LOS ANGELES—Divine Performing Arts of New York staged four Chinese New Year Spectacular shows at the Nokia Theatre, the largest in Los Angeles. The performances concluded on Jan. 20, amid warm applause from the audience. Some Chinese audience members said they were proud of the show and felt honored to have been able to attend.
Amy Chen, a pingtan artist from Shanghai said excitedly, "I've waited for a long time for this show—it's a source of pride for the Chinese people! I feel so proud!" Pingtan is a native singing art from southeast China, which tells a story by singing accompanied with a ballad.
Chen praised the female dancers who presented a sweeping, synchronized performance. She also gave high marks for the costumes and music, which she declared "world-class."
She said, "The tenor is outstanding! His voice is so bright, solid and carries such a wide range. He is a national treasure!"
Chen continued, "I oppose that they [the Chinese Communist Party] persecutes Truth-Compassion-Tolerance. If everyone in the world would believe in Truth-Compassion-Tolerance there would be no war and there would be no need to advocate 'harmony.' Look at China now! It's terrible! I hope everyone can follow Truth-Compassion-Tolerance."
Then she shared a story with the reporter.
During the Cultural Revolution she was a teenager attending Gezhi Middle School in Shanghai. A high school student escaped to America, and the school authorities conducted an investigation. One classmate falsely reported her [Ms. Chen] to the officials, and she was arrested and persecuted. She said angrily, "I was a teenager! What did I do? They took me away and tortured me!"
Her father was also arrested and persecuted and later died as a result of persecution.
Chen said prior to the communist takeover, her father had been an intellectual and was the chief editor at a newspaper agency. He was dragged away and brutally tortured and died as the result of torture during the Cultural Revolution. "I was not allowed to see him before his death."
"My father was labeled a 'counterrevolutionary writer,' merely because he had interviewed Chiang Kai-Shek [Chinese leader before 1949] and his wife. [The Party officials incited] a group of ignorant students who beat him to death. I will never forget it. The Party has murdered so many people."
"My family used to live in downtown Shanghai, near the Great World Entertainment Center. The government wanted to make money, so they evicted us from our home and gave us a one-bedroom home in the suburbs as compensation. What they gave us was only worth 80,000 Yuan [about US$10,000]."
"They sold our downtown home for an astronomical price! Now we have to take three different buses and walk an additional 30 minutes to go downtown. It was so convenient before the move."
"I never saw it coming. [In China] a handful of power elite people exploit others to serve their own interests. They never did anything for the common people. That's why they are even afraid of Truth-Compassion-Tolerance. They are finished!"
Chen concluded, "I'm really emotional today. Although I'm a Christian, and Jesus told us to love other people, yet we have not been able to live up to Truth-Compassion-Tolerance [as the Falun Gong practitioners].
"Don't you think [Falun Gong] is precious? They cultivate themselves on their own accord, and have never bothered anyone else. What did they ever do to anyone? Why can't the government just leave them alone? It's ridiculous!"
"I strongly urge [the Communist regime] to stop persecuting Falun Gong."
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Divine Performing Arts performances. For dates and times of their world tour visit: http://www.divineperformingarts.com/sy/ticket_info.
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