“I, as a parliamentarian, have been campaigning for a long time to bring to the world’s attention the forced organ harvesting that takes place in China and, of course, where Falun Gong practitioners have been particularly affected.
“I think that has brought home to us all with very hard evidence, the impact that this is having on China, not just Falun Gong practitioners. In Xinjiang [in northeastern China], many people have been affected.
“My efforts have really been about trying to make sure that no British person or British company can be involved in this abhorrent practice. But I also think that [things will change] by changing the law in this country, which we’ve achieved.
“It’s also a signal to other countries and gives heart to those campaigners who are really working very, very hard indeed to stop this practice, and to really bring this to the world’s attention.”
“I think, first of all, it does really bring home the quality of Chinese culture as it was practiced,” he said.
“It brings home to us all the benefits that we have in this country, of being able to have free speech, and to be able to elect and get rid of a government.”
‘The stories are amazing’
Elizabeth Bailey, a director of data analytics, said Shen Yun’s performance was “bright! It’s amazing! It’s vibrant! There’s so much movement and so many amazing dancers.”
She said that she had never seen classical Chinese dance. “It’s a new style of dance. It’s something that we’ve not seen before. It’s so bright, it’s so colorful, so athletic and acrobatic, and has just beautiful moves.”
Ms. Bailey was happy that her daughter could see the dancers. “My daughter loves to dance, so it’s amazing to bring her to see this. She’s only 11 ... So it’s amazing to bring her to see the professionals.”
Classical Chinese dance carries a deeply expressive quality that impressed Ms. Bailey. “It’s so expressive. You can tell what people are feeling.”
She said she was able to follow the stories told through dance with explanations in the program. “It’s really helpful to have the explanation so that you can follow it along. It’s wonderful,” she said.
Understanding the Chinese way of thinking as presented through traditional stories was “like a learning experience,” she said.
Ms. Bailey had many ways to describe the performance. “Well worth seeing! Just amazing! Magical! Fantastic! Motivational actually! And a great learning experience and very, very enjoyable!”
“This is something I get to do as part of my job. So it’s just a great opportunity to learn more about different people from a different part of the world.”
“The stories are amazing. They’re really fascinating because a lot of them are new to me. It’s great to understand not only the traditional stories, but also the more modern stories, and the more modern kind of take and thoughts about the current situation,” she said.
![Connecticut Mayor: ‘People in China Need [Shen Yun] to Remind Them of Who They Are’](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F05%2F11%2Fid5648198-1.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
