The Tai Ji Men Case: 24 Years, Before and After

December 19, 2020 marks the 24th anniversary of the start of the ongoing persecution against Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy by the Taiwanese government. The Academy and Action Alliance to Redress 1219 hosted a virtual forum to commemorate the occasion, following a massive demonstration in Taiwan, where some 10,000 Tai Ji Men disciples (called dizi) and human rights activists took to the streets to honor the day. At the webinar, over 20 Tai Ji Men dizi in Los Angeles, San Jose, Washington D.C., New York, England, Canada, the Netherlands, and Lesotho, shared a collective saga of persecution, self-betterment, and promotion of love, peace, and conscience. The event received over 4,600 views.

The forum opened with a movie titled “A Question of Justice: The Tai Ji Men Tax Case in Taiwan” directed by Prof. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist and the founder of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR). Moderator and Tai Ji Men dizi Judy Lee explained that the taxation bureau taxed Tai Ji Men as a cram school while the Ministry of Education, the competent authority of all cram schools in Taiwan, declared three times from 1997 to 2000 that Tai Ji Men is not a cram school. The tax bill is actually illegal and should be abolished immediately, said Lee.

The tax bill originated from Prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen’s prosecution. The prosecutor led hundreds of armed police, investigators, and journalists to search Tai Ji Men on December 19, 1996. The search was covered on TV that evening. Afterwards, the prosecutor kept releasing false information about Tai Ji Men to the media and accused the leader of Tai Ji Men, Dr. Hong, of fraud, tax evasion, violation of the Tax Collection Act, and “raising goblins.” During the investigation process, over 400 sensational, false and one-sided news stories were reported across Taiwan, smearing Dr. Hong and Tai Ji Men. In 2007, the Supreme Court declared Dr. Hong and his co-defendants innocent of tax evasion and all other charges; however, the taxation bureau defied the court decision and maintained the tax bill for 1992. This August, although Dr. Hong didn’t owe any tax, his properties were illegally auctioned and then confiscated by the government, based on the unjustified tax bill.

The first panelist was Jimmy Wang. He reported that he joined Tai Ji Men in 1993 at the age of 20, hoping to fix his bad temper and unhappiness. His energy levels increased significantly, his sleep quality improved, and he attained a profound sense of peace and happiness after practicing qigong and recommended Tai Ji Men to his family. However, after the incident on December 19, 1996, due to the negative news reports, he and his family became the targets of mockery. With tears in his eyes, he said those fake reports and hurtful remarks from relatives, friends, and business clients were like “stabbing him in the heart.”

Brenda Chen, in Northern California, with tears in her eyes, shared how the 1219 Incident traumatized her and her family. When no one accused her father and there was no evidence of his committing any crime, her father was detained for approximately four months, starting from December 19, 1996, without any justified reason. On Christmas Eve that year, her house was searched. “Because our house was searched, sometimes I would wonder if our phone was being tapped. Moreover, my two uncles in the U.S. believed the fake news reports. . . . Because there was too much gossip about Tai Ji Men, my mom who worked for the Ministry of Justice was forced to retire.”

Pamela Chen from Southern California reported that at the time of the 1219 Incident, she was only 24 and later served as a messenger to communicate between the defense lawyer for Tai Ji Men and her Tai Ji Men brothers and sisters. She was warned by the lawyer that she had to be on high alert at all times because she might be monitored by the authorities. “If I was not careful, I could be interrogated by the Investigation Bureau.” The constant psychological stress took a toll on her, and on one rainy day, she broke down and cried, “Why must this happen to me?”

Dame Munni Irone, founder of Art 4 Peace Awards and life coach for celebrities in Hollywood, said it broke her heart to see her Tai Ji Men brothers and sisters suffer so much. “The voice will always be heard. If it is not heard in Taiwan, we are going to make sure the world is hearing the voice of Tai Ji Men.”

Postdoctoral research associate in pathology of a university in Canada, Linda Chen shared how Tai Ji Men helped her overcome her depression. She reported that Tai Ji Men’s leader and his wife were wrongfully detained and treated inhumanely by the government. She condemned the Taiwanese government, saying, “Even real criminals are treated with more respect in Canada.”

Bobby Chen, a Taiwanese college student studying in Canada with a major in animation, said, “The government has been covering up their wrongdoings instead of facing the problems. They manipulate the news media, forging documents, producing fake evidence and hiding their illegal doings from the people.” He shared his animated illustrations of the corrupt officials as a way of getting people’s attention to the matter.

Despite the ongoing persecution, Tai Ji Men has continued to improve people’s holistic health and promote love, peace, and conscience around the world. USC student Evelyn Ha shared how she has managed her mental health and well-being throughout her time at Tai Ji Men. “After I joined Tai Ji Men, I learned qigong that helps me with my mental and physical health. I have found that practicing qigong and meditating before bed calms my mood and helps me reduce my anxious thoughts.”

James Geiger, a computer programer, shared that “The qigong exercises that Shifu (master) has taught us have helped not only improve and heal specific parts of my body, but have helped improve and heal my whole body.”

Tai Ji Men aims to improve global citizens’ physical, mental, and spiritual health. In light of the fact that COVID-19 is still raging worldwide, a short video of preventive measures for the pandemic

was presented, highlighting five do’s and three don’ts, urging world citizens to work together to overcome the crisis.

To promote love, peace, and conscience worldwide, Tai Ji Men has self-funded its trips to 101 nations. Its members, such as Michael Selfridge, Ethan Chang, Nunu Tsai, Richard Tsai, Lily Chen, and Yin Liu, shared their experiences of following Dr. Hong Tao-Tze, the leader of Tai Ji Men, to pursue this worthy cause. They reported that Dr. Hong was instrumental in the United Nations’ adoption of the International Day of Conscience.

The Tai Ji Men case won the highest number of votes in an online survey organized by Taiwan Association for Financial Criminal Law Study and other NGOs. The results of the survey named “Major Cases of Human Rights Violations in Taiwan in the 21st Century: Which Case Do You Want to Know the Most?” were broadcast live at a press conference on December 25, 2020, with nearly one million votes cast.

However, the Tai Ji Men case not only is a major legal and tax case in Taiwan, but also concerns the whole world. Over the past 24 years, in order to have the Taiwanese government revoke the unjustified tax bill, Tai Ji Men has wasted too much manpower, time, and money. If the tax case is resolved, then Tai Ji Men will have more energy and time to help more people, said Tai Ji Men dizi.

Another reason why the Tai Ji Men case is very important for the international community is that taxes are increasingly used or misused to discriminate against spiritual minority groups, a common viewpoint shared by the panelists during a webinar on the Tai Ji Men case on December 20, 2020. The host of the webinar Camelia Marin, deputy director of a Denmark-based NGO Soteria International, said, “If your case (the Tai Ji Men case) will stand, many other cases will just start to grow around and to go for the truth, which is important for all of us in order to grow the spirituality in the world.”

Additionally, resolving the case is a matter of principle and justice, as pointed out in Prof. Introvigne’s opening movie, which was also presented at a webinar during the 3rd Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom or Belief, organized by the U.S. Department of State, “Tai Ji Men are not fighting for themselves only. They raise a crucial question of justice, freedom of belief, and human rights. In this sense, we are all Tai Ji Men. The injustice perpetrated against them is injustice against all of us. Their victory will be our victory.”

Source: ACT 1219