Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn alluded to that fact in an interview after seeing the performance at Duke Energy Center for the Arts in St. Petersburg, Fl., on Jan. 16.
“I found Shen Yun was really a testimony to the true nature of what China could be if they were given an opportunity to be free, an opportunity to have a true Chinese culture that goes back thousands and thousands of years,” said Mr. Flynn, who once served in the Asia Pacific Theater.
“This is my first time seeing it, and I was absolutely inspired. I think it’s a miracle, actually. It’s a very brilliant way to show the true culture of China,” he said.
“Shen Yun takes 5,000 years and brings it to life. ... You’re going to understand 5,000 years of this beautiful culture in a couple of hours—it went by too fast,” he said.
As someone who has studied Chinese history and culture extensively, Mr. Flynn shared his thoughts on how the CCP is quite the opposite of Shen Yun.
“I think what we see from the Chinese Communist Party is just the opposite of what Shen Yun is really trying to inspire the rest of the world to understand,” he said.
Shen Yun’s artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most expressive dance systems in the world. The stories told through this dance form impressed Mr. Flynn.
“There were 10 or 12 different stories. Each one of them was totally different, but they all blended together in this beautiful culture that I think that the American people need to see more of,” he said.
Although the CCP has only been in power for a little over a decade, Americans and the world seem to have all but forgotten the 5,000 years that came before it.
Regarding recent reports slandering Shen Yun published by the New York Times, Mr. Flynn questioned such an approach by the news outlet.
“I believe that in the next few years here, we are going to see another shift in our country, embracing the true Chinese culture. And I think the people wanted to see change in China and the change of the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.
The CCP has been trying to interfere with Shen Yun’s performances for over a decade, but Shen Yun has not been swayed.
“I think it’s terrible. I think it’s disgraceful. They should embrace Chinese culture, but the Chinese Communist Party does not. The Chinese Communist Party actually does not want the rest of the world to understand the greatness and the strength of Chinese culture,” said Mr. Flynn.
Being familiar with the Chinese army, Mr. Flynn mentioned that most Chinese people understand they are living under a government that undermines human rights.
“The performance that showed the persecution was done superbly. They brought out this persecution and how people who are just trying to live their daily lives are being persecuted for no reason really,”
Falun Gong grew exponentially in popularity during the 1990s in China due to its huge benefits to physical and mental health. The number of people following the principles of truth, compassion, forbearance, Falun Gong’s core principles, soon surpassed the members of the CCP. In 1999, the CCP began a violent and far-reaching suppression of the peaceful practice that continues today.
