As a doctor and a Tai Ji Men dizi, I learned that everybody should be treated with patience and respect and stigmatizations should be avoided.
by Lara Huang*
*A paper presented at the CESNUR 2024 international conference, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Bordeaux, France, June 12, 2024.
I am an endocrinologist and an assistant professor of clinical medicine. I am also a Tai Ji Men dizi (disciple).
As a doctor, I spend considerable time and effort every day helping patients and continuing to learn new medical knowledge. However, the stress caused by long overtime work had caused me to lose my enthusiasm and joy in helping people. Not only did I forget what patients really needed, I also lost my original intention of practicing medicine and could not find my future direction.
After becoming a Tai Ji Men dizi in 2005, I learned the wisdom of yin and yang from my Shifu (Grand Master), Dr. Hong Tao-Tze. I found ways to relieve stress and regain self-confidence. I was able to transform stress into the positive energy to happily work every day, not only to help patients maintain their health, but also to send positive energy to patients and their families, so that they can live harmoniously with their illnesses and reduce their suffering.
The COVID-19 outbreak started in Wuhan, China, in 2019. It was a brand-new disease. We knew nothing about the virus, so it was called “Wuhan pneumonia” at the beginning. It spread rapidly around the world and caused one of the most serious outbreaks in the history of human infectious diseases. After the pandemic started, it was officially named coronavirus disease (COVID-19) by the WHO.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, millions of lives have been lost, but the impact of the virus extends far beyond the disease itself. Lockdowns and home quarantines have stalled economic development, and increased unemployment. The high costs of vaccines and treatments not only threatened people’s health but also imposed a significant financial burden on governments and on low-income families, sometimes preventing them from receiving proper care.
In 2009, another flu pandemic infected millions of people. Before it was officially named H1N1, it was referred to as the “swine flu.” Before the outbreak was controlled, many countries banned the sale of pigs and pork products domestically, and even slaughtered hundreds of thousands of pigs to prevent the virus from spreading. Looking back at medical history, pigs are not the only stigmatized victims. The 1918 flu pandemic, commonly known as the Spanish flu, although in fact it did not originate in Spain, infected about one-third of the world’s population at the time. It also linked the fear and stigma of the disease to people, places, or animals.
This name-calling is not only dangerous but also unhelpful in stopping the spread of diseases. In 2015, the WHO issued guidelines for naming emerging infectious diseases, prohibiting names based on people, places, animals, food, or occupations, and avoiding terms like “unknown” or “fatal,” which can cause public panic. These measures aim to reduce stigma and discrimination caused by the fear of the unknown before the pathogenic cause of an emerging infectious disease is determined, and to uphold equal health rights for all.
What happened in the medical field is an object lesson on the dangers of stigmatization, which is often a tool used by governments to suppress dissidents, groups or individuals they dislike or fear through the media. In 1996, prosecutor Hou Kuan-Jen led a large number of prosecutors, armed police officers and media to illegally search Tai Ji Men premises. Tai Ji Men’s Shifu, his wife (Shimu), and two dizi were detained. When the prosecutor found no evidence, he openly accused Tai Ji Men of imaginary crimes, including “raising goblins” in the media. Hundreds of media articles published fake news, overwhelmingly slandering Tai Ji Men for fraud and tax evasion, resulting in tens of thousands of Tai Ji Men dizi being discriminated against and bullied at school or in the workplace, losing job opportunities, and straining family relationships.
It has been 28 years since the case occurred. Criminal courts, including the Supreme Court, concluded that Tai Ji Men was not guilty. Tai Ji Men Shifu and dizi have delivered the message of love and peace in 103 countries, bringing the stability and hope to the unstable world. However, there are still some false reports on Tai Ji Men case; and there are still Tai Ji Men dizi who are treated with suspect and discrimination, causing physical and mental trauma. Whenever I think of the innocent detention of Shifu and Shimu, and what happened to my brothers and sisters, it is very heartbreaking. However, Shifu once said: “Since Tai Ji Men dizi have suffered discrimination and pain, let no more people in the world be discriminated against and hurt again.” On December 19 of many years, I was on Ketagalan Avenue in Taipei with my brothers and sisters, to protest and speak out for legal and tax justice, not only for justice for Tai Ji Men, but also in the hope that those who are in the same situation as us can obtain substantial equality and redress.
In March 2023, I traveled to Türkiye with Shifu, brothers and sisters to attend the 26th Eurasian Economic Summit. The main topics of discussion were the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and the impact of climate change on the world’s economic development. Many political and religious leaders were present and shared their suggestions for world stability. My Shifu also delivered a speech. He said, “Only when people’s consciences awaken, from heads of state to global citizens, and they follow their conscience and perform good deeds in their respective roles, can we stop the collapse of the world and turn around the vitality for all mankind.”
During the meeting, Tai Ji Men sisters in angel costumes sang the song “Children from Heaven.” This song tells the fable of our ancestors. The five poisons cause the corruption of people’s hearts, and constant natural disasters, wars, and epidemics. The call of children from Heaven meant that only conscience could save oneself and return the soul to its pure and beautiful homeland. As long as humans changes themselves, they can change the world. The heavenly voice filled with love and peace deeply moved everyone present, soothing the tense atmosphere of the severe earthquake trauma that had just hit Türkiye.
In Tai Ji Men, I learned to uphold conscience and treat every patient with care. I also hope that everyone in the world will respect each other and tolerate different opinions and cultures, so that no more people or creatures will be unfairly discriminated against and stigmatized.
I hope for a world without conflict, and without war, where the Earth can sustainably thrive.