STOCKHOLM, Sweden—On the evening of March 18, New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts successfully completed its first performance in Stockholm. Audience members were deeply moved by some of the classical Chinese cultural traditions portrayed in the show. Among them was renowned writer Chen Shizhong.
Mr. Chen, in his 70s, is a famous freelance writer. He became well-known for his portrayal of the main character in one work by another renowned writer, Liu Binyan. In his early years, he studied in Moscow. Later, he became the president of the Moscow Student Association. During the Cultural Revolution in China, he was imprisoned for 14 years. After being released, he became a professor at Harbin Poly-tech University. In the 90s, he fled China and eventually settled in Switzerland.
Mr. Chen came to see the Shen Yun performance from another city. After the performance, he said, “This is very good indeed! It’s just like what I imagined. I feel my trip has truly been worth while.”
Mr. Chen considers all the artists, including those who work behind the scenes, as heroes. He also felt that the performers have pure hearts, which makes the performance unique. He said, “I can feel it. It’s unlike other performances, for example the Spring Festival Celebration on CCTV brought a lot of criticism. Those fake and empty performances are the exact opposite of Shen Yun.”
He feels that it is unfortunate that China’s 5,000 years of culture can only be portrayed by overseas China. He said that in mainland China, the culture is contaminated with Communist Party culture, and the 1.3 billion people there aren’t able to create such beautiful programs as that of Shen Yun.
Mr. Chen also said that several of the programs moved him to tears by the vivid images of hardships, maltreatment, and the injustice people are experiencing in China. They reminded him of the ruthless persecution he has witnessed and experienced.
He said, “From the program, we could gain an understanding of how the police and spies under the Chinese communist regime treat Falun Gong practitioners who adhere to their beliefs. This also shows what a dreadful moral level those so-called humans have degenerated to. Those people have already lost their humanity under the communist regime’s rein. Their behavior has brought anger to the gods as well as humans. I think truth and justice will eventually win. There are no exceptions in any country at any time.”
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
