(Clearwisdom.net) On December 18, 2007, just before the opening performance of NTDTV's Holiday Wonders, New York Assemblyman Michael Benjamin received a letter from the Chinese Consulate General in New York. He later made this letter public. The slanderous letter defamed Falun Gong and pressured the assemblyman with "Chinese American relations" not to support the Holiday Wonders or the Chinese New Year Spectacular shows in any way.
Assemblyman Benjamin said that he wanted everyone to know what the CCP did. Assemblyman Benjamin's wife, Ms. Kennedy Benjamin, said that she only planned to go to the reception originally, but she decided to make time to watch the show because of the slanderous letter.
Sending a Threatening Letter to an American Assemblymen Is a Sign of the CCP's Fear
NTDTV spokesperson Carrie Hong said that the CCP's letter is full of slander and defamatory remarks because NTDTV promotes culture and art that negate the Party's own culture. The CCP is fearful of NTDTV's mission.
Ms. Hong said that based on previous experience, each time the CCP has attempted to interfere with an NTDTV event, the event was actually promoted instead, including the annual New Year's show and the International Chinese Classical Dance Competition. Many people attended after they heard about the events from the CCP's efforts to defame them.
She pointed out that before NTDTV's Chinese New Year Spectacular show in Canberra, Australia last year, the Chinese Embassy wrote to members of Parliament and asked them not to see the show. Not surprisingly, all the members of Parliament went to see the show. One of them said humorously, "We can hold a session before the show."
NTDTV is Exposing the Truth, Thus Making the CCP Uneasy
Since the establishment of NTDTV six years ago, it has reported in detail on sensitive topics of great interest to the Chinese communities, which are often blocked by the Communist regime. Because it has refused to cave in to financial incentives or political pressure, the CCP sees it as a major threat.
On December 16, 2003, China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued an urgent, encrypted telegraph to provincial, district, municipal, and autonomous regions' radio and TV bureaus. In this message, "officials at the Central Government" gave instructions for interfering with NTDTV's Chinese New Year shows. During Christmas of 2003, Australian singer Christian Bischoff had flown to New York at the invitation of NTDTV to perform in the New Year's show. But three hours before his flight from Australia to New York, he received a phone call from the Chinese consulate, trying to dissuade him from giving the performance.
In January 2004, Zhou Xiaomei, Consul for Political & Press Affairs of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, wrote letters to some prominent U.S. figures, asking them not to accept interviews from NTDTV regarding its global Chinese New Year performance. On February 9, 2004, Wang Lili, head of the Discipline Inspection Group and part of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Discipline Inspection Committee stationed at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, spoke at a Task Force Meeting attacking NTDTV's Inaugural Global Chinese New Year Gala.
In June 2005, the CCP coerced Eutelsat, the European telecommunications satellite company, into reneging on its contract with NTDTV by threatening to refuse the company rights to the Olympics. In 2006, two Australian ballet dancers pulled out of the 2006 NTDTV gala after the CCP threatened to cancel their show that was touring in China. Early this year, the CCP pressured the Korean National Theater in Seoul through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Culture to cancel NTDTV's performance on January 6, 2007, by threatening to cancel a National Theater performance slated for China.
Exquisite Performances by Divine Performing Arts Are Widely Welcomed by People from All Walks of Life
In 2007, Divine Performing Arts has visited over 30 cities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Korea, giving over 80 performances and attracting full houses everywhere it went. More than 200,000 attended the shows. People from all walks of life complimented the performances, as they showcased the broadness and profundity of China's divinely inspired culture, enlightening the world's people to the Buddha's grace and benevolence, and leading them to further appreciate the beauty of pure, authentic culture and art.
Based on feedback from the audience, we learned that Divine Performing Arts' performances provided them an opportunity to appreciate the profundity of traditional Chinese culture and ponder the inner meaning of Falun Dafa. They also became clearer about how the Chinese Communist Party persecutes Falun Gong. The performances focused on creating and finding humanity's authentic culture and resonated with people from all walks of life and from different cultural backgrounds.
The CCP Is Intent on Destroying Chinese Culture and Regards Divine Performing Arts as a Thorn in Its Side
Chinese culture, which spans over 5,000 years, was infused with elements of cultivation from the Buddhist and Taoist schools. The inner meaning of Chinese culture calls for harmony and union between mankind and nature. Many stories of cultivation describe the experience of becoming a deity or an enlightened being. Falun Gong, which was brought to the public in 1992, may be considered the most important representation of the culture of cultivation in China. The practice encourages self-reflection and returning to one's original, true self. As a result, it spread very fast and gained a firm following.
The CCP's 80-year history is one of destruction of traditional Chinese culture. Starting in the 1920s, when Mao Zedong advocated the killing of wealthy land owners, to the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s, Chinese culture experienced an unprecedented destruction. Historical archives and books were destroyed in large quantities. Ancient temples and buildings were torn down. In various levels of Chinese schools, atheism and Marxist-Leninist thought became gospel. Traditional values were cast aside.
The Divine Performing Arts performances have been moving experiences for audiences worldwide. The performances showcased the profound connotations of the unity of Heaven and man, as well as the divinely inspired Chinese culture. Through elegant and artistic methods, it also exposed the Chinese Communist Party's brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, and conveyed the message that "Good will be rewarded and evil will be punished" and that of compassionate salvation. They help the audience to see the CCP's true nature and support the practitioners' efforts against the persecution.
The CCP's Interference Actually Helps to Promote Divine Performing Arts
When Divine Performing Arts toured Europe, the company received rave reviews. The CCP attempted to undermine the shows by harassing the sponsors, flooding ticket hot-lines, instigating Chinese students to disrupt the shows and employing other shameful methods. Many people have condemned the CCP's actions. Later, the CCP once again used similar tactics in the Asia-Pacific region. On February 7, 2007, Coex Theatre in Korea signed a contract with NTDTV Korea to provide the venue for the Divine Performing Arts performance. On March 14, however, Coex suddenly canceled the contract. NTDTV Korea believed that the theater did so because of pressure from the Chinese Embassy and decided to sue. In the verdict issued on the morning of April 20, the Seoul Central Court judge found all the arguments of the Coex Theater invalid. The performances were staged on April 24 to 25 as scheduled. The tickets were quickly sold out.
The night before the "Divine Performing Arts" performance in Sydney, Australia, ABC-TV's flagship current affairs program "Lateline" reported in prime time that the CCP had exerted pressure on some people, trying to keep them from going to the show. Mr. Ian Cohen, NSW MP and spokesman of the Greens, was disgusted by the CCP's actions after watching the Lateline report. On the morning of March 29, he published a media release entitled "Chinese Government Bullying Will not Stop Green MP's Attendance." He said: "Tonight's show will be an event not to be missed. The overreaction of the Chinese government officials begs the question--what have they got to hide?" On April 5, New Zealand Green Party MP and spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Keith Locke wrote a letter to the sponsors of Divine Performing Arts to congratulate them on the upcoming show and condemned the CCP's interference. The Chinese Consulate in Auckland made phone calls to New Zealand officials to warn them not to watch the Divine Performing Arts shows. Dozens of dignitaries who had planned to watch the performance received similar phone calls. They said that they felt great pressure, but still went ahead to see the show as planned. The CCP even threatened Chinese students overseas, telling them that if they are photographed at the event, they will not be allowed back in their home country.
Before the performance, the Chinese Consulate in Auckland, New Zealand exerted pressure on seven mayors in the greater Auckland region via telephone. This was rapidly exposed by many local mainstream media, and this turned Divine Performing Arts into a hot topic. After seeing the reports, many people went to watch the show. One of the theater staff members said that the CCP's interference amounted to free advertising for the Divine Performing Arts. �
Various Countries Support Efforts Against the Persecution, NTDTV and Divine Performing Arts
The Eutelsat incident three years ago enabled NTDTV to become more widely known. NTDTV received wide support and tremendous help from members of the European Parliament, US government officials, the media, human rights organizations, and many others. In the end, NTDTV signed a six-year contract with Eutelsat. Six days after the Seoul incident this year, the Canadian Prime Minister and other government officials wrote letters to celebrate the Chinese New Year and acknowledge NTDTV's contribution to cultural diversity. Recently prior to the Holiday Wonders performances by Divine Performing Arts, many U.S. and Canadian officials sent congratulatory letters to NTDTV. �
China's 5,000 years of civilization is the authentic culture that heavenly beings imparted to human beings. Divine Performing Arts is showcasing authentic Chinese classical dances and other arts, a consummate manifestation of the pure, compassionate and beautiful divinely-imparted culture. The performances reveal rich connotations of belief in Gods and Buddhas, as well as the unity of Heaven and man, and also carries forward the brilliance of human nature and the preciousness of life. Divine Performing Arts tours around the globe, awakens people's purity and goodness deep within their hearts, and guides people towards a new and wonderful future.
In the past few decades, the wicked CCP has denied ancient Chinese culture and undermined its principles, the morality and civilization that divine beings imparted to man, and brought about an unprecedented cultural catastrophe. NTDTV is outspoken and exposes the truth, forming a sharp contrast with the CCP's lies. Divine Performing Arts promotes China's divinely inspired culture, which terrifies the CCP. The 30 million people who have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations make it even more obvious that the CCP is close to collapse. Evil cannot overcome good, and when the people see the facts and stand up to end this persecution, the CCP will perish.
