星期六, 12月 26, 2009
星期日, 11月 29, 2009
星期一, 8月 17, 2009
星期一, 3月 23, 2009
Chinese Spectacular Show reported by Los Angeles Times!
Ties to Falun Gong add controversy to the Chinese New Year Spectacular
Secret connection
By Diane Haithman January 07, 2008
PROMOTIONAL fliers for NTDTV's Chinese New Year Spectacular -- a lavish multimillion-dollar production opening Jan. 18 at the Nokia Theatre -- describe the show as a celebration of "The Renaissance of Divine Chinese Arts." Featured on the colorful handout are dancers in traditional costumes, whirling ribbons and review quotes that deem the show "fabulous," "beautiful" and "astonishing."
What the fliers don't say is that NTDTV -- New Tang Dynasty Television -- is a New York City-based, nonprofit satellite broadcaster operated by a staff that includes members of a relatively new spiritual sect called Falun Gong. The production has met with controversy at virtually every stop of its tour because of the perceived connection between the Chinese New Year Spectacular and the religious group.
Falun Gong or Falun Dafa -- system of mind and body cultivation that was introduced to the public in China in 1992 -- has been banned by China's communist government. The Chinese government has denounced the international touring production of the Chinese New Year Spectacular -- now in its fifth year and visiting Los Angeles for the third time -- and has pressured companies to cancel their support.
Pressure from the Chinese government has reared its head in Southern California: In a Dec. 17 letter, China's consulate general asked Orange County not to recognize the Chinese New Year Spectacular performances in Los Angeles and others scheduled for mid-January at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. Earlier this year, a letter urging a boycott of a New York show arrived at the office of a state assemblyman there.
Representatives for the Chinese New Year Spectacular would not reveal the cost of the show, which contains computerized visual elements and live fireworks, except to say it is in the multimillions. "Everything is very elaborately prepared," says spokesman James White. "It is a state-of-the-art show."
At the core of the spectacle, according to Simone Gao, one of the show's producers, are large-scale classical Chinese dances with as many as 60 dancers backed by a live orchestra. The production features instrumental performances, including a soloist playing the erhu, a stringed Chinese instrument.
The show also includes "mini-dance-dramas," with narratives about Chinese legends or historical characters and events. Some of these dramas depict the persecution of Falun Gong members in China. In one piece, Gao says, "Policemen come in and drag the practitioners off and beat them, including little girls, which is very true -- many similar stories are happening in China right now. Later on, the people in the park start to stand up and block the police, and eventually the police retreat."Gao adds, however, that she does not see the content as out of place in a show about Chinese history and culture. "It is not something that the producers squeeze in to get you to convert to Falun Gong; it's not like that at all," she says. "The Falun Gong content is very well in line with the traditional Chinese culture; it is part of Chinese values and traditions."
Tactics questioned
Falun Gong members have raised hackles in the mainstream Chinese-American community -- in part because some consider Falun Gong a fringe group or cult religion and in part because of the group's in-your-face approach to spreading its message.
Those who practice Falun Gong frequently congregate in public places, display banners or take to the streets to distribute printed materials that detail ways in which Falun Gong practitioners say they have been persecuted or subjected to human rights violations in China,sometimes including graphic images of physical abuse.
"I think some of the tactics used by the Falun Gong are not very welcome," says Peter Kwong, a sociology professor at the City University of New York's Graduate Center and professor of Asian American Studies at Hunter College. "They are very aggressively pushing their agenda to the extent that some people think it is giving China -- and the Chinese in general -- a bad name."
The Falun Gong, Kwong adds, has a reputation for being less than open about its connection to events or institutions. "They have their free newspapers on the street corners, in every language possible; at the same time, they are trying to get themselves involved in issues that project them as part of the mainstream," he says. "This show is one of those moves they have taken."
Others say that though Falun Gong practitioners call themselves a religious group, their main message has been political -- and some believe that politics, not culture, dominates in the Chinese New Year Spectacular.
"Most of the Chinese community think it's linked too much with political events," says Michael Cheung, president of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn., based in downtown Los Angeles. "I saw the show last year at the Kodak Theatre. Some of the content reflects politics and human rights; it is not exactly art."
Press material sent to The Times about the Chinese New Year Spectacular makes clear its connection to New Tang Dynasty Television -- although no specific mention is made of the broadcaster's relationship to the Falun Gong.
But one letter from a press representative offers as an interview subject the show's emcee, 29-year-old Israeli-born Leeshai Lemish, detailing the story of how Lemish was "beaten in detention and deported" for joining 35 other people from 12 countries in 2001 in "the first international protest" of the abuse and mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners.
No surprises
As to why the Falun Gong is not mentioned in fliers being circulated to the public, representatives for the Chinese New Year Spectacular say that such mention is not necessary. Although some involved in the show practice Falun Gong, they say, the religious group is not a fi- nancial backer of the show, which is funded by New Tang Dynasty Television and private investors.
"Falun Gong is a social practice, it doesn't own any corporations or organizations," Gao says. The perceived connection, she says, is because "NTDTV is known for reporting true stories of persecution in China, of political corruption, and reports heavily on human rights abuses, including the persecution of Falun Gong."
Cheung of the Chinese Benevolent Assn. says that while he does not believe the show's producers actively seek converts to Falun Gong, "they try to send a message." He adds, however, that the Chinese American community is aware of New Tang Dynasty Television's ties to Falun Gong so it knows what to expect.
"We are not surprised, when we see this show, that they are trying to send a message," Cheung says. "We understand because we know who they are, and most people are not surprised by what they see."
diane.haithman@latimes.com
好文轉貼：如何對付法輪功的無賴之一 法輪功搭台 反邪教唱戲
2008-04-23 來源：草色新雨 作者：brien
編者按：4月初，有網友在“草色新雨信仰論壇”上發帖“紐西蘭華人已經自發行動起來抵制神韻晚會，希望大家出謀獻策”，並引來不少關注和討論。4月20日，網友brien發此帖。 法輪功搭臺，反邪教唱戲——神韻晚會行動散記 brien 發表于 草色新雨信仰論壇 2008-04-20 星期日 8:54PM 4月19號星期六，天氣預報說會下雨，因此我也早早就準備好了防雨用具，帶著並不精美的標語牌子和宣傳單，一路開車來到了奧克蘭The Edge劇場。不料，天氣卻出奇的好，甚至還有點小陽光！可惜我太過於相信天氣預報，竟沒有帶防曬霜…… 1、行動概況 神韻當天共有兩場，一場是下午2點30分，一場是晚上7點30分。The Edge劇場進出口實在太多，不可能全部都顧到，經過一番實地考察，還是決定把舉標語地點選在一前一後兩個主要停車場入口處。為了避免洋人逆反心理，最大程度地爭取支援，我們這次行動定調為“善意提醒”，而不是“嚴正抗議”，並且參與行動的人都做到了親切微笑——我相信這個舉動贏得了大多數洋人的好感，不斷有進入劇場的觀眾和我們笑著點頭致意。從心理學上來說，這樣也比較不會引起人們對標語和傳單的抵觸心理，更容易引起共鳴。 同時為了不給法輪功抓住任何把柄，根據廣大朋友的建議，標語全部設計成問句形式，而傳單也全部引用各國的英文報紙原文，並做好reference。即使法輪功想誣衊我們誹謗，也根本無從下手。我們相信洋人都有自主判斷能力，他們能夠得出自己的答案。 如果本次行動能有更多人參與的話，我想我們應該可以做到每個路口都照顧到，讓更多的觀眾了解到我們想傳達的資訊。但是此舉有利必有弊，我們在舉牌過程中遭到大量法輪功信徒的反覆的各式各樣的騷擾，萬一有鬥爭經驗不足的朋友，很可能會招架不住，甚至被他們抓住大做文章的材料。而且參與的人太多，萬一有朋友受不住他們挑釁，比較容易引起事態升級。我想兵在精不在多這句話，放在這裡也算是貼切的。萬幸的是這次參加的人都比較有經驗，這次的小規模試點也給我們許多寶貴的實戰經驗，往後再次組織這類活動，一定要事先打好預防針，做好培訓才能大規模上陣。 下面是一些當天發生各種事件的散記，可能比較亂，也不是連貫的，想到什麼說什麼，大家閒暇時看看無妨。 2、大使館給你多少錢？ 我在停車場剛把牌子舉起來5分鐘，就有一個穿著仙女服飾的女子過來，用蹩腳英文跟我說，你不能這樣，你這樣是犯罪。我便義正言辭地告訴她，言論自由和集會自由是紐西蘭法律賦予每一個居民的自由權利，而且說實話並不是犯罪，和法輪功同流合污才是令人不齒，云云。此女英文不太靈光，幾個回合就敗下陣去，憤憤然離去之前，丟下一句：大使館給了你多少錢，讓你來搗亂？ 我一愣，這和大使館有啥關係？轉念一想，明白了，此女多半以為我是共產黨派來滴！也沒多在意。不一會兒，陸陸續續又過來了4、5個稍年輕的法輪功分子，開始七嘴八舌地用英文和我辯論起來。——殊不知，在偉大的草色新雨論壇上這樣的論題早被各路神仙駁斥過千百遍，我早就耳熟能詳，於是照葫蘆畫瓢，全部予以破解反駁之。隨後發生了令我驚訝的一幕：這幫人落荒而逃前，丟下的最後一句話竟然都一樣：大使館給了你多少錢？ 此種思維邏輯實在是難以揣摩，難道敝人這點兒正義感還非要賣個價錢不成？難道大使館不給我等幾毛錢，我等就不能來仗義執言了？ 早上的行動結束後，我們聚在一起討論，發現大家都被問到了類似的問題。我們大膽猜測一下，原因不外乎以下幾種： a)法輪功分子不能接受“中共以外的華人也一樣反對法輪功，法輪功在華人社區中早已臭名遠揚，形同過街老鼠”這個現實，一廂情願地認為，只有中共才會和法輪功過不去。 b)法輪功分子雖然知道我等不是中共派來，卻有目的地給我等扣上共特的帽子，不然無法和上頭交待。 c)還有一種可能——我真誠的希望這個猜測是錯的：那些來攪局的法輪功分子，全部都是拿人錢財替人賣命的雇工，因此在他們的世界觀裏，別人也都一定是以同樣的方法營生……不然他們無法解釋為什麼會有人願意犧牲自己的時間、付出自己的精力、倒貼自己的錢財，來做這不討好的事情。 3、弘揚中國文化？ 說到神韻晚會，法輪功分子無不是同一個論調：“法輪功也是中國文化的一部分，我們是在弘揚傳統中國文化！只要是中國人就不應該反對我們”。乍一聽甚有道理，可是反駁起來也一點不難：哪有中國傳統文化是由美國人跳著芭蕾舞的舞蹈動作，就著各種西洋樂器的伴奏來弘揚的？此必殺招一齣，無人能接。 4、法輪媒體齊出動，拿手好戲是圍攻 前一撥法輪功分子看鎮我不住，立刻拋出另幾件法寶：錄音機、照相機和攝像機，然後幾個西裝革履模樣的人就會上來，自稱是電視臺、報紙和電臺各種媒體，裝模作樣要來集體採訪我。 果不其然，第一個問題就是：中共為何如此仇視法輪功？要是沒有經驗的朋友，萬一回答不好，立刻著了他們的道兒。到時候把畫面音頻隨便剪輯一下，立刻就能給你扣上“共特現形，親口招認”的大標題。照出來的相片，把臉色略作PS，配上“共特身份識破，心虛膽寒臉色發青”的小字說明，對這幫職業攪屎棍來說亦非難事。 這幫所謂記者們會用各種辦法繞著圈兒忽悠各種問題，從問題中我觀察到，其中心思想只有一個，抓住你話裏的把柄，經過肆意剪接篡改後，給你貼上“共特”的標簽。因此要麼得小心回答，要麼乾脆直接對著鏡頭說：我不想對新唐人、大紀元和希望之聲這樣沒有任何誠信可言的媒體發表任何評論，請你們自重——實踐證明效果也不錯。 與此同時，話筒相機之間還會擠進來各式各樣的輪子，七嘴八舌的對你冷嘲熱諷，一不小心唾沫都濺到臉上，甚至還有人身接觸，我估計就是希望激怒我對他們破口大罵甚至大打出手，到時剪輯一番，就成了我主動打人罵人的罪證，妙哉！我當時確實很想狠狠抽那幾個無賴兩個大耳刮子，拼命忍住了，忍的很辛苦。 回去討論後，我們覺得反制之道就是把他們的眾生相也拍下來，給世人看看這幾十個人究竟是如何圍攻我們的和平集會的。上午的活動由於人手不足，我一手標語一手傳單，因此沒有帶相機。等晚上的那一場我們把相機拿在手上嚴陣以待時，法輪功的大批人馬卻很知趣地躲得遠遠的，因此沒有拍得精彩的照片，實在是一大憾事！ 5、說你惡毒不承認，何必標榜做好人？ 由於我們的提醒活動是針對進場觀眾，因此活動時間定得不長，僅是開場前那觀眾入場的50分鐘。眼看演出就要正式開場，大批的觀眾看到了我們的標語，接過了我們的傳單（這還要感謝法輪功呢，本來如果只有我們影只形單地站在那裏，可能引起的注意還不多。偏偏法輪功一大群人圍了過來，又是攝影機又是話筒的，非常顯眼，很多洋人都被吸引過來要看個究竟，哈哈） 看到圍攻沒有討著便宜，法輪功是又羞又怒，突然間攝像機等若干物事呼啦啦一下撤走，我等正不解其意，只見幾個領頭模樣的上來一頓叫罵，原來如此！這回對法輪功惡毒的手段真是大開眼界，反正旁邊的老外也聽不懂中文，什麼現世現報，不得好死，出門撞死，下地獄……罵得那叫一個精彩，這裡提醒大家，下次若有機會參加類似活動，一定要帶錄音機，或者有錄音功能的手機，有攝像機那是最好，統統錄下來，放到youtube上去，讓大家欣賞一下寶貴的法輪文化遺產~~~ 說到惡毒，罵人還不是最惡毒的，還真有付諸行動的。晚場的時候，大概是7點到7點十五分這樣吧，我站在停車場入口的路沿上正舉著標語，發著傳單。由於進入停車場每輛車要打卡，因此看演出的私家車在停車場外排著隊緩緩進入。一輛白色麵包車來到我前方時，突然離開隊列加速向我撞來，車輪擦在人行道的路肩上後才悻悻地掉頭往直線開回去。當時前後左右都是車，相信很多人看見這一幕。可惜天色太黑，我的同伴只看見該麵包車車牌號是D打頭，裏面駕駛的是一個亞裔男子。 哦，還想起一個事兒，法輪功一開始還威脅要告我們誹謗造謠，告我們影響他們營業（寒哪，營哪門子業？），還要去叫警察抓我們，而且還真的有一個提著公文包律師模樣的洋人，在一旁一邊惡狠狠地蹬我們，一邊大聲打手機做報警狀。我心裏暗笑，紐西蘭法律規定，在露天公眾場所和平表達言論是自由的，無須申報，無須政府同意，而且任何人不得妨礙，否則以妨礙自由罪論處~~~也就是說，誰也沒有權力趕我等走人。果不其然，從始自終，半個警察也沒有看到，連The Edge劇院的保安也只是遠遠笑瞇瞇地看著，並無人來趕我們走~~ 6、忽悠天生本性，雙簧看家本領 這件事比較搞。話說法輪功眾人正圍攻著，遠處突然一對碧侶款款走來，衣冠楚楚，面相斯文，做看熱鬧狀，探頭就問怎麼回事。我起初還以為這兩人是當地華人或留學生，於是原原本本把事情介紹一遍。那個男人馬上作恍然大悟狀，直誇我：哎呀，真是愛國啊，現在像你這麼愛國的已經不多見了，云云。 我一頭霧水，這和愛國有啥關係？只見那男的話鋒一轉，大談愛國不是愛黨，不要淪為某黨爪牙……旁邊眾法輪弟子立刻群起附和，不亦樂乎。眾法輪媒體皆心有靈犀地搬鏡頭一轉，仿佛事先綵排過一樣，開始作勢要採訪這兩人，那個reporter兼攝像師神采飛揚地說：現在讓我們來聽聽當地華人對此事的看法……那男的於是正色侃侃而談，表達了對法輪功無限的熱愛，外加對我等的不齒，原話是：我覺得這哥們（指我）站在這裡真的挺丟他自己臉的……我暈，他如此肉麻露骨地吹捧法輪功，還敢和我討論丟臉這個話題…… 得了，不就是雙簧嗎？我也懶得揭穿，下流如此，還有什麼好說？ 7、洋人反應 這次活動可以看出許多洋人對神韻晚會的法輪功背景不甚了解。不過我們都是微笑著熱情地和每一個入場觀眾打招呼，因此大部分洋人都對我們回報以微笑和問候。也有不少開車進入停車場的洋人，經過我身邊時搖下車窗詢問詳情，而我們並不說神韻是好是壞，只是給他們發放了傳單，讓他們自己看演出時判斷。 初步估計應該有200-300人看到了我們的標語，其中有約30-50人過來索取或者閱讀了傳單。發放傳單時看法輪功氣急敗壞的樣子非常有意思。我每發出一張傳單給洋人，立刻就有一個法輪功虎著個臉貼上去，扯著那個洋人說此人是共產黨花錢雇來的，專門誹謗法輪功，叫洋人不要聽信，云云。 結果有一個洋人實在受不了，指著我的標語和手上的傳單說，你把這個叫做誹謗嗎？ 我立刻在一旁添油加醋道：這就像我問天氣是好還是壞一樣，每個人都有自己的答案。 洋人點點頭很認同的對那個法輪功說：沒錯，這是自由的國家，你們要容忍不同聲音。 哈哈，我暗爽。 晚些時候想到什麼再發上來。 另外，昨天也發生了一件讓我惋惜的事情。前一陣子我們給當地最大的英文報紙NZ Herald寫信，請他們關注法輪功神韻晚會，後來NZ Herald也真的陸續發了兩篇觀點很不利於法輪功的報道，效果很不錯。結果法輪功惱羞成怒把NZ Herald告到了Press Council（無恥！）。 本來一直希望NZ Herald會在演出結束後發表一篇對演出的總體評論，這篇評論應該也是不利於法輪功的，但被法輪功這樣一攪合，出於避嫌的慣例，這篇報道可能會難產。我還在關注此事的後續發展。希望NZ Herald不要因此吃上官司。我也相信這樣一個主流媒體不會被法輪功嚇倒，更不會和他們妥協。 附錄： 我們展示的標語如下： 標語一、Chinese Culture or Falun Gong Bait-and-switch ? （中國文化還是法輪功挂羊頭賣狗肉？） 標語二、Family Entertainment or Political Propaganda ? （家庭娛樂還是政治宣傳？） 傳單內容如下：
Previous Reviews of the “Chinese Spectacular ”
“Though Falun Gong practitioners call themselves a religious group, their main message has been political -- and some believe that politics, not culture, dominates in the Chinese Spectacular.” (Diane Haithman, Staff Reporter, “Ties to Falun Gong add controversy to the Chinese New Year Spectacular” , The Los Angeles Times, USA, January 7, 2008) “Art it wasn't. The choreography was consistently banal, with the performers arranged in rows doing identical gestures. The dancers were under-rehearsed and unremarkable.” “The production is so heavily laden with Falun Gong messages as to negate any pleasure the dancing and singing might have afforded.” ( Susan Walker, Dance Artist, “Falun Gong New Year Event Mere Propaganda”, The Star Newspaper, Canada, Jan 20, 2008) “Audience members who filed out of Radio City before and during intermission said they were troubled by the material.” “They had realized that the show was not simply a celebration of the Chinese New Year, but an outreach of Falun Gong” (Eric Konigsberg, Senior Staff Writer, “A Glimpse of Chinese Culture That Some Find Hard to Watch”, The New York Times, USA, February 6, 2008)
“The majority of the cast (members of the Divine Arts organisation) turn out to be practitioners of the oppressed spiritual movement Falun Gong.” “Even if you are sympathetic to the Falun Gong cause, there is something creepy about the evangelical tone with which this is delivered.” (Judith Mackrell, Staff Writer/Book Author, “Creepily evangelical”, The Guardian newspaper, UK, Monday February 25, 2008) “This show is advertised as a Chinese spectacular - It is nothing of the kind.” “Most of the members of the Divine Performing Arts troupe are members of Falun Gong. But their beliefs do not simply form a backdrop to a neutral presentation of traditional Chinese dance and legends.” “What I really object to is that such a politically motivated performance is being smuggled on to stages around Europe in the name of family entertainment.” (Sarah Crompton, Staff Writer, “Propaganda as entertainment”, The Telegraph Newspaper, UK, 25 Feb 2008) “You could overlook the politics if the show was any good, but it is dated and sentimental, with comically bad comp岢res, laughably awful film projections and dance routines that would make panto producers blush.” (Sarah Frater, Staff Writer, “Great Pall of China”, The Evening Standard newspaper, UK, 25 Feb 2008) 本文網址：http://www.hardkingdom.com/freshrain/viewtopic.php?t=7708&sid=e444fe23e9269509b5bc3e161d584f6c
星期四, 3月 19, 2009
大法弟子的道德勇氣
嘿嘿，你猜怎麼？來個「我不記得，別的大法弟子的行為不干他的事」的逃避（不過多虧他還是受了高等教育，不至於睜眼說瞎話，來個大說謊）。我想說你們「講真相」的時候那種道德勇氣到哪裡去了？怎麼碰到自己人為非作歹就龜縮起來了？結果我家那個大法弟子大發雷霆，鬼吼鬼叫，拒吃晚餐，真是有他一套。
我要不是還在想我的兒子要怎麼辦，要不要為了這個「魔教」讓他變成單親兒子，早就跟這個雙重標準的法輪功弟子一刀兩斷了。但想起來仍舊一肚子不平，所以在這裡揭穿法輪功面目的「真相」。
星期日, 2月 22, 2009
《紐約時報》誣陷神韻？
法輪大法弟子的「真善忍」與「講真相」果真是掛在嘴邊唱好聽的放屁狗屎！
紐約時報談神韻藝術團的表演
A Glimpse of Chinese Culture That Some Find Hard to Watch
By ERIC KONIGSBERG
Published: February 6, 2008
Each of the first few numbers was more elaborate than the last, teeming with acrobatic dancers, awash in jewel-toned silks, swelling to the anthemic strains of the orchestra. It was the opening night of Chinese New Year Splendor, a music and dance production that began at Radio City Music Hall last week.
From left, Pearl Chen, Shiu Ying and Ernie Li set up an advertising banner in Midtown on Saturday for the Chinese New Year Splendor show at Radio City Music Hall.
Then the lyrics to some of the songs, sung in Chinese but translated into English in the program, began referring to “persecution” and “oppression.” Each time, almost at the moment a vocalist hit these words, a few audience members collected their belongings and trudged up an aisle toward the exit.
Before long came a ballet piece in which three women were imprisoned by a group of officers, and one was killed. At the end of the number, more members of the audience, in twos and fours and larger groups, began to walk out. At intermission, dozens of people, perhaps a few hundred, were leaving.
They had realized that the show was not simply a celebration of the Chinese New Year, but an outreach of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice of calisthenics and meditation that is banned in China. More than three years after flooding city corners and subway stations to spread the word about the Chinese government’s repression, Falun Gong practitioners are again trying to publicize their cause. Only this time, it involves costumed dancers and paying audiences in that most storied of New York concert halls, Radio City.
While the street theater, which often included live simulations of torture and videos and photographs of beaten victims, took a direct approach, the Chinese New Year Splendor show involves a slow reveal. It is not until the performance is under way that any reference is made to Falun Gong.
“I don’t feel comfortable here,” said Elizabeth Levy, an author of children’s books who was among the first to leave. “I had no idea when I came that this was about Falun Gong.”
“The Power of Awareness,” a piece that occurred late in the event, marked one of the first overt mentions of the movement in the program. In that number, Communist police officers walking through a park rough up a mother and daughter whose banner carries the Falun Gong message of “truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.”
The abusive officers are pushed back and chased away by a large group. The mother and daughter duo then “poetically leads the multitudes in learning the exercise of Falun Gong.”
Advertisements for the show, which have appeared on Metro-North trains and in The New York Times, among other places, make no mention of Falun Gong. Nor do the show’s Web site or the brochures being handed out on Manhattan sidewalks. The brochures include what appears to be an endorsement quotation from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg: “Brings to life the rich traditions of ancient China right here in the Big Apple.”
However, a spokesman for the mayor, John Gallagher, said that Mr. Bloomberg had neither seen the show nor praised it, and that the quotation may have been taken from a greeting card Mr. Bloomberg sent to Chinese-American organizations in which he saluted Chinese New Year celebrations in general.
The show, which runs through Saturday, is a production of New Tang Dynasty Television, a nonprofit satellite broadcaster started by Falun Gong followers and based in New York.
With roughly 200 performances planned for 2008 — the company employs two troupes — it estimates that about 600,000 people will see the shows (in 2007, the company said, the number was about 200,000).
The television network, which often broadcasts news critical of the Chinese government, has been sparring continuously with Beijing over the shows. Before last year’s show at Radio City (the first was in 2006), the network complained that China was pressuring sponsors to withdraw their support, a claim echoed in other cities where the show has run.
In a statement, the Chinese Embassy criticized the network for trying to “inveigle the public into watching the show,” and said, “The truth is that the so-called ‘galas’ were nothing but a sheer political tool used by ‘Falun Gong’ organization to spread cult and anti-China propaganda.”
Falun Gong is a form of qigong, an ancient practice of breathing exercises, but also incorporates a spiritual element and some unique beliefs, including one that followers have a spinning wheel in their bellies that pushes out evil and attracts good. In 1999, its founder, Li Hongzhi, told a Time magazine reporter that aliens from other planets were responsible for corrupting mankind by teaching modern science.
From its creation in the early 1990s, the movement, and Mr. Li, grew in popularity through the decade. The Chinese government branded it an “evil cult” in 1999, banning the practice and persecuting its members.(Page 2 of 2)
Human rights groups have supported claims that the Chinese government has tortured, imprisoned or killed thousands of Falun Gong followers. Mr. Li immigrated to the United States, and at one point was said to be living in Queens.
The Radio City event “is kind of a P.R. front to try to normalize Falun Gong’s image, so that people don’t think of it as some kind of a wacko cult,” said Maria Hsia Chang, a professor of political science, emerita, at the University of Nevada, Reno, who wrote a book about Falun Gong.
But, she added, “I can only speculate as to why they’d put in these elements without declaring as much ahead of time, because it doesn’t help their image much.”
A New Tang network spokeswoman, and several members of the production troupe who agreed to be interviewed, said that they did not think publicizing Falun Gong’s connection to the show was necessary. “If we advertise Falun Gong, then why don’t we also say the show has Tibetan dancing and Mongolian dancing and Korean dancing?” said Vina Lee, a choreographer and a principal dancer. “Chinese culture is more than dragons and firecrackers.”
MSG Entertainment, which owns Radio City as well as Madison Square Garden, said in a statement: “When booking a rental, MSG Entertainment does not discriminate on the basis of political, religious, cultural, or ethnic viewpoints or beliefs.”
Aside from the references to Falun Gong’s plight, the two-hour performance was an elaborately stitched homage to Chinese traditions. Complementing the dance routines were solos from two sopranos, two tenors, a contralto and a woman playing the erhu, sometimes known as a Chinese fiddle. A giant video screen put forth majestic background images of Chinese landscapes.
But audience members who filed out of Radio City before and during intermission said they were troubled by the material. “I had no idea it was Falun Gong until now that it’s too late, and it really bums me out,” said Steven, a Chinese immigrant living in New Jersey who, along with his family, was among the first to leave and asked that his last name not be published.
“It’s a little too political, too religious, especially the dance showing some girls getting tortured in the prisons. That’s too much for Chinese New Year, especially with our children.”
Tickets cost $58 to $150, though one woman, a Chinese immigrant visiting from Dallas, said that as she was walking by Rockefeller Center just before showtime, a man offered her a free ticket. She also left the show early. “I didn’t like the torture stuff so much,” said the woman, who refused to give her name.
Cary Chiang, a father from New Jersey, said that his wife had objected to the Falun Gong material, but that as for their three children in tow, “It went right over their heads.”
Ms. Levy, the children’s book author, said, “I don’t particularly like being accosted on the street by Falun Gong, and I don’t like it happening to me here.”
Charles Wyne, a computer systems manager who sat happily through the entire performance, said he enjoyed the program. “I don’t know much about Falun Gong, but I don’t like the way the Communists treated the people,” he said, adding that freedom of speech was among his reasons for leaving China.
John Campi, vice president for promotion and community affairs at The Daily News, one of the listed sponsors, said the newspaper’s sponsorship involved trading a one-page ad in the paper for a Daily News ad on the back cover of the program. “I had heard that they were connected with a political group, and I said if this show is political, I’m not getting into it,” he said. “And they said it wasn’t.”
Joe Wei, national editor of the World Journal, a Chinese-American newspaper that is based in Queens and that takes no position on the practice and its teachings, said he saw one of the group’s shows about one year ago and detected no Falun Gong imagery. “This would be a major change,” he said. “I don’t know why they want to do this.”神韻藝術團在台灣Yahoo奇摩知識上的一些評論
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有人有看過神韻舞團的表演嗎 (很急捏)
我沒去看 需要看過的人的意見 所以有看過的人嗎
可以詳細敘述內容流程及感想嗎 非常感謝呦
剛看完嘉義場回來, 有被騙的感覺.
號稱表演有多出神入化, 以名人的推薦做為晃子.
整體而言, 只有二胡拉的很好, 服裝亮麗這二項優點.
三場聲樂表演平平.
但占整個表演80%的舞蹈, 實在水準有待加強.
多人舞蹈不算很整齊, 而且說真的, 從頭到尾多場的舞蹈表演,
招式幾乎就那幾套, 後空翻竟是表演內最難的招式, 且二個半小時的表演, 只有單人翻過三次. 而且其中的二場戰爭舞蹈 (岳飛/花木蘭), 表演者一點力道都沒有,花拳繡腿, 真的不好看.
另外, 舞蹈的故事內容, 唉, 沒什麼深度.
最重要的是, 去看表演的, 很多都是法輪功的人. 在節目開始前, 我座位前後左右的人, 談的都是和法輪功相關的話題. 這使我當時相當疑惑.
果不其然, 整個表演有一半以上都和法輪功有關. 聲樂歌詞直接就唱出 "大法弟子". 我朋友中場就說看不去下, 就先回家了.
若是法輪功團體的表演, 怎麼年代售票的節目介紹內沒有提到? 若知道這是場和宗教有關的表演, 我跟本就不會買了. 總之, 看完表演之後, 真的是非常非常後悔. 真是花錢來被洗腦的嗎?
節目結束, 我走出中正大學禮堂, 看到十多台大巴士等著載法輪功的學員, 更讓我確定了這確實是法輪功的表演沒錯. 這也說明了為什麼場場爆滿的原因了吧.
- 2007-04-22 00:42:52 補充
忘了說, 整個表演從頭到尾的背景都是使用投影片 ,真的很不專業. 給人隨便的感覺. 我每年花二萬元以上看文藝節目已經近十年了, 實體的背景及擺設是舞台表演絕對必要的, 怎可用投影方式取而代之呢?
結果也是如同上面大大說的一般,覺得二胡拉得好而已
同行表妹也是舞蹈科班出身,她也說: 我覺得我跳得比他們好!!!
姑且不論票價有多少錢,但看完後只覺得這真是法輪功佈道大會!!!
如果真是這樣,應該一開始就明確表示,不應該對這表演涉及的宗教部分隻字未提~
*附加一提~我後排坐的政治人物也是看了上半場之後就沒再進場了!!! 傻眼~ -_-