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.
“I think that since we live in the United States, our thoughts are much broader. The United States is a place that promotes freedom of thought. You can see that many of tonight’s audience members have their own faiths, yet they are very happy to watch Shen Yun, because they respect each other’s belief. That’s why they love Shen Yun.”
With reporting by Xiaolin Leszko.
Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will now perform in St. Petersburg, on Jan. 29 and in Jacksonville on Jan. 30-31.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
