Commentary
The New York Times has recently been publishing articles smearing Shen Yun and Falun Gong. In a recent attack article, they claimed that Shen Yun Performing Arts has accumulated assets of $266 million. The article then uses distorted statements to suggest financial issues within Shen Yun, using this as a way to attack the founder of Falun Gong and its practitioners.
Perhaps the masterminds behind this media campaign believe that stigmatizing Falun Gong from an economic and financial perspective is the most cost-effective and impactful approach. Little do they realize that this is essentially spreading and replicating the Communist Party’s “anti-wealth” rhetoric in the United States and the free world, in an attempt to suppress Falun Gong on an international level.
The Roots of the CCP’s ‘Hating the Rich’ Rhetoric
In the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda, the world is purely material. And communists are materialists who will stop at nothing to seize wealth and resources.
The CCP’s rise to power was built on violence, looting, and destruction. From the so-called land reform campaigns of the 1920s and 1930s, where they seized land from landlords, to the so-called socialist transformation movements of the 1950s and 1960s, and even today’s public-private hybrid economy, their actions have been marked by violence, lies, and bloodshed.
In Eastern philosophy, the Confucian philosopher Mencius once said: “The way of the people is this: If they have a certain livelihood, they will have a fixed heart; if they have not a certain livelihood, they have not a fixed heart.”
In Western thought, John Locke, an English philosopher and physician, once stated that power must not be privatized and that property must not be communalized, otherwise, humanity would enter the gates of disaster.
These timeless truths, rooted in universal values, have resonated deeply with people for centuries.
Moreover, in many of humanity’s faith-based traditions, it’s widely believed that one’s wealth or poverty in this life is the result of karma from past lives. Accumulating virtue and doing good in a previous life leads to fame, wealth, and blessings in this one, while committing sins and accumulating evil brings misfortune and suffering. The gravest sinners, those beyond redemption, are believed to descend to hell to repay their karmic debts.
Then came the CCP, determined to overturn heaven and earth, deceive the world, and audaciously repackage looting, plundering, and killing as heroic acts of saving the suffering and “liberating all humanity.” To rally more people to join its evil political campaigns, it had to create a twisted set of doctrines, flipping truth on its head, spreading lies, and manipulating hearts and minds.
First and foremost, atheism was at its core. “The Internationale” communist anthem boldly proclaims, “We want no condescending saviors to rule us from a judgment hall.” Mao Zedong famously compared himself to both Qin Shi Huang (the widely respected first emperor of China) and Karl Marx, declaring, “I’m a monk holding an umbrella—lawless and reckless,” comparing himself to a monk holding an umbrella, which literally means “hairless” and is a Chinese pun for lawless, showing that he had no respect for law and order.
During the Cultural Revolution, traditional Chinese culture was destroyed, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism were wiped out, and people’s reverence for heaven and faith in the divine was eradicated. This crushed society’s moral foundation and ethical boundaries. From then on, brainwashed by atheism, many Chinese people felt free to commit any wrongdoing without hesitation.
Second, the CCP promoted the ideology of class struggle. After its Ninth Party Congress in 1969, the CCP enshrined “class struggle as the central task” in its party constitution. Mao Zedong openly stated, “We can start talking about class and class struggle right now. We must talk about it every year, every month, every day,” and, “Class struggle works like a charm.” The CCP divided people into two main categories: “the people” and “class enemies,” with the definition of “class enemies” changing over time. In the past, it was landlords, rich peasants, counterrevolutionaries, and rightists. Today, it’s Falun Gong. Tomorrow, anyone could be labeled an enemy. This strategy pits people against one another, sows division, and breeds hatred.
Finally, the CCP’s rhetoric most effective at deceiving and inciting people is its communist ideal of a utopian society based on “distribution according to need.” The Communist Manifesto publicly states, “The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.”
To achieve this, the CCP deployed the theory of “exploitation,” claiming that having wealth is inherently evil. They spread slogans like “Even the roosters in a landlord’s yard crow at midnight” and “Every pore of a capitalist’s body drips with blood and filth.” They mobilized farmers to air grievances, stirred up hatred, and launched political campaigns to rob the wealthy, eliminate landlords, and seize assets. Landlords were demonized and eradicated, while capitalists were driven to despair, some were even coerced into committing suicide by jumping off buildings. Over half a century, this hatred for the wealthy has been deeply ingrained in the Chinese public’s mindset.
The so-called reform and opening-up policy after Mao’s death was just an upgraded version of deception. It exploited foreign investment and the hard-earned money of ordinary people to enrich the CCP elite. On one hand, they kept painting rosy pictures of a better future for the masses, while on the other, they embraced corruption as a governance strategy and showed no mercy in suppressing private enterprises.
Even today, the CCP still waves the banner of “common prosperity” while targeting wealthy Chinese citizens worldwide. Ultimately, the goal is either to consolidate their dwindling power or to line their own pockets.
Shen Yun’s Success: A Miracle and a Reflection of Traditional Views on Wealth
Shen Yun is unlike most performing arts groups in the world. It doesn’t rely on corporate sponsorships, government funding, or member donations. Instead, it has established a unique model of success, entirely driven by its world-class artistry and deeply moving traditional values, setting a remarkable example for today’s performing arts organizations.
In China’s 5,000 years of rich traditional culture, there are countless stories of noble individuals who earned wealth with integrity and used it virtuously. One shining example is Guan Zhong, a famous prime minister of Qi State over 2,000 years ago, who was not only a visionary statesman, but also a master of achieving financial independence. Another is Fan Li, also known as Tao Zhu Gong, the founder of Chinese commerce. After helping King Goujian conquer the Wu State, Fan Li became wealthy three times and gave away his fortune three times, manifesting the traditional Chinese business principle that wealth is to benefit the people. His story reflects the traditional Chinese belief that virtue and wealth go hand in hand.
As a nonprofit organization, Shen Yun is dedicated to reviving traditional culture. Through relentless effort, it has built an internationally renowned brand on its own merits. Shen Yun also provides comprehensive support for its staff and helps fund Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and Fei Tian College, which offer full scholarships, worth around $50,000 annually, including room and board, to all students.
These actions are a modern expression of the traditional Chinese view of wealth—earning and using wealth with virtue—and are fully compliant with U.S. laws.
Yet Shen Yun’s incredible success has been twisted by The New York Times into claims of “exploitation” and “religious fanaticism.” Could this malicious attack be a clear example of the CCP’s propaganda war playing out in New York?
Let’s look at the stories of enlightened teachers throughout history. Traditional religions all involve acts of giving. When Jesus was preaching, he accepted donations from both the wealthy and the poor. A poor widow donated her only money to Jesus and was praised for her faith. The widow of Zarephath supported the prophet Elijah with a handful of flour and a bit of oil, and her supplies miraculously lasted much longer. A boy gave his five loaves and two fish to Jesus, and not only did he not go hungry, but Jesus performed a miracle, feeding 5,000 people with it. Confucius also charged tuition for his teachings, and when he traveled across states to spread his ideas, his expenses were covered by his disciple Zigong’s earnings.
You don’t hear anyone accusing Jesus or Confucius of profiteering or questioning their finances. On the contrary, Judas, who betrayed Jesus for 30 silver coins, has been forever condemned in history as a symbol of shame.
The CCP’s atheists, however, can’t grasp these traditional values. In their eyes, everything boils down to money and power. They use money to tempt others and wield power to crush dissent.
The New York Times Helps the CCP With Its Oppression
The New York Times, with its false reporting, is trying to mislead readers into believing that the founder of Falun Gong is amassing wealth. This is the same tactic the CCP used 25 years ago at the start of its persecution of Falun Gong—a strategy that has long since failed. If every Falun Gong practitioner donated just $10 to the founder, teacher Li Hongzhi, he would indeed be a billionaire. But the truth is, he has never accepted donations from his disciples, even though his teachings have brought health to millions and helped countless terminally ill patients recover.
When teacher Li gave lectures and seminars in China in the early 1990s, ticket prices were the lowest among all qigong events at the time, despite pressure from the state’s Qigong Association to raise them. Teacher Li wanted to help more people and took into account the financial situations of his students, insisting on keeping the fees affordable.
Throughout history, spiritual teachers have appeared in a morally degraded world to teach the truth, bear others’ karmic burdens, and guide people back to their original, virtuous selves. Such figures deserve respect, and it has always been normal—and lawful—for them to accept offerings or donations. This is also in harmony with divine laws.
But our great teacher chose not to do this. Instead, he lives off his own royalties from his books and teaches his disciples to run schools and nonprofit organizations to benefit communities. So why does the New York Times twist these virtuous actions into claims of “exploitation?” Is this not a carbon copy of the CCP’s smear tactics and an extension of its transnational persecution policy?
The CCP has always labeled the United States as the “evil capitalist empire” and treated Falun Gong as its top enemy. Extending its persecution policies onto U.S. soil is not only a key part of the CCP’s global strategy but also a long-standing goal.
And now, the New York Times, enjoying the freedom of speech afforded in America, chooses to disparage the spiritual beliefs of Falun Gong practitioners and slander Shen Yun Performing Arts. In doing so, it has become an unwitting tool of the CCP’s transnational campaign against religious freedom. How tragic and shameful.
By Tang Yuan
This article was originally published on Minghui.org and has been translated from Chinese.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NTD.com