A Thousand People in Hong Kong Attend Rally and Parade: "Protect Shen Yun; Protect Hong Kong" (Photos)
By Clearwisdom reporter Xia Jun
(Clearwisdom.net) On January 31, 2010, approximately one
thousand people attended a parade and rally with the theme,
"Protect Shen Yun; Protect Hong Kong," to protest the Hong Kong
government's interference with the Shen Yun shows in Hong Kong. The
Hong Kong government recently denied entry visas to seven key
technical staff members of the New York-based Shen Yun Performing
Arts, forcing the cancellation of seven sold-out shows in Hong
Kong.
The rally The parade A supporter gives a speech at the rally Ms. Liu Huitsing, Hong Kong senator, speaking at
the rally. Several senators, political leaders, artists and religious
leaders spoke at the rally. They pointed out that the government's
wrong decision caused the cancellation of the show, and noted that
the government hasn't given any good reasons for the denials of the
visa applications. The rally called attention to the situation that
the visa incident reflects how freedom and human rights in Hong
Kong have been undermined by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
They called upon the Hong Kong government to correct their wrong
decision and invite Shen Yun Performing Arts back to Hong Kong. Ms. Liu Huitsing, a Hong Kong senator and vice president of the
Democratic Party, condemned the government for giving in to CCP
pressure and interfering with the Shen Yun show. She pointed out
that the government's behavior has damaged key values in Hong Kong:
freedom, human rights, and the law. Mr. Hsu Baidi, a Hong Kong senator, said that people should pay
attention to this incident, which is damaging to upright,
traditional culture. He stated, "Good culture can prevent politics
and society from becoming rotten. Therefore, we should not allow
the government to damage traditional culture. We should promote
good, traditional culture. Mr. Hsu advised the people of Hong Kong, "We should be aware of
this kind of damage. We should even sue the government, so that
traditional culture will be respected. We are shocked by this
incident. We need to tell the Hong Kong citizens that we are in a
dangerous environment, in which upright, traditional culture is not
respected and is being damaged," Mr. Hsu said. Szeto Wah, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of
Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, could not attend the
rally. He sent a videotape, expressing his opinion. In the video,
Szeto Wah said, "Hong Kong citizens were excited about the Shen Yun
show. But now they are angry, because the government interfered
with the performing arts and the shows had to be canceled. They are
angry, also because the government gave in to the CCP and ruined
the basic law of 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong." Vice president of the Hong Kong Alliance in
Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, Tsai Yaowah,
giving a speech. Several political leaders also stated that the government has
deprived Hong Kong citizens of their basic human rights and
freedom. They condemned the government for suppressing traditional
culture by wielding political power. The parade People reading truth-clarifying materials. Ms. Li Weina, director of Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring
Company, called in and expressed her appreciation to the people of
Hong Kong for their support. Ms. Li said, "We are sincerely sorry
that we had to cancel the shows this year, but we believe that in
the near future Shen Yun will come to Hong Kong, expressing its
gratefulness to the Hong Kong citizens with great
performances." She condemned the Hong Kong government's behavior and emphasized
that Shen Yun tries to promote the original, traditional Chinese
culture, which has been ruined in China by the CCP. Ms. Li said, "Many Chinese people are proud of Shen Yun for
promoting Chinese culture throughout the world. We regret that the
people of Hong Kong are deprived of their right to see the show. We
hope that Hong Kong citizens will stand up and protect their own
basic rights." Several artists expressed that they were very disappointed and
angry at the Hong Kong government's action, because they were eager
to see the show. Mr. Shen Sihai, a TV show producer, speaking at
the rally Mr. Shen Sihai, a TV show producer, said that Shen Yun would
have a great impact on the arts community in Hong Kong. He pointed
out that it takes a long time for members of a good performing arts
company to practice and work together seamlessly, noting that it is
impossible to temporarily substitute key personnel with people who
are not familiar with the mechanics of the show. Dance teacher He Huiying addressing the rally People reading about incident Some of the attendees at the rally were from China, who had
bought tickets to the show, but were disappointed to hear about the
cancellations. They said that they attended the parade to protect
freedom in Hong Kong, and also to protect their own rights. Mr. Liu Tiemin, a Hong Kong citizen, said, "It was a terrible
decision. The CCP is afraid of the Shen Yun show, so it suppressed
it. This is shameless behavior." Mr. Liu continued, "The CCP is undermining freedom in Hong Kong,
and the Hong Kong people should be aware of it. Standing up to
support Shen Yun is actually standing up for ourselves." Ms. Zheng bought four tickets for two shows. She said angrily,
"It is horrible that the CCP even limits our freedom to watch a
performance. We don't even have the right to watch a high level art
show. I am afraid that we will lose more freedoms in the future.
That is why I got up so early, joining the parade to express my
anger. If we don't protect our rights, we will lose all of our
freedom before we know it."
Posting date: 2/2/2010
Category: From Others
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2010/2/1/217402.html
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