Chair of Southern Democratic Alliance: ‘I really hope Shen Yun can tour Hong Kong’

TAOYUAN, Taiwan—James Lung, chair of the Hong Kong-based Southern Democratic Alliance, was in attendance at the Mar 27 evening performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Taoyuan County Performing Arts Center. This is the third time that he has traveled from Hong Kong to Taiwan to take in a Shen Yun performance.

Mr. Lung said that he is always impressed after seeing the different historical stories portrayed onstage by Shen Yun. “I really hope Shen Yun can tour Hong Kong to bring its authentic Chinese culture and dance to Hong Kong’s people.”

He said he finds it a pity that people in mainland China—particularly after the damage wrought upon Chinese culture by the Communist Party—have become so disconnected from the most important thing: traditional Chinese culture.

“If Shen Yun could tour China, that would be something very sensational,” he said. “Once they come to know of authentic Chinese culture, they will know how to be genuinely Chinese.”

Learning about traditional Chinese culture by watching Shen Yun

Many people travel to Taiwan from mainland China and Hong Kong to experience a Shen Yun performance. Mr. Lung said he has no problem spending the money to fly to Taiwan for Shen Yun because he identifies with Shen Yun’s presentation of authentic Chinese culture.

“Since the Communist Party has failed to give freedom to the souls of the Chinese people,” Mr. Lung believes that audience members from China will immediately tell their friends and family how the true, traditional Chinese culture is far from what the Communist Party has portrayed.

Mr. Lung said he appreciates how Shen Yun’s performances express traditional Chinese culture by portraying different historical stories. One of his favorite performances was Yang Zhi and His Sabre. The story reminds the audience to ask, “If we lose everything, can we still reach out to others?” he said.

People of different nationalities become inspired by Chinese culture

“At the end of the performance, I saw many audience members reward Shen Yun with a long standing-ovation,” Mr. Lung added. “Their applause displayed just how much they approved with the content of the program; some of them even excitedly discussed and shared their feelings after the end of the performance,” Mr. Lung said.

Shen Yun tours different cities around the world, bringing traditional Chinese culture, music, and arts to audiences worldwide. “Tonight I saw some audience members from Japan and Indonesia who witnessed classical Chinese music and dance, that is, the most appealing part of traditional Chinese culture,” he said.

Mr. Lung added that Shen Yun reminds him of the Tang Dynasty, which, during its reign, attracted envoys from many countries in hopes of learning from Chinese culture.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) fears Shen Yun’s increasing popularity

Mr. Lung said he hopes that more Shen Yun touring companies begin touring around the globe in the future. He said he believes that Shen Yun would offer future Chinese artists a “very good, very positive, and fascinating stage to present their talents,” and to display to the world the values of traditional Chinese culture.

“Even if Shen Yun is banned by the CCP in Hong Kong or China, people in mainland China can still travel to other places to see Shen Yun,” Mr. Lung added. “The Shen Yun performances around the world will enable more Chinese people to understand better their own Chinese culture and all the facts.”

Once the Chinese start to learn ‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,’ China will experience great changes.

Mr. Lung said he was most touched by the performance An Unexpected Encounter, in which a father and his daughter take a trip to China’s Tiananmen Square and first learn about Falun Gong. “It’s a very important predestined relationship for them since they knew nothing of Falun Gong before the trip,” he said. “But the father is kidnapped for having his photo taken with a group of Falun Gong practitioners.

Mr. Lung replied with a sigh that although people in Taiwan have the freedom to practice Falun Gong and improve their morality, it is too unfortunate that people in China have no such a freedom. He said that he was also marveled by the Falun Gong practitioners who still insist on practicing Falun Gong in the face of persecution by the CCP.

“Many Chinese people have no belief in divinity, since the CCP promotes atheism,” he said. “Once they start to learn ‘Truthfulness- Compassion-Forbearance,’ China will experience great changes.”

Read the original Chinese article.

Reporting by Zhong Yuan and Amy Lien

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

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