BIRMINGHAM, UK—Lord Hunt of King’s Heath, who attended the Shen Yun performance on New Year’s Eve in Birmingham, said, “It was a real honor to be here, and I’m really delighted to see such a wonderful production with, of course, a very important message.”
Lord Hunt spoke of his past efforts to stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and organ harvesting.
“I, as a parliamentarian, have been campaigning for a long time to bring to the world’s attention the forced organ harvesting that takes place in China and, of course, where Falun Gong practitioners have been particularly affected.
Shen Yun highlights the persecution of good people in China, he said.
“I think that has brought home to us all with very hard evidence, the impact that this is having on China, not just Falun Gong practitioners. In Xinjiang [in northeastern China], many people have been affected.
“My efforts have really been about trying to make sure that no British person or British company can be involved in this abhorrent practice. But I also think that [things will change] by changing the law in this country, which we’ve achieved.
“It’s also a signal to other countries and gives heart to those campaigners who are really working very, very hard indeed to stop this practice, and to really bring this to the world’s attention.”
Lord Hunt said that, as Shen Yun tours all over the world, it has a deep impact on society.
“I think, first of all, it does really bring home the quality of Chinese culture as it was practiced,” he said.
“It brings home to us all the benefits that we have in this country, of being able to have free speech, and to be able to elect and get rid of a government.”
Shen Yun shines a light on “the plight of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and the more general human rights abuses that are taking place there. In particular, for me, the message about enforced organ harvesting. All of those things come to powerful attention in this wonderful production,” Lord Hunt said.
With shows scheduled in over 200 cities and across five continents, the 2024 touring season is shaping up to be the artists’ busiest yet.
Lord Hunt heaped praise on Shen Yun’s performance.
“I think we saw a production of the very highest quality. I just couldn’t praise it enough. It was simply brilliant. So it was a real privilege to be here. And I’m very, very grateful. Thank you.”
‘The Stories Are Amazing’
Elizabeth Bailey, a director of data analytics, said Shen Yun’s performance was “bright! It’s amazing! It’s vibrant! There’s so much movement and so many amazing dancers.”
She said that she had never seen classical Chinese dance. “It’s a new style of dance. It’s something that we’ve not seen before. It’s so bright, it’s so colorful, so athletic and acrobatic, and has just beautiful moves.”
Through classical Chinese dance and music, Shen Yun is sharing with the world the beauty of China’s authentic 5,000 years of history. Since its founding in 2006, the company has received worldwide accolades for its mission to revive traditional Chinese culture.
Ms. Bailey was happy that her daughter could see the dancers. “My daughter loves to dance, so it’s amazing to bring her to see this. She’s only 11 … So it’s amazing to bring her to see the professionals.”
Classical Chinese dance carries a deeply expressive quality that impressed Ms. Bailey. “It’s so expressive. You can tell what people are feeling.”
She said she was able to follow the stories told through dance with explanations in the program. “It’s really helpful to have the explanation so that you can follow it along. It’s wonderful,” she said.
Understanding the Chinese way of thinking as presented through traditional stories was “like a learning experience,” she said.
Ms. Bailey had many ways to describe the performance. “Well worth seeing! Just amazing! Magical! Fantastic! Motivational actually! And a great learning experience and very, very enjoyable!”
She described Birmingham as a multicultural city and said Shen Yun motivated her to learn more about different cultures.
“This is something I get to do as part of my job. So it’s just a great opportunity to learn more about different people from a different part of the world.”
She liked that the stories themselves revealed traditional Chinese culture.
“The stories are amazing. They’re really fascinating because a lot of them are new to me. It’s great to understand not only the traditional stories, but also the more modern stories, and the more modern kind of take and thoughts about the current situation,” she said.
Reporting by Liang Dong and Yvonne Marcotte.
From The Epoch Times
