Inside China Today

Inside China Today – Friday 29th January

Banner reads: "Strong Protest. HK Govt and CCP harming Shen Yun Performing Arts."

- Hong Kong public condemns disruption of Shen Yun
- Politicians rebuke Hong Kong government for defying cultural freedom
- Government corruption leads to poverty in China

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Hong Kong public condemns disruption of Shen Yun

The New York based Shen Yun Performing Arts has been forced to cancel shows in Hong Kong due to interference from the Hong Kong government. The news has disappointed and outraged people in Hong Kong, who’ve condemned the government for yielding under the pressures of the Chinese Communist regime.

Many supporters and patrons of Shen Yun who had already purchased tickets arrived outside the Immigration Department’s Immigration Tower, awaiting news of the situation. When local presenters announced the Shen Yun performances in Hong Kong were forced to cancel, many expressed anger and resentment.

Senior Hong Kong media worker Mr Cheng Xiang said (recording):
“I hope our citizens come together and pay attention to this matter together, and protect freedom in international cooperation for the sake of the Hong Kong people and Hong Kong society.”

Hong Kong resident Mr Huang Haodong who works in cultural promotions said (recording):
“I feel shocked and outraged! Shen Yun Performing Arts is a perfectly fair, reasonable and legal performing group. This time, their planned visit to Hong Kong has been intervened with in such an unreasonable manner by the Immigration Department. I feel the Hong Kong government is disgraceful.”

Mr Chui Pak Tai, Council member of Hong Kong’s Wong Tai Sin District said (recording):
“These moves and actions really make us feel ashamed as people of Hong Kong, so I feel extremely resentful. Throughout this ordeal the Hong Kong government has only carried out particular orders, and we see these orders have come from Beijing. Beijing is so narrow-minded, what reason does it have to censor the performance of such arts?”

Former Sai Kung District council member Mr Lam Wing Yin said (recording):
“We’re here to express our dissatisfaction, and voice our protest. Does this mean from now on the people of Hong Kong cannot enjoy such high class, high calibre artistic performances like people in other cities? Does this mean such cultural programs need to be verified by our government before our people can enjoy it without interruption? That is a definite no. Strictly speaking this has already violated the freedom that our people are entitled to.

At the conference, many Hong Kong citizens also spoke of the Chinese Communist regime’s efforts to prevent their friends and family in mainland China from seeing Shen Yun in Hong Kong, through suppression.

Hong Kong citizen Ms Zhang said (recording):
“The police in Shenzhen tapped their phones, and dispatched police officers to search their home. They then threatened to take my mother away, all for wanting to see an ordinary show.”

Ms Yang, also a citizen of Hong Kong said (recording):
“My friend was kidnapped by authorities on January 19th for his plans to see Shen Yun in Hong Kong. The Chinese Communist regime has mobilized a lot of police power. They dispatched police officers to search for the ticket to Shen Yun in his home, but could not find anything after searching the entire house. Yet they still kidnapped him, and he is currently held at Tianhe detention center.”

Many foreign tourists who planned to see Shen Yun in their visit to Hong Kong also expressed their disappointment.

Lin Xiuyi in Hong Kong, of the SOH Radio Network

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Politicians rebuke Hong Kong government for defying cultural freedom

The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has been forced to cancel seven sold out shows in Hong Kong due to intentional hindrance by the Hong Kong government. The news was received badly by many in Hong Kong. Giving their opinion, politicians criticised the government for giving in to pressure by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to suppress cultural exchange; a violation of Hong Kong’s Basic Law.

The president of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Mr. Situ Hua, pointed out the driving force of the CCP’s interference. According to Mr Situ, the totalitarian regime is on the verge of collapse, and it was apparent that many in Mainland China long to see Shen Yun Performing Arts.

He added that the CCP has been sabotaging traditional Chinese culture. As such it regarded Shen Yun’s efforts to revive traditional Chinese culture as a threat.

Mr Situ said (recording), “Take Confucius as an example. During previous political movements, Confucius was a target of attack. But now, Confucius Colleges are being set up around the world as a unification tool. These things have some artistic aspects to them but serve purely political purposes. In such a context, the authentic traditional arts will be taken as hostile and something to be stamped down.”

The League of Social Democrats’ Legislative Council MP Liang Guoxiong criticized the Immigration Department for abusing power by denying seven key Shen Yun production staff their entry visas. The aim was to prevent Shen Yun from putting on a show in Hong Kong. These actions violated the ‘freedom of culture exchange’ as laid out by the Basic Law.

Mr Liang said (recording), “Tensions are very strained as there is a lot of political pressure. This is a cultural affair. Even though we did not sign the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 39 of the Basic Law has these provisions. Therefore it is illegal to restrict Hong Kong residents or others’ freedom of cultural exchanges. The Hong Kong government bows to Beijing, which was the reason for many instances of immigration control in the past. As an international city Hong Kong does not have these concepts. The more, the merrier. If a regime uses its political preferences as a yardstick, it naturally is disconnected with human rights standards.”

The President of the League of Social Democrats, Huang Yumin, strongly condemned Hong Kong government’s supporting role in suppression.

Many MPs promised to raise inquiries at the Legislative Council, demanding a response from the government.

Huang Yumin said, “In my opinion, members of the Legislative Council should raise the query at the Security Committee as well as raising inquiry at the Legislative Council assembly and following it through.”

Perry Luo; and Lin Xiuyi of the SOH Radio Network.

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Government corruption leads to poverty in China

Chinese government officials are amongst the highest spenders of public funds in the world. China’s administrative expenses surpass those of the United States, France and Japan. In contrast, over 150 million Chinese people live in extreme poverty and earn less than one dollar per day. Some scholars have said the fundamental reason for this is China’s social system.

According to economics Professor Yeliang Xia of Peking University, the large number of people living in poverty is a reflection of China’s current social system.

Xia stated, (recording)
“According to the World Bank, those whose daily consumption is under one U.S. dollar are considered in extreme poverty. If under two dollars, they are in poverty. As of today, at least 150 million people, which is over ten percent of the population, live in poverty and extreme poverty. This is a reflection of the irrational social structures and wealth distribution system.”

Professor Xia further said, real statistics on the wealth disparity should be made public and government expenditures should be cut as well (recording):
“We should reveal these facts, and get the attention of people both inside and outside of China…we should be economical and cut government spending, especially personal spending with public funds, whether they’re for food or transport, or funds for ‘studying abroad’. Those three factors account for over one trillion Chinese Yuan. This is such a huge number! I think we can cut it by at least half. We could really use that half of the money to support the lives of the poor.”
Another scholar from Heilongjiang Province named Liao Cheng, said people earning less than one U.S. dollar are abundant where he lives. Because of employment difficulties, many people between the ages 40 and 80 make a living collecting garbage. They earn less than 200 Yuan after collecting litter for three months.

Liao told reporters (recording):
“The officials can do whatever they want. The anger and resentment from the masses means nothing to them. There is no independent press and the officials ignore what the general public wants. The officials are far worse; worse than the invaders of China seen in the past. To be honest, there is nowhere else in the world where you can find corruption to the extent in China today. This is the result of an imbalance of power within the system. They can continue without stopping.”

Craig Richter; Fu Ming; and Yu Ming of the SOH Radio Network.