mainland China joined her as volunteers after having been in contact with her for a while.
Never Give Up
It's not all plain sailing though. Yun has also met people online who cursed and threatened her, but she has never thought of giving up. "Those who are indifferent make me bitterly disappointed. But I have been doing this for seven years and have already found different ways to approach them and when to tell them the truth."
Yun said persistence is very important. She feels encouraged whenever she receives messages from surfers in mainland China telling her that they had picked up a "Quit the CCP" brochure in their letter boxes, in their workplaces and in other locations. "I know mainland Falun Gong practitioners are doing their best under the severe persecution. I feel our hearts are connected. We are fulfilling our mission together."
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