With time on our hands under lockdown, many of us have an increasing appetite to understand how we have come to be in the situation we are in.
‘Red Reign’
I came to understand the extent of the CCP’s oppression and rancid abuse of power when, in 2006, I first heard reports that the CCP was performing forced organ harvesting on its own citizens, practitioners of Falun Gong, which is a peaceful practice of mind and body. Shortly thereafter, I had the opportunity to interview David Matas, a Canadian human rights lawyer and former Nazi hunter, who was asked to investigate these allegations.Sadly, this crime against humanity continues today and now also victimizes Uyghurs and other vulnerable peoples.
‘It’s a Girl’
China’s now infamous policy of one child per family brought world attention to an issue that has its roots in many cultures and political systems around the world: the preference for male children and the abandonment, trafficking, and often murder of female children. “It’s a Girl,” shot in both India and China, sheds light on this heartbreaking practice, the cultural and political systems that allow it, and the women, mothers, and daughters who have fallen victim to this abomination.‘Death by China’
The totalitarian regime of China has immense control over its own capitalist markets and businesses, but that influence reaches far beyond its own borders to extend its position of strength to the world economy. Based on the book “Death by China: Confronting the Dragon” by Peter Navarro and Greg Autry and narrated by Martin Sheen, “Death by China: How America Lost Its Manufacturing Base” investigates China’s corruption of world markets through abusive trade policies and currency manipulation.Navarro claims China’s rise to economic strength is based in large part on illegal trade subsidies that allow it to flood the United States with cheap products, making it almost impossible for American companies to compete.
‘Transcending Fear: The Story of Gao Zhisheng’
Written and directed by Wenjing Ma, the documentary “Transcending Fear: The Story of Gao Zhisheng” charts the life of one of China’s most notable freedom fighters. From the humblest of beginnings, Gao, born in a cave, became one of China’s top-tier attorneys, gaining the respect and admiration of the whole country. Some called him “the conscience of China.”But then, in the eyes of the CCP, he went too far. After speaking out about human rights abuses, he was abducted and tortured. His life and the lives of his family members were threatened.
Gao is now a renowned freedom fighter, but he had to make the choice between a fight for justice and truth and his own life. This film uncovers the fear that sits beneath the barbarism of the CCP.
The film was released in 2015; in 2017, Gao was arrested again and has not been heard from since.
‘An Elephant Sitting Still’
The industrial wasteland of North China forms the backdrop—with its muted palette and characters often depicted in silhouette—for what many consider a classic of Chinese filmmaking, “An Elephant Sitting Still.” Sadly, director Hu Bo died shortly after making the film.While there is a ray of hope at the end, Bo’s filmic description of the people and the place leaves no doubt that we are products of our landscape and environment. Populated by a teenage boy and his family whose lives are devoid of any real meaning or beauty, and who are given to sniping jealousies, the film gives us a window into life in the industrial North. It is a society, isolated and downtrodden, that has lost its way.
‘Mao’s Last Dancer’
It seemed that Li Cunxin was destined to become a farm laborer in a destitute, small rural village in Shandong Province. But fate had another life in store for him. He was offered a chance to study at Madame Mao’s Beijing Dance Academy, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.‘Candlelight Across the Street’
The tender and inspiring documentary “Candlelight Across the Street“ is about Portland Place, just off the busy shopping center of Oxford Street in London. The film tells of a building bought by the Qing Dynasty Empress Cixi, back in 1875, which now houses the Chinese Embassy to the UK.Back in 2002, a small group of people appeared outside the Chinese Embassy, and they have been there, faithfully, in peaceful protest ever since. Who are they and why are they there, even through the coldest of winters? They take shifts to ensure someone is there 24 hours every day because, as they say, the CCP persecutes the Falun Gong practitioners 24 hours every day. This is their story.
