Falun Gong and the Future of China

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by David Ownby (Author)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Falun Gong and the Future of China challenges students of Chinese society and politics to reconsider the continued influence of religiosity in the narrative of modern China. Touching on ancient history, peasant rebellions, religious revivals, Chinese medicine, the qigong movement, diaspora studies,
the Internet in China, Communist Party politics, and more, Ownby uncovers the rich layers of context which are essential to understanding the Falun Gong issue. The book, written in clear, engaging and often humorous prose, will be an invaluable resource for specialists and general readers alike.
David A. Palmer, author of Qigong Fever: Body, Science and Utopia in China
"In his splendid book, David Ownby takes you behind the images of self-immolating protesters, baton-wielding security personnel, and a unique religious and political phenomenon to place Falun Gong, perhaps the most important mass movement in China in decades, in its historical context. This book is
crucial to anyone seeking to understand the role that religion and the search for meaning play in today's China." --John Pomfret, author of Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China
"In a readable style that will appeal to the general reader while satisfying the demands of specialists, Ownby makes a hugely important contribution to our understanding of Falun Gong. To situate Falun Gong in its full context, past and present, is to lay the basis for a fair and full assessment. No
other book on the subject has yet done this. There are so many crucial elements here that are missing from other works on the subject: Falun Gong's deliberate efforts to affiliate itself to science, its less deliberate links to the religious movements of China's past, the revival of spirituality
in post-Mao China, and the regime's crisis of legitimacy. Above all, this book shows the deadly consequences of the blindness of those within and without the movement to China's own religious history." --Michael Szonyi, John Loeb Associate Professor of Chinese History, Harvard University, and author
of Cold War Island: Quemoy on the Frontlines


Book Description
On April 25, 1999, ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners gathered outside Zhongnanhai, the guarded compound where China's highest leaders live and work, in a day-long peaceful protest of police brutality against fellow practitioners in the neighboring city of Tianjin. Stunned and surprised, China's leaders launched a campaign of brutal suppression against the group which continues to this day. This book, written by a leading scholar of the history Chinese popular religion, is the first to offer a full explanation of what Falun Gong is and where it came from, placing the group in the broader context of the modern history of Chinese religion as well as the particular context of post-Mao China. Falun Gong began as a form of qigong, a general name describing physical and mental disciplines based loosely on traditional Chinese medical and spiritual practices. Qigong was "invented" in the 1950s by members of the Chinese medical establishment worried that China's traditional healing arts would be lost as China modeled its new socialist health care system on Western biomedicine. In the late 1970s, Chinese scientists "discovered" that qi possessed genuine scientific qualities, which allowed qigong to become part of China's drive for modernization. With the support of China's leadership, qigong became hugely popular in the 1980s and 1990s, as charismatic qigong masters attracted millions of enthusiastic practitioners in what was known as the qigong boom, the first genuine mass movement in the history of the People's Republic. Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi founded his own school of qigong in 1992, claiming that the larger movement had become corrupted by money and magic tricks; Li wanted to refocus attention on genuine "cultivation" and preached a fundamentalist message of morality and mastery of Li's teachings. Li was welcomed into the qigong world and quickly built a nationwide following of several million practitioners, but ran afoul of China's authorities and relocated to the United States in 1995. In his absence, followers in China began to organize peaceful protests of perceived media slights of Falun Gong, which increased from the mid-90s onward as China's leaders began to realize that they had created, in the qigong boom, a mass movement with religious and nationalistic undertones, a potential threat to their legitimacy and control. Based on fieldwork among Chinese Falun Gong practitioners in North America and on extensive readings of Li Hongzhi's writings, this volume offers a depiction of Falun Gong from the inside, at the same time offering a narrative depiction of Falun Gong and its origins in the history of Chinese popular religion.

About the Author
David Ownby is Professor of History and Director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the Universite de Montreal, in Montreal, Canada. He is the author of Brotherhoods and Secret Societies in Early and Mid-Qing China: The Origins of a Tradition, and the co-author, with Qin Baoqi and Susan J. Palmer, of The Millennium and the Turning of the Kalpa: The Historical Evolution of Apocalyptic Discourse in China and in the West.

Exhibit offers unique look at human body

Wed Sun: By: Kelli Bamforth, Staff Writer kellibamforth@sunpublications.com
Wednesday, March 5, 2008 4:16 AM CST

Union Station’s provocative “Bodies Revealed” exhibit opened Friday to a crowd that, for the most part, enjoyed the sights.

“I thought it was great,” Angela Wichlinski, Overland Park, said. “I took a gross anatomy class in college. It was awesome seeing everything labeled. It is a fabulous tool for students. … Actually seeing what it’s like inside the body is very different than looking at a picture.”

The exhibit allows ticket holders 90 minutes to observe bodies, organs, bones and nerves.

The exhibit has prompted questions about using unclaimed bodies in the exhibit and whether such use honors or dignifies the dead on display.

A recent television report on ABC’s “20/20” revealed that the bodies may be executed Chinese prisoners and Falun Gong dissidents. Falun Gong is “a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that includes exercise and meditation,” according to www.faluninfo.net. The practice has been banned in China since 1999.

All “Bodies Revealed” specimens came from a medical university in the People’s Republic of China, where the bodies are preserved and dissected.

The exhibit’s producer, Premier Exhibitions, has acknowledged using unclaimed bodies in the related “Bodies…The Exhibit,” but said all bodies at the Union Station exhibit have been willingly donated by people who died of natural causes.

Wichlinski said none of the exhibit’s nine galleries made her uncomfortable.

“It made me a little nervous coming after hearing about the controversy,” she said. “But for me, the educational aspects far outweigh the questions and the unknown.”

For Amy Herrmann, Kansas City, the “ick” factor caused her to speed through the exhibit, skipping most of it. She waited for her group in the gift shop.

“I just didn’t feel comfortable,” she said. “But I don’t want to talk it down. It is a very cool idea. I looked at the skeletons … they were very interesting.”

Richard Humble, Blue Springs, works for Metropolitan Ambulance Services Trust in Kansas City and said he expected more.

“I’m in the medical field and expected a little more detailing on the labels,” he said. “But for the general public, it is very educational.”

Humble said he observed some high school students as he walked through the exhibit.

“They were pointing out body parts and gaining insights into what they saw,” he said. “I was impressed with that. It was more than I expected from high school students.”

A few days before “Bodies Revealed” opened, Catholic officials in Kansas City released a statement urging area Catholic schools not to take students to the exhibit.

“Catholic moral teaching regards the human person as a unity of soul and body, spirit and matter,” Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of the Diocese of Kansas City in Kansas and Bishop Robert W. Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph said. “We regard the ‘Bodies’ exhibit as an unfortunate exploitation of that which is ‘real’ to teach something that could be accomplished by the use of models. As such it represents a kind of ‘human taxidermy’ that degrades the actual people who, through their bodies, once lived, loved, prayed and died.

“The bodies of the dead deserve respect and charity, preserving the God-given dignity of the human person.”

Kevin Carter, Kansas City, Kan., and his wife, Debbie, said they felt comfortable throughout the exhibit and found it “very interesting.”

“I love that people will see just how similar we all are,” Carter said.

He said the exhibit honors the dead in a different way.

“When you learn from someone who may not have had a chance to teach in their life, it’s a good thing,” he said.

Carter said he might consider donating his body to science.

“I’d consider doing it myself,” he said, laughing, “to show ’em what bad bones look like.”

The New York Times Parrots Communist Party Line

Criticism of cultural show eerily echoes Beijing propaganda, but fails to deter audience

By John Nania and Jason Loftus Epoch Times Staff

Feb 14, 2008

Members of the audience attending the Chinese New Year Splendor initiate a standing ovation at Radio City's final show on Feb. 9, 2008. (Dai Bing/The Epoch Times)

Related Articles

- New York Times Goes to Great Lengths to Discredit 'Splendor' Tuesday, February 12, 2008

- Family Enjoys 'Splendor' Despite Negative NY Times Review Tuesday, February 12, 2008

- Photo Report: Final 'Splendor' Show Packed After NY Times Article Monday, February 11, 2008

- 'Splendor' Rings in Chinese New Year, Ends Big 15-show Run at Radio City Sunday, February 10, 2008

NEW YORK—The theater was packed, the crowd gave a standing ovation, and audience members raved in interviews after the show. But according to a story in The New York Times last week, as many as "hundreds" were flocking to the exit doors by intermission.

Chinese New Year Splendor played 15 shows at New York's famed Radio City Music Hall, ending with a sold-out final performance on the evening of Feb. 9. The response to the show, confirmed by The Epoch Times reporters in over 700 interviews with audience members, was overwhelmingly positive.

One of those interviews was with John Wright, formerly with the Times own book review department. When asked what he thought of the show, Wright said, "It was very beautiful, very different."

But the Times published on Feb. 6 a peculiar review of Splendor (under the byline of Eric Konigsberg) that did anything but suggest the consensus response. Backed with quotes from all of three audience members who were critical, only one of whom gave his or her full name, the Times proclaimed in its headline, "A Glimpse of Chinese Culture That Some Find Hard to Watch."

What made the Times article even more unusual was that its criticisms mimic the line of China's communist regime, which has engaged in a behind-the-scenes campaign to have Splendor shut down.

Traditional Culture

Chinese New Year Splendor , as the hosts of the show explained, presents traditional Chinese culture as it cannot be seen elsewhere—especially inside China, where the Chinese communist regime has actively suppressed traditional culture during its rule.

Put on by Divine Performing Arts, Splendor presents traditional Chinese culture through dance and music. The show conveys cultural and moral stories of China's past, as well of recent times, such as those of Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful response to persecution in China today.

Amerigo Fabbri at the Chinese New Year Splendor's final performance at Radio City Music Hall. (Jan Jekielek/The Epoch Times)

"Culture is meant to promote peace and harmony with our neighbors. This harmony includes truth, compassion, and tolerance," said Daniel Lee, a real estate investor with Speed Investment Group in New York City, in summing up his response to the show. He refers to the three principles of Falun Gong, which appear in the show.

But, no doubt, the resurgence of traditional Chinese culture, particularly in the context of human rights issues today, has angered Chinese communist officials, who've long held a monopoly on Chinese cultural representation. Beijing's brass have attempted to discredit the show, calling it "political propaganda."

The audience members quoted by the Times largely repeated Beijing's view.

The Times story also quoted University of Nevada political science professor Maria Hsia Chang. When contacted by The Epoch Times , Chang indicated that she hadn't seen the show.

"I was interviewed on phone by the Times reporter. I haven't even read his article, so I don't know if he misquoted me or quoted me out of context," she said in an emailed response, adding that she was sympathetic to the Falun Gong's plight.

"It certainly did not dissuade us from coming, and I don't think it should dissuade anyone, because it really is highly unfair. And it might even be construed as unethical." —Ronald A. Sablosky, VP of Business Outsourcing Solutions

Immediately following the publication of Konigsberg's story, the engines of the Party's propaganda machinery kicked into high gear.

Though Western news outlets like the Times are normally censored in China, this story was immediately republished by Xinhua, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and propagated widely.

Chinese-language press outside China close to the Chinese regime, such as China Press and ChinaNews.com, similarly gave prominent coverage to the Times story.

But while the criticisms of Splendor gained airtime in the pro-CCP press, they were not echoed by a growing number who came to see the show.

Audience Paints a Different Picture

In fact, many were aware of, and critical of, the Times piece.

"It certainly did not dissuade us from coming," said Ron Sablosky, a banker and executive vice president of Outsourcing Solutions. "I don't think it should dissuade anyone, because it really is highly unfair. And it might even be construed as unethical."

Charles Liu, who works at the New York Freedom Times , called the story "terribly one-sided."

The full house attending the Chinese New Year Splendor at Radio City, at the final New York show on Feb. 9, 2008. (Dai Bing/The Epoch Times)

But attendance at the shows after the article ran was not diminished by the critical article. If anything, it was boosted, according to NTDTV, the show's producers.

Penny Cohn, an account executive and building manager, had read The New York Times article and noted, "In fact, it piqued my curiosity."

"And not only that, it had a lot of space, too. I was quite intrigued with the amount of space it was given, I have to confess that."

The two pieces that depict the persecution of Falun Gong in Splendor , "The Risen Lotus Flower" and "The Power of Awareness," were also mentioned by many audience members as their favorites.

Amerigo Fabbri, dean of Pierson College and professor of modernist literature at Yale University, talked about "The Risen Lotus Flower."

"You have the three women in prison and how one of them gives her life for the other two, these are great, great elements of the culture that are certainly conveyed by the show," he said.

On his overall impression, Fabbri said, "The show is spectacular, I mean amazing. They're doing a great job bringing together the history of Chinese culture. The sound effects, the visual effects, the special effects, the singing, and the dancing is just amazing."

Photos and interviews with hundreds more audience members, in English and Chinese, can be found on The Epoch Times Web site: www.TheEpochTimes.com .

According to surveys done of the audience, 95 percent gave a positive response, and the shows of Splendor at Radio City Music Hall frequently earned standing ovations.

'In fact, it [the Times article] piqued my curiosity.' —Penny Cohn, Account Executive and Building Manager

Apparently, the New York public did not believe the article's portrayal that the show was rejected by its audience. The final performance of Splendor on Feb. 9 was sold out, and Splendor closed New York to another standing ovation.

But efforts by the show's producers to have these facts relayed to The New York Times readers seem to have gone unanswered.

NTDTV president Mr. Zhong Lee wrote a letter, which reads in part: "Human rights abuses are indeed a part of the culture modern Chinese have inherited, regardless of whether or not one agrees with the medium through which it was expressed. Whether we like it or not, these abuses are part of today's reality in China.

"One of the basic freedoms central to the United States is freedom of expression. Mr. Konigsberg should not find it so shocking that a Chinese culture show produced in the U.S. includes some reference to China's human rights issues."

At press time, the Times had not published or responded to Mr. Lee's letter.

The Epoch Times also attempted to reach the paper for comment on this story, but representatives from the Times did not return the call by press time.

Repeat Performance?

Splendor is performed by Divine Performing Arts, and is part of a worldwide tour. But at each stop, the show faces pressure from Chinese embassy and consulate staff who work to persuade advertisers and theaters not to accept the show, and audience members to stay away.

CCP's highly classified document obtained by The Epoch Times

Last year, The Epoch Times obtained a document originating from China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. Marked "highly confidential," the document outlined the regime's efforts to derail the NTDTV shows.

"The leadership of the central government has ordered that they [the NTDTV shows] be destroyed by any and all means," said the document, which was dated Dec. 16, 2003, when NTDTV was preparing its first Chinese New Year show.

If that was not possible, orders were to "minimize their impact," the document said.

In the United States politicians have received letters from the Chinese consulate pressuring them not to attend shows performed by Divine Performing Arts.

New York State Assemblyman Michael Benjamin, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle and San Diego City Councilmember Donna Frye are among politicians that say they received letters asking them not to attend the shows.

'Mr. Konigsberg should not find it so shocking that a Chinese culture show produced in the U.S. includes some reference to China's human rights issues.' —Zhong Lee, President of NTDTV

"The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] insists to the world that there is only one China. They seek to drown out alternative voices. They fear that the world will learn the truth of their 'Animal Farm' regime," said Assemblyman Benjamin in an e-mail to The Epoch Times in December.

In South Korea and other countries, the consulates have attempted or succeeded in having venues back out of agreements to host the performance.

Last year in Seoul the Chinese Embassy pressured two venues to terminate their contracts to have the Chinese cultural show presented in theaters. The same thing happened this year and the matter is now before a South Korean court. A similar incident has taken place in Denmark this year as well.

Ronald A. Sablosky and Mary Ann Oklesson. (Ma Youzhi/The Epoch Times)

The Chinese Embassy in Sweden made a similar effort but Swedish officials staunchly refused to cater to the communist regime. A municipal chairman described the embassy's request that the show be stopped as "astonishing."

Last year, when Divine Performing Arts held a Chinese New Year show in Ottawa, Glenn McGregor, a reporter with the local Ottawa Citizen newspaper, wrote following a very similar formula as The New York Times piece. Although he hadn't attended the show, he quoted three people who said they attended and were upset with the Falun Gong content. McGregor also gave prominence in the story to the Chinese embassy's criticisms of the show.

Clearly earning the trust of the Chinese Embassy, McGregor was invited by the Embassy on an expenses-paid trip to China to probe allegations of serious human rights abuses against Falun Gong adherents and ended up writing in defense of the regime.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts tour. For our complete coverage please visit: http://en.epochtimes.com/features/dpa2008/

Falun Gong barred fromNZ New Year's Parade

Three political parties have condemned the decision to ban the Falun Gong from Wellington's Chinese New Year parade on Sunday.

Scoop: The spiritual movement is banned in China and Chinese foreign embassies use aggressive diplomacy against it in other countries.

Radio New Zealand reported yesterday it would not be allowed to take part in the festivities for the Year of the Rat, which began on Thursday in New Zealand and other countries and will last for two weeks.

Wellington City Council sponsors the parade and Mayor Kerry Prendergast told TV One News "there shouldn't be a political component to the events that we sponsor".

Falun Gong, which was allowed to take part in the Christmas parade, was banned from last year's Chinese New Year festivities but gatecrashed the event.

The Green Party said the decision was deplorable.

"We shouldn't be bending to pressure from the Chinese Embassy, which represents a government that severely persecutes this spiritual movement," said MP Keith Locke.

"When political expediency is put ahead of freedom of expression, a vital aspect of our society is being eroded."

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia said she was very concerned.

"Is it a directive on high from the Chinese Government, or is it our own government which is restricting the rights of this community?" she asked.

"New Zealanders have the right to know why discrimination is being practised in this country when it is not part of the ethos of Aotearoa."

United Future leader Peter Dunne said Falun Gong had been banned from events in other cities and he believed councils were scared of upsetting the Chinese Government while free trade talks with New Zealand entered their final stage.

Mr Dunne said it was "shocking" that councils and other bodies were too timid to allow people to freely express their views

Related articles:

Falun Gong decision eroding democratic values
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0802/S00107.htm

Falun Gong should be able to Celebrate
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0802/S00103.htm

Chinese Protester Should Be Honored

NewsMax: By: Lev Navrozov - Thursday, February 7, 2008 12:06 PM

The Soviet dictatorship fell in 1991 like a house of cards. A breath of fresh air was needed in China, and there “physical and mental exercises,” named Falun Gong were created, winning the author several awards from the Chinese government.

An inhabitant of a country of Marxism-Leninism must be in the best of health physically and spiritually. “Physculture” (“physical culture”) was introduced in Stalin’s Russia in the 1930s. In 1994, Falun Gong was being taught at the Chinese consulate in New York as part of the Chinese Communist Party’s “cultural propaganda” in the West “along with Chinese silk and cooking,” as was reported by “Late Night Live National Australia.”

A 1999 figure “from the Chinese government” suggested that there were 70 million Falun Gong practitioners in China. Hip-hip hooray! Glory to the Chinese Communist Party! But on July 20, 1999, as the epoch of Yeltsin in Russia was over and the epoch of Putin began, the China dictatorship did what neither Stalin nor his successors did: It banned the Chinese “physculture.” What followed, neither Stalin, nor Hitler, nor any other dictator of the 20th century ever imagined: the persecution of “physculture”—or call it private gymnastics, personal sport exercises, all calisthenics (which comes from the word “beautiful”), practiced privately.

Before this persecution in China of “physculture,” I was sure that nothing worse happened in “Communist China” than did in Stalin’s Russia. But when I heard that those practicing a forbidden kind of “physculture” in China are punished by being tortured to death, I have realized that the dictatorship of China in the 2000s is more inhuman than Stalin ever was.

In Stalin’s Russia, torture was used by investigators in political cases, to make suspects confess that, for example, they had said that Stalin was too credulous when he did not expect Hitler’s invasion of Russia contrary to the Soviet-German peace treaty.

All Soviet propaganda references to Hitler’s attack called it “perfidious” (literally, in Russian, “faith-breaking”). Yet it was a crime to accuse Stalin of credulity. So the suspect was tortured until he confessed that yes, he did say that Stalin was too credulous with respect to Hitler.

That is, the use of torture was inquisitional, not punitive. Now, in China, the torture is punitive — it is a punishment for a forbidden kind of private “physculture”!

Medicine has been engaged in organ transplantations, and the holocaust of Falun Gong practitioners was a lucrative “government business” with prices ranging from $30,000 to $180,000 for a human organ.

When Hu Jintao, the chief dictator of China, came to the United States and met with President Bush (April 20, 2006), it was reported that a certain mischievous girl (a citizen of the United States) shouted at Hu, demanding to stop the torture to death for physical exercises and stop the “harvesting” of the victims’ organs.

In Hitler’s Germany, Jews were gassed. The dictatorship of China has moved to a new degree of cruelty — torturing to death as a means of extermination. What if Hitler had followed suit? Imagine that Hitler came to the White House to shake hands with Roosevelt, but a certain mischievous girl shouted to Hitler to stop torturing Jews to death.

The mischievous girl would have become a heroine in the United States. But in the United States on April 20, 2006, Wenyi Wang was arrested and charged as a criminal. Of course! Hu, the chief dictator of China, and President Bush talked peace and friendship between the United States and China, and here some mischievous girl demands that the torture to death in China for no crime be stopped!

Incidentally, Dr. Wenyi Wang is not quite a mischievous girl; she is a 47-year-old mother of two. In China she was a physician, and in the United States she holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Chicago, and recently completed her residency as a pathologist at Mount Sinai Hospital.

She also worked in 2006 as a medical reporter for the Chinese dissident newspaper “The Epoch Times,” (published in the United States, and it is as a reporter that she managed to gain access to the White House lawn press confabulation of Hu Jintao and George W. Bush, to preserve Sino-American peace, friendship, and trade [for example, in the “harvested” organs of those tortured to death for physical exercises?]).

Of course, there are Americans who believe that they should be concerned with Americans only.

As for the Chinese, let them torture one another to death! Yet there are wars, and before 1939 some Westerners outside Germany believed that they should not be concerned with the destiny of those who resided in Hitler’s Germany. But Hitler’s Germany came to these Westerners — in France, for example.

On June 21, 2006, the U.S. court in Washington, D.C., dropped all charges against Dr. Wang. I hope that her one-person public protest in the White House on April 20, 2006, will be recalled in marble and bronze. But at any rate, let us recall it in 2008 in this column, for neither President Bush, nor any presidential candidate as of today, has said a word about the torturing to death in China as punishment for no crime.

* * *

You may e-mail me at navlev@cloud9.net.

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Beijing Fails to Stop World Tour of Chinese Performers

By: JBS Staff
February 18, 2008

New American: For the fourth year in a row, embassy and consulate officials from the People’s Republic of China have sent intimidating letters to local and state elected officials and business leaders in the United States and other countries in an attempt to stop their support for, or public recognition of, a world tour of Chinese artists presenting a spectacular concert/performance of traditional Chinese music and dance. The tour by the Divine Performing Arts is sponsored by New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), an independent, Chinese-language cable and satellite television company that broadcasts to much of North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Because of its global reach and its dedication to reporting news blocked by China’s communist censors, the New York-based NTDTV has been targeted for destruction by the Beijing regime. A high-level document leaked from China this year calls for NTDTV to “be destroyed by any and all means.”

Chinese officials have resorted to sending letters and making calls to the venues that NTDTV had rented for the performances, in an effort to get the shows canceled. They have also written many public officials of the communities where the performances are scheduled, urging them not to attend and not to recognize the performances with congratulatory letters or commendations. It seems that the heavy-handed tactics have backfired, offending many officials. Chris Norby, the chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors in California, who received a letter from the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles, said it amounted to “an attempt by a foreign government to dictate to American elected officials what organizations we should support, recognize or associate with.”

Despite the harassing tactics, the Divine Performing Arts shows enjoyed sold-out performances in cities around the world. THE NEW AMERICAN’S senior editor William F. Jasper, who attended the January 25 performance at San Francisco’s historic Orpheum Theater, provides an online review of the spectacular event at www.thenewamerican.com/node/6981.

Celebrating China's Cultural History

Now playing at NY's Radio City until Feb. 9. Look here for more.

By: William F. Jasper
January 30, 2008

» Email this page | printer friendly version

New American: The Divine Performing Arts company is appropriately named; their glorious productions are heavenly creations of movement, music, color, and pageantry that captivate, excite, and inspire. For the past four years the Chinese performers have been taking their “Chinese New Year Spectacular” show on a world tour of dozens of major cities, playing to critical acclaim and sold-out performances. I have been fortunate to attend each of the annual productions in San Francisco since 2004, and it is easily my top pick each year as the cultural event of the year.

This year’s venue in San Francisco was the historic and ornate Orpheum Theater on Market Street. On the evening of January 25, the rain was pouring down, but it couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the nearly 3,500 fans that packed the theater for what was certain to be another extraordinary delight for the senses. We were not disappointed; if possible, the evening’s spectacle exceeded even the stellar performances of previous years.

Instead of the excellent recorded music used in earlier productions, the 2008 performance featured superb live music provided by the Divine Performing Arts Orchestra conducted by Rutang Chen, a celebrated cellist and former conductor of China’s Central Philharmonic Orchestra. The program also featured, interspersed between the dance numbers, impressive solo vocal performances by soprano Pi-Ju Hunag, tenor Hong Ming, and Baritone Qu Yue.

But it is the dancing which takes center stage and that has brought out the expectant patrons. Chinese classical dance, similar in many ways to western ballet, is an integral part of China’s five-millennia-old culture. The printed program for the event informs us that: “Performers aspire to achieve a melding of ‘form, spirit, strength, movement’ and attain a realm of ‘having both form and spirit, using body and mind, unifying internal and external.’”

The Divine Performing Arts dancers certainly succeed in that lofty endeavor with an exquisite display of fifteen dances representative of various periods of Chinese culture and various regions of that vast country. The numbers, ranging from the gentle fan dance entitled “Lightness and Grace” to the frolicking “Forsythia in Spring,” and the thunderous and exciting “Drummers of the Tang Court,” combine beautiful balletic technique with challenging acrobatic leaps and tumbling.

As always, the stunning gracefulness and strength of the individual dancers is immeasurably enhanced with precise and imaginative group choreography, sumptuous costuming and magnificent set designs and backdrops using traditional painting together with multi-media technology. The entire production is a beautiful blend of antiquity and modernity.

Interestingly, once again, the government of the People’s Republic of China tried to sabotage the performances in many cities. Why? After all, this lush, expensive production features many of China’s top dancers and musicians and is one of the premiere exhibitions exposing Westerners to classical Chinese culture. But as far as Communist Party officials in Beijing are concerned, the production is “subversive.” Not only would it be impossible to present it in China, but each and every performer would almost certainly be arrested and jailed — and possibly tortured and killed. Unfortunately, this is no exaggeration.

Many of the performers are practitioners of Falun Gong, the meditation and exercise system that is banned and brutally suppressed in China. New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), the primary corporate sponsor of Divine Performing Arts’ programs, also includes many Falun Gong practitioners among its management and reportorial staff. This Falun Gong connection is sufficient to stir the persecution fervor of the Beijing commissars. In China, tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been imprisoned, many disappearing forever. There are many confirmed cases of Falun Gong practitioners being tortured to death in prison.

Additionally, in the eyes of Party officials the Divine Performing Arts members have committed the unpardonable sin: they have exposed the brutality of the Communist regime to the outside world. A couple of the numbers in the show depict Communists viciously attacking unarmed Falun Gong practitioners who are peacefully meditating. It’s no secret who the bad guys are, since each of the black-clad thugs has a large, red hammer and sickle emblazoned on his back. That seals it! Mao’s Chinese Reds, who perfected the “art” of heavy-handed propaganda theater, go absolutely apoplectic when their own weapons are turned on them.

Even if Divine Performing Arts had chosen to leave overt criticism of Communism out of the program, Beijing couldn’t allow them to perform unmolested. They cannot allow some of their most talented artists to leave and perform independently produced works that are outside of the dictatorial control of the government’s cultural police. Hence, they have attempted to intimidate venues into canceling their contracts with Divine Performing Arts and have contacted elected officials, warning that Falun Gong is “outlawed” in China and that attending the “Chinese New Year Spectacular” or “Holiday Wonders” shows, or even sending a greeting to the show, would have “bad effects” on their political and personal reputations. Officials in Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan were subjected to similar intimidation tactics.

David Kilgour, Canada's former secretary of state for Asia and one of Canada's longest-serving recent members of parliament, strongly condemned the efforts to interfere with the performances. “No elected official or other person should pay any attention to such pressure from Chinese party-state officials,” he said. “During 27 years in Canada's parliament, I never encountered similar interference from any government except that of the one in Beijing,” noted Kilgour. “We have about 125 foreign missions in Ottawa. The rest all know the limits of acceptable diplomatic behavior.”

Fortunately, Beijing’s interference appears to have had little effect on attendance. This year’s program schedule included packed performances in Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Greensboro, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, and St. Petersburg.

The “Chinese New Year Spectacular,” says NTDTV president Zhong Lee, “is a show case that centers on classical themes, divinely-inspired cultural traditions, and positive values such as freedom, peace and justice, in the styles of Chinese classical dance and music. We are committed to present the audience with programs of consummate beauty and goodness with the values and spirit of traditional culture. We hope our audience will gain deeper understandings about life while enjoying this thrilling artistic performance.”

New Tang Dynasty TV and Divine Performing Arts surely achieved that worthy goal. If you’re bone-weary of the offensive, obscene, absurd, and insipid offerings that are passed off as entertainment and culture these days, you owe it to yourself and posterity to indulge your inner aesthete in the refreshingly innocent beauty and artistic splendor which these outstanding artists bring to the stage. It is too late to catch any of this year’s live performances, but you can sample them online and mark your calendar to be sure you do not miss these marvelous events next year.

Canadian Bill Moves to Curtail Organ Trade Abroad

By Matthew Little and Sharda Vaidyanath Epoch Times Staff Reporters

Feb 07, 2008

File photo of Canadian MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj. (The Epoch Times)

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- Former Canada MP Speaks Ahead of the Human Rights Torch Relay in Edmonton Wednesday, February 06, 2008

- Global Torch Relay Aims to End Persecution of Falun Gong Saturday, August 04, 2007

OTTAWA/WINNIPEG—A liberal MP has introduced a private members bill that would criminalize organ transplants inside or outside of Canada that involved organs purchased or taken from unwilling donors.

Bill C-500, introduced by MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj, proposes amending the criminal code to punish any Canadian citizen who participates in an organ transplant that would be considered illegal in Canada, no matter where in the world thetransplant takes place.

That includes transplants where the organ "donor" was paid for the sale of their organ, as in the recent case of "Doctor Horror," Amit Kumar, who lived in Brampton, Ontario with his wife and children.

Kumar is wanted by Interpol for allegedly masterminding a kidney trafficking right that bought or stole kidneys from farmers and labourers in India. The organs were sold to wealthy Indians and foreigners. Reports say computers taken in a raid on one of Kumar's clinics in India revealed there were inquiries from Canada.

Bill C-500 would establish a list of people like Kumar who would be barred from Canada for participating in organ sales.

The bill also puts the onus on organ recipients to certify the organ they receive was legally obtained. All transplant recipients will have to obtain a certificate establishing the organ was donated and no money was paid.

While that may be a simple matter for in-country transplants, Canadians that travel overseas for transplant, "transplant tourists" as they are called, could face difficulty, especially visitors to countries like China known for dealing in organs taken from unwilling donors.

Transplant tourists rely on aftercare and drugs provided through their provincial medical systems after they return to Canada. Under the bill, medical practitioners in Canada would be required to report any organ recipient they treat to a certification program. That program would check to make sure the organ recipient has a certificate verifying their organ wasn't purchased or stolen. Transplant recipients who are found to not have a certificate could face investigation and prosecution.

The bill proscribes a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of life in prison for offenders.

Wrzesnewskyj said he was motivated to draft the bill by stories he heard in many parts of the world, including a series of articles in Ukraine a few years ago when children were disappearing from orphanages.

Wrzesnewskyj said that like most people he wasn't overly perturbed by the stories because he assumed westerners were coming and bribing officials so they could adopt the children. But a local police officer discovers something different.

File photo of Former Canadian Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific David Kilgour (R) and prominent human rights lawyer David Matas (L). (Matthew Hildebrand/The Epoch Times)

"As [the officer] dug, something quite horrific became apparent," said Wrzesnewskyj. " These children weren't being adopted. These children were actually being sacrificed for their organs; the organs were being sold."

Around that time he also read about kidney trafficking in India where some poor villagers were selling their organs for the price of a taxicab.

"Some times their consequences were horrific. In fact, they didn't get the money promised," recounted Wrzesnewskyj.

More recently Wrzesnewskyj read a report co-authored by two Canadians, former MP David Kilgour and prominent human rights lawyer David Matas. The report details evidence indicating the large-scale practice of killing imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners so their organs can be sold and transplanted.

Wrzesnewskyj describe the report as "horrifying."

"In all cases, these were the most vulnerable people in their particular societies," he said.

Wrzesnewskyj believes three trends have fueled illicit organ trafficking: medical technology that allows any organ to be cheaply transplanted, international travel that allows a person to cross the globe in less than a day, and increasing disparities between the richest and poorest people on the planet.

"So, it has come together [with] horrific consequences for those who are vulnerable," he said.

While the bill has just been given its first reading and may have to be reintroduced if the minority government falls, Wrzesnewskyj said it is important to start the process and set an example other countries may follow.

"I salute him for leading the way," said former MP David Kilgour. "I hope he'll get all party support . . . It's exactly the kind of measure Canada should pass."

Kilgour and Wrzesnewskyj both describe the bill as a non-partisan issue.

Kilgour said the bill is comprehensive but suspects it may encounter criticism that it goes to far. That said, he is confident it will pass.

"I just don't think any MP would want to be associated with speaking against it or voting against it, it's just too serious an issue."

"It's a huge problem involving our own country and our own citizens. I'm sure the timing of reports from India was an accident but it's very helpful."

Kilgour said each country should have its own legislation on this issue and proposed there could even be a U.N. convention on organ harvesting the way there is for land mines.

"A U.N. convention . . . would require 50 countries to ratify it and that might prove to be a difficult issue because China would certainly oppose it."

A release announcing the bill says "Bill C-500 addresses the exploitation of the vulnerable in developing countries or incarcerated by totalitarian regimes whose healthy organs are purchased or extracted through coercion and sold for use by the wealthy."

"By enacting this legislation Canada will become an international leader in combating the sinister underground trade in human organs and body parts," said Wrzesnewskyj.

Dance show risks Sweden China row

The Shen Yun show is touring countries round the world

BBC: Diplomatic relations between Sweden and China are said to be threatened by a row over dance performances.

Swedish officials say China is against shows planned for Stockholm and Linkoping because some of the US-based performers have links to Falun Gong.

The spiritual movement is banned in China and accused by the Beijing government of being a cult.

Authorities in the two cities say they have no intention of stopping the performances booked for March.

The Shen Yun - Chinese Spectacular is performed by a troupe of more than 100 dancers, singers, musicians and orchestra from the New York-based Divine Performing Arts.

Performances are based on ancient heroic legends and fables from the Tang, Song and Qing Dynasties, as well as contemporary tales.

The Associated Press news agency says organisers in Sweden include the local branch of the Falun Gong.

Crossed the line

City officials from Stockholm and Linkoping say they received calls from the Chinese embassy saying the troupe was linked to Falun Gong.

"They stepped way over the line. I think they really owe us an apology and an explanation," Madeleine Sjoestedt, Stockholm Vice-Mayor for Culture and Sports, told the AFP news agency.

A Chinese embassy spokesman told AFP that the only aim was to inform the authorities "of what Falun Gong is". The spokesman said any decision about cancellation was left up to the city.

Top Show: SF CHINESE NEW YEAR SPECTACULAR

Chinese New Year Spectacular. Photo courtesy of New Tang Dynasty TV

SF Beyond Chron: CHINESE NEW YEAR SPECTACULAR:

This musical show is a powerful tale of love’s triumph over all roadblocks. From the opening scene where the cast is practically floating on clouds with Angels flying around the stage, you feel that dreams really do come true.

There is pure artistry on the Orpheum stage. It’s part Ballet, part fantasy and pure beauty. The technical wizardry is virtually unbelievable. There is one beach scene where the water looks like it is actually undulating. There are several other totally amazing stunning visuals. It might be a good idea for some Broadway shows to see this show and find out how they did this magic.

Along with quick changes to new costumes, there is dancing with fans that look like flowing water. There is the drum dance (an audience favorite) along with some great Opera singing.

The full Orchestra helps to create a whirlwind evening of music, dance and vocals that follow the History of ancient China.

There are also some fun modern pieces thrown into the mix. I’ve never seen so much talent and precision dancing ever on a stage. When people say “Lively Arts” – this show is it.

AT THE ORPHEUM THEATRE (Saturday last day)

RATING: FOUR GLASSES OF CHAMPAGNE!!!! (Highest Rating) –trademarked-

A dazzling show with a clear message

by PAULA CITRON From Tuesday's Globe and Mail-January 22, 2008 at 4:59 AM EST

CHINESE NEW YEAR SPECTACULAR
At the Sony Centre in Toronto on Sunday

The slick and polished Chinese New Year Spectacular, currently on tour to 60 cities around the world, features both a lot of dance and a good dollop of political statement.

The producing arm of the lavish show is New Tang Dynasty Television, a New York-based, non-profit satellite station founded by overseas Chinese in 2002. New Tang funds Divine Performing Arts, which has been mounting the annual New Year Spectacular since 2004. The pockets must be deep - for this New Year's season, New Tang has hired top PR firms in each city to target audiences outside the Chinese community. It was certainly a mixed crowd at Toronto's Sony Centre.

So where do the arts and politics intersect? The show contains 20 numbers, five musical and 15 dance. Of these 20, six show support of Falun Gong (Falun Dafa), which followers describe as a self-improvement meditation practice. The spiritual movement is outlawed in China, where, according to human-rights critics, Falun Gong practitioners have been jailed and tortured.

(New Tang has admitted that some Falun Gong practitioners work for the media company, but it denies an official association with the movement.)

Four songs in the show have lyrics that exhort the listener to be both better aware of tyranny and make a stand against oppression. The two dance dramas, The Risen Lotus Flower and The Power of Awareness, depict, respectively, three courageous young Falun Gong women being beaten in prison and a group of Falun Gong followers resisting the police in a park.

Needless to say, none of the battalion of choreographers and composers listed in the program currently lives in China. This is a show where the artistic team is all expatriates and the performers are ethnic Chinese born mostly in foreign climes. There are a considerable number of Canadian Chinese in the cast.

The show is certainly a spectacle. The production values are grand in terms of costumes and scenic effects, and the performers are all very good-looking and meticulously disciplined.

The choreography is based on traditional movement from classical Chinese dance, such as little running steps, angled bodies, knee raises, abrupt poses and showy gymnastics. The core of the style is how the 16 or so dancers are put in patterns to get the maximum beauty out of their stage picture.

There are folk dances from Tibet and Mongolia for both the female (graceful) and male (athletic) ensembles, a traditional fan dance and long-sleeve dance, drum dances, a Manchu court dance on tiny shoes and dance dramas. In the latter, an ambitious Confucian scholar receives enlightenment from a Taoist (A Vanished Dream), while two modern "gangsta" street youths (one in a Mohawk) are embraced by Buddhist reverence (The Fruits of Goodness).

Nymphs of the Sea, where each of the winsome young women holds a fan with a long train of blue silk, got the most enthusiastic audience reaction. When they wave the fans standing closely together, the material actually looks like a rippling waterfall.

The lush and tuneful original music is a fusion, layering a Western orchestra with traditional Chinese instruments. This show is performed to tape, but the banks of sound equipment are state-of-the-art, and the Sony Centre has never seemed so full and sweeping to the ear. The four opera singers are very accomplished, as is young pianist Yan Li.

An amiable duo, Leeshai Lemish and the glamorously gowned Mei Zhou, play host, introducing each number in both Chinese and English, and while their banter is contrived, it is also rather amusing. Yes, the show makes a political statement, but the audience certainly gets its money's worth in entertainment.

Chinese New Year Spectacular will tour to Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary in the spring.

Montreal Newspaper a Voice for Chinese Regime

Police probe claims that Les Presses Chinoises is inciting hate against Falun Gong

By Mark Morgan Epoch Times Toronto Staff

Jul 06, 2007

Les Presses Chinoises and anti-Falun Gong tabloid papers. (Internet photo)">

Crescent Chau, publisher of Montreal-based Chinese newspaper Les Presses Chinoises and anti-Falun Gong tabloid papers. (Internet photo)

Related Articles

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TORONTO—In August of last year, Montreal newspaper publisher Crescent Chau somehow drummed up the funds to print 100,000 copies of a special 32-page tabloid—without a single advertisement—and distributed it nationwide, for free.

The newspaper was not only missing ads; it was also devoid of typical news. All 32 pages were packed with articles condemning the Falun Gong spiritual group, which is persecuted by the communist regime in Mainland China.

It was quite an achievement for Chau, whose own Chinese-language newspaper, Les Presses Chinoises, has a circulation of only 6000 and is limited in its distribution to Montreal. About 100 copies are circulated in Ottawa.

But it did not surprise Chen Yonglin, a former diplomat at the Chinese consulate in Sydney, Australia who recently visited Canada and warned that Chinese spies and front organizations are widespread here, including those targeting groups persecuted by the regime in China.

"It is clear that the Les Presses Chinoises is cooperating with the Chinese embassy and consulate and has become the hatchetman and propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party here," Chen says.

"It is very likely that the printing costs were directly funded by the Chinese embassy and consulate—the contents seem to be mostly produced and provided by the CCP."

Chen supports his claims with a document from the Chinese consulate in Sydney.

Titled the "Special Anti-Falun Gong Working Group Division of Labour Table" and dated February 7, 2001, it lists the responsibilities for members of the anti-Falun Gong team, which included the heads of all sections at the consulate.

For example, the head of the political affairs department was responsible for "recommending" anti-Falun Gong articles from state-run media in China for use in Chinese-language media overseas and writing anti-Falun Gong articles for publishing in Chinese-language media.

The head of the culture department was charged with sending such articles to politicians and media.

Toronto police question Lu Ping over his delivery of Crescent Chau's latest anti-Falun Gong tabloid on June 30, 2007 at the Asian Farm grocery store in northeast Toronto. (NTDTV)

Chau denies he is taking orders from the Chinese authorities. He portrays his opposition to Falun Gong as a personal "crusade."

While Chau says he aspires to eliminate Falun Gong in Canada, he admits not having interviewed Falun Gong practitioners for the stories he published, nor having read Falun Gong's teachings.

He rejects that he has been paid to publish his anti-Falun Gong newspapers.

But according to other Chinese-language media in Montreal, the source of Chau's first anti-Falun Gong articles, a woman named He Bing, had offered to pay "whatever it takes" to have her anti-Falun Gong articles published in Chinese-language press. Reliable sources told The Epoch Times that CSIS had investigated He and believed her to be a Chinese agent.

Several other Chinese papers reportedly turned her down before her articles appeared in Chau's Les Presses Chinoises.

In her articles, which appeared first as paid ads, He Bing accused Falun Gong adherents of everything from sucking blood and bestiality to murder and suicide. She called Falun Gong practitioners "insane," "stupid," and "scatter-brained."

University of Montreal professor David Ownby, an expert in popular Chinese religions who has studied Falun Gong, called the statements "unsubstantiated filth poured upon the page" and said he'd seen nothing to suggest any truth behind He's accusations.

But Chau continued to publish such content even after two Quebec court orders told him stop, even calling practitioners "enemies of the state."

In Feb. 2001, Chau published his first anti-Falun Gong special edition, which included a petition rallying the Chinese community to "unite" in "denouncing Falun Gong."

He Bing returned to China and was paraded in Chinese state media as a hero in the war on Falun Gong.

Chau, too, became a celebrity of sorts in the Mainland Chinese press. He attended conferences in China that promoted "information exchange and business cooperation" between overseas and mainland Chinese media. State media quoted Chau as saying the Chinese regime "should strengthen its connection to the overseas Chinese community."

And Chau's anti-Falun Gong efforts were reported in national media in China, which referred to Les Presses Chinoises not as a local Montreal newspaper but as "Canada's Les Presses Chinoises. "

The coverage of Chau was so overwhelming that some Mainland Chinese thought the Canadian government had also banned Falun Gong.

"My parents in China were worried for me," said Yang Hui, one of the Montreal-area Falun Gong practitioners who were named in Chau's articles. "They saw all the reports and thought that Canada had started to persecute Falun Gong too."

In August 2006, Chau published his first nationwide anti-Falun Gong paper, with copies circulated as far west as Vancouver.

His efforts did not go unnoticed. Within four days of the "special edition" hitting the streets, the website for the Mainland China-based People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, published a report praising Chau.

"The Justice Special Edition [the paper also bore the English name Truth Magazine ] has 32 pages with a distribution of more than 100,000 copies," the People's Daily said. "The front page carries publisher Crescent Chau's special article … It is very sharp, rich in content, and powerful."

In it Chau parroted the Chinese regime's official line on Falun Gong, accusing the group of everything from shunning medical treatment to murder and suicide.

Such claims are groundless, say human rights groups like Human Rights Watch, but they have been used to justify the regime's violent repression of the group, which began in 1999.

Chau used these claims to rally opposition to Falun Gong in Canada.

"Everyone should join in the efforts to fight against Falun Gong," wrote Chau. "We must unite together to condemn [Falun Gong founder] Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong."

Truth Magazine, an anti-Falun Gong newspaper that is being called hate propaganda. (NTDTV)">

Lu Ping shown in front of his Dodge Grand Caravan filled with bundles of Truth Magazine, an anti-Falun Gong newspaper that is being called hate propaganda. (NTDTV)

New Approach

Last week, the fourth installment of Chau's Truth Magazine hit the streets in Toronto. As with the previous three, it comes on the heels of some particularly bad press for the Chinese regime.

One previous edition was published after former secretary of state for Asia Pacific, David Kilgour, and lawyer David Matas released a report concluding that the Chinese communist regime was stealing organs from live Falun Gong practitioners detained in China for sale in a lucrative organ trade.

Another came as a Chinese-language television station, New Tang Dynasty Television, put on a prominent Chinese New Year show that included one act depicting the persecution of Falun Gong in China. That one was also delivered to Canadian members of parliament.

This time, the special edition followed the visit of the former diplomat Chen who described the Chinese front organizations in Canada, citing in particular the Nation Congress of Chinese Canadians (NCCC).

The latest edition is 16 pages and makes no mention of Falun Gong on the cover. In its place is a large headline: "Will your Maple Card (Canadian residency card) expire?" But inside, the remaining 15 pages are devoted to attacking Falun Gong.

This issue repeats many of the same slurs against Falun Gong. It also takes aim at Chen and at The Epoch Times, which reported Chen's comments, and defends prominent NCCC leaders that were named in the Epoch Times report.

Chau calls on Chinese-Canadians to "unite to conquer" what he calls the "evil" Falun Gong and Chen Yonglin.

Curiously, though Chau's publishing company resides in Montreal, the latest ,I>Truth Magazine appears to have been distributed only in Toronto, where the three NCCC leaders named in the Epoch Times report—David Lim, Hughes Eng, and Ping Tan—reside.

Police Involvement

And from there, the links become more curious.

Since the August 2006 issue of Truth Magazine hit the streets, police in several Canadian cities have been looking into whether the papers qualify as hate propaganda.

On Saturday afternoon, Toronto police confronted a Truth Magazine deliveryman at a Chinese grocery store in the northeast of the city. He gave his name as Lu Ping.

The police asked Lu who had hired him to deliver the newspapers. Lu reluctantly provided the name and phone number of Ms. Li Miao of Canyon Web Printing.

Canyon Web Printing happens to have the same address and phone number as those listed on yellowpages.ca for the Chinese Canadian Post, which is owned by NCCC Executive Secretary David Lim.

Ms. Li, for her part, is listed as the contact for an upcoming event organized by NCCC National Co-Chair Hughes Eng and supported by the Chinese embassy's culture section.

Inaction

But aside from some investigation by police, little has been done to stop the disparaging reports.

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal found in a separate case that Falun Gong "is a protected creed" as its essence is spiritual elevation. But to date, police have not used such grounds to lay charges.

A Montreal police sergeant who spoke with The Epoch Times last year cited sensitivities in investigating Mr. Chau because of his prominence in the Chinese community.

A trial court in Montreal said that Mr. Chau was exercising his freedom of speech in publishing the slurs, a decision that is now being appealed.

But all this has made members of Canada's Falun Gong community feel they are not being protected.

"I believe if such slanders were directed at another group in our society, it would not be tolerated," says Ottawa Falun Gong practitioner Lucy Zhou. "It seems like because this has to do with China, people can get away with saying anything about us and it's OK.

"Crescent Chau has incited hate against us for five years with impunity. I feel the system is failing us."

I, Too, Have a Dream

Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Sen Yang Special to The Epoch Times

Jan 23, 2008

President Clinton, Governor Huckabee, Senator Isakson, Mayer Franklin, and all honorable guests:

In 1992, I started my graduate study at Georgia Tech. I landed in Atlanta, a great city best known as the home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I am honored to call this great city my second home in honor of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And "Georgia is on my mind".

But when I first arrived, I knew little about Dr. King. I very much wanted to return to China. Everything was so unfamiliar to me. But then I noticed something I had never before experienced.

I noticed that people in this country could say what they think without being arrested by the thought police. I noticed that people went to church on Sundays and that all people were free to practice their religion. I never saw people being arrested for bible study or for trying to be good and kind citizens of this country.

There was only one word that could describe my feeling: Freedom.

At first, I thoughts these freedoms were easily achieved in the United States. But then as I studied U.S. history, I learned about Martin Luther King Jr., one of the main leaders of the American civil rights movement. I read Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech," and started to have my own dream.

Please watch the video of Sen Yang's Martin Luther King Day speech.

I talked with a friend in China. He asked me what greatest thing was in US. I told him it was "freedom" I enjoy the most. He replied: "You are rich and we are poor. We will chase after 'freedom' when we get more money." I told my friend: "You don't need to be rich to fight for the right to be free." I told him that Dr. King fought for the freedom not because he was rich, but because he had the heart.

I lived in China for 31 years and now in this country for 15 years. I love China and I love the people in China. I want them to be respected and live like human beings. I want them to enjoy the same inalienable rights that God has given to all his people, not only in the United States, but everywhere.

Inspired by Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech," I thank him for the sacrifices he endured to help all people in the United States become free. His life is an example for all people everywhere who have a dream of freedom, even me – a humble physicist happy to live as a free man in this country. I too have a dream.

I dream that all people in China will have freedom of thoughts and that they won't have to endure persecution (torture, illegal arrests and interrogation) because of their most deeply held thoughts and ideals.

I dream that all people in China will have freedom of religion and that they won't be persecuted because of what they believe; and that they won't be sentenced to illegal prison terms or subjected to extra judicial killing.

I dream that Falun Gong practitioners in China can one day, walk to the public park and start to do the morning exercise without being beaten by the police.

I have a dream that my daughter can return to China and will not be judged by her belief in Falun Gong, but by her character. And, as Martin Luther King Jr. said:

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Beijing is listening to our silence

Sarah Cook, National Post Published: Friday, January 18, 2008

The fact that Time magazine named Zeng Jinyan, right, one of the world's 100 most influential people did not help her much on Dec. 27, when 30 Chinese agents arrested her husband, prominent rights activist Hu Jia.

Security agents showed up at the couple's Beijing apartment with a warrant for "subversion against the state," a catch-all phrase used to lock up pretty much anyone who says something the Communist Party does not like. Despite liver problems and a two-month-old daughter, Hu now potentially faces years in prison.

He is not alone. Three months ago, one of his best friends -- leading rights attorney Gao Zhisheng -- met a similar fate. On Sept. 22, Gao, who like Hu had recently questioned the legitimacy of Beijing hosting the Olympic Games, was apparently taken by plainclothes police from the home he shares with his wife and two children. He has not been seen since.

To those who follow human rights in China, these may seem like common scenarios. But these two men are anything but common -- they are key leaders of what is often termed China's Rights Defence Movement, a diverse collection of lawyers, intellectuals and activists. Reaching beyond a narrow elite of dissidents, they have drawn support from large numbers of farmers and workers as they use nonviolent means to demand basic rights and challenge the Communist Party's decades of repression.

Hu and Gao's work has focused on different issues. Hu is an environmental and AIDS activist, while Gao has represented the gamut of China's "have-nots," from disabled children to coal miners to evicted tenants. As a Christian, he is particularly passionate about defending victims of religious persecution, especially house-church members and people who practise Falun Gong.

The duo's approach for bringing change has been surprisingly bold. Besides publicly quitting the Communist Party, in February, 2006, they launched a relay hunger strike for human rights which quickly became one of the largest and most unified mobilizations in years.

Activists, farmers and workers from 29 provinces joined, as well as overseas democracy activists. Gao has received phone calls of support from sympathetic government officials. In

regular touch with activists and petitioners across the country, Hu Jia has acted as a funnel, channelling to the rest of the world how people on the ground in China actually feel.

No wonder the Communist Party fears them.

As the Olympics approach, there is a prevalent sense that the world is in for a spectacular display of anti-Communist Party demonstrations, potentially met by violent repression. Here in the West, this is often accompanied by an implied attitude of "let's watch and see what happens," as if we were not a party to this battle.

But we already are, certainly when these rights defenders are getting in trouble precisely for asking our help. Gao was detained in September within days of sending a letter to U.S. Congress stating the Olympics are hurting the Chinese people and should be boycotted. Hu Jia expressed similar sentiments last month when he testified via webcam at a European Parliament briefing on China.

Despite what our leaders may say, public international pressure makes a difference. It is what kept Hu and Gao out of jail for as long as they were. It is also what turned Gao's three-year prison term in 2006 into a "suspended sentence," which at least protected him from torture.

But the dynamic works both ways. With every arrest, Party leaders watch to see how the world will react. When there's silence, when Western states continue to dutifully roll out the red carpet for every Chinese delegation, when abuses barely get mentioned at press conferences, then Chinese security agencies step up arrests. That is exactly what we have seen happen for the past year and a half.

And it is already playing out in Hu's case. With no outcry from the International Olympic Committee or Western governments since his detention, his lawyers are now blocked from visiting him, placing him at greater risk of torture.

That is why the international community cannot stand on the sidelines. Silence is a stance in itself--a stance on the side of the authoritarian Communist

Party's regime. And if Hu and Gao's work shows anything, it is that this is not the side that tens of millions of Chinese people really want us on.

cook@freedomhouse.org. - Sarah Cook is a research assistant at Freedom House and co-editor of the English translation of Gao Zhisheng's memoir, A China More Just.

Spectacular Aids 'Important Cultural Development,': Matas

In contrast, communism is 'antithetical to culture'

By Cindy Chan Epoch Times Ottawa Staff

Jan 15, 2008

Prominent human rights lawyer David Matas (The Epoch Times)

After seeing the Divine Performing Arts Chinese New Year Spectacular in Ottawa this year, human rights lawyer David Matas had high praise for the show's professionalism as well as its important contribution to cultural development.

"It's a very high-quality show, the costumes were wonderful, the music was terrific, the choreography was imaginative and very pretty to look at. It was a very professional show," said Matas.

Matas noted "the lessons of faith" portrayed in the Spectacular and "the continuity between the show and ancient Chinese cultural traditions.

It is "a continuation of Chinese culture as a living entity rather than just a museum artefact," he said. Ethnic Chinese will benefit from the show because it helps them connect with their identity, while non-ethnic Chinese will benefit from the presentation of cultural diversity and the richness of the Chinese civilization.

Matas commended Divine Performing Arts, the company that presents the Spectacular , "for their commitment to continue, preserve, and develop [Chinese] culture."

"It isn't just the preservation," he said, because the show contains elements "that would normally help cultural development and don't just replicate the past, but bring the past up to the present."

Matas pointed to the combination of modern instruments and ancient Chinese instruments as an example. "That in itself is an important cultural development—important for the Chinese culture, important for global culture."

"Culture that is meaningful is going to be insurrectionary, not in a violent sense, but rejecting established cultural norms. Otherwise you just get a regurgitation of the old stuff."

Keeping Chinese Culture Alive Despite Obstacles

The Divine Performing Arts promotes the Spectacular as a show that revives the authentic traditional culture of China, with its emphasis on moral values and spiritual quest, without any elements of communist party culture.

"That comes across pretty clear," said Matas, adding that communism is a "controlled system" that thwarts culture.

Communism is "antithetical to culture and spirituality," he remarked. "The way it relates to Chinese culture is simply by trying to destroy, obliterate, and suppress it, so any continuity of Chinese culture like what we see through the show is something that has no connection to communism whatsoever."

Each year the Chinese embassies and consulates contact government officials and attempt to discourage attendance at the shows and/or prevent them from taking place. Matas called these attempts "a form of cultural destruction of one of the richest cultural heritages in human history and human civilization."

He further explained that culture cannot come from a government or political system; it must come from the people. By its very nature, culture is a grassroots phenomenon, he said, whereas a communist society is a "controlled system," and "any controlled system thwarts culture.

"The whole notion of central control, which is essential to the notion of communism, is antithetical to cultural development from the people."

It follows that "you can't have a meaningful Chinese culture while the CCP remains in power in China," said Matas.

"The community putting on this show is not just providing a lot of entertainment but adding to contemporary cultural diversity and keeping alive this rich and diverse Chinese culture in the face of huge obstacles."

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts shows that will perform in over 60 cities worldwide in 2008. To find a show near you, please visit www.bestchineseshows.com.

Vancouver Divine P/A Chinese Spectacular at the BELL

Vancouver, Canada

April 27 and 28, 2008 - Bell Performing Arts Centre

6250 144th Street, Surrey B.C. V3X 1A1 ~ Buy Tickets here

Divine Performing Arts is becoming recognized as the leading proponent of traditional Chinese dance and music. This year, with appearances on four continents to an estimated audience of over 650,000, the performers have set the highest standard of classical Chinese performing arts and present the most breathtaking celebration of Chinese New Year in the world. Inspired by over 5,000 years of history and tradition, the Spectacular has awed audiences across the globe since 2004. Creating one of the most visually stunning experiences on stage, the Spectacular features brilliant traditional dances, stellar singing and a live orchestra.

The Performing Arts Spectacular will travel to Vancouver on April 27 and 28, and onward to Edmonton and Calgary.

DON'T MISS IT!

Trip the light dynastic

Montreal Mirror: Five millennia come alive at the Chinese New Year Spectacular

TANG SHEBANG: A Divine Performing Arts dancer

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

“The Year of the Rat symbolizes new beginnings and change,” says Francis Madore, spokesperson for, no, not Barack Obama, but for “not-for-profit, independent, Chinese-language television” company New Tang Dynasty TV, which is presenting the Chinese New Year Spectacular at Place des Arts this week (though the actual Chinese New Year falls on Feb. 7 this year).

“The legend says that at the time of the new year, the Buddha called upon all the animals to meet him, so he could assign them roles. Only 12 showed up, and each was given a year, so people born in that year would get the characteristics of that animal. People born under the year of the rat tend to be leaders, pioneers, conquerors. They’re usually charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and of course hardworking, like you know the rat is.”

The charm quotient of rats could be debated, but the dedication of the Divine Performing Arts Troupe, composed largely of Chinese émigrés and ex-pats, is unquestionable. Among the most successful touring shows in the world, the Spectacular strives to revive five millennia of Chinese art and history without fudging the specifics.

“The movements of the dancers, the costumes they wear, the backdrops—every detail is weighed and studied so that they’re as authentic as possible,” says Madore.

“The Chinese people themselves have been disconnected from this ancient culture, which was governed by dynasties. Each dynasty had a specific culture, depending on the emperor. These are people who had high beliefs in gods and adhered to high standards of morality, and they believe that’s what enabled them to develop these rich, glorious civilizations of ancient China. Now, with the Cultural Revolution and even in historical textbooks, all this information has been altered or removed. So it’s really interesting for both Chinese and Western audiences.”

The show touches on the Tang, Qing and Song dynasties, says Madore, “and on top of that, it goes into depicting some ethnic groups that prevailed in China. For example, there’s the traditional Mongolian cup dance, where the ladies carry cups with actual milk in them on their heads. The Manchurian ethnicity is also depicted, and the Tibetans.”

Madore adds a final but not inconsequential note, an unsurprising one given the Falun Dafa Association’s collaboration on the show. “The 5,000 years of Chinese history that are covered are from the ancient times, but also modern times. Some scenes depict the human-rights issues in China in the last 50 years, so there’s something to learn there too.”

At Place des Arts Tuesday to Thursday, Jan. 15–17,
7:30 p.m. (also 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 16), $38–$158, all ages