5,000 Years of Chinese Pseudo-History
"I Went to Shen Yun So You Won’t Ever Have To" Deluxe
An original abridged version of this article was originally created For Fordham’s the paper.
This article is worse and less focused, but it has images, videos, hyperlinks, and way more information. This is yet another article in my now time-honored tradition of making each new post on here the “longest FunnymanWarRoom,” so If you plan on reading this, I’d recommend reading it in full on my Substack Website because right now it’s too long to fit in the email.
This article is primarily about the role of Falun Gong agitprop in America.
Hello Funnymen, $120 was spent making this. I hope you enjoy it, and if you’re mad that this article is biased(duh) and unserious surrounding quasi-serious topics(the last article was literally 9/11), read this paper cited below by Haiqing Yu of The University of Melbourne and click off of this.
Yu, Haiqing. "The new living-room war: Media campaigns and Falun Gong." (2004).
Google scholar link: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=1033583132132954841&hl=en&as_sdt=0,33
If you live pretty much anywhere in the United States (or anywhere in the Western world, for that matter), you've undoubtedly been bombarded by their ads. They're everywhere, from subway stations to YouTube videos, billboards to brochures, TV spots to radio broadcasts. These ads, designed with bright candy-colored pastel hues, feature dancers leaping in aestheticized traditional Chinese garb, with slogans declaring "5,000 Years of Civilization Reborn!!" "Art That Connects Heaven and Earth," and the ever more explicit "Experience China Before Communism!!!"
I’m talking about Shen Yun,
which is a “non-profit” US-based company that produces dance performances with symphonic music. Despite seeing ads for “Shen Yun Performing Arts” on practically every promotional format imaginable—subway ads, YouTube ads, billboards, brochures, TV spots, and radio—I still hardly knew anything about their “whole deal,” but according to the Shen Yun Performing Arts website, the name “Shen Yun” means the beauty of divine beings dancing, which is pretty pompous if you ask me(you’re reading this).
You may have been wondering how Shen Yun Performing Arts is able to call itself a non-profit, but just like Scientology(also U.S.-based), it’s due to Shen Yun being owned, operated, and staffed by Falun Gong, a broadly “new-age” religious movement(an organization some (me) would call a cult). The “performing arts” wing of this organization, since the company’s first show in 2007, has toured more than 200 cities internationally, with those early shows titled “Chinese Spectacular” Holiday Wonders” “Chinese New Year Splendor,” and “Divine Performing Arts” until the company transitioned to perform under the name “Shen Yun exclusively.” However, surprisingly, this “Shen Yun” entity has notably never performed in China, the country that this music and dance is supposed to be calling back to.
Days after I first and finally decided to look into those ubiquitous ads, I decided to bite the bullet and attend a Shen Yun performance on April 13th at the Lincoln Center “David Koch Theater”(named after and constructed by a dead right-wing billionaire) in New York City, which is the mainstage of the whole global Shen Yun production. After going, I won’t lie; I was impressed by the exceptionally skilled dancers, performers, choreographers, and musicians who make up the production; they should all be proud of their hard work and all of that. I will also not exaggerate, though, that this was one of the most insane things I have ever spent $120 (a crime) to experience. My performance started with a white dude speaking English introducing each song/dance’s plot, followed by a Chinese woman doing the same in Mandarin Chinese.
From the moment the curtain goes up for the first song, Shen Yun transports you into a “Divine Realm” on its giant projector, on the screen behind the performers, where the narrator(white dude) speaks of the spiritual discipline called Falun Dafa, gifted by spirits from the divine realm sent down to Earth, followed by performances in the first act presenting, stories about the monkey king, then to far more “politically charged” scenes dancers portraying beautiful young followers of “Falun Dafa” being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party, even alluding to Falun Gong practitioners having their organs harvested by the Chinese government.
The last performance of the first act, titled “To Relay the Creator’s Call,” included messages on-screen displaying the English texts(right below this paragraph) decrying the “monstrosities of Darwin's evolutionary theory" and messages displaying "the evils of atheism," as well as the shocking appearance of an arts and crafts depiction of Karl Marx's face in a Communist tsunami. It quickly became clear that Shen Yun was not just a celebration of traditional Chinese culture, but a vehicle for promoting the religious and political teachings of the Falun Gong, a group that believes in supernatural abilities, apocalyptic visions, and the separation of races in Heaven. This show was "fun" but crazy and left me questioning the true nature of Shen Yun (which is, again, based in the US, not China), as well as the role of the Falun Gong movement in the United States, and how the Falun Gong and its "emissaries" work to shape public perception and influence Sino-Western relations.
Striving to relay the Creator’s call/ Revealing on stage the glory of a culture divine/Breaking the spell of atheism and evolution …” Modern thought has corrupted our original divine nature, the song continues. All “await the Creator’s deliverance back to Heaven.”
-English transations of lines from “To Relay the Creator’s Call”
Okay, so what’s the deal with Falun Gong and Falun Dafa, and why might “Shen Yun” posters and leaflets be literally everywhere?
^These are all rhetorical questions, but it all starts with this guy below.
The Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual movement founded by Li Hongzhi in China in 1992 during the Qigong Boom. Li introduced Falun Gong as a unique practice combining meditation, exercises, and a moral philosophy centered on truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance; in addition to this, the group's teachings encompass a blend of Buddhism, Taoism, and qigong exercises(Buddhist Mormons-Me), but it also espouses controversial beliefs regarding race, science, sex, and medicine initially, Falun Gong was positively received by the public and even the Chinese government, which facilitated its promotion through the China Qigong Scientific Research Society. However, as Falun Gong's popularity grew and as the faith “developed,” the Chinese government became increasingly wary of its potential as a social force independent of state control, leading to tension, and the eventual ban on their Organization within the country.
The Chinese government’s rationale for banning Falun Gong includes claims that the group spreads superstitious and fallacious beliefs, incites social disturbances, and poses a threat to social and political stability. Authorities established the "610 Office," a special security bureau tasked with overseeing the suppression of Falun Gong, employing measures such as propaganda campaigns, arbitrary detention, forced labor, and torture to compel practitioners to renounce their beliefs. The Chinese government also launched a significant propaganda effort, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic(Falun Gong is super Anti-Vaccine), to portray Falun Gong as both a physically and politically dangerous cult, further justifying the government’s actions domestically and internationally .
According to another “Shen Yun article” in the New Yorker from 2019, Li has been open about his beliefs that evolution is fraudulent, that people of different races will be separated in Heaven, and that homosexuality and promiscuity are unnatural. Li Hongzhi claims to possess supernatural abilities such as immortality and flight (but only when no one's looking). He predicts an apocalyptic end to the modern world, which both he and the show describe as "decadent."
Excerpt from Li Hongzhi’ Lecture in Sydney on Mixed-race people:
Li on Evolution:
If this article/post has sparked your interest in this Sydney Lecture, he really just says it all out.
Below, I’ll include some interesting bits that I’ve compiled about what this Li Hongzhi guy has to say about himself and his expectations of his Falun Dafa followers.
List of all of the abilities Li Hongzhi says he has, and things he expects of his followers:
Li Hongzhi's Claimed Abilities:
Interdimensional Being: He claims to be an interdimensional being with supernatural powers.
Levitation and Invisibility: Li has claimed the ability to levitate and become invisible. These claims are part of the broader set of extraordinary powers he asserts, which also includes the ability to foresee the future (Wikipedia).
Seeing Through Walls and Into the Future: Li is said to possess the power to see through physical barriers and to predict future events, enhancing his portrayal as a being with divine insights and capabilities
Claims He has delayed the explosion of the Earth by 30 Years: claims that the mankind has been destroyed 81 times, and that he alone has delayed the explosion of the earth by 30 years.
He claims that the mankind is corrupted, and the earth is the biggest dumping ground of the universe, and that by practicing "Falun Gong", the "true law" above all religions, one would never become sick or get in danger, and lead the world from another reset.
Ability to Implant the Falun: He believes he can place a metaphysical object called the Falun in his followers' abdomens, which supposedly rotates and absorbs energy from the universe, emitting energy that can "correct all abnormal states."
Control Over Energy Transformation: The Falun, once implanted, automatically absorbs and transforms energy, aiding the practitioner's spiritual practice without conscious effort on their part.
Expectations of His Followers:
Practice of Falun Dafa: Followers are expected to practice Falun Dafa, which involves a combination of exercises and moral teachings aimed at refining the body and mind.
Moral and Thought Controls: Li imposes a strict moral code on his followers, emphasizing truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance as supreme characteristics of the universe.
Rejection of Modern Medicine and Science: Followers are discouraged from engaging with modern medicine and scientific understandings, aligning instead with Li's teachings which promote alternative spiritual explanations for health and well-being.
Spiritual Segregation Based on Race: Li promotes a worldview that opposes interracial interactions and marriage, claiming that each race should remain pure and separate, which aligns with his teachings about the universe's structure.
Commitment to Spiritual Practices: Followers are expected to regularly engage in meditation and exercises detailed in his teachings, often requiring significant time and lifestyle adjustments.
Support for Li’s Propaganda Efforts: Followers are often involved in unpaid labor to support Falun Gong's extensive media and public relations campaigns, which include outlets like The Epoch Times, NTV(TV), UltraSurf Software(one of the most nefarious things they do imo(more later)) the ofcourse the Shen Yun performances
VideoINTERMISSION
Good YouTube Videos on Falun Gong:
This Chinese Cult is Not Your Friend - the Falun Gong story (part 2) by Washington Post columnist JJ McCullough
"I used to work for Falun Gong" - YouTuber by a Former Musician who worked for Shen Yun, and lived in Dragon Springs:
^One of the greatest and funniest dudes of all time, he’s a former musician for Shen Yun, apparently to join their ensemble at the Koch Theater, you have to join the faith and start living at Dragon Springs(their compound), and its very funny how much he clearly didn’t care at all about Falun Gong at all while he was employed.
Okay so,
around the group's inception in 1992, Falun Gong experienced rapid growth in China, with the Chinese government estimating around 70 million adherents of Falun Gong/Falun Dafa by 1999. However, a silent protest in Beijing led to a government crackdown and the implementation of anti-cult laws. Following this, Li Hongzhi fled to the United States, where he established the Falun Gong compound and HQ, its often referred to in media as “The Mountain” and "Dragon Springs" in Deerpark in upstate New York, where Li Hongzhi and many of his followers and Shen Yun performers live, with Internet usage heavily monitored inside the compound.
Here are some photos of the compound and its location as well as a local news video on the damage they’re doing to the nearby environment:
local news environment video^
Good state media journalism incoming btw:
For more information on Dragon Springs/The Mountain, and those that live inside this counter-world, I highly recommend reading the article by Eric Campbell and Hagar Cohen for Australia’s ABC(their “BBC”(British Broadcasting Corporation you porn addicts) equivalent); they have some very fantastic interviews with people who lived inside the compound(which is still operational) regarding daily life under Falun Gong surveillance and security, as well as having more access than I will ever have.
Link to: Insiders reveal the opaque world of Falun Gong - ABC News
Whether conscious of it or not, you’ve probably seen media apart of Falun Gong's propaganda apparatus(including ads from this different white boy above) in the last couple of years, which includes the Shen Yun performances, the Epoch Times newspaper, New Tang Dynasty Television(NTD), and various other media outlets, has been instrumental in spreading the group's message and gaining political influence in the United States. The Epoch Times(founded in 2000 in NYC), in particular, has faced criticism for its overtly pro-Trump, anti-China stance and its promotion of right-wing conspiracy theories, including criticism from the New York Times who in 2020 wrote in reference to the Epoch Times that “with tens of millions of social media followers spread across dozens of pages and an online audience that rivals those of The Daily Caller and Breitbart News, and with a similar willingness to feed the online fever swamps of the far right.”
“Every other ad on YouTube is a commercial for The Epoch Times pushing Trump,”
Nearly three years after the aforementioned NYT article was written, in 2023, the Epoch Times marked itself as the 3rd most visited conservative/far-right website. However, in the years since the “Epoch” newspaper's alignment with not only Falun Gong's teachings but with Western movements, such as going all in on QAnnon/election fraud hoax, the Covid-19 anti-vax stuff that they loved, the Hunter Biden penis stuff, and all the classics like the Hillary Clinton Emails, and the Obama “not born in America” shit all has led to the outlet's perception of being cranky, biased, and lacking any real semblance of “traditional” journalistic integrity, but materially, the outlet’s rise in prominence raises significant concerns about the Falun Gong’s influence on conservative politics in the US and beyond.
When discussing media, critics/haters of Falun Gong(me) have also obviously pointed to the group's alleged cultish practices and beliefs that obviously influence their media coverage. How can the general public trust these “brave journalists” as defenders of free speech all while inside of “The Mountain” in Deerpark, NY(where many Epoch Times employees live), to produce unbiased coverage while the Falun Gong enforces strict control over almost all aspects of members' personal lives, as well as the encouragement of sincere, all-encompassing devotion to founder Li Hongzhi, and his crackpot pseudoscientific beliefs inside of the weird ass compound?
Inside of, but not limited to, the direct residents of Dragon Springs/The Mountain, Former members of Falun Gong have accused the group of brainwashing, forced labor within the compound, and physical and sexual abuse. These accusations, along with Falun Gong's promotion of pseudoscience and controversial conservative/reactionary teachings, have led many to question the wisdom of aligning with the group and propping up Falun Gong and their media and propaganda empire in the fight against the Chinese government's human rights abuses. At the present moment, the bolstering of Falun Gong has done little to anything in their religion's home country(which is the United States if you weren’t paying attention) other than deteriorate the relationship between the United States against one of its largest trading partners all while emboldening and financing anti-China partisanship advocates in government to the benefit of the profit margins of Falun Gong.
Aside in regard to UltraSurf freeware/and Manufacturing Consent
As mentioned earlier in this article, in my big list of all of the things Li Hongzhi expects of his followers, I mentioned UltraSurf freeware.
UltraSurf, a circumvention tool developed by two different sets of Falun Gong supporters, aims to help users bypass internet censorship, particularly the Great Firewall of China. Initially designed to promote free access to information in restrictive regimes, UltraSurf has been embraced by right-wing groups(NPR link, I’m not playing around) in the U.S. as a tool for internet freedom. However, this software has faced significant criticism due to its lack of transparency and the refusal to allow comprehensive code audits, raising concerns about potential security vulnerabilities and hidden functionalities, including the fact that the Falun Gong criticism website facts.org.cn, alleged to be operated by the Chinese government, is also unreachable through UltraSurf(free speech for me but not for thee).
Technical analysis of the Ultrasurf proxying software paper by Jacob Appelbaum
UltraSurf, despite its promotion as a champion of internet freedom, inadvertently supports censorship by enabling Falun Gong operators to filter and control the information flow. This aligns with broader criticisms of Falun Gong’s activities, including their use of media and technology platforms to propagate anti-China narratives and support the organization’s specific political agendas. Additionally, the relationship between Falun Gong and U.S. government-funded media outlets like Radio Free Asia (RFA)(Its programs are essentially just 4-hour broadcasts six days of primarily U.S.-backed anti-Chinese propaganda*) and Radio Free Europe (RFE) is extremely frightening, not to mention the fact that UltraSurf is not just associated but directly funded, in part, through contracts with the U.S. government's Broadcasting Board of Governors, which administers Voice of America and Radio Free Asia & Europe. Both organizations(RFA and Voice of America) have faced controversies over the management and allocation of funds intended for internet freedom projects, which were redirected away from tools like UltraSurf due to concerns over their transparency and effectiveness, though as of 2024, this funding from your tax dollars is still ongoing.
Keeping in mind this info on UltruaSurf, I want to bring up one of the most enlightening things that I read regarding the Epoch Times, specifically in my research for this post, which was from an April 2021 interview with Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of the media watchdog org Media Matters for America, conducted by the Guardian. As much as Falun Gong’s media empire works to assert its ideas openly and subliminally, I think Angelo Carusone does a good job at narrowing down the material function of these Falun Gong escapades on US/Western politics. It’s China(Before and After Communism)
I’m just gonna post a big-ass quote from the article, which I hope you will read, but if not, the main point is at the end and in bold.
According to Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of the media watchdog Media Matters for America, these outlets, and especially the Epoch Times, were always critical of China, and somewhat right-leaning, but were not commonly counted as problematic during the 2016 election as spreading falsehoods across social media platforms like Facebook.
But in a telephone conversation, Carusone said Epoch Times pivoted hard from 2017 towards material which stoked conspiracy narratives, and began spending freely in order to make sure that their message was prominent on platforms like YouTube.
“After social media sites moved against the fake news outlets, it left a gap,” Carusone said. “What Epoch Times did so well was to step right into that gap.” And, he says, they secured their niche by handing money to big tech platforms.
After Epoch Times spent about $11m on Facebook ads in 2019, the platform banned them from advertising on the grounds that they had violated rules around transparency in political advertising. But the outlet simply took its business elsewhere: according to data from Pathmatics that was analyzed by Media Matters
In the year to date, Epoch Times has spent an estimated $930,000 in digital advertising promoting videos and desktop display ads. Over 95% of their spending was on YouTube.
Through 2020 and into the early life of the Biden administration, Epoch Times and NTD alike promoted conspiracy theories related to the QAnon movement, the supposedly compromising international ties of Hunter Biden, and even sold merchandise outlining half-forgotten conspiracy theories such as “Uranium One”, which held that Hillary Clinton, as US secretary of state, engineered the sale of uranium deposits to Russian interests in return for donations to the Clinton Foundation.
While US rightwing outlets like One America News and Newsmax have profited by supplying the seemingly bottomless appetite among the rightwing grassroots for material that depicts American politics as a tangle of elite conspiracies, Carusone says it is a mistake to view the Falung Gong-aligned outlets as normal media companies.
The principal goal of Epoch Times – now publishing in 36 countries under the supervision of a network of non-profits – is not to generate profit, he says, but to mount a long and broad “influence operation”. And the goal of that influence operation, in turn, is “to foment anti-CCP sentiment”.
By leveraging the deep partisan polarization in US politics, and by tapping into a long tradition of anticommunism on the American right, according to Carusone, the outlets have sought to link Biden and the Democratic party to radical leftist movements like antifa, and then publish “anything that ties them to CCP influence”, however spurious.
Article Link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/30/falun-gong-media-epoch-times-democrats-chinese-communists
This leverage is the appeal; this leverage is the primary function of Falun Gong’s media exploits in the United States and right-wing English content; it's a bigger market than any Mandarin Chinese “diaspora paper” will ever be in the US.
Aside #2 in Regard to Another “dubious” Religious Org and Lessons From the Thingamabob That Killed Shinto Abe
Almost two years ago, on July 8th, 2022, Former LDP(Conservative) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead during a campaign speech in Nara, Japan(beautiful city btw), with a homemade 40 by 20 centimeter double-barreled shotgun comprised of two metal plumbing pipes taped onto a wood mount, made by and used by the assailant, Tetsuya Yamagami. Abe's killing has been described by many as one of the most effective and successful political assassinations in contemporary history due to the near-immediate backlash against not only Yamagami but also the Unification Church and the LDP that the assassination provoked.
Tetsuya Yamagami himself, the Japanese media, and the police have all cited the primary motive for the assassination as a grudge against the Unification Church, also known as the Moonies, caused by Yamagami’s mother’s apparent financial ruin caused by her extensive donations to the church. This tragic event brought to light the deep and controversial ties between Abe, his party, and money from the Unification Church in politics, leading to a massive public outcry and scrutiny of the church's predatory practices. (Good Reuters article).
Maybe shockingly to some, the Japanese public largely sympathized with Yamagami’s grievances against the Unification Church, as many had experienced or heard of the church’s aggressive donation solicitation tactics, which often led to financial distress for its members. According to an article from the Economist:
“The killer is seen by some as a dark hero, a crusader for the country’s underclass. Online, he is sometimes referred to as Yamagami Resshi, or Yamagami the Martyr. Female fans who fawn over him are known as “Yamagami Girls”. The prison where he is being held has reportedly run out of space to store the gifts sent to him.
Banyan Staff article from the Economist
This widespread sympathy and the ensuing public pressure forced the Japanese government to take decisive action. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's administration(LDP) announced the severance of all ties between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Unification Church, which included funds for an investigation regarding the Church’s influence in the countries politics.
The power of the "highly problematic" church could be diminished considerably, said Professor Yoshihide Sakurai of Hokkaido University, who has written a book on the Unification Church and is an expert on cult issues.
Furthermore, the Japanese parliament passed legislation to restrict the activities of religious organizations like the Unification Church and to provide relief to victims of its exploitative practices.
The “Moonies” throughout the “church’s” history has(like Falun Gong) been strongly associated with anti-communist and conservative ideologies, which have materialized primarily in bolstering anti-Chinese rhetoric, mainly in Korea, Japan, and the United States. Founded by Sun Myung Moon in the Republic of Korea(South Korea), the church has been actively anti-communist, stemming from Moon's personal experiences during the Korean War. The church has engaged in political activities and funding efforts supporting conservative agendas in Western-allied nations.
Even across borders, I think the Japanese reaction to the Moonies after the Assassination of former Prime Minister Abe presents a visible precedent for the extremely visible dangers of conservative alignment and endorsement of “any old” anti-communist group given free rein to politically operate within a democratic country, no matter how controversial and cultish a group, “religion", or “church” may be.” The lesson of Abe, the LDP, Yamagami-girls, and the Moonies, can show us how Western Democracies can and should be able to move away from these groups, and I don’t think the Japanese people are too different from the American people. However, I will note that it would be preferable not to have any assassinations or unnecessary violence.
(but it’s not like we’re gonna learn our lesson; the American right makes the Falun Gong so much money!!).
Asside #3 An Elephant In The Room: The Organ Stuff, Chinese Government Organ Harvesting Allegations
Serious segment(most controversial part)
One of the most important facets of Falun Gong’s messaging has little to do directly with their actual faith. In this, I’m referring to the Falun Gong organization’s claims that the Chinese government engages in forced organ harvesting from its practitioners. These allegations are supported by some testimonies from Falun Gong members, and through investigations like the Kilgour-Matas report conducted by Canadian MP David Kilgour and journalist Ethan Gutmann of the Washington, D.C based Victims of Communism Foundation, which suggest that “prisoners of conscience are killed for their organs.” These reports often cite short wait times for organ transplants in China and the low rates of voluntary organ donation as indicators of unethical practices (Wikipedia).
Now listen, this is not to discredit or diminish the historically egregious policies of the Chinese Government Under the CPC, though these “organ claims” are and have been met with significant skepticism and denial from Chinese authorities. The Chinese government admits to having previously harvested organs from executed prisoners but insists this practice ended in 2015(this is publically available information. The Chinese Government asserts that all current organ transplants are sourced from a newly established national donation system aimed at enhancing transparency and ethics (Columbia Library Journals). Critics of Falun Gong's allegations argue that the evidence is mainly anecdotal or based on investigations without direct access to Chinese facilities, which undermines their credibility.
According to a 2017 report by The Washington Post, research and investigative efforts have challenged the claims that China continues to conduct 60,000 to 100,000 organ transplants annually in secret. Data gathered by the American company Quintiles IMS indicated that China's consumption of immunosuppressant drugs(essential medicine for preventing organ rejection in transplant patients), did match the number of transplants reported by Chinese authorities. In 2016, health official Huang Jiefu reported that China performed 13,238 organ transplants. Xu Jiapeng, a Quintiles IMS account manager in Beijing, remarked that it was "unthinkable" for China to maintain a hidden transplant system that the immunosuppressant drug data would not reveal.
Critics have suggested that the immunosuppressant data might not account for foreign transplant tourists, but the same report from The Washington Post found these claims to be unsupported. Jose Nuñez, who heads the World Health Organization's transplantation program, stated that the number of foreigners traveling to China for transplants in 2015 was "very low" compared to countries like India, Pakistan, and the United States, as well as compared to China's historical figures, leading to even more skepticism of the Falun Gong and Victims of Communism Foundation’s claims.
Moreover, Chinese officials(not me) have suggested that these allegations are primarily politically motivated and aimed at undermining China’s international reputation. The Chinese highlight reforms and increased voluntary organ donations as evidence of their commitment to ethical practices in organ transplantation. This debate and those who support “each argument/side” underscores a broader geopolitical conflict, with both presenting contrasting narratives and evidence regarding human rights and medical ethics in China.
(Columbia Library Journals this is probably the best source on the issue).
Final Thoughts:
Okay, so what’s the lesson here? Is there an opinion, is this dumbass substack “blogger”(me) is trying to get you to take away from this? I’d say the answer to that question is that Falun Gong is not good, or at least that it often does bad.
While it is crucial to stand against the Chinese government's or any government's persecution of religious minorities, it was and is equally important to maintain a critical stance towards actively hostile right-wing religious extremism. Failure to do so risks undermining the integrity of the opposition to authoritarianism and could ultimately dilute the cause for "religious freedom."
The persecution and oppression of Falun Gong practitioners or any religious minority by the Chinese(or any other) government is a serious human rights concern that deserves attention. However, it is also important to critically examine the teachings, practices, messaging, and political influence of the Falun Gong movement itself has, as well as how people in the Western right-wing use Falun Gong(and Shen Yun) to deepen the division between China and the United States. The group's propaganda apparatus, including Shen Yun's performances, media outlets like the Epoch Times and NTD, and their other various exploits(especially Ultrasurf) have all played significant roles in shaping public opinion and promoting a particularly vocal anti-China agenda in the United States and other Western countries.
It's crucial to stand against human rights abuses, though I think it's reasonable to be cautious when uncritically aligning ourselves with groups whose beliefs(aforementioned) and practices may not align with what you want, influencing public policy. As tensions between China and the United States continue to escalate, and with some of our worst politicians practically begging for another Cold War, it's important that we approach groups like the Falun Gong, the Unification Church(Moonies), the Scientologists, and even more traditional* religious organizations like LDS and the Jehovah's Witnesses with more nuance. It is essential that Americans uphold human rights and freedom while also working toward dialogue, understanding, and peaceful resolution of conflicts without relying on weird pseudoscientific religious organizations in guiding our foreign policy toward hostility and war.
As much as I(and sane people) can and should be haters, people in a democratic society should be allowed to believe in weird and stupid stuff, conspiracies, and homophobic guys who are able to levitate when no one’s looking, but that doesn’t mean that those ideas and tendencies of any organization like Falun Gong should have free rein to influence American medicine, foreign policy, and domestic U.S. politics in the way that the Falun Gong and their outlets continue to do so.
I’ll be sure to buy the discounted tickets for Shen Yun in advance next time.
END!
If you or your organization is mad about what I said, you can harass me here: dwmcdonald9@gmail.com