Falun Gong's Perspective

Perspective on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

From Falun Gong’s perspective, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is not merely a political regime, but a destructive and deceptive force that actively opposes moral truth and spiritual awakening. After 1999, their writings increasingly referred to the CCP as “the evil party”, describing it as a force of chaos and spiritual ruin (Lu, Su, and Zhou 2018, 47). Practitioners believe the CCP deliberately distorts public understanding, suppresses moral values, and persecutes the righteous.

Li Hongzhi instructed his followers not to harbor illusions about the regime: “This sinister demon came here to destroy mankind,” he wrote (Lu, Su, and Zhou 2018, 47). Falun Gong characterizes the Party as fundamentally hostile to all expressions of spiritual autonomy and goodness. In their worldview, to expose the Party’s “lies” is a sacred responsibility, part of restoring balance to a world thrown out of alignment.

Collective Memory Regarding the 1999 Crackdown

Falun Gong practitioners remember the events of 1999 not as a political confrontation, but as the beginning of a spiritual trial and a global awakening. The peaceful gathering of over 10,000 practitioners outside the Zhongnanhai government compound in April 1999 is seen by them as a sincere and orderly appeal for justice—not a protest, but a plea for tolerance (Madsen 2000, 243). When the CCP banned the practice just months later, branding it an “evil cult,” it marked a profound rupture.

In the eyes of practitioners, this moment was not just state repression but a cosmic injustice—a test of faith and endurance. Most scholars consider this event a turning point for this movement, as the doctrine became more militant afterwards (Lu, Su, and Zhou 2018, 45). The post-crackdown era gave rise to the doctrine of "Clarifying the Truth", a practice of exposing the CCP’s persecution while embodying Falun Gong’s virtues (Lu, Su, and Zhou 2018, 45–46). Practitioners see those who died or were imprisoned not as victims, but as martyrs who upheld truth in the face of oppression.

Perspective Regarding the Shen Yun Performances

For Falun Gong practitioners, Shen Yun Performing Arts is more than a performance—it is remembered and cherished as a living expression of their collective spiritual history. Founded by practitioners in 2006, Shen Yun is seen as a sacred effort to reclaim and revive a cultural legacy believed to have been destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party (Chan 2016, 147). In their collective memory, the stage becomes a space where ancient China’s divine heritage is brought back to life, not just for celebration, but for restoration. Each performance is remembered as both resistance and remembrance: a visual testimony to what once was, and what must be preserved.

Scenes portraying the persecution of Falun Gong are framed not as political critique, but as modern parables of moral truth and spiritual endurance. These stories, often told through dance and music, are remembered as moments of spiritual affirmation—proof that goodness prevails through faith. The group’s slogan “Not Made in China” is also part of this memory work, symbolizing a clean break from state narratives and a reclaiming of identity (Chan 2016, 145). For practitioners, Shen Yun helps keep alive the memory of a China guided by compassion, justice, and cosmic harmony—a vision the CCP sought to erase, but which survives through performance.