‘The show is an amazing spectacle’, Arts Director Comments on Shen Yun

By Jack Phillips, Epoch Times Staff, Jan 31, 2010-

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.— On a cold Sunday, people came to theater at Times-Union Center on Water Street. The theater is right on the water, in view of a huge bridge.

Mr. Erskine, the Director of the Art League of Jacksonville was at the performance.

He said the performance was “exhilarating” and “exceptional,” add that Shen Yun “was visually exciting and stunning, and was very good.”

Mr. Erskine has experience as a sculptor and as a painter. “The beauty of the dance and the costumes and the way they told the stories was totally incredible,” he said. “The show is an amazing spectacle—it really was.”

One element in the show that impresses many people is the digitally-imposed visual backdrop, which is hand-crafted to go along with the each piece in unison with the dancers. Mr. Erskine added that the show is “visually stunning.”

“The way they incorporated the background was just incredible,” he added. “The stories all got told whether you understood the language or whether you didn’t understand the language, which is a wonderful thing.”

Shen Yun revives the age-old Chinese culture that was lost under the current communist regime, says their website. “It brought culture and understanding of the past and how we need to preserve that and bring that into the future,” said Mr. Erskine. “So, it was really good. Very impressive.”

Classical Chinese dance is the centerpiece in Shen Yun. Each performer goes through rigorous training in order to master each movement and form. “The way they danced [and] used the costumes to show feeling and emotion, and the way the colors vividly took over the stage was very impressive,” said Mr. Erskine.

The flow of the performers are “something that as a painter and an artist you hope you can capture in your paintings and in your art,” he said. “That’s an art of dance and that’s why dance is such a beautiful and unreproducible art. It just has to live and thrive on its own.”….. (more from The Epochtimes)

MI5: China sets up “honeytraps” bugging and burgling western business executives

The Times, Jan 31, 2010-

THE security service MI5 has accused China of bugging and burgling UK business executives and setting up “honeytraps” in a bid to blackmail them into betraying sensitive commercial secrets.

A leaked MI5 document says that undercover intelligence officers from the People’s Liberation Army and the Ministry of Public Security have also approached UK businessmen at trade fairs and exhibitions with the offer of “gifts” and “lavish hospitality”.

The gifts — cameras and memory sticks — have been found to contain electronic Trojan bugs which provide the Chinese with remote access to users’ computers.

MI5 says the Chinese government “represents one of the most significant espionage threats to the UK” because of its use of these methods, as well as widespread electronic hacking.

Written by MI5’s Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, the 14-page “restricted” report describes how China has attacked UK defence, energy, communications and manufacturing companies in a concerted hacking campaign.

It claims China has also gone much further, targeting the computer networks and email accounts of public relations companies and international law firms. “Any UK company might be at risk if it holds information which would benefit the Chinese,” the report says.

The explicit nature of the MI5 warning is likely to strain diplomatic ties between London and Beijing. Relations between the two countries were damaged last month after China’s decision to execute a mentally ill British man for alleged drug trafficking.

Earlier this month the United States demanded that China investigate a sophisticated hacking attack on Google and a further 30 American companies from Chinese soil.

China has occasionally attempted sexual entrapment to target senior British political figures. Two years ago an aide to Gordon Brown had his BlackBerry phone stolen after being picked up by a Chinese woman who had approached him in a Shanghai hotel disco.

The report says the practice has now extended to commercial espionage. It says Chinese agents are trying to cultivate “long-term relationships” with the employees of key British companies: “An undercover intelligence officer may try to develop a friendship or business relationship, often using lavish hospitality and flattery.

“Chinese intelligence services have also been known to exploit vulnerabilities such as sexual relationships and illegal activities to pressurise individuals to co-operate with them.”

The warning to British businessmen adds: “Hotel rooms in major Chinese cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, which are frequented by foreigners, are likely to be bugged … hotel rooms have been searched while the occupants are out of the room.”

It warns that British executives are being targeted in China and in other countries. “During conferences or visits to Chinese companies you may be given gifts such as USB devices or cameras. There have been cases where these ‘gifts’ have contained Trojan devices and other types of malware.”

China has repeatedly denied spying on Britain and the West. Its London embassy did not comment.

In 2007 Jonathan Evans, the director-general of MI5, had written privately to 300 chief executives of banks and other businesses warning them that their IT systems were under attack from “Chinese state organisations”.

There have been unconfirmed reports that China has tried to hack into computers belonging to the Foreign Office, nine other Whitehall departments and parliament.

Last year a report by Whitehall’s joint intelligence committee said China may be capable of shutting down critical services such as power, food and water supplies. But the latest document is the most comprehensive and explicit warning to be issued by the UK authorities on the new threat. Entitled The Threat from Chinese Espionage, it was circulated to hundreds of City and business leaders last year.

The growing threat from China has led Evans to complain that his agency is being forced to divert manpower and resources away from the fight against Al-Qaeda. His lobbying helped to prompt the Cabinet Office to set up the Office of Cyber Security, which will be launched in March.

- The Times

IFJ Report Lists China’s Secret Bans on Media Reporting in 2009

International Federation of Journalists, Jan 31, 2010-

A new report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on press freedom in China highlights the battle by local censors to control media commentary on a wide range of topics throughout in 2009.

Banned topics range from events associated with social unrest and public protests against authorities, to reports of photos of an actress topless on a Caribbean beach.

The report, China Clings to Control: Press Freedom in 2009, will be officially released by the IFJ at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong at 11am on January 31.

It presents data gathered by IFJ media rights monitoring in China, detailing the intensifying efforts of authorities since early 2009 to control online content and commentary, and assessing the official restrictions and range of impediments faced by local and foreign media working in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Amid the controversy over Google’s recently stated refusal to censor the contents of its Chinese-language search engine, following allegations that China’s authorities had authorised a cyber attack on Google’s US-based systems, and gmail accounts held by activists in China had been breached, China Clings to Control: Press Freedom in 2009 presents the wider context of restrictions confronting journalists and media in China……. (more details from International Federation of Journalists)

10 China Myths for the New Decade- Myth #2: China could surpass the U.S. ?

Derek Scissors, Ph.D., Research Fellow in Asia Economic Policy in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation, via http://www.heritage.org, January 28, 2010 -

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Myth #2: China could surpass the U.S. as the largest economy in 10 years.

Truth: There is a reasonable chance that China will never surpass the U.S.

One element in this forecast is the last 30 years of reported Chinese growth, the second is the last three years of American growth. The second element is far more important: If American growth remains at the 2007-2009 level, GDP rankings will hardly matter. The U.S. must focus first, second, and third on fixing its own policies–deeply cutting the budget deficit, steadying interest rates, expanding trade, and reducing government regulation, especially taxes.

If the U.S. takes these actions, China may not pass the U.S. at all, much less in the next 10 or 15 years. It is a fundamental mistake to graft the previous 30-year trend onto the next 30. The China of 1949 to 1978 looked nothing like the China of 1979 to 2009, and there are powerful reasons to believe that 2010 to 2040 will be very different again.

The most important and most certain aspect is an aging Chinese population. The last 30 years were characterized by demographic expansion very favorable to growth in the PRC. The next 30 will be generally characterized by demographics unfavorable to growth. The transition from growth-conducive to growth-hostile demographics will begin about the middle of this decade and continue indefinitely.

In 1985, 15-year-olds to 29-year-olds made up 47 percent of the working-age population in China. In 2030, they will make up only 26 percent. By 2035, a daunting 280 million people are projected to be 65 or older. Far fewer people will be working to support far more retirees.

The previous economic challenger to the U.S., Japan, has faced the same problem. Over the past 15 years, the Japanese economy has not grown at all. Over the next 15 years and beyond, China’s population structure will become more and more similar to Japan’s today.

Before Japan’s economic ascent, the Soviet Union was thought to challenge American economic supremacy. An unsustainable emphasis on heavy industry contributed greatly to the Soviet collapse. Among other things, it led to horrific pollution and a decline in life expectancy, where life expectancy is strongly correlated with wealth.

China has the same emphasis on heavy industry and grave pollution problems. The PRC suppresses research into the effect of pollution on life expectancy, but reported birth defects have been rising for at least the past 10 years, including in wealthy provinces. (to be cont’d)

- Original from The Heritage Foundation

Florida’s Most Populous City Hosts Shen Yun

Epoch Times Staff, Jan 30, 2010 -

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.— New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts returned to the Times-Union Center for Performing Arts for the first of two performances. This is the second year that Shen Yun has included Jacksonville, Florida’s most populous city on its world tour to more than 100 cities.

U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Derrick Holsey and his wife, certified public accountant Sara Holsey, responded to the show with deep feeling.

Sergeant Holsey said the performance was “beautiful, beautiful—the dancing, the background, the storytelling!” “I closed my eyes a couple of times and imagined myself being there. What do you think, sweetheart?” He asked his wife.

She smiled and said, “Beautiful! How well-coordinated they are. Everything was gorgeous! It’s perfection!” she said.

Nothing Can Block the Divine Path, made a strong impression on the Marine. He said, “I would say the portion with the family that was taken away, that was very, very unique. The storytelling was perfect and on-point.”

He paused, and his deep voice conveyed emotion. He said he had been deployed, had traveled around the world, and he had seen a great deal. He said, “To see how they put the story together—the ending was very, very nice. I appreciate that.”

He said about Hong Kong’s recent denial of visas to key production staff of Shen Yun Performing Arts, “It’s unfortunate, but hopefully things will clear up.”

He said he was learning a lot and could not wait to see the rest of the show. “A show like this, it speaks volumes.”…… (more details from The Epochtimes)

10 China Myths for the New Decade- Myth #1: growth

Derek Scissors, Ph.D., Research Fellow in Asia Economic Policy in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation, via http://www.heritage.org, January 28, 2010 -

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Myth #1: China is now the leading engine for global growth.

Truth: China detracts from the rest of the world’s growth in gross domestic product (GDP).

The standard procedure employed by those convinced of Chinese economic leadershipis to take every country’s GDP growth, add it all up, and check which economy contributed most to the global pile.[1] But that is not the way GDP works.

If a country successfully dictates trade terms and extracts a great deal of wealth from its partners, its GDP would grow very quickly while that of its partners would shrink or grow much more slowly. It would then seem this country is leading global growth higher while it is actually enriching itself at the rest of the world’s expense.

Behind this confusion is that GDP includes trade. A trade surplus adds to GDP and a trade deficit takes away from it. China runs the largest trade surplus in the world, which means the rest of the world runs a large trade deficit with the PRC.

From this perspective, China is not adding anything to global GDP growth. Using trade, China adds the most to its own GDP and takes away the most from the rest of the globe’s.

The distinction is between performance and welfare. China is outperforming the world but it is not contributing to global GDP. Just the opposite: Some of its gains are mirrored in offsetting GDP losses in the rest of the world.

China has contributed a great deal to the world economy. Competition is the life-blood of long-term growth, and competition from Chinese goods has arguably been the largest contributor to competition in the global economy over the past decade. In terms of policy, Chinese production kept consumer prices down worldwide, helping to keep inflation low despite high levels of government stimulus around the world.

The financial crisis has changed this. Previously, Chinese supply was helping to meet strong global demand. Now, Chinese supply is threatening to overwhelm weak global demand. Rather than leading, China is using the world to boost itself higher.

It need not be so. The PRC could encourage the development of its domestic economy for the sake of its own people. This would increase demand for goods produced in the rest of the world. Then, and only then, China might be an engine for the global economy.(to be cont’d)

- Original from The Heritage Foundation

10 China Myths for the New Decade – Abstract

Derek Scissors, Ph.D., Research Fellow in Asia Economic Policy in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation, via http://www.heritage.org, January 28, 2010 -

Abstract: China’s economic growth has been accompanied by growing misinformation about its economy. Contrary to conventional wisdom, China is not leading the world out of a recession, is no longer moving toward a market economy, is not America’s banker, and may never surpass the U.S. Heritage Foundation Asia expert Derek Scissors debunks 10 leading myths about the Chinese economy and replaces them with the accurate picture necessary to guide American policy.

The Chinese economy may still be growing rapidly despite the financial crisis. One thing that has been growing even faster is misinformation about the Chinese economy.

This is partly a function of unreliable economic numbers put out by China’s government, but it is also partly a function of mistaken American and other perceptions. Hidden within the sweeping pronouncements of “China’s decade” and “China’s century” are important, specific points–some of which turn out to be demonstrably wrong.

The foundation of good policy is good information. If the U.S. is to respond wisely to the rise of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the actual speed and nature of that rise must be correctly understood. Exaggerating Chinese prowess and emphasizing the wrong issues leads to general mistakes in U.S. economic and foreign policy, and to an incoherent China strategy.

It turns out that China is not leading the world out of recession, is not nipping at America’s economic heels, is not America’s banker, is not becoming more consumption-driven, and is not controlling its carbon emissions. Instead, Chinese growth for the moment comes at the expense of global growth, the U.S. has stronger long-term economic fundamentals than China, Chinese bond purchases appear unimportant, China is more investment-dependent than ever, and is by far the world’s largest greenhouse emitter.

The American position is thus considerably stronger relative to China than commonly believed. However, it is also the case that the policy challenges, such as inducing genuine economic reform in the PRC, are more daunting. It will be more difficult for the U.S. to avoid the pitfalls of superficial changes, such as in exchange rates and carbon intensities, to make progress toward a Chinese economy that genuinely does boost world growth.(to be cont’d)

- Original from The Heritage Foundation

Alert: Counterfeit condoms spread out in China and sold in USA

By John M. Glionna, the Los Angeles Times, January 21, 2010-

Reporting from Beijing – Sex shop owner Wang Yunsu wondered how so many competitors could suddenly undercut her low prophylactic prices.

Now she thinks she knows: The other condoms are counterfeit.

“Some manufacturers are cutting corners,” she said, stocking a shelf with a domestic brand whose name translates as Forever Love. “And it’s all about profit.”

It’s China’s latest knockoff scandal — inferior contraceptives that health officials say provide little protection and may in fact spread infectious diseases, tarnishing the axiom that condoms mean safe sex.

In November, investigators in Hunan province provided details about a July raid on an underground workshop where they found laborers lubricating condoms with vegetable oil in unsterile conditions, passing off the counterfeits as high-quality-brand products.

It wasn’t the first such bust. Police in 2008 raided an illicit factory in Zhejiang province, seizing half a million knockoff condoms.

In another case, workers recycled used condoms into hair bands in southern China.

“People could be infected with AIDS, [genital] warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while weaving their hair into plaits or buns,” a dermatologist told the state-run China Daily newspaper.

The practice poses yet another disease threat in the world’s most-populous nation, where more than 2 billion condoms are used each year, supporting an estimated $530-million industry.

China mass-produces countless fake brand-name consumer goods, from shoes and handbags to DVDs and iPods, even beer. But after tainted milk killed six Chinese children and sickened about 300,000 in 2008, the spread of counterfeit condoms further demonstrates that unscrupulous manufacturers will stop at nothing to turn a profit.

Authorities estimate that up to a third of the contraceptives used in some parts of China are counterfeits, despite improvements in state food and drug oversight. None of the counterfeits are properly sterilized, and others are of such inferior quality that they could rupture during use. Authorities say they’re all dangerous.

“The quality of the knockoff condoms cannot be guaranteed, and they can easily break,” said Cheng Feng, director of the group Family Health International, China. “Such condoms definitely cannot play the role of contraception and disease prevention.”

But counterfeit condoms aren’t being sold only in China.

In 2008, officials in the New York area confiscated knockoff Chinese-made goods, including millions of phony Trojan-brand condoms that were sold in small discount stores in New York, Texas and Virginia……(more details from the Los Angeles Times)

Speech: Responsible Engagement With China (7)- Conclusion

Hon. David Kilgour, J.D., German-American Institute, Heidelberg, Germany, 11 January 2010 – (cont’d)

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Conclusion

The Chinese people want the same things as Germans, Canadians and people everywhere, including, respect for all, education, to be safe and secure, good jobs, the rule of law, good governance and a sustainable natural environment. Living standards have improved on the coast and in other urban areas in China, but there is a huge cost. Most Chinese continue to be exploited by the party-state and firms, often owned by or contracted for manufacturing to multinationals, which operate today across their country like 19th century robber barons. This explains partly why the prices of consumer products ‘made in China’ seem so low—the externalities are borne by workers, their families and the natural environment.

The attempted crushing of Falun Gong, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim and other independent faith groups, human rights lawyers and other civil society communities and in recent years indicates that China’s party-state must be engaged with great caution despite the severe ongoing world economic problems. If it ends the systematic and gross abuses of human dignity and takes major steps to indicate that it wishes to treat its trade partners in a mutually-beneficial way, the new century can bring harmony for China and its trading partners. The Chinese people for whom, like you, I have the strongest admiration have the numbers, perseverance, self-discipline, intelligence and other qualities to help make this new century better and more peaceful for the entire human family if given the opportunity.

Thank you.

David Kilgour website: http://www.david-kilgour.com/

- Original article

Australian writer quits China tour over dissident Liu Xiaobo’s jailing

Radio Australia, Jan 29, 2010-

Award-winning Australian author Frank Moorhouse is pulling out of a Government backed writer’s tour to China. He says it would be against his conscience to take part while the high profile dissident writer Liu Xiaobo is in jail. Liu was sentenced to 11 years jail last month for his part in writing a petition calling for political reforms in China.

Presenter: Ashley Hall
Speakers: Frank Moorhouse, Australian Author; Clothilde Le Coz, Reporters Without Borders

ASHLEY HALL: When Frank Moorhouse received an invitation to join a Government backed good-will tour to China he quickly said yes.

FRANK MOORHOUSE: It seemed a very attractive idea. Seven years ago I was at the first Hong Kong festival and it seemed to be a good idea.

ASHLEY HALL: The Australian Writers’ Week tour was designed to take a number of Australian authors to Beijing and Chengdu and give them the chance to read their work, speak in public and visit universities. And they’d participate in the international writers’ festivals in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

But Frank Moorhouse says his enthusiasm waned when he learned that the Chinese authorities had sentenced the Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo to 11 years’ jail for subverting state power.

FRANK MOORHOUSE: This alerted me to the fact that things weren’t improving. And I’d had the impression that freedom of expression was gradually improving in China. But this brought home to me in a very glaring way that things were very grim there.

ASHLEY HALL: He says he had to take a stand.

FRANK MOORHOUSE: It seemed to me very easy to be a great advocate of freedom of expression in Australia. But at the time there were good reasons for writing an essay about it. That was because of terrorism and the new legislation that was coming through at that time.

But it seemed to me very difficult for me now to go to China in the face of the jailing of Liu.

ASHLEY HALL: At first Frank Moorhouse considered going ahead with the tour and pointedly displaying an empty chair wherever he spoke to signify the absence of Liu Xiaobo.

It’s a tactic used often by the international network of writers devoted to freedom of expression, known as PEN.

FRANK MOORHOUSE: But I was advised that this was a very risky thing to do. It would endanger the organisers of the festivals and other people, Chinese people involved in organising this tour.

It would also probably put the other writers on the tour and myself at risk of some legal action.

I was told it would be very unwise to even mention the jailing of writers in China.

ASHLEY HALL: So he’s decided he won’t go at all. …… (more details from Radio Australia)

Google, IP Struggles Fuel US Business Concerns in China

Owen Fletcher, IDG News Service, Via PC World, Jan 29, 2010 -

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Thursday warned that China must become more transparent and predictable, as a row between Google and China drew concern about the business environment there for foreign companies.

Recent intellectual property rules that could block foreign companies from winning Chinese government contracts, followed by Google’s threat this month to leave China due to hacking and censorship, have put a spotlight on the tough regulations often faced by U.S. companies in China.

“China needs to continue making strides to be more transparent, predictable and committed to the rule of law,” Locke said in a speech, according to a copy of his prepared remarks. “If there is backsliding on these issues, it will affect the appetite of U.S. companies to enter the Chinese market and ultimately that will be bad for both the people of China and the United States.”

U.S. business associations this week wrote a letter to the Obama administration requesting its help on China’s recent intellectual property rules, which the letter said give significant preference for Chinese government procurement to products whose intellectual property is developed and owned in China. The rules run counter to Chinese pledges to avoid protectionism and mark “an unprecedented use of domestic intellectual property as a market-access condition,” said the letter, which was posted on the Web site of the Business Software Alliance.

The new requirements would make it virtually impossible for foreign companies to win Chinese government contracts, said Xiang Wang, a Beijing-based intellectual-property partner at law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. To comply with them, multinational companies would have to change their global model for managing intellectual property rights, transferring ownership of the rights to their Chinese subsidiaries rather than just licensing rights to them, he said.

Tough regulatory issues are likely to increase for foreign companies in China as the country keeps rising economically, Wang said.

“China has taken a very strong stance because of its economy,” he said……. (more from PC World)

China Human Rights Briefing (January 7-13, 2010)

Chinese Human Rights Defenders-

Legal Rights

Lawyer Li Zhuang Sentenced to Two and Half Years in Prison for “Fabricating Evidence and Obstructing Testimony”

Freedom of Expression

Sichuan Activist Chen Wei Summoned over Online Articles, Petitions

Harassment of Activists

Beijing Activist Gu Chuan Prevented from Leaving China

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Chronically Ill Activist and RTL Detainee Chen Yang Loses Hope in Medical Release

Arbitrary Detention

Police Seize Shenzhen Writer Zhao Dagong, Search Home and Question Family

Activist Duan Chunfang Still Denied Visits from Family Six Months into Detention

Guizhou Police Detain Petitioner for Over Four Months on Trumped-Up Charge

Heilongjiang Petitioner Seized in Beijing, Detained Ten Days

Jiangsu Petitioner Detained in Psychiatric Hospital

Freedom of Assembly

Trial Upcoming for Petitioners and Activists Detained Following February Courthouse Protest

Law and Policy Watch

Xinjiang Officials Continue Crackdown on “Three Forces” of Extremism, Separatism, Terrorism

Liaoning to Publicize Administrative Law Enforcement Information

- details from Chinese Human Rights Defenders

Online journalist to be tried for taking photos of demonstration in Southwest China

Reporters Without Borders, Jan 29, 2010-

Reporters Without Borders is very worried about the state of health of online journalist and writer Huang Xiaomin, who has been detained since March 2009 in the southwestern province of Sichuan and is due to be tried on 1 February. “We urge the authorities to drop the charges against him and free him at once,” the organisation said.

Huang Xiaomin was arrested by the Jinniu district public security bureau in connection with his coverage of a 23 February demonstration outside the intermediate people’s court in the provincial capital of Chengdu for the release of cyber-dissident Huang Qi, the creator of the Tianwang website and human rights network, who has been unjustly detained since June 2008.

A contributor to several independent websites, Huang Xiaomin is accused of “disturbing the social order” although all he did was take photos of the dozen or so protesters. He has been held since April in a detention centre in the city of Leshan. His family has never been given a copy of any arrest warrant……. (more details from Reporters Without Borders)

6 Christian Leaders Detained, Pastor’s Home Destroyed in Central China

China Aid, January 28, 2010 -

SHANXI– On November 17, 2009, nearly 600 Christian brothers and sisters gathered together in Yangshupo Village in Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province. In the afternoon of November 18th, armed police guards arrived at the gathering site and besieged the group. The police detained all 500 house church attenders on the site for several hours, before arresting Ren Boqing, Jia Jun and Gao Wenjun, church members who drove vans to help bring many of the Christians to the church meeting.

Ren Boqing and Jia Jun were both charged with criminal detention for ‘evil cult involvement,’ a typical sentence for house church believers on November 19th; Gao Wenjun was arrested, but released on bail soon after, and is now awaiting news of criminal trial. Two locals, Ma Fei and Lin Zhengyuan, were additionally arrested on November 19, 2009, and have been criminally detained since for allegedly “participating in a cult.”

Brother Gao Mao, the group leader, was seized and immediately placed in criminal detention at the Detention Center of Pinglu District in Shuozhou. On November 20th, more than 400 police ransacked Mao’s home, stealing both valuables and daily necessities, such as blankets, food, oil, and removing Bibles and Hymnals from the site. They destroyed his entire property during the raid, inflicting close to 1.4 million RMB in damages and loss. In an attempt to cover-up the utter destruction of Gao’s home, the police immediately planted trees among the debris on the ground to conceal their tracks……. (more details from China Aid)

Schedule: Shen Yun World-wide Show in February, 2010- Asia & USA

In February, Shen Yun Performing Arts’ state-of-art classical Chinese dance and music show will be performed in cities in Asia and in USA. Here is a  schedule from the Shen Yun  Performing Arts’ website (http://www.shenyunperformingarts.org/)

Dallas, TX, USA	Feb 5 – 6
Los Angeles, CA, USA	Feb 5 – 14
Worcester, MA, USA	Feb 6 – 7
Springfield, IL, USA	Feb 9
St. Louis, MO, USA	Feb 11 – 13
New York City, NY, USA	Feb 13 – 21
ChangWon, Korea	Feb 23
Daegu, Korea	Feb 25 – Mar 1
Rochester, NY, USA	Feb 27 – 28
Norfolk, VA, USA	Feb 27

Here’s a video highlighting  the show:

Shen Yun “performance was extraordinary”, the choreography “was amazing”, says Vice President of Public Television

By Diana Mathias, Epoch Times Staff, Jan 28, 2010-

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— The Broward Center for the Performing Arts was the venue for two performances of Shen Yun Performing Arts, on Jan. 26 and 27. The New York-based Shen Yun brings to audiences around the world an insight into classical Chinese dance and music with culture that is thousands of years old.

People who work in the area of performance production have a special awareness of the demands of the dancing, singing and the playing of musical instruments, and Shen Yun often receives compliments from experts in these fields. One of these people is Ms. Diane Bliss, who works for Public Television as an executive producer and vice president.

Ms. Bliss expressed her response to the show, saying, “I’m really amazed at the beauty of the performance itself. I think the performance was extraordinary. The choreography, and all the precision of the dancers was amazing. That was enhanced with the costuming and the props that were used.

“It was very, very unusual for me to really unravel the levels that are involved in Chinese dance,” saying she had come to appreciate it more.

She also remarked: “The female dancers are just so beautiful and feminine. They are exquisite … pristine is another word for me to describe them … the females were so graceful and fluid in their movements.”…… (more details from The Epochtimes)

U.S.-China Association Local Chair: ‘I absorbed a lot of Chinese culture’

By Helena Zhu, Epoch Times Staff, Jan. 27, 2010-

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— Ms. Tang Wing-han was at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday Jan. 27 to see New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts for the third year.

Ms. Tang, the chairwoman of the United States and China Association’s Southern Florida Chapter, said that she observed change in her appreciation over the three years that she has watched Shen Yun shows.

“I did not develop a deep understanding of Shen Yun’s inner meaning in the first year,” said Ms. Tang. “Yet starting last year, I started to have [a] better understanding of the many historical stories such as that of General Yue Fei and Wu Song Battles the Tiger. I realized that these stories that we have read as children can actually prevail in today’s society.

“Last year, after watching the beating of the thunderous drums, I finally knew what ‘magnificence’ means. I liked it a lot. And this year the dance of the Archers in the Imperial Court also allowed me to have better insight into my own culture. And I was so touched by the beauty and feeling of nature of the ethnic dances such as dances of the Miao and Dai.

“In a nutshell, I absorbed a lot of Chinese culture through watching the show.”

Born in Macao, a Chinese city previously under Portugal’s control, Ms. Tang said that she has witnessed the change in the city since her birth.

“Nowadays, Hong Kong and Macao are dramatically different from how they were a decade ago,” said Ms. Tang. “At that time, Hong Kong belonged to Great Britain and Macao belonged to Portugal—under Western governments, these two cities enjoyed genuine freedom. Yet upon their returning to the Chinese Communist Party recently, more or less they are now under the regime’s influence and censorship.”

As one of Shen Yun’s companies performs in Fort Lauderdale, another equally grand Shen Yun company was scheduled to play in Hong Kong starting from Jan. 27 for seven shows. However, the shows faced last-minute cancelation as the Hong Kong Government, refused to grant visas to six of Shen Yun’s key technical staff.

“In theory, Hong Kong and mainland China are in such a relationship that they are of the same country but under different policies. Therefore Hong Kong has no reason to block Shen Yun from occurring……. (more details from The Epochtimes)

Pianist: ‘Impossible to express with words’ to describe Shen Yun

By Heide B. Malhotra, Epoch Times Staff, Jan 27, 2010-

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— The Shen Yun Performing Arts‘ opening night at the Broward Center for Performing Arts was another resounding success in a long string of shows staged worldwide.

Mr. Rodolfo Gramcko, a pianist who has played the piano since the age of 4, also plays the organ and teaches music. He was in the audience with members of his family, Grace, Angelique, and Kaye, and was so impressed with the show that he hopes to bring an Indonesian friend of Chinese decent to the St. Petersburg show on Jan. 29.

There were “a lot of things that moved my heart,” he said.

“I love it. It was wonderful, emotional, and inspiring all throughout. Not only the music, I mean the message, the dancing, everything that has been conveyed with colors and the inner spirit … really touched my heart,” he said.

“All the scenes have a connection—one after the other. Color-wise, theme-wise, everything was connected. … I feel a lot of things, but I see the beauty, I see the honesty. There are so many things that are impossible to express with words. It was all perfectly balanced.”…… (more details from The Epochtimes)

Every breath I take must be illegal: Released Chinese writer

By Madeline Earp/Asia Research Associate, CPJ, Jan 28, 2010 -

Siweiluozi’s Blog, an anonymous blog that covers various Chinese legal issues and current affairs, has translated a series of updates by Chinese writer Yang Zili, who was arrested in 2001 and later convicted of subversion against the state for online articles. Released last year after serving eight years, Yang joined Twitter and has been describing his incarceration in a series of short posts.

Here’s an extract that displays Yang’s spirit during his ordeal:

My interrogator asked me, “Why did you write this article?” “That’s the way I thought,” I answered. “Don’t I have freedom of thought and freedom of speech?” He answered: “As long as it’s in your mind, you have freedom of thought. As soon as you speak, it becomes action!” Looking at it this way, since the constitution says nothing about “freedom to breathe,” every breath I take must be illegal.

(Read the Chinese here.)

Twitter is frequently blocked within China but remains popular among Chinese Web users familiar with circumvention software to overcome the blocks, according to CPJ research.

CPJ records at least 24 journalists still imprisoned in China.

- Original from CPJ

Speech: Responsible Engagement With China (6)- Responsible policies

Hon. David Kilgour, J.D., German-American Institute, Heidelberg, Germany, 11 January 2010 – (cont’d)

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The Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman has predicted that Beijing’s ongoing refusal to let its currency float will cause retaliation from the European Union and elsewhere, where high unemployment can be traced in part to Beijing’s ongoing refusal to let the yuan rise and its manufacturing focus in a world struggling with overcapacity. The party-state continues to dump consumer goods–no doubt including many made in forced labour camps– at lower-than-cost in foreign markets. The manipulated yuan creates an enormous competitive advantage for China and keeps some workers from Munich to Montreal to Manila out of work. Krugman also says that by displacing the output of foreign producers with its own low-wage goods China is arguably the prime culprit in holding back a robust recovery in global economies.

Peter Navarro, a professor at the University of California, says that consumer markets across the world have been “conquered” by China largely through cheating on trade practices. These include export subsidies, widespread counterfeiting and piracy of products, currency manipulation, and environmental, health and safety standards weakly enforced. Navarro says new trade legislation by all of China’s trade partners could help achieve fair trade through the following:

• All economies must refrain from illegal export subsidies and currency manipulation and abide by the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO);
• For currency manipulation, he supports what the bi-partisan US-China Commission has recommended to the American Congress: define it as an illegal export subsidy and add it to other subsidies when calculating anti-dumping and countervail penalties;
• Every trade partner must respect intellectual property; adopt and enforce health, safety and environmental regulations consistent with international norms; provide decent wages and working conditions; and effectively ban the use of forced labour;
• Adopt a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy for anyone who sells or distributes pirated or counterfeit goods;
• Defective and contaminated food and drugs must be blocked more effectively by measures which make it easier to hold importers liable for selling foreign products that do harm to people or pets;
• Despite growing criticism, China’s party-state continues to trade its UN Security Council veto for energy, raw materials and access to markets from Angola to Burma to Zimbabwe. Increased monitoring and exposure of its party-state activities everywhere is important;
• To reverse the ‘race to the environmental bottom’ in China, require all to compete on a level playing field and to reduce acid rain and smog affecting populations abroad; all trade agreements should henceforth include strong provisions for protection of the natural environment.

(to be con’t)

-From David Kilgour website: http://www.david-kilgour.com/

10 Forbidden Stories of 2009 in China (10)-

Epoch Times Staff, updated: Jan 7, 2010 – (cont’d)

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Controversy around auction of Chinese bronzes in Paris

A Chinese bidder sabotaged the auction of two Chinese bronzes with a false 14 million-euro bid for each during the “auction of the century” held in Paris in February 2009. The bidder claimed it was an act of patriotism because the bronzes were looted from China during the Anglo-French allied invasion of 1860.

Pierre Bergé , Saint Laurent’s partner and owner of the bronzes later told NTDTV that Chinese people should thank him because the bronzes could have been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution if they were left in China. He also said that the day the Chinese regime respects human rights is the day he will return the bronzes to China.

Bergé was widely quoted as saying, “I am willing to return the heads on one condition,” he said to reporters via an interpreter, on Feb. 23, “that the Chinese government respects the human rights of its people, gives liberty to Tibet and welcomes the Dalai Lama.’’

References:
Bidder refused to pay for looted Chinese bronzes
China demands return of Christie’s ‘looted relics ‘

(END)

- The Epochtimes

A list of the measures taken by Hong Kong government to persecute human rights

(excerpt) Theresa Chu, human rights lawyer (Taiwan),Via The Epochtimes, Jan 27, 2010-

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(excerpt) Since the CCP took over Mainland China in mid-last century, the regime had been treating anyone who raises a dissenting voice as its enemy and issues strict entry denial orders against them, especially during “sensitive periods.” Those targeted include Falun Gong practitioners, civil rights activists and any perceived dissidents, and now this list apparently includes performing arts groups. The CCP is blatantly sabotaging the “One country, two system” policy that it agreed to, as well as Chinese and Non-Chinese people’s freedom of speech, expression and religion. It is not an exaggeration to call the Hong Kong Immigration Department, who assists the CCP to abuse human rights, “Hong Kong’s woe.”

Below is a list of the measures the Hong Kong Immigration Department has been taking to persecute human rights.

1. “Rather wrongfully kill 100 people than letting a single one escape. Better safe than sorry.” It has happened too often that common Taiwanese or Western citizens who happen to have the same name as Falun Gong practitioners or dissidents are refused visa or denied entry to Hong Kong during the so-called “sensitive periods,” regardless of what evidence they provide to identify themselves. The Hong Kong police have admitted that these people were denied simply on the basis of their names. Afterwards the victims are often seen emotionally condemning the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s maltreatment at press conferences.

2. “A disguised means to refuse a visa – hold the application until it’s too late.” Regardless of how early the application was submitted and how complete the supplied supporting documentation was, the Immigration Department holds it for a month or longer without granting or denying the visa, leaving the applicant in a fog of uncertainty about their trips. Then, three or five days before the scheduled departure, the Immigration Department will typically demand more documentation such as more identification or documentation of assets, in order to make the applicant miss the departure time and the activity time in Hong Kong. Some applicants would finally get their visa after the activity date, some would get their visa on the activity date, but in either case the effect was the same as a visa refusal. Some applicants were still refused after supplying more than the necessary personal information, in addition to suffering the financial loss of airline tickets and hotel expenses.

3. “No boarding.” If the Immigration Department realized it had “mistakenly” given out visa to a blacklisted person, it would inform the airlines to stop the person from boarding the airplane. This has happened on Taiwan Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. For example, the latter had assisted the Immigration Department in 2007 to identify Falun Gong practitioners in the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, who were ready to board its flight, showing the practitioners the notice from the Immigration Department to stop them from boarding. An e-mail in this context has been kept by the Hong Kong Falun Dafa Association as evidence in future legal actions. There are 28 such documented cases concerning Falun Gong practitioners.

4.”No unboarding (meaning if they identify you as being on the plane and flying to Hong Kong, they will not let you get off the plane, when you arrive in Hong Kong)” If the Hong Kong Immigration Department has identified Falun Gong practitioners among the passengers flying into Hong Kong, then it will have them kept on the aircraft until it’s boarded by Hong Kong police, who would then follow the “collective entry denial or deportation” procedures to send them out of Hong Kong. There are more than 30 documented cases regarding Falun Gong practitioners in this category. Please be alarmed that these people were identified before arriving at the Hong Kong border, which indicates that a blacklist is obviously in existence and being referenced.

Besides the measures listed above, for six years, there are at least 1,200 Falun Gong practitioners who have been refused visas or denied entry at Hong Kong’s border. The US Congressional Human Rights Caucus held a round table meeting titled “Hong Kong vs. Falun Gong” in August 2007 after reviewing the victims’ testimonies, photos and medical evidences. During the meeting Falun Gong practitioners gave personal accounts about the Hong Kong Immigration Department’s human rights abuses.

This time, the Hong Kong Immigration Department has once again played its old trick of delaying and refusing visas for Shen Yun crew members, with the obvious intention of not letting Shen Yun perform in Hong Kong.

In the two years prior to this incident, the CCP has used its consulates and spies around the world at least seven times in an attempt to sabotage and interfere with Shen Yun’s shows. There is no doubt that the CCP is behind the puppet Hong Kong authorities’ disgraceful conduct.

The people of Hong Kong should understand that the CCP is stopping Shen Yun Performing Arts’ performances in Hong Kong at the cost of incurring Hong Kong’s libel law ruling! Hong Kong people should condemn its government for degrading morality in order to execute the CCP’s orders!

……

- From the Epochtimes

Shen Yun Review, by U.S. Public Television Vice President, Jan 27, 2010

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—The Broward Center for the Performing Arts was the venue for two performances of Shen Yun Performing Arts, on Jan. 26 and 27. The New York-based Shen Yun brings to audiences around the world an insight into classical Chinese dance and music with culture that is thousands of years old.

People who work in the area of performance production have a special awareness of the demands of the dancing, singing and the playing of musical instruments, and Shen Yun often receives compliments from experts in these fields. One of these people is Ms. Diane Bliss, who works for Public Television as an executive producer and vice president.

Ms. Bliss expressed her response to the show, saying, “I’m really amazed at the beauty of the performance itself. I think the performance was extraordinary. The choreography, and all the precision of the dancers was amazing. That was enhanced with the costuming and the props that were used.

“It was very, very unusual for me to really unravel the levels that are involved in Chinese dance,” saying she had come to appreciate it more.

She also remarked: “The female dancers are just so beautiful and feminine. They are exquisite … pristine is another word for me to describe them … the females were so graceful and fluid in their movements.”

Shen Yun offers dances and also solo singing performances by tenor Hong Ming, baritone Qu Yue, and soprano Pi-ju Huang, according to the official program. Ms. Bliss said she felt the tenor’s voice was very, very dynamic and extraordinary. She thought they were all very, very professional.

“The soprano was also lovely,” she said. And she had a whole new appreciation for the words that were sung as they were displayed on the backdrop. She felt it was very helpful for someone who’s not totally familiar with the songs and the lyrics.

“Obviously, it’s working!” she said. Shen Yun Performing Arts has three companies that are on tour, reaching hundreds of cities around the world. “And my understanding is that the audience are growing and growing and that those who’ve seen it one year will come back, because it’s a brand new show the second time around,” she commented.

Ms. Bliss concluded by saying, “It’s an eye-opener and needed to be shared.”

- from the Epochtimes