Chinese Regime's Persecution of Falun Gong 2011 Death Toll

The Chinese Communist Party's ongoing persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice continued to take away lives in 2011. Rights groups have documented ... More at NTDTVcom

Vancouver: Shen Yun Feb. 3-5 2012 - Be there!

REVIVING 5,000 YEARS OF CIVILIZATION Shen Yun. For Chinese, the words evoke a sense of wonder, magic, and the divine. To audiences who have seen it, they recall the experience of a lifetime—a moment so powerfully beautiful it touches the soul. Discover the glory of a fantastically rich culture, that of classical China, brought to life through brilliantly choreographed dance and mesmerizing, all-original orchestral compositions. Magnificently costumed dancers—the world's elite—move in poetic arrangements that evoke pastoral beauty, imperial drama, and the glory of an ancient civilization. This season, discover what art was meant to be. Discover Shen Yun. • Go behind the scenes • Watch video profiles of principal dancers Buy Tickets "So inspiring, I think I may have found some ideas for the next Avatar movie." —Robert Stromberg, Academy Award-winning production designer for Avatar "An extraordinary experience...exquisitely beautiful." —Cate Blanchett, Academy Award-winning actress "A dazzling show... A spectacle" —Globe and Mail What audiences are saying... Read more reviews on Shen Yun's website: Read More

Disclaimer: This email is being sent to you by a local organization(s), which is presenting Shen Yun Performing Arts in your locale and which assumes all responsibility for all promotions, information, and ticketing specific to the said performances. All individuals' quotes were originally published by The Epoch Times and NTD Television. Presented by: FALUN DAFA ASSOCIATION OF VANCOUVER,

Shen Yun's Display of Traditional Chinese Culture Scares Chinese Regime

Chinese consular officials continue to attempt to thwart the performances and success of Shen Yun around the world. This time government officials in Seattle have been targeted. In a letter dated Jan. 18 Gao Zhangshang, the Chinese Consul-General in San Francisco, asked a Seattle City Council member not to provide a proclamation or letter of support for Shen Yun, not to attend the performance, nor give interviews to media about Shen Yun. The name of the council member who provided the letter is being withheld at the member’s request. (Letter published below)Shen Yun is scheduled to perform in Seattle’s Marion Oliver McGraw Hall on Feb. 7 and 8.

Since Shen Yun first began performing in 2006, the Chinese regime has sought to interfere. On a blog titled “Who’s Afraid of Shen Yun?” Leeshai Lemish, an emcee for the performance, has documented 46 cases of interference in 20 countries that have taken place since 2008. The incidents run the gamut from the slashing of bus tires in Ottawa to the threat to withhold loans promised by the Chinese regime to the Moldovan government.

Lemish believes that the Chinese regime seeks to block the performance because Shen Yun typically includes one or two acts that depict the persecution of Falun Gong in modern-day China.

More at The Epoch Times

Related:

Access Atlanta: Chinese performing arts group returns to Cobb

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Gao Zhisheng May Already Have Died From Torture, Says Wife

Gao Zhisheng is known as the “Conscience of China” for his defense of persecuted religious groups, including practitioners of Falun Gong and house church Christians. Beginning in late 2006 Gao was regularly kidnapped, beaten and severely tortured by ...

More at The Epoch Times

Baird blasts China on religion

Canada's foreign minister launched an outspoken attack on China's "abhorrent" treatment of religious minorities on Monday, just weeks before Prime Minister Stephen Harper goes to Beijing in a bid to sell more oil. John Baird's comments came as a major surprise...

...boundaries, who are continually subject to raids, arrests, and detention," he said in his prepared remarks. "We see Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetan Buddhists, and Uyghur Muslims face harassment and physical intimidation. These abhorrent acts fly in the face

More at The Windsor Star

Spying veiled in secrecy

Foreign spies have always found something worth stealing or buying in Canada, but the arrest of a Canadian naval officer for espionage is somewhat rare. At least, it's hard to recall a similar incident involving someone in the military. In fact, very few...

In addition to seeking corporate secrets, the agents were reportedly in Canada to intimidate members of the Falun Gong, a dissident religious group banned in China.

More at Winnipeg Free Press

Chinese New Year--Celebrate or not

However, January 23 is a black day in the memory of more than 100 million Falun Gong practitioners in all countries of the world and for all Chinese people who were deceived in China.

On January 23, 2001, the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece-newspaper stated that five Falun Gong practitioners set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square. The then CCP leader, Jiang Zemin, immediately delivered videos of those poor people in flames to every head of state in the world and media to promote his orders to persecute and eradicate practitioners of Falun Gong saying that they were criminals among other things.

Reporters later proved that the people involved never practiced Falun Gong. This incident became known as "False Fire". It is chilling to watch www.falsefire.com and more chilling to realize that it was a set up by the CCP who controls the Chinese government and media.

More at MWC

Shen Yun Stages Its Own Chinese Cultural Revolution on a Grand Scale

China is living through an intellectual and creative dark age. While the nation's economy booms and consumer culture thrives, the totalitarian government has "overhauled" the nation's arts communities to bring them in line with its political dogma. Historical relics and traditions have been destroyed or suppressed because they are seen as obstacles to progress. Yet 5-millennia-old tradition in a country of more than 1 billion people dies hard, and there is an active resistance. This week its name is Shen Yun. The New York-based arts group, whose name translates to "the beauty of divine beings dancing," was formed in 2006 to preserve and present traditional Chinese dance and music. It now has more than 200 performers, including dancers, vocalists, and an orchestra. It performs at the War Memorial Opera House through Sunday. ​Among the instruments used is the two-stringed erhu, sometimes called the Chinese violin.

Shen Yun employs stunning costumes, sets, and dance moves, and uses bilingual hosts and subtitles to explain the content of the pieces. Its online FAQ answers questions such as "What should I wear?" and "Why would I enjoy a Chinese show?"

Some people have criticized the group for covertly promoting the dissident Buddhist spiritual practice known as Falun Gong. But based on what we know about this sect, the worst that might happen is you begin to pursue better health and spiritual enlightenment after seeing an amazing show. Sounds like a good start to 2012 to us.

Shen Yun performs through Jan. 8 at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness (at Grove), S.F. Admission is $60-$220.

Shen Yun will play at the Vancouver Queen Elizabeth Theatre Feb.3-5.

More at SFWeekly

Letters Re: "Chinese consulate urged mayor to boycott (Falun Gong) show"

Letters of the week

Vancouver Courier - Apart from the flagrant attempts to influence Canadian politicians by the Chinese Communist Party, I'd like to draw attention to another aspect of the article.

Using artistic expression to share spiritual belief has been common since the dawn of history. Christianity inspired most of the great art of the West, such as the world famous painting of the Sistine Chapel to give one example. I am sure many of us enjoyed the masterpieces of Handel (The Messiah) and Schubert (Ave Maria). Such are the riches bequeathed to a multifaceted society that offers freedom of belief.

Before the Chinese Communist Party violently enforced its own state religion of atheism upon the Chinese people, there was a rich spiritual environment of Buddhism and Taoism. The CCP's Cultural Revolution saw the mass destruction of monasteries and temples, and the public humiliation, torture and murder of monks, nuns and other spiritual believers. Unfortunately, these barbaric practises have not gotten any better in the 21st century as witnessed by the violent suppression of Falun Gong practitioners, Christian house leader Uyghurs and Tibetans, plus any Chinese people of conscience who would support them. Using the power of art to expose persecution has been used by many valiant causes, many of which have been supported by Amnesty International.

The mission of Shen Yun is to revive 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture. After more than 60 years of Communist rule in China, however, Shen Yun is showing that the deeper spiritual core of the ancient Chinese culture, with its values of benevolence, honour, propriety, wisdom and sincerity, as well as a reverence for the gods and the heavens, cannot be destroyed.

Sophia Bronwen, Vancouver

Letters of the week

Vancouver Courier (Canada) - Why am I not surprised. A Chinese official again tries to interfere in Canadian affairs, this time by asking Mayor Robertson not to attend the Shen Yun Performing Arts show. This is par for the course for Chinese consulates around the world when it comes to anything related to Falun Gong. They don't like Shen Yun because, in part at least, it uses art to expose the repression of Falun Gong and the horror Falun Gong practitioners go through in Chinese jails. Through the Cultural Revolution and other violent campaigns, the Chinese government gutted the traditional culture of China, and Shen Yun is reviving it. Beijing doesn't like that either, so they try to interfere with the show and bad-mouth it. The good news is, nobody really listens. From what I know, many government officials have gone to the show even though they received letters similar to Robertson's. Good for them for not allowing themselves to be bullied by a dictatorial regime.

Joan Quain, Victoria

Misconception 2: Shen Yun Dances about Falun Gong are “Political”

Shen Yun uses performing arts to present stories that bring to life the inner essence of China’s divinely inspired culture. This includes ancient legends, characters and tales from history, and representative events from the modern world, including Falun Gong cultivation stories.

Since 1999, the regime has focused its powers and resources on a ruthless and systematic campaign against Falun Gong practitioners in an attempt to eradicate the group. But Falun Gong practitioners have held firm to their beliefs and have continued to expose countless injustices through peaceful means. Their spirit of compassion and tolerance manifest the very essence of China’s 5,000-year-old divine culture. Thus, it is not that Falun Gong itself is political, but rather the communist regime is utilizing political means to persecute Falun Gong and silence anyone who wishes to speak about it.

More at Shen Yun website

Missing Rights Lawyer Turns Up in Remote Chinese Prison

BEIJING — The United States government has called on China to release Mr. Gao, who once defended practitioners of Falun Gong, a banned spiritual group.The brother of a prominent dissident and rights lawyer who had been missing for 20 months said Sunday that the lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, was being held in a prison in the remote western region of Xinjiang. The brother, Gao Zhiyi, told two news ...

More at the New York Times

Russian Court Bans Falun Gong Books, Human Rights Report

The main text of the spiritual practice Falun Gong is studied in 114 countries around the world, has been translated into 30 languages, and was a runaway best seller in Beijing, but last week a regional appeals court in Russia banned it. Human rights activists and Falun Gong practitioners say the ban is due to pressure on Russia from the Chinese regime.

The main Falun Gong text, “Zhuan Falun,” along with two Falun Gong leaflets, and human rights investigations—two reports and one book—detailing the forced, live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China were banned nationwide by a court in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar in October. On Dec. 22, an appeals court decision upheld the ban.

In a report on Monday, Human Rights Without Frontiers International (HRWF), a nonprofit based in Brussels, Belgium, suggested that the court decision was influenced by China. The report said that Moscow has been helping Beijing in its fight against Falun Gong on the basis of two treaties: the 2001 Treaty of Friendship between Russia and China, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a mutual-security organization founded in 2001.

The harassment of Falun Gong practitioners in Russia has included the forced repatriation to China of Chinese nationals who practice Falun Gong, banning public activities by Falun Gong practitioners, and the refusal by authorities to register new Falun Gong organizations.

More at the Epoch Times

China's crackdown

This editorial ran in Wednesday’s Washington Post:

China's Communist rulers are ringing out December in a flurry of paranoia and repression, a fitting coda to a year of steadily decreasing tolerance for open dissent and discussion.

On Friday, authorities sentenced Chen Wei to nine years in prison. Chen's “crime was heinous, and influence vile,” the judge declared. And what was his crime? Writing essays. Because he advocated democracy — and has done so since he was first imprisoned for his role in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 — a judge found Chen guilty of “inciting subversion.”

On Monday another dissident writer, Chen Xi, was sentenced to 10 years, also for “incitement.” His crime: 36 essays that he wrote and posted online.

These sentences would have been considered unusually long until recently, but in the current crackdown the regime has sentenced Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo to 11 years and Liu Xianbin to 10 years. Their crimes also consisted of writing.

China's Communist rulers do not feel compelled to account for their actions, so the motivation for the crackdown is a subject of speculation. Most China-watchers believe the authorities have been spooked by the popular uprisings in the Middle East. They may also be more nervous than usual as they prepare for an equally opaque leadership change next year. A top security official reportedly said that crackdowns on “hostile forces” (government code for peaceful advocates of democracy) and “illegal religious organizations” (code for Christians, Falun Gong followers and others who choose to worship without government approval) will be a priority in the coming year.

The human rights crackdown has drawn relatively little attention or condemnation from the West. Perhaps this is because the allure of Chinese investment and the Chinese market is too strong. Perhaps the crackdown seems so out of keeping with popular images of bustling, modern, capitalist Shanghai that outsiders have a hard time believing it is going on.

But those who think the anxieties of China's rulers are irrelevant to its foreign relations would do well to read a Dec. 25 account by Washington Post correspondent Andrew Higgins about official attacks against U.S. ambassadors to China and, most recently and most personally, against the U.S. consul to Hong Kong, Stephen Young, whose transgression was to ignore “solemn warnings” to keep mum about democracy. The gibes are a reminder that China's rulers, to bolster their position without the legitimacy of popular election, are quick not only to imprison their countrymen and censor their press but also, when convenient, to stoke the fires of nationalism.

'Extremist' writings of ex-Canadian MP, lawyer banned in Russia because of book on organ harvesting of Falun Gong

As a result, both men could be subject to criminal prosecution if they were ever to go to Russia to discuss their investigations of organ harvesting against executed Falun Gong practitioners by Chinese authorities, which are detailed in two reports and ... More at the National Post

Train Riders in China Must Identify Themselves

China’s Ministry of Railways will enforce a real-name authentication system for train tickets, starting on the first day of next year, according to an announcement last week.

More at The Epoch Times

A 'Real' War on Christmas? Police Across China Attack Christians for Celebrating Christmas (VIDEO)

On Christmas Day, police across China tear gassed and beat down Christians for worshiping at "unofficial" Christmas services, according to an American aid group in the region. However, according to Slovenian philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, the Chinese government prefers religions that “sustain social stability,” like Confucianism, over Christianity, Tibetan Buddhism, and sects like Falun Gong, which try to operate independently of authorities and end up causing “social disintegration.”

More at The Christian Post

Why isn't the West reacting to China's crackdown?

A top security official reportedly said that crackdowns on “hostile forces”(government code for peaceful advocates of democracy) and “illegal religious organizations” (code for Christians, Falun Gong followers and others who choose to worship without government approval) will be a priority in the coming year.

More at the Washington Post

Vietnam's Falungong under pressure

Hanoi (AFP) Dec 23, 2011 - In silent meditation, the Falungong members did not flinch when a shirtless, tattooed man slapped them on the head, ...

More at:
www.sinodaily.com/.../Vietnams_Falungong_under_pressure_...

China-Based Hacking of 760 Companies Shows Cyber Cold War

In one of the earliest attacks on a company, cyberspies hacked into the computer networks of POSCO, the South Korean steel giant, in July 2006, Alperovitch said. The intrusion took place the same month that the steelmaker, the third largest in the world, initiated a takeover of a large steel mill in eastern China, according to the U.S.-based Epoch Times, founded by supporters of the dissident Falun Gong spiritual sect, which first noted a link between the two events.

More at BusinessWeek

Cambridge University Disbands Chinese Students and Scholars Association

He is a Falun Gong practitioner, and learned that his emails about Falun Gong were not permitted on the CSSA-CAM email list.

More at The Epoch Times

Protester dies in jail. Riots over confiscated land on the rise

Falun Gong members, bishops and priests die in prison for torture. "Mass incidents" that see clashes between police and demonstrators grew to 180 thousand in 2010.

More at AsiaNews.it

Gao Zhisheng To Serve Three Year Prison Sentence

The high-profile and galvanizing Chinese human rights figure Gao Zhisheng, held by Chinese security forces almost continually since late 2006, has been officially sentenced to [...]

More at The Epoch Times

The town that dared to defy Beijing

The last time the government really marshalled its forces against opposing forces was in the 1990s when the Falun Gong spiritual movement began to organise millions of opponents, and it cracked down harshly on what it sees as an ...

More at The Independent

Report: Systematic Psychiatric Torture of Falun Gong Practitioners in Hospitals

New Report and Call for Action
For Immediate Release

Alarming evidence is summarized in a new report released by Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group (FGHRWG) on the eve of the globally celebrated Human Rights Day on 10 December. The report "China: Systematic Psychiatric Torture of Falun Gong practitioners in hospitals" and listing of over 150 Chinese hospitals known to use this torture against Falun Gong practitioners can be obtained here and here.

"One of the most inhuman and notorious torture methods used in China in the attempt to eradicate Falun Gong practitioners is psychiatric torture," according to the FGHRWG report. "This form of torture is used routinely by staff of detention centers, labor camps and jails to coerce Falun Gong practitioners to give up their beliefs."

"These horrifying acts are also regularly occurring in modern, reputable hospitals, by or overseen by, professional and skilled staffs who are trained to heal - not to hurt."

Evidence demonstrates the systematic and horrifying use of psychiatric torture on mentally and physically healthy Falun Gong practitioners in hospitals in China.

The overall outcomes of psychiatric torture, on 1,089 Falun Gong confirmed victims, often resulted in irreparable mental and physical states and even death. Many are reduced to insanity, a semi-comatose, "zombie," lifeless state, or cannot walk, talk, or care for themselves along with other mental and physical health problems not present prior to torture.

This form of torture was once prevalent in communist Russia and created global outrage from psychiatric and mental healthcare fields in the 1980's. Current evidence indicates these practices are even more widespread in China than the former Soviet Union.

"This evidence is basically being ignored," Dr. Shizhong Chen, spokesperson of FGHRWG, said. "In the past few years, 80% of all reported persecution cases of Falun Gong practitioners in China that we have received included some form of psychiatric torture."

According to the report, in order to break the free will of the practitioners, "the Chinese authorities have conducted on Falun Gong practitioners extensive psychiatric torture, including a combination of forced ingestion or injection with massive amounts of psychiatric drugs, unknown drugs or toxic substances; undergoing a massive number of electroshock procedures (also known as electro-convulsive shock); or the use of electric needles at the temples to shock the brain and produce seizures."

"The time is now not later to call attention to and to stop these atrocities," Dr. Chen said. "We are asking concerned individuals, professional associations, agencies and organizations in the health fields, human rights organizations and world governments to get informed, take actions and issue sanctions."

See the report for details on possible actions recommended by FGHRWG.

www.falunhr.org

Report offers evidence for massive organ-harvesting program in China

Many of the victims were alive when their organs were harvested for domestic and foreign transplantation. “Up to three million Falun Gong practitioners ...

More at Catholic Culture