A quick montage of religious happenings in the 09

Falun Gong, Destiny Church and the Exclusive Brethren are perhaps three of New Zealand’s most controversial religious group.
Last year, both the Destiny’s Church and the Exclusive Brethren made headlines in the New Zealand media, while news of Falun Gong practitioners made many appearances media outlets world-wide.
In November of last year, 700 followers of the Destiny Church movement pledged their allegiance to the church’s self proclaimed bishop Brian Tamaki.
After the media got hold of information regarding the covenant, TV 3 sent in an undercover reporter (a former follower of the Destiny Church) with a hidden camera and microphone.
Upon broadcasting the footage, the Destiny Church hit back and Bishop Tamaki refused to be interviewed on Campbell Live, instead sending in the church’s spokesperson Richard Lewis.
Mr Lewis said on the programme that TV3 should not have sent in an undercover informant as the church has always employed the use of an open door policy for media representatives.
“There’s a way to do things and that is not it,” he says.
He says that if it had not been for the sneaky underhanded way Campbell Live conducted the investigation, then Bishop Tamaki would have been happy to appear on the programme.
Campbell Live host, John Campbell, says that he had sent a camera crew and a reporter to the church but was turned away by security at the door.
Bishop Tamaki then urged his congregation to reject any word against Destiny Church, after a whole week of media scrutiny suggested the movement was becoming a cult.
Cultwatch’s Mark Vranovich appeared with Destiny Church’s Richard Lewis on the programme and said that the church was undoubtedly showing cult-like behaviour by asking so many people to pledge their allegiances to Bishop Tamaki.
Mr Vrankovich says Destiny church is what he would classify as an emerging mind control cult.
Church officials confirmed “several thousand” people paid $30 each to attend the ceremony, with a $60 concession for family groups.
The New Zealand Herald said that about 700 male members of the church last weekend swore a “covenant oath” of loyalty and obedience to Bishop Tamaki at the ceremony, and were given a “covenant ring” to wear on their right hands.
“A church document describes the covenant as “a solemn oath of commitment that is binding, enduring and unbreakable. You are bound to the covenant, the covenant is an irrevocable, undissolvable oath of commitment”.
“Costs didn’t stop at the door. Oath takers paid $295 – plus a $5 administration fee – for the ring symbolising their loyalty to Bishop Tamaki. Some were given the option of paying the ring off over time.”
The newspaper also estimated that 3000 attended the oath ceremony  – an audience which alone would have raised at least $90,000.
Throughout the October/November period dozens of former Destiny Church members came forward to speak of their experiences to TVNZ.
“They [the former followers] believe he has turned the church into a cult expert at extracting cash, more often than not from the people who can least afford to pay,” says TVNZ.
“As far as I can tell it’s a cult” says Auckland University’s theology professor, Doctor Phillip Culbertson. “”It certainly fits the classic definitions of a cult.”
Bishop Tamaki told TVNZ that if Destiny church is a cult then 90% of the churches in New Zealand are cults.
“God does choose men,” says Tamaki. “He puts an authority on their lives whereby he uses them in a special way.”
Tamaki told his followers that New Zealand’s government will soon be upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ.
“I predict in the next five years, by the time we hit our 10th anniversary – and I don’t say this lightly – that we will be ruling the nation.”
Tamaki says that his plans to govern the nation that is not like the governments of this world.
“It’s not a dictatorship, it’s not a democracy, it’s a theocracy.”
Mr Vrankovich says that Destiny members talk more about Tamaki than they do about Jesus Christ.
“There are no crosses inside the Destiny church, just pictures of the Tamaki family and other pastors,” he says.
Unlike the Destiny Church which employs an open door policy, the Exclusive Brethren’s policy on new membership is exactly how it sounds – exclusive.
Last year, the Exclusive Brethren found themselves back in the spotlight in New Zealand’s media after former member, Craig Hoyle, was excommunicated from his church after coming out to his family about his homosexuality.
The 20-year-old told Gay NZ.com, the leading media outlet for gay New Zealanders, that his church leader prescribed hormonal suppressants to him in efforts to keep his homosexual tendancies at bay.
“I’ve had lots of people contact me. Some of them didn’t know anything about my past, and were completely shocked. So that’s been amazing, getting their reactions,” says Mr Hoyle.
Mr Hoyle appeared on 60 Minutes in early December last year to expose the Exclusive Brethren for the way he was treated upon coming out as a homosexual man.
“I think the priests are worried about me telling my story though,” he adds. “They’ve screwed up so badly in so many ways.”
He says that he was keen to share his experiences with GayNZ.com as he thinks that the Exclusive Brethren has been behind closed doors for so long.
“And at the moment, the stuff that’s coming out about the Destiny Church that the media are making a big deal of, well the Exclusive Brethren have been doing that stuff for decades.
Mr Hoyle says that the Exclusive Brethren, like the Destiny Church, made followers agree to a convenant with the church.
“The way Destiny is getting all their men to commit to Brian Tamaki? That happened in the Exclusive Brethren a few years ago,” he says.
Although he was excommunicated from the church, Mr Hoyle says that he still believes in the message the Exclusive Brethren taught.
“It was my Christian faith that helped me get through everything that happened – without something outside of myself to believe in, I would have gone crazy! My relationship with God? I see him as a friend and confident more than anything else.”
Earlier on in July, Australia’s The Age publication published an article on the controversial Exclusive Brethren sect.
The Age says that the Exclusive Brethren are Exclusive Brethren and sects like it present enormous difficulties for secular authorities.
“They keep their members under tight control using psychological and spiritual tactics many might find offensive and which sometimes come into conflict with tenets of the law.”
The article also addresses problems that members must deal with if considering to leave the sect.
“A member who considers leaving the church must also confront the prospect of leaving his or her family and children…in most cases, leaving means never seeing your loved ones again. It means having gifts and letters returned, phones slammed down and doors shut in your face.”
“They combine in their members feelings of superiority over the rest of the population and preference in the eyes of God with a fear of wider society.”
Falun Gong, unlike the Destiny Church and the Exclusive Brethren, remains pretty much unknown to New Zealanders.
However, in China this is very much the opposite.
The Chinese government banned the Falun Gong cult on July 22, 1999, accusing the group of exploiting religion of brainwashing practitioners, cajoling money from them, and even encouraging practitioners to burn themselves in order to fulfill spiritually.
China’s internet censorship programme blocks all content about Falun Gong and those caught practicing Falun Gong are subject to be punished by law.
Xinhua, the major news outlet in China, reported in June that the use of a rehabilitation workshop had been employed for former Falun Gong practitioners.
The news outlet published many first person accounts from people who attended the rehabilitation programme.
During July of last year, the BBC website published an article found that China’s ban on the spiritual movement was working.
The mastermind behind the movement, Li Hong Zhi, told China’s Global Times that “people have realised the true essence of the cult, it’s [now] impossible for them to organise a massive activity.”
During November TV3 broadcasted Inside New Zealand’s documentary on How To Spot A Cult.
The documentary covers an array of controversial religious groups in the country.
Abuse survivors give first hand accounts of what happened to them behind closed doors.
Dr Dennis Green, who has a PHD in religious studies, says that cults are on the increase as people start looking for answers when society undergoes rapid change.
“Whenever there are people looking for answers, there are predators out there who will pray on them,” says Dr Green.
Dr Green says that it is impossible to define a cult and instead encourages for people to look at the leader of the group as they are all sociopaths.

text from: http://www.facts.org.cn/puop/201101/t123996.htm

More reviews about Shen Yun on Yelp

Editor’s note: Falun Gong promotes Shen Yun performance using false advertisements. Many net friends all over the world express their feelings on the net of Yelp after watching the performance. They say the performance is advocating Falun Gong in the guise of traditional Chinese arts and warn people not be duped.

Ray T.    1/8/2011
Sunnyvale, CA

I bought tickets for this to take my Mom and wife as a treat during the holidays. From looking at all the marketing materials, I thought this would be a beautiful, authentic performance of classical Chinese dance. We were all pretty excited to see this show. Unfortunately, it should have been called “The Falun Gong Show” (pun intended) and yes, they would have been gonged well before intermission. They should have made it more clear what this was really about, a propaganda show for the Falun Gong. I wish I had read these reviews earlier because this was definitely NOT what I signed up for.

One of the central tenets of their belief is ‘Truthfulness’ which is quite ironic because they were not truthful at all in their marketing. If their goal is to educate about their beliefs and struggles, there is definitely a better way to do that than to trick people into watching this garbage with a hidden agenda. The whole vibe just felt kind of creepy and cult-like to be honest. I didn’t know much about the Falun Gong before I saw this, but now I have a negative impression of them. I would recommend staying far away from this show.
Some of the dancers were ok, but I noticed that more than a few of them had balance issues, which told me immediately that this was not the high caliber performance that they were advertising. But regardless, the direction and choreography were still horribly boring and unimaginative. The two hosts that came out to introduce each performance were awful with their tired comedy routine and cheesy schtick. Costumes were colorful, but nothing special. The bleak set design consisted of cheesy-looking images projected onto a large screen backdrop, much like a bad PowerPoint presentation. Often, they would show cheap-looking animations of the dancers flying around on the screen, and then “magically” appear “live” on stage. They overused this effect so much, I swear, I found myself wishing that it was a video game and I could pull out my game zapper and shoot them down, like in the old Nintendo “Duck Hunt,” before they reached the stage.
I think they must plant people in the audience as well because some people were applauding excitedly during some rather boring stuff. Like twirling in a circle, doing a simple cartwheel, and a monk doing the “worm.” I mean, c’mon! Really?!? It just seemed a bit peculiar. The operatic singing was horrendous, as were the religious propaganda lyrics they sang. I couldn’t wait for them to be over. I actually saw my mom turn off her hearing aid at one point.
Being presented at such prestigious venues around the world, like the Lincoln Center, and War Memorial Opera House and with tickets that range from $100-$300, I guess my expectations for a top-notch show were a bit higher. This show is more suitable for a community center for $20/ticket, free popcorn, and even then, I would probably skip it.

Now, I could almost excuse a bad show, but what really disgusts me and makes me feel cheated and lied to is that they claim to be demonstrating the beauty of classical Chinese dance, and sharing the rich history of Chinese art and culture, but instead, they preach this religious propaganda agenda crap mixed with mediocre talent. I’m extremely proud of my Chinese heritage and culture. I’m a strong advocate of human rights and freedom. But this show was a disgraceful display of Falun Gong religious propaganda being passed off as authentic, Chinese dance and culture.

I have an idea for next year’s show in which Yelp reviewers magically appear in a time machine from the Heavens and save thousands of people from making the awful mistake of wasting time and money to see this second-rate Falun Gong propaganda talent show circus. It will be called Shen Yun 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Eric B.    1/8/2011
Portland, OR

Shen Yun is a performance for and about Falun Gong.  Had the advertising been honest about this then I would not have been surprised or disappointed.  I also likely would not have paid $200 for a pair of tickets either.

My background includes training in cultural anthropology and I am a physician as well as having a diplomate in acupuncture (and have been trained in chi gong from one of the many lineages in China as part of that).  I looked forward to what was advertised as a chinese cultural extravaganza.

I learned tonight many things – for example that the Falun Gong believe in truth.  But I found their advertisements prior to the show deceptive in that it left out that 10 of the 21 performances would be directly about falung gong ideas or stories related to their oppression. So I learned that the Falun Gong advocate for the truth of their ideas and will be deceptive about it.

It is at best mediocre quality (compared to a Broadway or Vegas show), belongs in the level of a university performance for $10 or $15 sliding scale donation to support their cause – that would at least be the honest and truthful way.   If you read other reviews about how great the show is you will notice the recurring themes of the reviewers that sound like a repetition of the advertisements (which I suspect they are ): beautiful, artistic expression of feeling from the inside, the projection screen as amazing, etc. Uhm, not so much.

I had no idea that by doing Falun Gong, if you are beaten to death by the Chinese communist thugs, then the heavenly gods come down, and either resurrect you (1st version), or you fly to heaven with them (2nd version), or they bring a tidal wave to the city to scare away the thugs and then resurrect you  (3rd version)- in other words a Buddha dressed superhero flies in from heaven to protect the Falun Gong! Off to Guiana to drink some plum flavored cool aid….

What I really learned was that the Falun Gong strike me as a bizarre cult and I do not trust a word from them.  Creepy.

Joseph J.      1/6/2011
San Francisco, CA

Shen Yun has different troupes that tour throughout the US.  I had the misfortune of seeing a performance in the Midwest last year.   I say misfortune because this is all a front put up by the cult Falun Gong! 

From a musical, artistic, and costume perspective, the show was okay.

The show has a somewhat corny and very scripted narration (in English and Chinese – Mandarin.) You are lead to believe that this will be a cultural show but they use the traditional Chinese music/dance to bring their Fa-lun Gong message to you.  I didn’t pay $200+ for tickets to listen to their propaganda and the propaganda in the show isn’t even subtle.

During the intermission and after the show, they have their people videotaping audience members asking them questions about how they enjoyed the show.  The questions were scripted and contrived. What got me was they ONLY asked the white people in the audience.

Do NOT waste your money in attending this performance.

P.S. – in reading the dancer’s profiles…many have links to NTDTV (New Tang Dynasty Television).  I believe NTDTV is also another front put up by the cult Falun Gong or Falun Dafa.   So sneaky just like how Mormons say they’re Christians but they’re not.

P.P.S – Before all you Falun Gong lovers message me, I want to inform you I am NOT from mainland/Communist China.

Phil C.   1/3/2011
Bellingham, WA

What a waste of time and money! My wife and I paid $430 just to get preached to. I had no idea beforehand that this was nothing more than a Fa-lung Gong funded propaganda show. The costumes were decent in parts, horrible in others while the dancing was mediocre. The songs were horrible, they were all just Falun Dafa hymns.

Please, save yourself the expense and the time. This is not entertainment, it’s nothing more than a Falun Gong propaganda. After sitting through their “show” I can see why the Chinese Communist Party would want to put these crooks out of business and guess what? I sure hope they’re more successful in eradicating these vermin.

Kai L.     12/30/2010
Sacramento, CA

Whoa man. Not what I signed up for.
It’s the holidays and so I try to be a good Asian daughter. But since I can’t accommodate my mom’s wishes that I get married, settle down and have children in 2011, I thought I’d at least appease her and take her to see this show. She’s been dying to see it, having heard rave reviews from the Chinese radio station she listens to while driving to and from work. Plus they sent 4 fliers to our house and my mom actually said she “felt bad” about ignoring them for so long. So we shell out $100 a ticket and trek over to SF for this show.

I was born in China. I know Chinese. I used to watch Chinese soaps as a kid until I learned better. I like my culture. So I thought I’d go with an open mind. The first half was ok and that’s about as much praise as I would give it. The costumes were bright and elaborate but the dancing was meh. I want to give these dancers credit because I have been told numerous times in life that I have no eye-hand coordination so I won’t sit here and pretend to say that I could do better myself or that I could learn that much choreography because I think they do something like 22 performances in all. But I will say that nothing wowed me. Mostly it was a lot of girly prancing and twirling. People would clap for the twirling which surprised me. Would you clap for me too if I spun around in a circle because I’m pretty sure that doesn’t require too much eye-hand coordination.

And then the second half started and I was like “holy crap what is going on?” It was unabashedly full of political agendas. It made me uncomfortable. And bored. I actually zoned out for most of the second half. I took out the program and started to count down the performances the way you count down minutes during chem class. The singing… omg the singing. It was bad. Like really bad. Like when they had one singer do an encore performance despite only spotty applause, I wanted to leave.

That’s cool man. I get it. You have your own agenda to promote. I think they should have just advertised it more clearly so I could stay the hell away. And I like that they also promoted the show under the pretense of educating the world about Chinese culture. I now know that China has cherry blossoms and a persecuted minority religion. I want my $100 back.

Heidi L.  12/15/2010
San Francisco, CA

 

Interesting how many of the 5 star reviews are by reviewers in which this show is their sole review nor do any of them have real profiles.  It doesn’t take a genius to conclude these are sham reviews aiming to boost their overall rating.

In response to a past review, no I would not refuse to see a show because of a person or group’s religious beliefs, HOWEVER, I do take offense when I pay good money ($40 for balcony seats) to see a show in which it advertises itself as an extraordinary showcase of classical Chinese dance, only to find each cheesy segment of the show promoting a cult/religion that in no way reflects the rich history of China. 

I am a proud Chinese person.  I do not agree with many of China’s policies but I really did not expect to see folks dressed in black with the communist symbol on their backs (representative of the Chinese government) beating and killing these so-called happy Falun Gongers.  And if I wanted to sing songs worshipping some fictional god, I would go to church.  At least churches don’t try to deceive people into thinking they’re a Broadway theater.

The overt preaching of their beliefs and bashing of China is overwhelming and it took everything in me to stay the entire show.  I bought my Mom tickets as a gift and she was so excited to go, but we both left fuming.  I felt so ashamed to have spent my money on this piece of garbage and I want those 2 hours of my life back.

Even the artsy dance parts of the show were mediocre at best.  Beautiful costumes, sure, but that’s all it was.  Great colors on their clothing and great lighting, but hey, I can spin in circles and walk across the stage as well as any other girl.  I’d rather watch a bunch of old folks square dance than propaganda masked in art.  I’m fuming right now because I still feel cheated, but I’m writing this review so other people will know THE REAL TRUTH about this phony show.

Matsuo U.   12/16/2010
San Francisco, CA

THEIR BACK !

in San Francisco.

Seems like the 5* reviews are generated by folks living in a cave or on the take from the political group that produces and benefits from ticket sales. Haven’t been back to see the show, just have seen the expensive bill-boards around SF and I completely agree with Heidi L.

Oh, and as far as “traditional” aspects of Chinese music …. well … an amateur  opera ( like ) singer, accompanied by a 9 foot grand piano is not what I would view as traditional Chinese music. Oh, and check out the website that states their proud proclamation:  ” Live Orchestra  – 5 thousand years in the making”. They must have some really old players, and you would think that after that length of time they would sound better.

Some local reports of the ” organization “

http://www.facts.org.c…

http://articles.sfgate…

Michael M.   12/31/2010
San Mateo, CA

I tried to talk my mother out of buying tickets for Shen Yun, but she just had to buy three tickets at $280 each (we are not Chinese, so it was from no need to learn about “our” culture, as some have written).

When we entered the Opera House in San Francisco on 12/29/10, my mother was asked to share a program because they were running low! Then at intermission and at the end you are barraged by interviewers from Chinese radio and television stations how you enjoyed the show. My wife and I attend many plays and music events each year; these tickets would be reasonable, located in the eighth row orchestra, for $50. I can get this close to the stage to see “Wicked” for $70 or less. The quality of the show has been accurately reviewed by the one-star reviews. I found it “interesting,” but no more than that. I did enjoy the orchestra, which really could be scaled down with the use of electronics (perhaps the ticket price would fall). Many of the dances have to do with going to heaven where there are large Chinese temples. By the end, I was tiring of heaven. As an atheist, I did not enjoy seeing, twice, good people who did not seem to mind getting murdered by the Communists as long as they got transported to that recurrent image of a yellow temple in heaven (as shown by some corny graphics on a large backdrop).

I found the non-Asian announcer in the tux to be irritating, and also his perky Asian female counterpart.

Funny that when I went to buy tickets online, the seating chart showed hardly any tickets left in the orchestra. However, being there, about one seat in four was empty in that section (I don’t know about the back or the balcony). I suspect that they get many folks like one of the other reviewers whose relatives want them to share the older Chinese culture, even with the propaganda.
Watch the little of the show that you can see on youtube. I was hoping it got better than that. It didn’t.
The bottom line is that the show is priced at least four times what it should be.  Caveat emptor.
- Mike

Julie J.  12/17/2010
Union City, CA

Not saying that parts of the show weren’t lovely, but it was hardly “spectacular” in any way.
1) Not worth the price of the tickets ( they were a gift from my sister).
2) I am sure my sister had no idea that there would be all this weird religious propaganda in the show.  Believe me…it is weird, and not in a good way.
3) Why in the heck is this at The War Memorial Opera House?  I felt like it was very misleading. I just assumed anything at the Opera House would be very high-quality and legit. Oh well, live and learn. I guess they just rent it out to the highest bidder.

text from: http://www.facts.org.cn/puop/201101/t123948.htm

Very mixed thoughts on “Shen Yun”

I am really shocked today to be reporting that I was not completely thrilled with “Shen Yun.” I thought I would sing its praises today. Yes, it is BEAUTIFUL. Beyond visually stunning. The dancing and music and costumes – absolutely amazing.

But, there is a problem with it…

The problem is that there is a “Falun Dafa (Falun Gong)” agenda woven through the whole performance that is not revealed in any of the “Shen Yun Performing Arts” advertising. At all. They do give a little glimpse of their mission statement on their website, but there is nothing mentioned about “Falun Dafa”. The only reason I understand so much about this movement now is because I have done some reading about it since last night. One of the things I’ve read about this movement is that the founder promotes racism and the hatred of homosexuals. I am also reading that there are many people out there that believe that Falun Dafa is a cult. And I found this website singing the praises of “Shen Yun.” Obviously if we had known all of this, we may or may not have gone to the show. I’m not sure. Believe me, I have no problem with people expressing their beliefs. We live in a free country and you can believe and express what you want to. What I am upset about is the hidden agenda of this show. We were not given all the information regarding the show in the advertising so that Doug and I were able to make a completely informed decision whether to see this show with our daughter or not.

Doug and I brought our three year old child to this performance looking to share and enjoy traditional Chinese culture with her. I would say three-fourths of the show was mainly beautiful, traditional Chinese dance numbers. But, there were three songs sung during the show by opera singers and all the songs had a persecution-type tone to them (subtitles were being shown in English on the backdrop of the stage). And there were two dance performances that included people being persecuted by the Chinese government for practicing their beliefs (now I know Falun Dafa) – which included pretend kicking, hitting and even death. Yes, the death of a mother in front of her child for practicing her beliefs. (Oh – child was kicked and hit too.) Luckily, Briana is still too young to understand really what was going on.

So, if you decide to see this show – go with the knowledge that there is FAR more behind it than is let on. I am very, very disappointed today about all of this. That aside, the dance performances themselves were beautiful.

text from: http://www.facts.org.cn/puop/201101/t123836.htm

 

Shen Yun performance part dance, part politics

You’ve probably seen the lavish promotions during the past few weeks for Shen Yun, a Chinese dance troupe from New York that will be performing Tuesday at the Hult Center.
Shen Yun, says its presenter, is “a world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Based in New York, it seeks to revive the values of China’s 5,000 years of culture before the Communist rule and provide audiences with an experience of sublime beauty.”
What the promotions don’t tell you is that Shen Yun is widely regarded as a propaganda arm of the conservative Chinese religious sect Falun Gong, which has been banned since 1999 by the government of China.
Also called Falun Dafa, the sect claims 100 million followers worldwide. According to Amnesty International, it has been brutally suppressed by the Chinese government, which has punished followers with torture and lengthy imprisonment.
The Shen Yun dance show, by many reviewers’ accounts, mixes heavy-handed political theater — depicting, for example, the tasing of a Falun Gong woman and her child by Chinese government thugs — with mediocre dance.
Even some who liked the troupe’s artistry were unhappy that Shen Yun’s publicity does not make clear the religious and political aspects of the performance.
A 2008 tour in Britain produced reviews such as these:
“You could overlook the politics if the show was any good, but it is dated and sentimental, with comically bad compères (masters of ceremonies), laughably awful film projections and dance routines that would make panto producers blush,” wrote Sarah Frater in the London Evening Standard.

“Any judgment of the piece’s artistic merit seems beside the point, but it is a horribly Disneyfied version of the traditional Chinese culture it seeks to celebrate. … The result is one of the weirdest and most unsettling evenings I have ever spent in the theatre,” wrote Sarah Crompton in the London Telegraph.
“Even if you are sympathetic to the Falun Gong cause, there is something creepy about the evangelical tone with which this is delivered,” wrote Judith Mackrell in the Guardian. “It is also made worse by the fact that the show’s visual style is like a Disney production, with the cast dressed in gaudy, glittery updates of traditional costumes backed by scenes of soft-focus landscape created by computer animation.”
In 2009, Toronto Star dance writer Susan Walker called the show “spectacularly tacky.”
“Art it wasn’t,” she wrote. “The choreography was consistently banal, with the performers arranged in rows doing identical gestures. The dancers were under-rehearsed and unremarkable.”
She called the show “so heavily laden with Falun Gong messages as to negate any pleasure the dancing and singing might have afforded.”
An August 2010 performance in Buffalo, N.Y., drew this from Colin Dabrowski in the Buffalo News:
“Imagine what it might be like to watch a synchronized swimming team perform in front of a gigantic Windows 95 screen-saver. That should give you a pretty good idea of where Shen Yun ranks on the artistic merit scale. … Through an overwhelming promotional campaign that featured smiling attendants stationed at kiosks in local malls, they duped thousands of people into paying outrageous sums of money to watch a half-baked advertisement for Falun Gong.”
Yes, it’s possible to find positive reviews of Shen Yun. Two years ago, the San Francisco Chronicle published an advance story about the show, written by Mary Ellen Hunt, that is quoted often in Shen Yun’s promotional material:
“The show — which each year features new entries in a smorgasbord of vignettes — takes viewers on a visually dazzling tour of 5,000 years of Chinese history and culture via bravura displays of acrobatics and grand tales told through flourishes of Chinese classical dance. With hundreds of dancers in two dozen carefully designed, richly costumed pieces — everything from colorful handkerchief dances, Imperial-style dances in high platform shoes, drum dances, folk dances and wushu displays — it’s a heady blend of the ancient and modern, of traditional Chinese instruments and their Western counterparts, and contemporary experiences expressed using the formality of Chinese classical dance.” …..

Most of the troupe’s positive press appears, though, in The Epoch Times, a publication run in New York by supporters of Falun Gong.
A system of spiritual meditation and physical exercise, Falun Gong was founded in 1999 by Li Hongzhi.
It has been criticized in the West for Li’s opposition to homosexuality — in one speech he equates it with organized crime — and his bizarre notions about race and extraterrestrial aliens.
(“Sexual freedom, which has mixed the human races and muddled human ethics, is absolutely forbidden by gods,” Li says on the Falun Dafa Association website (FalunDafa.org). And about aliens: “They kidnap people to their planets, lock them in cages, and put them on display as animals. Many of Earth’s people who have gone missing were taken by them.”)
There is little question that Falun Gong leaders regard the purpose of Shen Yun as proselytizing.
In a 2009 speech transcribed on FalunDafa .org, Li praised the hard work by his followers to sell tickets to Shen Yun.
“But the good thing is, you’re all clear that it is done to save people, and that selling a ticket equates to saving a person,” he said. “So you’re all able to balance these things just fine. And you won’t be asked to do this forever.
“When Shen Yun Performing Arts’ influence truly spreads widely throughout the world, all you will have to do is run an ad saying that Shen Yun is coming and people will flock to see them.”

(The Register-Guard, Jan 6, 2011)

text from: http://english.kaiwind.com/Reports/World/201101/t123691.htm

 

People feel repulsion for Shen Yun

Editor’s note: Falun Gong promotes Shen Yun performance using false advertisements. Many net friends all over the world express their feelings on the net of Yelp after watching the performance. They say the performance is advocating Falun Gong in the guise of traditional Chinese arts and warn people not be duped.

Mel L.
Arcadia, CA

Don’t be fooled, this is not a cultural performance, but a way for Falun Gong to “cult-ivate” new cult members…  It’s virulently anti-Chinese Communist Party, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s a heavy-handed attempt to beat you over the head to get you to join their cult.  Save your time and money and find other alternatives instead.

Richard R.
Los Angeles, CA

Oh I wish I had done my homework on this one! Sadly my family and I were duped into seeing the last performance in this recent LA run so I will simply archive this comment for those to see the next time they descend upon LA.

All the previous comments are dead on accurate. Let me be clear about this, the main issue here is DECEPTION and FALSE ADVERTISING. While this show is mostly fluffy culture-light entertainment, which is what we signed up for, the reality is totally overshadowed by a clear political and religious message. I really don’t appreciate having my young children subjected to frightening and realistic scenes of torture without my knowing about it. And I really don’t appreciate being duped into giving money to a well organized political and religious organization that I frankly don’t care about one way or the other.

A quick web search will reveal reviews and comments very similar to mine. The only exceptions seem to be from news reports by NTDTV and the Epoch Times, oh and the one positive review here. And what pray-tell could these disparate entities have in common…..

Safa S.
Anaheim, CA

I have to say I was a sucker as the last 2 yelp writers. The performance website did not mention anything about Falun Gong (they claimed classical Chinese dance)… but religious conversion was the major point of this performance. I spent $80 per ticket and drove 2.5 hours in rush hour, just to watch religious propaganda. I felt so cheated and embarrassed (I brought guests with me).  They had Italian style opera, sung in Chinese about the religion (eek! methinks not!).   I want a refund!

Peter G.
Woodland Hills, CA

We went to Shun Yun at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.   It was billed as, “An unforgettable experience of classical Chinese dance and music.”

Foolishly, I expected a troupe from China to present dance and acrobatics, similar to what I’ve seen in China and elsewhere.

WRONG!

It turns out Shen Yun is a virulently anti- Chinese government (PRC)  Falun Gong religious revival show, whose performers are primarily from New York.

Now, I don’t know enough about Falon Gong to be for or against; and I have my own (ill-informed) opinions about the PRC; but the point is the billing is totally misleading.  We didn’t spend $150 each to be given Kool-Aid.

Following the performance we were approached by a ‘journalist’ who started by asking us our impressions and very quickly fell into defending ‘the movement’ and arguing its cause.  We explained we weren’t’ in judgment about ‘the movement’ – just its tactics … uh, like people pretending to be journalists and performances pretending to be … well, just performances.

As we left, we were approached again by another ‘journalist’, but this time we just walked on and out.

Let me Yelpify this by saying … imagine you booked a $150 prix fixe meal at Chez Vegan; and your first course was pretty ok steak tartare … ‘nuf said.

Mike M.
Sacramento, CA

Saw this show in Northern California, and it is total, utter tripe.

I’ve seen better Chinese dancing for free. Cheesy graphics. Polyester clothing. Mediocre coreography. Plus, they beat you about the head and neck for THREE HOURS with their cult-message.

Li teaches that mixed-race marriages confuse God, and that there are aliens among us. I was wondering why the woman selling nicknacks at the show we attended gave my wife and I the brush — I’m white, my wife clearly is not.

The deception in the advertising is terrible. It’s Falun Gong from the time the cheesy announcers come out until the time the curtains finally close for the last time. And it’s EXPENSIVE!

They deny it’s propaganda. They’re still wrong on that point.

noah s.
Brentwood, CA

Very disappointing. Like the most of the reviews I’ve read, I wish I had read the reviews prior to attending. Billed as Chinese dance meets cirque de soleil – this performance is mediocre at best. Unless you are want to see propaganda for the Falun Gong religion, don’t waste your time. Costumes were pretty, but dancing was extremely repetitive and the propaganda was downright childish. I will be addressing my complaints to the Music Center and requesting a refund based on faulty advertising.

text from: http://english.kaiwind.com/puop/201101/t123649.htm

Falun Gong loses court bid for legal status

A Jakarta court on Monday dismissed a motion filed by the Falun Gong spiritual group against a government decree that blocked its bid to register as a legitimate organization.

The State Administrative Court (PTUN)said the case, stemming from a Ministry of Home Affairs directive issued on June 17 last year, was outside its jurisdiction.

The court, which has the authority to rule on government decrees, also said “formal requirements for the case to proceed” had not been met.

Muhammad Isnur, counsel for Falun Gong, said the PTUN’s decision was a setback for the group, which saw its registration applications in 2003 and last year rejected by the ministry.

“The judges argued that the ministry’s decree had no legal implication. This is absurd,” he said.

The decree, a copy of which was obtained by the Jakarta Globe, did not specify what requirements Falun Gong — outlawed in China over a decade ago — had failed to meet.

The ministry said it refused to recognize the group as a legal organization based on inputs from the ministries of foreign affairs, justice and religious affairs, as well as the National Police and State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

The decree also noted recommendations from the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta. Isnur said the court suggested that the group lobby for authorization from the embassy and state institutions.

“This is bizarre,” he said. “We are now discussing the verdict with Falun Gong practitioners and [will] decide whether we want to appeal.”

Gatot Machali, a Falun Gong practitioner, said the ministry decree prevented the group from holding activities freely. “Police officers have refused to grant us permission [to hold] parades or seminars, saying we are not a legitimate organization. The ministry decree is discriminatory,” he said.

Ministry officials, however, could not be immediately reached for comment. Falun Gong, founded by Li Hongzhi in 1992, draws from Buddhist and Taoist traditions, encouraging its practitioners to reach enlightenment through training, meditation and the study of its founder’s teachings.

Nyoman Suryanta, a Falun Gong member, said the group did not have an hierarchy, favoring a “fluid” setup instead. “It was the government [that] told us to become a formal entity,” Nyoman said. “We submitted all the required documents in 2003 and again in 2010, but they refused to recognize us.”

Falun Gong has been similarly stifled in China, where the Communist Party denounced it as a propaganda cult in 1999.

There are now over 100 Falun Gong communities in 15 provinces nationwide.

Bantarto Bandoro, an international relations expert from the University of Indonesia, said Falun Gong was a touchy issue for the state, due to its ties with China, an economic power.

“China has the upper hand,” he said. “Falun Gong members fleeing China are welcome in Indonesia. Recognizing Falun Gong as a legitimate entity in Indonesia is another matter.”

 

(Jakarta Globe, January 10, 2011)

text from: http://english.kaiwind.com/Reports/World/201101/t123575.htm

Doubts cast on organ harvest claims

Federal officials have cast doubt on the credibility of a report by a former MP who claimed Falun Gong practitioners in China were killed to harvest their organs.
Former Alberta MP David Kilgour and his co-author, Winnipeg lawyer David Matas, have travelled the world speaking about the alleged atrocities they claim to have uncovered in their 2006 report, a subsequent update and a book version called Bloody Harvest.
They contend thousands of Falun Gong adherents in China were killed so their kidneys, corneas and other organs could be sold for transplantation into wealthy foreigners.
The Chinese government vehemently denies the allegations but the report continues to make international headlines and is routinely referenced by critics of China’s human rights record.
An internal document from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) obtained by the Citizen shows the federal government was far from convinced by the Kilgour-Matas report. The unofficial assessment, prepared to brief DFAIT officials, dismantled the report’s methodology and conclusions. It says the authors appear to believe that “since all evidence is consistent with the allegations, the allegations must be true.”
“This conclusion may not be consistent with social science research methods in that the simultaneous/concurrent occurrence of two or more phenomena does not prove that a causal relationship exists between them.”
Though the Chinese government has admitted that it has used the organs of executed criminals without consent, a practice they have now supposedly outlawed, no credible human rights organization has corroborated the allegations that Falun Gong members were slaughtered en masse for their organs, as Kilgour and Matas claim.
They cite basic facts about China as evidence of the atrocity, such as the absence of an established organ donation network, and “that transplant operations are done in a secretive way suggesting cover up of a crime.”
The federal assessment contends, “the sources cited in this investigation as evidence to support the allegations are almost exclusively Falun Gong practitioners,” and many of them provided second-or third-hand information. Neither Kilgour nor Matas were allowed to travel to China to research their report and most of the source material comes from “anecdotal and circumstantial evidence available primarily in Canada,” the assessment says.
Kilgour could not be reached for comment on the DFAIT assessment but Matas said it was full of errors. “Virtually everything there is wrong or illogical or not credible,” he said.
He rejected the suggestion that he and Kilgour believed the allegations were true because they were consistent with some evidence. “They’re trying to make us look ridiculous. We didn’t take that position.” He contends most of the source material for the report comes from the Chinese government websites.
The U.S. Congressional Research Service said the report contained little new information or independently-obtained testimony and relied on logical inference.

Shen Yun Chinese dancers at Cobb Energy Centre

Shen Yun Performing Art, a troupe of Chinese dancers and musicians, has been to Atlanta before, but only this time are they going for the mass market.

But a scathing opinion piece in the Vancouver Sun calls the production “creepy” and the backdrops “garish,” but mostly seems to have a problem with the show’s politics.

I haven’t seen it, but for those who’ve seen it in the past: is it as much spectacle as it the ubiquitous billboards say it is? Did the message matter more than the music and dance?

Comments

Margaret Witten ,January 15th, 2010

Dear Mr. Pousner:

I’d like to comment on your write-up of the Shen Yun dance troupe in the AJC. I haven’t seen the show this year and it may be different than last year’s show, but I doubt it. Last year, a friend gave me a couple of tickets to the show, so my girlfriend and I went. After a couple of the performance dances, and especially after the operatic numbers (sung in Chinese, with super-titles in English), we began to realize that something was going on. (Also the producers showed a great interest in video taping our reactions to the show, while they prohibited any photography of the show itself.) It became very clear by the end of the show that the event was sponsored by the Falun Gong and that the show really amounted to a propaganda campaign against the Chinese government. In fact I was under the impression that many of the people in the audience were followers of the Falun Gong and may not have paid for their tickets.

Far be it from me to defend the Communist Chinese government, but I do think we were “sold” a bill of goods. Whether or not the Chinese government is maltreating the Falun Gong, we deserved to be told that we were being entertained (and paying for the privilege, as my friend did pay $100 per ticket for the show!) for the purpose of being indoctrinated into the philosophy and the plight of the Falung Gong.

As I said, maybe the show is different this year, but last year, it was pretty clear to us that the tickets for this show were being sold under false pretenses, even if for a good cause (although I’m not sure of that given the experience). As a reporter, you have a responsibility to truly and accurately report. Sometimes you find the stories, other times the stories find you. You may be saying to yourself, “Heck, I’m the entertainment editor what do I know from politics?” But from reading your write-up (which could, to some, appear to be a review), I think you were “had” if you didn’t notice or weren’t made aware of what was going on. And I think you contribute to the deceit if you don’t do a little investigating and find out what is really going on in the Energy Center.

I note that, in a check of the AJC today, there is a reference to a negative review from a Vancouver newspaper. I am glad to see that the AJC has picked up that reference. I would hope that the AJC could do a better job, in the future, of making it clear that it was providing information without having actually seen a performance, or, in the alternative, informing the public of the true nature of a performance (when something is so political.)

Best Regards,
Dan Franklin
Margaret Witten

RJ, January 19th, 2010

Sadly, I took my wife last Friday to see this show. As others have said, it was a mediocre performance which did not approach the glowing description on the website for the Cobb Energy Centre. Yet, most unnerving was the fact that it is a propaganda machine for the Falun Gong.

We left early (at the intermission), and, as we were walking down the stairs and discussing the show, a Chinese-descent woman walking down at the same time heard me say something about a “message”. She began to beam like a moonie, smiling and staring straight at me, pacing us as we walked down the stairs. I stopped saying anything substantive, but she kept staring, making us uncomfortable, so I finally said “hello”. She then emphasized that there was, indeed, a message in all of the music– as if that shouldn’t be obvious to anyone who is not in a vegitative state. Perfect end to a perfect night.

I wrote a scathing email to the Cobb Energy Centre on Saturday asking it is the official policy of the same to mislead audiences with regard to both the substance and purpose of performances hosted there. In part I wrote:

“Irregardless of the ‘merits’ of this movement [Falun Gong], it is reprehensible that such a fine facility should act as a shill for a group officially described as a cult. At the very least, an honest declaration of the intent of the show was in order. Unfortunately, your deceptive obscuring of the true purpose of the performance shows complicity with both their motivation and methods. I am more than disappointed: I feel personally deceived.”

As yet, no response. They apparently are taking a “caveat emptor” stance, and feel they bear no personal responsibility for both hiding the purpose of the show and exaggerating the “beauty” of the spectacle to a degree that makes hyperbole look like understatement.
I’d love to see the AJC interview officials at the Cobb Energy Centre, ask them why they feel free to deceive people in this way. This is, according to their website, the third year Shen Yun has performed there. Pleading they were unaware of the content would be a difficult position to defend. At the very least, someone in the media needs to make sure no one is innocently taken in by this group again.

Northern Californian, January 20th, 2010

Like other commenters here, I felt very deceived by the way this show was advertised. This show is far more about preaching, “Falun Dafa is Good!” than about dance. The dancing was mediocre and amateurish. How many ways could this dance group rearrange itself into 5 lines, then twirl in a clockwise direction? Very monotonous.

I felt beaten about the head, neck and ears with their “message.”

The day after the show, in Sacramento, I logged on to the Shen Yun website and asked for a refund. I am certain I’ll never get a response. I deserve one.

Dozens of people walked out during our performance. The performances were ripped in a popular review site in San Francisco. And the Vancouver Sun article is clearly being sock-puppeted.

This show is a shameless rip-off of your money. The truth needs to be told. I have seen many, many better Chinese dance productions; they’re not all this bad.

Your local university will probably be hosting some Chinese New Year festivities. Go to those instead, and go to those to help wipe out the memory of Shen Yun.
WRL, February 7th, 2010

Wow. Walked away from Saturday’s Hanover Theater performance of Shen Yun feeling a bit queasy with no doubt that this was the intent of the performance. The Shen Yun troupe delivered sharply divisive political rhetoric under the guise of cultural and historical entertainment.

With an unashamed and in your face Anti Communist-China message and direct promotion of Falun Dafa, a controversial cultural and religious movement, the performance left me thinking “What just Happened?” Like many must have, I went home and Googled-up after the show to find that this was more than meets the eye.

The first half of the performance was more subtle with slight references to the highly political message. Shen Yun camera crew waited in the lobby during intermission to collect feedback from viewers who were using words like “stunning” and “awesome” to describe the colorful, athletic and graceful performance of the Shen Yun dancers.

The second half of the One-Two punch came after the intermission when dancers acted out scenes of brutal communist violence against those practicing “Dafa”.

I understand Art having shock value is effective communication, but wonder if Shen Yun’s message might be tempered by its duplicitous advertising approach, using media hype and deception to lure its audience into delivering its message.

One of the main tenants of Falun Dafa is said to be truthfulness, yet I couldn’t help feeling that the troupe was hypocritical and deceitful in their approach which was straight out propaganda.

I forked over $150 for two tickets and unknowingly made a donation to a public movement. It’s not that I’m not a charitable guy; I just like to know where my donations are going beforehand. Shame on me for not pre-Googling. I was sort of curious that if the Playbill touted the political angle and message, they might be more successful and reach more people.

Pam，March 30th, 2010

I saw this show this weekend on Saturday in Vancouver (March 2010). I really felt I had been scammed. I have had a huge interest in China, it’s history and culture for years , so this was meant to be a real treat for me. My partner and I paid $79 canadian for tickets and I was really looking forward to this, we also traveled to Vancouver, paid for a hotel room, so not a cheap weekend and meant to be really special.

To make a long story short, many of the songs, stories and dances were simply propaganda for the religion of Falun Dafa, there were only a very few pieces that were free of this message, and even those, whilst pretty enough, were not awe inspiring enough to compensate for what was clearly a scam, a money raising venture for this group. They were blatant propaganda, examples being a ‘dance’ (one of several) showing someone being killed by communist police whilst practising Falun Dafa, and being taken to heavan, atheists in one song were denounced as perverse, and the way to salvation was through this belief system. Much of the second half of this show was taken up with pretty much all propaganda for this religion, and it was about as subtle as a sledge hammer. At the end of the performance when the show cast were assembled on stage, before the lights had even come up, large numbers of the audience stood up and left the theatre, including ourselves. Those remaining started to give an ovation, my assumption was that they were adherants to this religion because there was no other reason that made sense, so many people left in disgust or perplexity.

What made me really frustrated was that I googled it (sadly too late to save myself any money) when I returned home, and found that all the reviews you can find generally come from something called the Echo Chronicle or something similar, which is sponsored by them, so only good reviews can be seen. It comes across as somewhat spooky, like a cult. Until I saw this show I had some sympathy for any group that is oppressed for what it believes, but they claim the high road and then rip people off with this show. My reason for writing is to prevent other people from being scammed by this group. I would have had no problem with this if it had been advertised fairly for what it was, I have no problem with seeing things as art or music that shock or challenge, I would happily engage in a discussion or read information about it, but this was straight forward dishonesty, selling propaganda as a wonderful, cultural experience. For anyone thinking of going, save your money, or at least go with your eyes wide open to the real agenda of this show , at least then you won’t be disapointed.

text from: http://english.kaiwind.com/puop/201101/t123480.htm

 

The face of Falun Gong

During December I attended an international symposium concerning cultic studies in Shenzhen, China, which was sponsored by the Institute of Religious Studies of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Academics and experts from around the world attended and presented papers.
The papers presented examined everything from the evolution of destructive cults, to the personality characteristics of certain cult members, cult social interaction and various cultic methodologies. My paper was titled “Cult Deprogramming: An examination of the intervention process.”
At the conclusion of the symposium I had the unique opportunity to personally visit with former cult members in China.
The two women I spoke with were once actively involved in Falun Gong.
Falun Gong was founded in China during 1992 by a man named Li Hongzhi, who now lives in the United States.
China officially banned Falun Gong in 1999, declaring it an “evil cult.” This view of the group was strongly reinforced by a horrific event, which took place on Chinese New Year’s eve January 23, 2001. On this date a small group consisting of seven Falun Gong practitioners set themselves on fire at Tiananmen Square.

 

A 12-year-old girl and her mother died. A middle aged man Wang Jindong was hospitalized with severe burns. Ms. Liu Baorong sustained no burns. At the last minute she decided not to set herself on fire. Mr. Liu Yunfang also was not injured, but as an organizer of the self-immolation was sentenced to prison. The two women I would meet, Ms. Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were hospitalized with extreme injuries.
The story of this tragedy has been reported by the press, both in China and through Western media outlets, such as Reuters. I have read news reports and watched a video produced by “New Tang Dynasty Television” (NTDTV), which is a media outlet essentially run by Falun Gong practitioners.
Falun Gong first denied that those involved in the suicide attempt were even practitioners.
Later Falun Gong promoted a bizarre conspiracy theory, which implied that the tragic event was somehow staged by the Chinese government in an effort to discredit the organization and its leader.
Rather than admit that its intense anti-government rhetoric may have contributed to the tragedy, Falun Gong chose instead to attempt assigning blame elsewhere. Li Hongzhi and his followers refused to accept any responsibility whatsoever.
After requesting to meet with the two women survivors I was told a meeting would be possible after the symposium.
Former Falun Gong practitioners Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo live in Kaifeng, which is near the Henan provincial capital of Zhengzhou. Historically Kaifeng was the capital of China during the Song Dynasty and once the largest city in the world. Today its population is about 800,000.

 

The two women live modestly in a government welfare housing project. Their simple one-bedroom apartment includes a private bathroom and large common area with a kitchen. There is a bed placed near the kitchen for an attendant. The fire left them both women without hands and disabled. Their faces are obscured by extensive skin grafts, the result of multiple surgeries. They have no ears, noses or lips.  Chen Guo has the use of only one eye. But they can speak, walk and seem to be in stable physical condition.
There are no mirrors in the apartment.

 

When I arrived Hao Huijun bowed, unable to shake hands.

 

Our introductions I asked Hao Huijun about her perspective today, what she feels now looking back on the time she spent in Falun Gong. Is there a message she wants to share with current practitioners, particularly those in North America?
“I’ll take this chance to tell the Falun Gong practitioners in Canada and the US to stop practicing,” she stated bluntly. “I suggest they stop practicing Falun Gong and get rid of it,” instructed the former schoolteacher of 28 years who remains well-spoken and articulate.
Influenced by her mother’s commitment Chen Guo (photo above right in red) followed the path of Falun Gong, which ultimately led her to that terrible day at Tiananmen Square. She was a highly accomplished music student and pretty 20-year-old woman at the time of the tragedy. Early in our discussion Chen Guo left the room, explaining that she didn’t feel well.
But in a 2002 interview Chen Guo told Reuters, “I hope those who still believe in this cult can be awakened and throw it away. I don’t want to see another victim like me.”
Her mother explained, “In July 1999 the Chinese Government and the Chinese laws banned Falun Gong. As a citizen, we should have abided by the laws and given up practicing Falun Gong from then on. But we were obsessed at that time. And the suicidal burning occurred later on. We really feel regretful. We all suffered a great deal, brought about by the obsession. So tell [the North American Falun Gong practitioners] to never be obsessed…”
Obsessed?
How could the teachings of Li Hongzhi encourage and/or result in obsessive behavior?
Describing her professional experience with Falun Gong, noted cult expert and clinical psychologist Margaret Singer said that Falun Gong practitioners will “actually say ‘Don’t Think. Just recite the Master’s teaching.’”
That is how groups called “cults” through their teachings and practices can compromise critical thinking, impair reason and rational thought. Hao Huijun appeared to understand this.
“Please pass my words to Falun Gong practitioners: They should use reason in action…if you look at things in a rational way, you will know what you should do,” she said. “Reason is important. In one’s life, one should never go to extremes whatever you do. One should use reason to learn how to do things, and have a good understanding…”
“Extremes”?
How could the practices of Falun Gong cause people to “go to extremes”?
American communication researchers and cult experts Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman explain in their book Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change:
“Almost every major cult and cult-like group we came upon teaches some form of not thinking or ‘mind control’ as part of its regular program of activity. The process may take the form of repetitive prayer, chanting, speaking in tongues, self-hypnosis or diverse methods of meditation….Such techniques, when practiced in moderation, may yield real physical and mental health benefits….Prolonged stilling of the mind, however, may wear on the brain physically until it readjusts, suddenly and sharply, to its new condition of not thinking. When that happens, we have found, the brain’s information-processing capacities may be disrupted or enter a state of complete suspension…disorientation, detachment…hallucinations, delusions and, in extreme instances, total withdrawal.”

Over the years Hao Huijun (photo below) has apparently managed to sort through her experience in Falun Gong. She hopes that current practitioners in the group will do the same.

“Falun Gong caused so many problems. Why did these problems happen? [Falun Gong practitioners] should think about it with reason, with their own senses, and in a dialectical way. When we look at things from a normal sense, without bias, and with reason, we will know what we should do,” she said.
When told about the conspiracy theories propagated by Falun Gong concerning the self-immolation tragedy at Tiananmen Square Hao Huijun responded thoughtfully, placing it within the context of her own experience within the group.
“I thought in a similar way,” she said. “But it’s time for those who are practicing Falun Gong to calm down and think reasonably…Why were we burning ourselves? It was not that the government forced us into suicide, although the rumors went so. This is not the truth.” She concluded, “Before we fully understood, we used the same arguments and same logic in regard to incidents caused by Falun Gong.”
I told Hao Huijun that I have received complaints from families in America that Falun Gong practitioners often refuse medical care and/or discontinue medications based upon their beliefs.
“They should consult a doctor and take medication,” she responded. “Tell them to see a doctor when their children fall ill. Don’t impose what you regard right on your children,” she said. “You can see the disastrous effect this caused my daughter. I really regret that now.”
The regret Hao Huijun feels must at times be overwhelming.
China has mandated a one child per family policy, which means that Chen Guo is her only child.
Hao Huijun’s regret includes living every day with her daughter and seeing the results of that past obsession with Falun Gong. Despite the reclamation of her reason, there is nothing she can do to change the face of this reality. An awful burden, but one that she seems to accept.
Still wanting to fulfill her role as a teacher Hao Huijun hopes that others might benefit by learning from her Falun Gong experience. She wants to share the knowledge that she and Chen Guo have acquired so painfully.

 text from: http://english.kaiwind.com/Views/201101/t123375.htm

Shen Yun Performing Arts

The Shen Yun Performing Arts show is a series of Chinese dances and performances, strung together with a common theme: “Falun Dafa is Good”.

Before I begin, I think it is only fair that readers know I was not keen on going to see a Chinese drama/ballet. My mother was in town for a few weeks, and did a major impulse purchase, buying tickets for all of us to go see a “Chinese ballet”. I was not happy and was in a very bad mood, so it is entirely possible that the negative reviews were slightly tinted by my negative mood.

The show is made up of segments. There were dance segments, some of which were very beautiful; there were short skits; historical narrations; and solo vocal performances. Having been to a couple of other Chinese shows, I was expecting a mind-blowing performance. Chinese acrobatics have always been spectacular, frankly I went in with high expectations.

The dances were good. Groups of women dressed in beautiful garments did their routines very evenly. The costumes were very well made, the fabric flowed perfectly to the music. Some routines had props like feathered fans and silk handkerchiefs. While the technical aspect of the routines seemed spot on, they just felt a bit empty to me. Almost like they were merely performing a routine, they did not put their hearts and souls into it.

The historical narrations and short skits revolved mostly around China’s history, but heavily influenced with something that resembled “hatred” for communism. Earlier in the show, the narrations were mostly historical, but slowly, I felt like I had entered a brainwashing session for Falun Dafa followers. The short skits started portraying Falun Dafa followers and how they were beaten and oppressed. Some of the skits were quite dark — a mother being beaten, a child being taken away, a man being kicked and beaten to the ground. I have no doubts that events like these actually happened, but I felt like a theater was not exactly the venue to re-enact it all. I also felt like I had been tricked. No where on the website does it mention Falun Dafa, all it says is it is Chinese Dance and Music.

After the intermission, most of the acts had something to do with Falun Dafa. One of them even had a man running around with a sign that read “Falun Dafa is good”. The backdrop, which was a digital screen, would have something to do with Falun Dafa. No offense to Dafa followers, but I did not just pay almost $100.00 to see your propaganda on how you were oppressed and how it is good. If I wanted to learn more about it, all I had to do was drive down Granville Street.

As for the digital backdrop. One word to describe it: Cheesy. There were scenes where monks and Chinese fairies would fly off into the distance, or fly into the foreground, and suddenly, a performer dressed in exactly the same costume as the digital image would appear. It took a lot for me to not burst out in laughter (I did not want to offend anybody or get thrown out of the theater).

Finally, there were the hosts. A man and a woman appeared between sets to introduce certain scenes or segments. Their delivery was flawless, but almost too flawless. Similar to the dancers, they knew their lines, they knew what to do, but it was all so rehearsed. It just came across as being so fake. I do think that Chinese drama is somewhat overdramatized on purpose, but regardless, it was not my cup of tea. My bad mood had turned into a headache.

By the end of the show, when the mother was reunited with her daughter after being beaten then rescued by the monks and fairies, I was ready to leave. The man with the “Falun Dafa is Good” sign was back. I have nothing against the Falun Dafa, I just did not appreciate how they used a show as a cover for their propaganda. I went in thinking I was going to see a show filled with beautiful Chinese music and dance, not a show that was trying to brainwash me into believing that Dafa was good.

I do not recommend this show to anybody, really, unless you are a follower of Dafa or are highly interested in it.