Former Premier of Taiwan, William Lai Ching-te, said “it’s definitely worthwhile to see the show,” after he attended the splendid performance presented by Shen Yun Performing Arts World Company at the Tainan Cultural Center Performing Hall on the evening of April 28.
“It [Shen Yun] creates an all-new program every year, and the spiritual level of its show every year is very high,” he added.
Having watched Shen Yun three times over the past years, the former Premier especially expressed his sincere welcome to Shen Yun for visiting his hometown again this year.
“Highly welcome [to Shen Yun], and highly appreciative [of Shen Yun’s visiting Tainan again],” he said.
Journey Through China
In ancient China, spirituality was an important part of people’s lives. Values and beliefs such as benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, and honesty were passed down through the centuries. New York-based Shen Yun aims to keep them alive today in its performances.
Shen Yun’s performance also consists of pieces portraying today’s real-life human rights abuses in China like the persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that is currently being persecuted in China.
A piece that especially touched his heart was a dance drama showing the persecution of a Chinese girl for her steadfastness in her belief in Falun Gong.
William Lai admired Shen Yun artists’ dedication and devotion very much.
“I personally admire it very much,” he said.
“The reason why Shen Yun is so popular is that in addition to Shen Yun artists’ top-notch quality that contributes to the perfect performance, what’s more important, in fact, is that every artist has practiced Falun Gong. That’s why Shen Yun’s artistic and spiritual level is so high,” he continued.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, teaches the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance,” where adherents seek to realize these principles in their lives to become a truly good people in the society.
“Every piece of the superb program contains the spirit of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance,” he said.
Knowing that Shen Yun is banned in China, William Lai felt the loss is very regrettable.
“As China is still an autocratic country that adopts high-pressure means to control its people, it is afraid of the [celestial] realm portrayed by Shen Yun,” he said. “That’s why Shen Yun cannot perform in China. It is a loss for China’s immense population.”
“In fact, the Chinese Communist regime doesn’t have to interfere with Shen Yun. If they came to see [Shen Yun], they would enjoy it, and admire Shen Yun’s high level of artistry,” he commented.
“The Chinese people should see the performance with the connotations of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It wouldn’t do any harm to the Chinese regime’s leadership. So, there’s no need for it [the Chinese Communist regime] to suppress Shen Yun,” William Lai reiterated.
NTD News, Taiwan
