Who's afraid of Shen Yun?

“These local officials were following the lead of their overlords in Beijing. It is always sad to see censorship and repression of this kind spreading to places like Hong Kong, who were once beacons of freedom and hope in the world…”

PRESS STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2010
Contact: Tara Setmayer
202-225-2415

Hong Kong Follows Lead of Beijing Overlords by Denying Artists’ Visas

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Rep. Dana Rohrabacher has issued the following statement in response to Hong Kong’s recent decision to deny visas to members of the New York based, Shen Yun Performing Arts Group, scheduled to put on a show depicting the story of the Falun Gong in Hong Kong:

“It is very upsetting to learn that the government in Hong Kong has recently denied visas to several members of the Shen Yun Performing Arts group because they dare to tell the story of Falun Gong. This New York based performing arts groups was forced to cancel several sold out performances because key visas were denied by the local Hong Kong authorities.

“These local officials were following the lead of their overlords in Beijing. It is always sad to see censorship and repression of this kind spreading to places like Hong Kong, who were once beacons of freedom and hope in the world. Acts of suppression, such as this, only serve to highlight the inherent weakness in Beijing’s illegitimate government. The Communist leaders are so insecure that they fear just a handful of actors could pull back the veil of propaganda and show the people what is really going on in their own country.

“Falun Gong is an ancient spiritual practice. Apparently its teachings of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance are seen as dangerous by the CCP and which have no place in communist China. For over ten years now this peaceful practice has been outlawed in China and thousands and thousands of its practitioners have been harassed, beaten, sentenced to jail, murdered, had their organs harvested, been confined to mental hospitals and deported to labor camps.”

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