Misconceptions on Falun Gong and Shen Yun
Guest Commentary by Ernie Li
Mr. Walter Hesford’s recent op-ed on Shen Yun neglects the cultural and historical context from which themes of Shen Yun shows are drawn and makes biased and false claims about Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) and its founder.
A non-profit based in New York, Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Its mission is to revive the divinely-inspired traditional Chinese culture, arts and values, which have been largely destroyed under the communist rule.
China was once known as Shen Zhou — The Divine Land. This profound name describes a land where deities and mortals coexisted and a belief that the divine transmitted a rich culture to the people of the Earth. The ancients sought harmony between Heaven, Earth and humankind, and followed the course of nature.
It should come as no surprise that some Shen Yun dance pieces incorporate spiritual or religious themes, as this information is readily available on the Shen Yun website and in its marketing materials. Additionally, it is worth noting that many of the greatest works of art and music produced by human civilization were inspired by religion.
Wikipedia Not a Good Source of Info on Falun Gong
Mr. Hesford’s comments on Falun Gong were heavily based on Wikipedia entries. But according to Wikipedia itself, “Wikipedia is not a reliable source for citations elsewhere on Wikipedia. As a user-generated source, it can be edited by anyone at any time, and any information it contains at a particular time could be vandalism, a work in progress, or simply incorrect.” Larry Sanger, a co-founder of Wikipedia, criticizes that “Wikipedia’s neutral point of view is dead,” and “Wikipedia is badly biased.”
For example, Mr. Hesford stated, according to Wikipedia, that Falun Gong’s founder Mr. Li Hongzhi is against mixed-race marriages. This is false and a gross distortion of Falun Gong’s teachings. In fact, many Falun Gong practitioners outside China married people of different races and have children of mixed race after they took up the practice.
Falun Gong’s Teachings on Race
In one Falun Gong lecture, there is a brief passage that expresses a belief that different races — while all spiritually equal — have different, divine origins. One should note that this is in fact an extremely tangential aspect of Falun Gong’s cosmology.
Moreover, this passage can only be understood in light of Falun Gong’s teachings about reincarnation and the transmigration of the soul, which is not bound to any particular race or ethnicity (e.g., a person may reincarnate into a Chinese family in one lifetime, and into a white, Black or interracial family in another). Far from encouraging racism or discrimination, these teachings actually discourage it. Falun Gong’s teachings emphasize the inherent divinity of all people and are fundamentally incompatible with racial prejudice.
Falun Gong’s Teachings on Sexual Ethics
With regards to sexual ethics, Falun Gong holds traditional views similar to the teachings of Buddhism or Christianity. However, we make no attempt to impose these views on others, certainly not to non-practitioners. And, in keeping with our values of compassion and tolerance, we believe that we should treat all people equally and with kindness regardless of their sexual orientation. Moreover, Falun Gong practitioners respect the freedom of each individual to have their own unique lifestyle and have never opposed the LGBTQ community or any efforts to establish their rights.
Falun Gong’s Relationship with The Epoch Times
As far as The Epoch Times, though founded by some Chinese Americans who practice Falun Gong, it doesn’t represent or speak for Falun Gong. Many of The Epoch Times’ writers and editors are not Falun Gong practitioners. Falun Dafa Associations and Shen Yun have no financial ties with The Epoch Times either.
Falun Gong Followers’ Stories of Persecution
I appreciate Mr. Hesford’s support for the dance piece that depicts the persecution of Falun Gong in China. After all, tales of the human spirit overcoming adversity have long been a favorite topic in art, film and drama in the West. In one prominent example, the musical The Sound of Music features the von Trapp family’s escape to freedom from Nazi persecution.
It’s been well-documented by human rights organizations, the United Nations, and U.S. State Department that Falun Gong has been brutally persecuted in China on a large scale. Millions of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained, imprisoned or tortured over the past two decades. A 30-year-old Falun Gong Practitioner was recently tortured to death in prison, which brings the number of documented Falun Gong deaths due to persecution to 4,921.
Another untold number of Falun Gong practitioners, likely hundreds of thousands, have been killed through forced organ harvesting, according to the China Tribunal’s testimony to the United Nations.
During a previous Shen Yun performance, an audience member remarked that Falun Gong practitioners endured one of the most horrific and ugly persecutions of our time, yet created one of the most beautiful shows in the world. I hope we can look past political or ideological tribalism to see that.
Ernie Li is the president of the Falun Dafa Association of Washington State
This article provides excellent clarification. It’s a shame that such a wonderful spiritual practice is so badly misunderstood.
I thank Mr. Li for his criticism of my column and apologize for relying on Wikipedia for some of my information. Much of the information in my column was drawn from Shen Yen’s program notes and from the Epoch Times, one of Shen Yun’s sponsors. If Shen Yen is no longer linked to the Epoch Times, perhaps it should drop it as a sponsor. As I mentioned in my column, I sympahize with Falun Gong as an oppressed and persecuted group in China. And I appreciate the fine classical and ethnic Chinese dance performances of Shen Yun. They remind me of the performances I saw during my sojournes in China.
Mr. Hesford, if a person has not watched Shen Yun but read your article, due to your false claim about Falun Gong’s sexual ethnic, he or she may decide not to watch Shen Yun performance.
Shen Yun is promoting genuine traditional Chinese culture, Chinese Communist Party does everything to prevent people from watching it because CCP promotes the opposite of transitions.
Thr article you wrote is indirectly helping evil Chinese Communist Party.
Thank you for your post that helped me further understand Falun Gong and its background and the persecution in China.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using the full power of the state to cover up its persecution of Falun Gong, and throughout its history, the CCP has never failed in its attempts to persecute various groups, including landlords, capitalists, intellectuals, and students advocating for democracy. The CCP has consistently concealed the truth of its persecutions, but over the past two decades, the seemingly vulnerable Falun Gong community has not only survived but has also gained acceptance in many other countries, bringing the benefits of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance to people.
Falun Gong has continuously exposed the truth of their persecution, which is what the CCP fears the most, as it relies on lies and violence for its existence. It is the first time the CCP has encountered a group like Falun Gong that can recognize its true nature and resist its influence.
The CCP’s greatest fear is people knowing the reality of its actions.The CCP lacks credibility, and its existence not only harms China and its people but ultimately poses a threat to countries and people worldwide. For instance, the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic reveals the CCP’s attitude of concealing the truth and the extent of its harm to the world.