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Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by forkLding on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @02:47PM (#19434193)
For those who don't know, Falun Gong is perceived like the Chinese version of Scientology in China, although a lot of injustice was done to Falun Gong followers and most of their assets frozen, there isn't much sympathy for them and they're typically regarded as a bit weird, believing in Qi, faith healing and all that.
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by TomMckenny on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @03:58PM (#19435063)
It's also pretty counter productive and even tone deaf to put on program that alienates and denigrates the very groups in the States that would have been their biggest sympathizers against that oppression.

It also reminds us that there are worlds views even worse than the status quo. As unbelievable as that may seem.

Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by Tsubasachan on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @07:03PM (#19437050)
China has very, very bad experiences with religious nutcases. They haven't forgotten what American missionaries have done either.
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by doitLP on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @10:48PM (#19438439)
You could also say religious nutcases have also had very bad experiences with China.
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by theonething on Wednesday March 20, 2019 @12:13AM (#19438917)
> They haven't forgotten what American missionaries have done either.

What exactly is that?

Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by Ericson2314 on Wednesday March 20, 2019 @01:24AM (#19439259)
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by HillaryBriss on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @04:43PM (#19435615)
is believing in Qi a fringe belief in China nowadays?
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by salty_biscuits on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @05:52PM (#19436389)
Someone once told me that the authorities in China are a bit hypersensitive to organized woo, mostly as a reaction to the boxer rebellion. I don't know what to believe.
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by pthomas551 on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @07:07PM (#19437086)
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by salty_biscuits on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @08:07PM (#19437525)
Well both really, important point is that there is a history that influences the current ideology.
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by forkLding on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @09:33PM (#19438044)
In general, its not really a fringe belief and there are whole communities, typically older folks who believe in it. However those that severely believe in Qi's ability to heal and all that can be seen as slightly wacky or "traditionally religious".
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by forkLding on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @09:34PM (#19438049)
In general its not really a fringe belief and there are whole communities, typically older folks who believe in it. However those that severely believe in Qi's ability to heal and all that can be seen as slightly wacky or "traditionally religious".
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by perennate on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @04:42PM (#19435597)
> a lot of injustice

"injustice" doesn't even begin to describe the level of persecution that they have endured in China. This is nothing like Scientology in any way, followers of Scientology are not murdered by the U.S. government.

Just take a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Falun_Gong#Tort...

"In order to reach transformation targets, the government sanctioned the systematic use of torture and violence against Falun Gong practitioners, including shocks with electric truncheons and beatings."

"Since 2000, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture documented 314 cases of torture in China, representing more than 1,160 individuals. Falun Gong comprised 66% of the reported torture cases."

"The Falun Dafa Information Center reports that over 3,700 named Falun Gong practitioners have died as a result of torture and abuse in custody, typically after they refused to recant their beliefs. ... Government authorities deny that Falun Gong practitioners are killed in custody. They attribute deaths to suicide, illness, or other accidents."

"In 2014, investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann published the results of his own investigation. ... In 2014, investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann published the results of his own investigation. ... In December 2005 and November 2006, China's Deputy Health Minister acknowledged that the practice of removing organs from executed prisoners for transplants was widespread. However, Chinese officials deny that Falun Gong practitioners' organs are being harvested, and insist that China abides by World Health Organization principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors."

And https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong_outside_mainland_Ch...

"In September 2001, five Falun Gong practitioners were assaulted while demonstrating outside the Chinese consulate in Chicago. The assailants, who were later convicted of battery, were members of a Chinese-American association with connections to the Chinese consulate."

"In 2002, 25-year-old Ottawa practitioner Leon Wang reported being kicked, dragged, and beaten inside the Chinese embassy after he was caught taking pictures of an anti-Falun Gong exhibit being held there. The embassy responded that Wang had 'sneaked in ... and disrupted its normal functioning' of the event."

Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by crankylinuxuser on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @04:49PM (#19435679)
You know, they can both be bad.

Just because a government does bad things to a group, doesn't mean the group is now good. Doesn't mean they're bad either.

Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by perennate on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @05:00PM (#19435811)
I disagree with their beliefs, but to me, committing genocide is a few steps above teaching that homosexuality is immoral. But that could just be because I grew up in a country where freedom of speech is stressed in society, maybe in China murdering thousands of people who follow a "weird" ideology is not considered "bad".

Mostly I was responding to using "injustice" instead of e.g. "violent persecution" and implying that having "their assets frozen" was the worst thing that happened. And implying that a lack of sympathy is somehow relevant in considering the morality of their persecution.

Consider this despicable statement: "Although a lot of injustice was done to followers of Judaism, and most of their assets were frozen, there wasn't much sympathy for the Jewish people in Nazi Germany and they were typically regarded as a bit weird."

These are not at all at the same scale or level of persecution, but nevertheless if you condemn the statement above then logically you ought to condemn the other.

Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by iknowordidthat on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @09:47PM (#19438122)
> I disagree with their beliefs, but to me, committing genocide is a few steps above teaching that homosexuality is immoral.

Don’t mistake lack of opportunity for lack of will. Nutty ideologies are ‘harmless’ till they have an opportunity to act on their nuttiness.

Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by intended on Wednesday March 20, 2019 @01:31AM (#19439290)
How is a hypothetical measured on the same level as an actual?
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by iknowordidthat on Wednesday March 20, 2019 @11:36AM (#19443233)
I am pointing out that you can’t discount this group’s plain spoken intent. They say what they mean. Give them a chance and they will act on it.
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by ng12 on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @03:56PM (#19435037)
I've had first-hand experience of people defending the PRC's treatment of Uighurs, so I'll take the perception in China with a few grains of salt.
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by a-nikolaev on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @04:23PM (#19435380)
Yes, this is true. But Falun Gong does not become less of a cult, whether you agree with the official Chinese opinion about them or not. They have a lot of weird beliefs: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Falun_Gong . And they are persecuted by Chinese government. Both facts are pretty much true, I think.
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by dionian on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @08:14PM (#19437561)
mainly in communist china because they are persecuted by the communist party as being a threat... read the history
Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by stcredzero on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @02:50PM (#19434231)
although a lot of injustice was done to Falun Gong followers and most of their assets frozen

No individual human rights in China. The government can squash them as they like, and if the public doesn't like that group, no one will complain. (Which makes propaganda very useful for both sides.)

First they came for the wackos, the conspiracy theorists, and the minority religions...

Re:Stepping into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun by dmitrygr on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @03:28PM (#19434709)

   >  although a lot of injustice was done to Falun Gong followers 
Where do I sign up "the church of" Scientology to have harm done to them?