Dr. Tang Boqiao, Chairman of China Peace and Democracy Federation saw New Tang Dynasty TV's Chinese New Year Splendor at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The following are his thoughts on the performance:
" Chinese New Year Splendor by Divine Performing Arts has a very profound inner meaning. The show has emerged in the special contemporary milieu from three major environmental issues—the evil-natured Chinese Communist Party (CCP), its brutal persecution of Falun Gong in China and the morally bankrupt human society.
"The first major issue is the CCP—an evil organization. It is not limited to just the Party, but communism in general. This evil spirit invaded China all the way from Europe; however, it must be disintegrated, yet it must end in China.
"The second major issue involves the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Since July 1999, the Chinese regime has applied state terrorism in its genocide of Falun Gong practitioners.
"The third one is the overall descending of moral standards and values in society. This downhill slide isn't occurring only in China, it also affects the entire world.
"If one can see this show in the light of the prevailing social context, one will be able to appreciate the important message the directors and performers are conveying to human society."
Infinite Power of Compassion
"The first message the show tries to convey is that the power of compassion is infinite. The wicked CCP possesses a strong military force, atomic bombs, several million armed police. Its judiciary system, including its penal system and its court system, and its persecution over Chinese people has reached an extreme. However, it appears strong but is inwardly weak. When this powerful regime meets with the power of compassion, it will become extremely infirm. The people who have strong belief in the power of good are invincible after all. The power of compassion is unimaginable and immeasurable.
"The past 5,000 years have been a contest between the righteous and evil. With the evil conduct of the Chinese communist regime in the last decade, this struggle has reached a pinnacle. The CCP's brutal persecution of Falun Gong has resulted in millions of Falun Gong practitioners being unlawfully persecuted to various extents and degrees, including the deaths of over 3,100 practitioners.
"Compared to the CCP, Falun Gong practitioners and overseas pro-democracy activists used to be pretty weak. But now the situation has changed. In the future—in a century or millennium—when people look back, they will be moved by this period of time. Because one will see the history of one winning over 10, one winning over 100, or even 1,000; the weak force winning over the strong force, kindness winning over evil.
"Jiang Zemin once vowed to thoroughly eradicate Falun Gong within three months. At the time, the entire world didn't think that Falun Gong could withstand such a persecution. After all this time, the world has come to truly respect Falun Gong. In this battle between good and evil, the tide is turning, now is the time for good to thoroughly triumph over evil.
"This is just like the segment of the show titled 'The Power of Awareness.' This particular segment made me unable to hold back tears because that was the rally of human hearts. Although the communist side has electric batons and other tools of pain, eventually it becomes powerless in face of compassion.
"You must understand the message the show conveys so as to be able to understand what it truly expresses—the power of compassion. The majority of people can accept this idea of compassion, but perhaps a small number can't. Those who've been too deeply poisoned by the Party culture have difficulties accepting this right away, but it doesn't matter. I myself went through a slow process of realization as well.
"The power of compassion is the strongest. Once there is compassion, it can pass, spread, expand and grow. This is known as conquering the unyielding with the yielding and overcoming evil with good."
An Unusual Effect for a Two-hour Show
"I went to see the Holiday Wonders show with a professor from Beijing University. He did not know much about Falun Gong and had a lot of misunderstandings and negative thoughts about it. He said things like, 'How could Falun Gong contend with the CCP? It is so flimsy.'
"However, after seeing 'The Power of Awareness,' which ended with people driving the evil men out of the park, he was profoundly shocked. 'Wow! Is Falun Gong going to fight the CCP back?' he asked. He felt the CCP was coming to an end. The two-hour show made him draw this conclusion. Watching the show, he saw Falun Gong's righteousness and people's determination to stop the persecution. He truly understood that the CCP would be crushed.
"Two hours can indeed profoundly change a person. He said, 'Wow! Falun Gong is going to fight back. The CCP will be roundly defeated.'"
The Artistic Expression and Realm are Remarkable
"I also want to talk about the performers. They have combined their moral character, realm of mind and great self-control into their art.
"One important aspect is the sense of beauty revealed by the two-hour show. I felt the power of justice, compassion and the human spirit—elements that society needs for survival. This production reaches a relatively high realm in every aspect, but not merely through talent or artistic training. Once a work of art has reached a certain realm, technique or skill does not mean nearly as much as the moral character and discipline it embodies.
"Judging from the angle of performance, I felt the show was not merely for entertainment. Artistically speaking, the show is a unity of form and spirit."
The Performers Do Not Intend to Highlight the Individual, but Portray Profound Inner Beauty
"As you watch the Divine Performing Arts performers dancing, you will find a spirit in them. I have examined every performer carefully and was quite convinced of this. You can see they have the same background as if they have received the same education. Being exposed to the same information, their souls are the same. There was no attempt to highlight any individual. Their intention was to express the spirit. It is a sharp contrast to all other performances, in which everyone strives to standout.
"If their intentions were merely for entertainment, they would strive for order and skill, but here they want to express a certain realm of mind. Let me draw an analogy: A Ph. D degree holder and an elementary school degree holder perhaps look the same on the surface, but their words and behavior can reveal the difference of their knowledge, discipline and disposition.
"The Divine Performing Arts possess an inner beauty which is extremely profound. You will never find it in another performing company."
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