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A Global Phenomenon Overcoming Adversity
A Global Phenomenon Overcoming Adversity

Epoch Times

time05-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Epoch Times

A Global Phenomenon Overcoming Adversity

Commentary As many performing arts companies struggle financially in uncertain economic times, Shen Yun Performing Arts has completed its 18th global tour earlier this month, performing what it calls a historic run of 799 shows in 199 cities across 26 countries to an audience of more than 1 million people. Shen Yun not only has to overcome the financial challenges the industry faces, but also faces ongoing sabotage attempts by the communist regime in China. This includes threats directed at theaters, performers, and their families in China and warnings of economic and diplomatic reprisals in locations where Shen Yun performs. Additionally, there are issues with online disinformation and gross misrepresentations by various media outlets. How does a performing arts company presenting traditional Chinese culture today survive and flourish when facing such challenges? Performing Arts in the West In the post-COVID-19 pandemic arts landscape, traditional performing arts productions, such as ballet and classical music, are under increasing pressure to remain financially viable. Australia's largest performing arts companies, Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet, have each posted recent losses, despite receiving significant government grants. The Paris Opera Ballet, the world's oldest national ballet company, receives government subsidies to ensure financial stability. What Sets Shen Yun Apart? Shen Yun is a nonprofit organization established in New York in 2006. Its success is almost entirely funded by ticket sales and limited donations, not government grants or corporate sponsorships. Related Stories 5/11/2025 11/18/2024 It is audience appreciation and support that allows Shen Yun to grow and be successful. More and more people want to experience what Shen Yun presents. A full house at FirstOntario Concert Hall in Hamilton, Ontario, on Dec. 31, 2019. Evan Ning/The Epoch Times Shen Yun's mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture, which has been decimated by the impact of communism in China for more than 70 years, and share these inspirational stories with the world. The traditional values displayed on stage are not an act—performers aim to embody these principles each day. Most artists practice Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, a spiritual and meditation practice with teachings centered on truth, compassion, and forbearance. After being introduced to the Chinese public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi, Falun Gong's popularity grew exponentially, reaching at least 70 million by the decade's end, according to official estimates. Fearing that the popularity of Falun Gong would threaten its authoritarian rule, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a brutal persecution campaign to eradicate the practice in July 1999. The persecution continues today, including the killing of practitioners to harvest their organs for the state-run organ transplant industry in military and civilian hospitals. Media, Negativity, and Truth Media outlets that intentionally publish sensational, one-sided articles attacking Shen Yun and Falun Gong ignore the harmful impact on millions of practitioners, including those suffering persecution in China. Psychological research has identified an inherent negativity bias in human beings. It relates to survival mechanisms developed thousands of years ago, where identifying danger or negative threats was essential and could be a matter of life or death. The impact of negativity bias on our decision-making is well understood in the media and politics today. Negative news draws greater attention and can be perceived as believable or truthful. Negative information can lead people to vote against a candidate. If people are not mindful, they can be swayed to accept what is good as something bad or to be avoided. Negative media reporting in the United States is part of Beijing's campaign, In contrast, the Paris Opera Ballet, which has rigorous professional standards similar to Shen Yun, and a modest pay rate (as of 2020) for a full-time entry-level dancer of 2,000 euros per month (around $2,280), does not attract such negative media attention. This distinction lies in its focus on European culture, which isn't seen as a threat by the CCP. CCP's Fear of Shen Yun The CCP knows it does not have the support of the will of the Chinese people. In transforming itself from a 'revolutionary' to a 'ruling' party, it has killed tens of millions in its drive to replace traditional Chinese culture with communist culture. A Chinese paramilitary policeman guards at Tiananmen Square under crimson clouds at sunset after several days of heavy air pollution on July 4, 2013 in Beijing, manic campaign to sabotage Shen Yun displays its deep-seated insecurity: Shen Yun presents an inspiring vision of what China was, and can be, without communism. This dissolves the CCP's illusory claim to represent Chinese civilization, and that 'China' and the party are inseparable. Communism and Secularism Some Western media seem to take their reporting cues from the propaganda used by the CCP to demonize and persecute Falun Gong. There is nothing 'Chinese' about the Communist Party. It has been an invasive form of foreign interference in China since 1921, and, like a pandemic, it has contaminated China and the world with its Marxist–Leninist ideology that declares religions are human creations, denies the possibility of life after death, and the existence of God or a Creator. Over the past 50 years, the importance of religious belief has declined in the West, accompanied by a rise in secular thought. While secularism provides for the reasonable separation of church and state, it can also include philosophical elements that reject religion and align with communist atheist ideology that interpret life solely through a focus on the material world. A focus on materialism and 'self' in the West has led to a sense of isolation from the totality of being human—body, mind, and spirit—and can lead to depression as life may appear random or even meaningless. Chinese traditional culture emphasizes the unity between Heaven and Man and the intrinsic value and spiritual essence of every human being. Shen Yun's Universal Appeal Archbishop Makarios Griniezakis, head of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia, saw Shen Yun perform in Sydney in February this year and was moved to write to Shen Yun in appreciation. Archbishop Makarios Griniezakis of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia watched Shen Yun in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 26, 2025. NTD 'Through this rich and most captivating performance, you [Shen Yun] offer a beautiful and spiritual message to the wider society, which is of the utmost importance in our current days,' Archbishop Makarios wrote in the March 3 'This testimony of cultural and spiritual revival is not only paramount for the people of China, but it sends a pertinent message to the whole world. 'It is through the artistic exploration of faith, love, hope, and unity that the audience is able to contemplate such virtues of which the contemporary world seeks not only to deny but to systematically reject.' The message of hope and kindness that Shen Yun brings to the world is a universal blessing; its audiences truly appreciate it, regardless of their political or religious orientation. There is nothing the CCP can do to stop that momentum. Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

In Praise of Falun Gong Practitioners: True Heroes of Our Time
In Praise of Falun Gong Practitioners: True Heroes of Our Time

Epoch Times

time12-05-2025

  • Politics
  • Epoch Times

In Praise of Falun Gong Practitioners: True Heroes of Our Time

The following is a speech delivered by award-winning writer, poet, and Chinese democracy activist Sheng Xue at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto on May 11, during an event to celebrate the World Falun Dafa Day, marked on May 13. The text has been translated from Chinese and edited for clarity. Today, we are here to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day. I stand here with respect and gratitude to commemorate this important day with everyone, and to once again tell the world that the Falun Gong practitioners adhere to human conscience and unyieldingly guard the light in the darkest times. Falun Gong was introduced by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, on May 13, 1992, and he subsequently travelled the country to teach the practice publicly. In just a few years, it quickly spread widely in China because it improved physical and mental health while emphasizing living by the principles of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance' and cultivating one's moral character. According to official statistics from the Chinese regime at that time, by 1999 there were between 70 million and 100 million practitioners across the country. Sheng Xue, a journalist, poet, and Chinese democracy activist, attends the World Falun Dafa Day celebration event at the Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto on May 11, 2025. Arek Rusek for The Epoch Times During those years, this group had no organizational form, made no political demands, and held no open protests. They just tried to be good people with an honest, kind, and tolerant attitude. However, their existence caused extreme panic for the Chinese communist regime because of their large numbers, profound moral influence, and the natural opposition between the truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance they believe in and the falsehoods, evil, and 'struggle' mentality of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). On July 20, 1999, the CCP brazenly launched a comprehensive persecution campaign against Falun Gong practitioners, mobilizing the entire state machinery to suppress them: military, police, special forces, propaganda, public opinion, medical care, and diplomacy, initiating a rare religious extermination operation in modern society. Under the totalitarian suppression, however, Falun Gong practitioners did not disappear, but began the most tenacious, morally appealing, and peaceful movement in human history to get the truth out about the violent campaign against them, resist persecution, fight for freedom of belief, and begin the great movement of ending the CCP's tyranny. Related Stories 5/12/2025 5/11/2025 The CCP wanted to disintegrate the spiritual group with violence and lies, but it did not expect that in response to this persecution campaign Falun Gong practitioners would forge extraordinary organizational, communication, and media creation capabilities. Falun Gong has no political power and no capital, but practitioners living overseas have mobilized as volunteers around the world to take action to end the persecution of their fellows in China. They have approached parliaments, courts, and human rights organizations of democratic countries, and raised awareness in dozens of countries around the world. Through motions, legislation, and sanctions, they continue to expose the CCP's persecution. Some practitioners have built their own independent media outlets, including The Epoch Times, New Tang Dynasty Television, and Sound of Hope Radio, covering multiple language regions around the world. They have become a news force in the international community that is not influenced by the CCP, is not afraid of suppression, does not succumb to the temptation of money, and will not be bought. Over the past 26 years, in a world that has been gradually coerced and undermined by the CCP's tyranny and foreign influence, intimidated by terrorism, media manipulation, political corruption, and moral degradation, Falun Gong practitioners worldwide have consistently upheld fundamental human values, demonstrating resilience and dedication. Falun Gong practitioners have no violent weapons, but have firm beliefs; they have no regime to rely on, but have built a global network of determined volunteers. They have approached the United Nations, the European Parliament, the U.S. Congress, the Canadian Parliament, the Australian Parliament, and other places to promote legislation and investigations, and have established lasting and cooperative relations with politicians from many countries. Many countries have passed motions and bills to support Falun Gong, condemn the persecution, and sanction the CCP's evil deeds. Behind all of these are the unremitting efforts of Falun Gong practitioners. The media outlets established by some Falun Gong practitioners have also ignited the light of freedom in the dark era of the totalitarian control of information. They have established an independent media network covering the world, not only exposing the CCP's lies and crimes, but also providing true, conscientious, and in-depth reports and opinions for the Chinese-speaking world (apart from inside China) and Western society. In today's era of strong infiltration of the CCP's widespread foreign propaganda, subversion of the international order, the spread of terrorism, and the rampant growth of extreme left-wing ideology, the role played by these volunteers in resisting at the spiritual, cultural, and information levels is extremely critical. They use Falun Gong's core values of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance' to fight against violence, hatred, and lies, awakening the world's paralyzed conscience. They have raised global awareness of the threat of totalitarianism while exposing the true nature of the CCP, and indirectly improved the self-immunity and resistance of world civilization. In the past two decades, the CCP has continued to escalate its persecution campaign. The most heinous thing is that the regime systematically conducts and profits from forced organ harvesting against illegally imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners—this is a state-led large-scale genocide unprecedented in human history. Canadian human rights lawyers David Matas and David Kilgour, as well as U.S. investigative journalist Ethan Gutman, have conducted independent investigations with Falun Gong as the main victim group, and ultimately revealed that forced organ harvesting is a state-level crime against humanity. Falun Gong practitioners have worked to expose the CCP's organ harvesting, which has shocked the world. In 2019, the China Tribunal, an independent people's tribunal in London chaired by the former British judge Sir Geoffrey Nice, confirmed this crime after an 18-month investigation. It found 'beyond reasonable doubt' that forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience in China has been going on for many years. This is one of the most serious human rights crimes in the 21st century. It is not the country, the organization, or the government that works to expose all of this and seek justice, but the Falun Gong practitioners themselves. They rely only on faith, conscience, and unremitting action. Falun Gong practitioners—both inside and outside China—are not silenced by fear, do not betray because of hidden interests, and do not retreat because of challenges. They are not bystanders of the times; they are the backbone of fighting lies, upholding faith, and supporting civilization. The CCP has been 'rewriting humanity' with a series of lies, language reconstruction, and moral decline. In this process, Falun Gong practitioners are the most sober force. They know the nature of the CCP and will not be confused or hoodwinked. Now, the world's inertia in allowing the CCP's interests to drive it is being challenged, the chaotic trend of communism's counterattack is being stopped, and the situation of growing aggressions by the CCP is being changed. Falun Gong practitioners have played an important and key role in this transformation process, and I believe that will continue. Today, I want to say this: In this moral tug-of-war, Falun Gong not only did not fall under the CCP's onslaught, but stood strong under the pressure and will be on the right side of history. Falun Gong practitioners have not only upheld the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, but also safeguarded the basic human dignity and the future of religious freedom, raising the moral bottom line that can keep the world from collapsing in times of crisis.

April 25, 1999: Why It Matters to the West
April 25, 1999: Why It Matters to the West

Epoch Times

time25-04-2025

  • Politics
  • Epoch Times

April 25, 1999: Why It Matters to the West

Commentary Twenty-six years ago, on April 25, 1999, more than 10,000 peaceful Falun Gong practitioners gathered outside the State Council's appeals office at the Zhongnanhai compound in Beijing to appeal for their right to practice Falun Gong in China. Not since students assembled in Tiananmen Square in June 1989 had so many Chinese citizens gathered in public to appeal to the authorities. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice in the Buddhist tradition based on the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion, forbearance (zhen, shan, ren, in Chinese). It was brought to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in May 1992 and quickly became the most popular qigong in China. By 1998, the State Sports Commission found that more than 70 million people were practicing Falun Gong. Zhongnanhai Zhongnanhai is a compound in Beijing, a former imperial garden west of the Forbidden City, that houses the offices of the State Council and the offices and residences of the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The State Council oversees provincial governments throughout China and has an appeals office to receive petitions from citizens who have been treated unjustly. What Happened on April 25, 1999? The events of April 25, 1999, had a slow buildup. Despite the improved health and morality Chinese people found in Falun Gong, CCP hardliners, such as then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin, saw it as a resurgence of traditional culture that must be crushed by a Cultural Revolution-like campaign. By 1996, the regime's public security authorities started disrupting Falun Gong meditation gatherings, and state media ran articles attacking the practice. Through 1997 and 1998, there were incidents of Falun Gong practitioners being unjustly treated across China. In early April 1999, Falun Gong practitioners in Tianjin went to a state-run news agency to request corrections to inaccuracies in its article on Falun Gong. However, the Tianjin Public Security Bureau used anti-riot police to beat and arrest more than 40 people. Local police told the practitioners to go to Beijing to resolve the issue. When other practitioners heard about this, many went to the State Council's appeals office on April 25 that year, hoping to ensure a peaceful and safe environment for practicing Falun Gong. The office is located on Fuyou Street, on the west side of Zhongnanhai. However, local public security forces Related Stories 4/19/2025 3/15/2025 Soon, there were more than 10,000 people—some standing quietly, others sitting. They were careful not to obstruct activities on the streets or footpaths, did not chant slogans or raise their voices, and were very orderly. In the context of the communist regime's historical response to dissent and the potential consequences, this mass gathering was brave and an embodiment of kindness and forbearance. Zhu Rongji, then the Chinese premier, came out with several staff members to speak with the practitioners and called three of them to come inside to meet the deputy secretary of the appeals office. By nightfall, the issues appeared to have been resolved, and the practitioners all went home. CCP Response Although the Chinese petition and appeals system is intended to offer hope to people who have been treated unjustly, as with all regulations in China, the CCP stands above the law. On July 20, 1999, at Jiang's direction, the CCP launched a major arrest of Falun Gong practitioners and a brutal persecution to eradicate the practice. The persecution continues today, including the killing of practitioners to harvest their organs for the state-run organ transplant industry in military and civilian hospitals. CCP officials often claim that the appeal at Zhongnanhai was an organized 'siege' that posed a threat to the nation's leaders. Sadly, some Western governments and media still refer to this false narrative as a reason that Falun Gong was banned. Why Is 'April 25' Important? The Chinese communist regime does not accept the rule of law, fundamental human rights, and its obligations under international trade or treaties, and is a threat to the national security and freedoms enjoyed by all Western nations. That's not a political issue. It is an issue of humanity—the challenge of preserving our humanity, the goodness and kindness inherent in human beings. Shi Caidong, a doctoral candidate at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was one of three Falun Gong practitioners invited inside the Zhongnanhai compound by Premier Zhu. Later, after the persecution began, Shi witnessed his academic colleagues being sent to forced labor camps and even tortured to death. He was constantly harassed and arrested, and eventually fled to the United States as a visiting university scholar. In 2010, when asked about his experiences in an interview with 'April 25' was the beginning of a peaceful resistance movement that is changing China from within. Through embodying the principles of Falun Gong, practitioners are helping hundreds of millions of Chinese people connect with their roots and see a future without communism. It was also the beginning of the end for the CCP, as the regime's irrational and frenzied attacks on Falun Gong became more extreme, revealing its evil and inhumane nature to the world. The West now has a clear choice of what it will support and the future it chooses for its people. Righteousness and justice will ultimately prevail. Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

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