The Falun Gong and Costco

April 25, 2010

Before going into the Orpheum Theater that night, I thought Falun Gong was a Christian sect. After all, there are more than forty Christian sects. But during the performance, I discovered that Falun Gong was not Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu or Jewish. Falun Gong promoted individual peace and harmony through belief in several gods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwVGjhNvnhQ

If you are curious, you may find a few members of Falun Gong outside the Chinese embassy in San Francisco. They are almost always there when we go to pick up visas before traveling to China. You may even see the pictures they have set up showing victims of torture. 

Falun Gong protesting outside Chinese embassy in San Francisco

A year later, while shopping at Costco, I discovered a table and display for a Chinese musical. The people at that table were dressed in Ming or Tang Dynasty costumes, and I was intrigued to say the least.

Then my wife whispered in my ear, “That’s Falun Gong.” I had no idea these costumed people were selling tickets to the same production we’d already seen at the Orpheum. I quickly left.

See “Controlling Opinions” http://wp.me/pN4pY-pe

 
 

 

6 Comments | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, cults, politics | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

The Alleged CIA – Falun Gong Connection

April 25, 2010

I cannot say that what Gao Fangpi said about the CIA supporting the Falun Gong was true.

However, take into account that in the 70s, the Dalai Lama admitted that the CIA funded his movement against China. So, why not fund the Falun Gong? After all, the CIA has supported Islamic militants in China’s northwest province and has supported the other Tibetan separatist groups (there are four). The CIA has a long and shady history of doing things like this in countries all over the world.

Orpheum Theater – San Francisco

My wife and I saw the Falun Gong Chinese New Year show at the Orpheum and were disgusted (that’s being polite).  What Gao Fangpi didn’t tell us was that the show heavily promoted Falun Gong. Nothing I read or heard over the years prepared me for the truth.

Instead, the Western mainstream media has often criticized China for not allowing the Falun Gong the religious freedoms enjoyed in the United States where freedom of religion is a fundamental right.

See ” What is the Truth about Tiananmen Square?

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga . When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

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15 Comments | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, cults, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Brain Washing on Stage is Not Dirty Dancing

April 24, 2010

Gao Fangpi brought a fellow member of the Falun Gong to our house a few days before a New Year’s show. While we were sitting around the kitchen table sipping tea, the two women pitched the benefits of their group in soft voices. It was obvious that they had been trained like an Amway salesman is, but not as flashy.  

My wife and I were invited to attend the Falun Gong show in San Francisco at the Orpheum Theater. The tickets were eighty dollars each. Putting on that show in that theater must have been costly and I suspect eighty dollar tickets would not raise enough to cover the expenses.  

 My wife asked Gao Fangpi where the money came from to pay for the show, since it was on tour to several cities in Western countries in North America and Europe. Gao Fangpi admitted that the CIA subsidized the show.

See Wearing China’s Shoes http://wp.me/pN4pY-1p

 

Leave a Comment » | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, politics, religion | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

A Visit from the Falun Gong

April 24, 2010

In December 2007, two members of the Falun Gong visited our home. It’s one thing to hear about the Falun Gong in the Western media that China is discriminating and/or abusing them. It is another thing to meet members of the cult and drink tea with them at your kitchen table.

I’ve heard about the Falun Gong through the Western media for years but knew little about the cult except that they were a thorn in the throat of the Chinese government. In 2008, members or supporters of the Falun Gong may have fire bombed the entrance to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. The media mentioned it might have been Tibetan separatists. Who knows which group was responsible, since both are enemies of China’s government?

My wife knew someone who joined the Falun Gong years after they were friends. This friend also spent time in Chinese jails for her Falun Gong beliefs and activites. I’m going to call this friend Gao Fangpi (not her real name).  In 2007, Gao Fangpi was on tour with a Chinese group performing a musical to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

See The Millennium Cult

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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5 Comments | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, cults | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Cults and Christian Cannon Balls

March 11, 2010

Organized religions and cults like the Falun Gong have been in China for centuries, but have never played a major role in the culture until the 19th century when Christianity was forced on China. C.M. Cipolla wrote in his book, Guns, Sails and Empires, “While Buddha came to China on white elephants, Christ was born on cannon balls.”

In the early months of 1900, thousands of Boxers, officially known as Fists of Righteous Harmony, roamed the countryside attacking Christian missions, slaughtering foreign missionaries and Chinese converts.

Confucius and possibly Lao-Tse have influenced the foundation of Chinese culture and morality the most.  These two along with Buddha offer more of a blended influence on Chinese culture than Christianity or Islam. Thanks to Confucius, China’s mainstream culture understands the importance of people within the family and society more so than many other countries and cultures. This may explain why China is a powerhouse of industry today.

Discover  The Man Who Made China

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

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1 Comment | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, Christianity, religion, Taoism | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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