Shen Yun: Front Group for Falun Gong

[Cleopatra7]

I know Falun Gong isn't the kind of thing we usually talk about here, but after I did some research, it became clear that this group is about as nutty as anything else (e.g., anti-LGBT, anti-mixed race marriage, a belief in aliens, a belief in a bizarre sort of Buddhist creationism):

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong

 

(link not broken because it's Wikipedia)

 

Some of you may have heard of Shen Yun, which proports to be a Chinese version of Cirque du Soleil. I've seen the ads myself, but have never gone. Today, I found out that Shen Yun is a front group for Falun Gong and that the show consists of poorly done religious propaganda under the guise of traditional Chinese dance:

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/20130413/in_ ... flags.html (link not broken because it's a secular news site)

 

Do any FJers have any direct experience with Falun Gong or Shen Yun?

[nausicaa]

I know Falun Gong isn't the kind of thing we usually talk about here, but after I did some research, it became clear that this group is about as nutty as anything else (e.g., anti-LGBT, anti-mixed race marriage, a belief in aliens, a belief in a bizarre sort of Buddhist creationism):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong

(link not broken because it's Wikipedia)

Some of you may have heard of Shen Yun, which proports to be a Chinese version of Cirque du Soleil. I've seen the ads myself, but have never gone. Today, I found out that Shen Yun is a front group for Falun Gong and that the show consists of poorly done religious propaganda under the guise of traditional Chinese dance:

http://www.buffalonews.com/20130413/in_ ... flags.html (link not broken because it's a secular news site)

Do any FJers have any direct experience with Falun Gong or Shen Yun?

Wow--I was just about to buy tickets to a Shen Yun show when they come to the Kennedy Center. I will definitely have to look into this. And I found out about the show because a bunch of shops on my walk into work have posters in their windows. Wonder if they're associated with Falun Gong?

[PennySycamore]

Shen Yun is coming to the Peace Center in Greenville, SC in May, IIRC. I'd love to take my granddaughters, but not if they're connected to Falun Gong. Several of the Chinese restaurants have Shen Yun posters up, but I don't think the restaurants have any connection to Falun Gong.

[EmiGirl]

This makes me glad that hubby and I didn't go when they were in Knoxville.

[anjulibai]

My husband and I went to see this last month in Baltimore. I had no idea what it was until we got there and began looking through the program. Even then it wasn't obvious until they got to the end of the first act and the dance was about the persecution of Falun Gong followers in China.

That part was super uncomfortable.

The rest of the dances, though, were nice. Lovely costumes, wonderful choreography, splendid and very talented dancers. From the posters I honestly thought I was just going to watch a celebration of Chinese culture.

I mean, I enjoyed that parts that were just general ethnic dances, but the propaganda aspect of it was kind of annoying. I did not let that ruin my evening, though, and I don't plan on joining Falun Gong or supporting it in any other way any time soon.

[Howl]

There was a Shen Yun billboard up on I-35 for many many months before their performance in Austin and was still up about a year later. It took me forever to figure out what it was -- the picture of the dancers was ambiguous at high rates of speed -- but a traffic jam during evening rush hour helped me sort it out and realize that it wasn't a large butterfly.

This post prompted me to check them out on line. Here's a very brief summary of qigong practice in contemporary China, plus brief Falun Gong history from the Los Angeles Dairly News:

http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/2 ... falun-gong

It's complicated. I suspect that some practice is as a cult, and some practice it as a spiritual belief and some practice it as a form of qigong, but it definitely officially suppressed in China.

The fact that Falun Gong has the money and organization to put on this kind of traveling show is interesting.

[anjulibai]

There was a Shen Yun billboard up on I-35 for many many months before their performance in Austin and was still up about a year later. It took me forever to figure out what it was -- the picture of the dancers was ambiguous at high rates of speed -- but a traffic jam during evening rush hour helped me sort it out and realize that it wasn't a large butterfly.

This post prompted me to check them out on line. Here's a very brief summary of qigong practice in contemporary China, plus brief Falun Gong history from the Los Angeles Dairly News:

http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/2 ... falun-gong

It's complicated. I suspect that some practice is as a cult, and some practice it as a spiritual belief and some practice it as a form of qigong, but it definitely officially suppressed in China.

The fact that Falun Gong has the money and organization to put on this kind of traveling show is interesting.

I think they are making money off of it. The tickets we bought weren't cheap, though I'm sure part of that was for the theater itself. They also had a bunch of merchandise they were selling, including silk scarves and picture books of the show. There were also concessions from the theater (wine, soda, snacks), so they probably got a cut from that, too. They were also asking for donations.

They've apparently been doing this for many years now, and while they started off with one troupe touring, they have four. That's a lot of money they must be bringing in.

[whoviana]

In Hong Kong I actually did meet real Falun Gong people. I have no idea what they were all about but they spent their entire day at the piers, where people from the Kowloon side get off the ferry on Hong Kong Island. They had huge ass projectors showing extremely gruesome images to the crowds, regardless of the audience. They were handing out cds, dvds, cassette tapes!, pamphlets, smaller books on something they detested and the torment they received in return. I admit with great shame that I never looked into this at all since the images in their handouts and on their projectors were so horrible that I couldn't stomach it.

And YES they do have fundings indeed, serious, serious fundings since having entire crowds all over the ferry station, handing out pricey material that most people discard of anyways, is quite costly so it did cross my mind that people with serious money, influence and interest must stand behind these people.

[apple1]

Thanks for starting this thread. This has been heavily advertised al around the Cincinnati area also. I hadn't paid much attention since I wasn't intending to go.

[Muriel]

Wow I didn't know that about Shen Yun ! It was my Christmas gift to my mom and my oldest daughter this year... We are going to see them in Paris mid april , I had know idea it was related to a kind of cult :shock:

[HereticHick]

Wow I didn't know that about Shen Yun ! It was my Christmas gift to my mom and my oldest daughter this year... We are going to see them in Paris mid april , I had know idea it was related to a kind of cult :shock:

They perform in DC every year, it seems--I feel sorry for the Falun Gong members who have to hand out brochures for weeks before touting the performances--you see them in the shopping malls.

I agree that Falun Gong members are probably persecuted in China, but that doesn't excuse their cultlike practices in the US.

[Cleopatra7]

They perform in DC every year, it seems--I feel sorry for the Falun Gong members who have to hand out brochures for weeks before touting the performances--you see them in the shopping malls.

I agree that Falun Gong members are probably persecuted in China, but that doesn't excuse their cultlike practices in the US.

Until I started reading up on Falun Gong, I was somewhat sympathetic to their cause because of how they have been treated by the Chinese government. But after reading about what they actually believe, I started wondering if there was some truth to their being a cult. However, in most parts of the West, it's perfectly legal for an adult to join a cult or some other non-mainstream religion of their own volition (I know that Scientology and the Jehovah's Witnesses aren't considered officials religions in Germany, so there may be rules in some European countries about religious groups that we don't have here in the US). It goes back to the tension between the freedom to practice a religion, no matter how bizarre or unpopular, and the societal results that follow from practicing such religions, like faith healing, outbreaks of communicable diseases, child brides, etc. Part of the reason why Falun Gong runs into so much trouble in China is because it is explicitly anti-communist, which the Chinese Communist Party obviously finds offensive. But even if Falun Gong is a dangerous cult, that doesn't justify the human rights abuses committed against members, like harvesting organs from them. It's definitely a complicated issue.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Most of what I know is in connection with their persecution by the Chinese government.

The persecution has been documented by reliable 3rd party sources, and it is completely over the top and downright gruesome. The worst allegation is that the Chinese government is killing members of the Falun Gong and harvesting their organs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilgour%E2 ... tas_report

The Chinese government seems anxious to scream "cult!" as loudly as they can, as if this would somehow justify the persecution. From what I can tell, the leader may be a bit batty, the group discourages alcohol consumption and any sex outside marriage, there doesn't seem to be any sort of monitoring of members or really coercive practices, and the group seems to be non-violent. In short - not all that different from many mainstream religious groups here, like the Mormons or Muslims, and nothing that comes remotely close to justifying their persecution.

As a persecuted minority in China, they also have no ability to limit the rights of others (unlike some politically active fundie groups).

[halcionne]

I saw the show in San Francisco on Saturday night, at the War Memorial Opera House. There are promotional banners all up and down the streets of downtown SF. They have to be making and spending big bucks to be at that venue, right? And have achieved a certain level of credibility in the art world? I'm scratching my head over all of this.

I still don't know what to think about Falun Gong; I haven't done much reading about it yet. We had no idea that we were paying $$$ to be exposed to propaganda when we went to the show. Their marketing says they're trying to revive an ancient, nearly extinct art form, and that's why we went. The brochure did say they're banned in China--they didn't deny or downplay that--but it gave the impression that the show is just too traditional and spiritual for the government to handle.

In any case, the political message was pretty heavy handed. They never used the phrase "Falun Gong;" they called it Falun Dafa, and in the final number the dancers waved a banner that said, in English, "FALUN DAFA IS GOOD."  FWIW, the show had both English- and Mandarin (I think)-speaking emcees, and there was some calligraphy, including one obviously political banner, that I couldn't read, as I'm not Chinese and I don't speak Mandarin, so the experience may have been different for the Chinese members of the audience (probably more than half the audience was Chinese). There were two opera solos that had English translations provided (and I still have them if anyone's interested), with lyrics like "Why has the Red Beast thrown China's might into suppressing Falun Dafa?" Hmm.

As we were leaving, a staff member stuck a minirecorder in my face and asked how I liked the show. I said it was fantastic (this was a kneejerk response to the dance, music, costumes, etc--I hadn't thought much about the political/religious stuff at that point, other than to feel vaguely uncomfortable) and he wanted my name and occupation, at which point I stopped talking to him.  My companion agreed to give her name and occupation, and the staffer went on to ask her what she thought of the message; was it too much? I don't know exactly what he asked her, as I had stepped away by then. She told me afterward that she didn't know how to politely tell him that yes, it was too much and she was weirded out, lol. 

Tell me what to think about this, FJ!

[Mercer]

The owners of a Chinese restaurant near me are Falun Gong. They seem like pretty normal people and are involved in the local community in positive ways. It's possible that they do more cult-like things behind closed doors, but their visible lifestyle seems pretty average. They have some posters about Falun Gong meditation in the restaurant and a table of brochures you can take, but I've never seen them press the issue.

I will say, though, that they had quite a bit of advertising up for Shen Yun when it was in the area, and none of the other Chinese restaurant owners (who are presumably not Falun Gong) had put anything up for it.

[religiouslyconfused]

Shen Yun is coming to my part of town in February!