(Clearwisdom.net) Cheng Chiehsung, director of the Chicago Chinese Descendant Education Center, attended last year's Chinese New Year Spectacular. He was surprised by both Spectaculars, which were quite different from art groups from China that he was familiar with. Chinese performance groups that he knew of had high professional skills and were well-trained, but were rather arrogant, making it unlikely that the audience would truly be touched by their performances. But the performances by the Divine Performing Arts were different. He was surprised to discover that the performers--most of them American-born Chinese--were so good at conveying such profound meaning.

Zheng Jiesong wishes that Chinese people in China could see the show

Mr. Cheng said that, as ambassadors of cultural exchange, he and his group had always sought channels through which to introduce Chinese culture to the West. He admired the Divine Performing Arts for its creative expression, integration of Eastern and Western cultures, and choreography. Its presentation of Chinese culture, focusing on the integration of heaven and human beings and a peaceful inner heart, were readily understandable to Westerners.

Regarding the persecution of Falun Gong in China, he said, "I have known about that crime for a long time and have felt bad about not being able to help." From his perspective, this performance of the Chinese New Year Spectacular demonstrated the grace of Falun Gong."It is rare to see such an elegant presentation of true Chinese culture. I wish that people in China could see this show."

As to Chinese Communist Party's interference with the show, he said, "I think it's a failure of the Chinese government when they use such means to interfere." He said he was delighted to see Chinese culture promoted in such a way. He pointed out, "It is very wrong for the Chinese government to interfere with such an artistic performance."