On Feb. 6, The New York Times published a highly unusual, critical, and misleading article on the Chinese New Year Splendor production, which played at Radio City Music Hall from Jan. 30 to Feb. 9.
The NY Times substantiated its deceptive story with three negative interviews collected during the opening night show. The impression given by these interviews ran contrary to the over 1,000 interviews of audience members conducted by the Chinese and English-language editions of The Epoch Times over the show's entire run with an estimated 99 percent positive response, as well as to surveys filled out by audience members, which had a 95 percent positive response.
The article focused its criticism on the small amount of programming in the show with content related to Falun Gong, a spiritual practice which has been peacefully responding to a brutal persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime for over eight years.
The article also presented misleading information about the show, such as incorrectly suggesting that a quote from Mayor Michael Bloomberg had been misappropriated and printing a negative comment on the production by a professor in Nevada who had not even seen the show.
This is not only shoddy reporting, it is also misleading and betrays a bias on the part of the NY Times . But of even greater importance, this article has supported the CCP in its attempts to silence anyone who raises awareness of its numerous human rights violations, particularly the ongoing brutal persecution of peaceful Falun Gong practitioners—a persecution that has been verified by the world's leading human rights organizations.
The Chinese New Year Splendor was created and performed by Divine Performing Arts with the purpose of reviving China's traditional culture and morality. This is beneficial not only to the Chinese people but to all who interact and do business with China. The reawakening of these traditional beliefs among the Chinese will in fact be a stabilizing factor for the world.
The tainted and even deadly products made in China, the constant saber rattling, human rights abuses, environmental degradation, and suppression of belief, free speech, and access to information have been the reality for the long-suffering Chinese, a reality the international community has looked on with dismay.
These problems are the direct result of the CCP and its culture of violence, deception, atheism, and absolute control. China's traditional culture is based on honesty, kindness, compassion, loyalty, broad mindedness, reverence for the divine, and high moral standards and would bring positive change to all of these current problems. The Splendor is imbued from start to finish with these traditional beliefs, including in those acts relating to Falun Gong.
The Splendor is providing many Chinese with their first direct contact with their own culture, free from the influence of the CCP regime. It presents an unmolested version of who they are as a people, liberating them on both a physical and spiritual level. It is a fundamental awakening to a sense of self.
The Falun Gong portions of the show present a current example of China's traditional beliefs through the portrayal of compassionate, peaceful, and determined resistance to oppression, while also bringing the human rights abuses of the CCP into the light.
The NY Times article has smashed down heavily upon this hopeful resurgence of national and spiritual identity for the Chinese people and aided China's regime in silencing those who reveal the CCP's abuses.
Supporting CCP Propaganda and Suppression
It is widely known that the CCP strictly controls media and information in China, including the world's most suppressive Internet firewall, developed with Western technology.
It is lesser-known that the CCP exercises direct or indirect control or ownership of the vast majority of Chinese-language media outside China. This international Chinese-language media is constantly on the lookout for any foreign press that might support the regime's propaganda aims.
In October 2005, internationally respected NGO Reporters Without Borders published an in-depth report on CCP media control, called "Xinhua: The World's Biggest Propaganda Agency." Xinhua is the central propaganda agency for the CCP.
The report states, "Xinhua also has branches in 105 countries and eight sub-offices or editorial offices in Hong Kong, New York, Mexico, Nairobi, Cairo, Paris, Moscow and Rio de Janeiro."
Regarding the collection of media supporting CCP aims, the report states, "Most of the agency's journalists spend their days glued to international TV and domestic TV of the countries to which they have been posted. Xinhua correspondents lap up the official releases of countries friendly to China."
The NY Times article was immediately lapped up and republished by Xinhua in China and overseas by the official CCP news agency, ChinaNews.com, as well as China Press, which is funded by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. Both prominently covered the NY Times story, repeating the misleading, negative portrayal of the show for the many Chinese readers who do not have a chance to attend and see for themselves.
It would be very surprising if the NY Times was not aware of this common misuse and abuse of Western media by the Chinese regime in support of its suppressive aims. The NY Times has directly aided in these aims, along with misleading Western readers of the NY Times. And this was accomplished with a NY Times article that was biased, inaccurate, and highly misleading.
Fortunately, many Chinese who did have an opportunity to see the show were able to see the positive aspects and high quality of the performances.
Tai Chi master Hung-Ju Chou, who grew up studying traditional Chinese culture attended the Splendor with his wife. He said, "Because I practice Tai Chi, I can see that the young female dancers' technique is exquisite, from their entire body's movements, to facial expressions, to hand gestures. Not just one or two dancers, but they all are consummate."
Regarding the inner connotations of the show, he said, "I think that Divine Performing Arts can enrich everyone's heart, including mine."
The NY Times should apologize to the Chinese community and the readers of the NY Times for its harmful and misleading article that has misrepresented the quality and benevolent purpose of this production.
World-class artists brought a positive perspective on China's true essence to the Western world and returned the heart of China to the Chinese people, but the NY Times responded by trying to stifle these positive efforts.
Michael Mahonen is an actor/writer/director. He is a winner of the Gemini Award (Canada's Emmy) for acting and his first feature film as writer/director, Sandstorm, has won multiple awards at international film festivals. He is currently writing a script about the persecution of Falun Gong along with another script for an independent feature film.
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