TheNZThrower
Active Member
As I am a former Falun Gong member, I feel like I might take a crack at fact-checking some of the more recent PR they have churned out in response to some recent expose's from The New York Times on the inner workings of the group and its affiliated organisations. Let's start with the expose on the labour practices of the FLG run theater troupe, Shen Yun:
Before we continue, I would like to inform you that I will be going over their response one point per post. So keep in mind I won't be responding to everything in this first post, as that would make it too long.
Firstly, the ET alleges that the CCP has targeted Shen Yun, and influences western newspapers against FLG:
In addition, the claim that the CCP has influenced some unnamed Western news outlets more broadly is not substantiated. It is an example of poisoning the well, a pre-emptive ad-hominem to colour the judgements of anyone on the fence about the topic of FLG.
The ET then claims that a strategy against the CCP has been leaked by whistleblowers, allegedly involving manufacturing allegations to trigger investigations from US authorities:
Per an article Levi himself wrote for minghui.org, an official FLG website, he is a member, which they call a "practitioner".
But even if the CCP did have some campaign to make up allegations that would likely trigger an investigation by U.S. authorities, that doesn't mean that a given person or group who has made an allegation/s against FLG/Shen Yun is some CCP shill. You need more direct evidence (e.g. being a member of some CCP affiliated org) than that to conclude that they're a CCP shill. If you're going to go by what the person/group says against FLG, you need to demonstrate that what they say and what the CCP says shares a high enough number of relevant similarities before you can make a reasonable probabilistic inference that they are a shill.
As for the FDIC report mentioned by the ET, I will tackle that in the next post. Additional constructive feedback on this debunk would be appreciated.
Predictably, The Epoch Times has responded to the expose in advance, utilising the typical apologia that FLG members do.External Quote:
Shen Yun's Longstanding Labor Practices Attract Regulators' Scrutiny
The New York State Department of Labor has opened an inquiry into the global dance group and its treatment of the children and teenagers who stage its shows worldwide.
https://archive.md/dcJEC#selection-669.0-673.167
We already witness the ET employing an implicit guilt by association, wherein you are implied to be some CCP shill merely because your criticism of FLG resembles a criticism from FLG by the CCP.External Quote:
The New York Times to Attack Shen Yun Performing Arts Again
The paper seems to again turn to misrepresentation in an attack mirroring Beijing's latest playbook.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/artic...attack-shen-yun-performing-arts-again-5760672
Before we continue, I would like to inform you that I will be going over their response one point per post. So keep in mind I won't be responding to everything in this first post, as that would make it too long.
Firstly, the ET alleges that the CCP has targeted Shen Yun, and influences western newspapers against FLG:
This is meant to deflect and distract people from the criticisms levelled at FLG and Shen Yun. Even if we grant everything the ET alleges, that doesn't mean that the NYT expose's authors were CCP shills, nor does it mean that any criticism levelled against FLG and Shen Yun are somehow illegitimate. This is committing a red herring fallacy, as well as an appeal to pity.External Quote:For nearly two decades, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has targeted Shen Yun... The company was founded in 2006 by practitioners of Falun Gong... Falun Gong practitioners have for 25 years highlighted abuses they face in China... Shen Yun in its performances depicts some of these atrocities... Outside of China, the CCP has used tactics both aggressive and subtle to suppress Falun Gong... [including] infiltrating and utilizing Western media organizations to do its bidding.
In addition, the claim that the CCP has influenced some unnamed Western news outlets more broadly is not substantiated. It is an example of poisoning the well, a pre-emptive ad-hominem to colour the judgements of anyone on the fence about the topic of FLG.
The ET then claims that a strategy against the CCP has been leaked by whistleblowers, allegedly involving manufacturing allegations to trigger investigations from US authorities:
Note that the source which claims that the whistleblowers disclosed the CCP strategy is a FLG run source per the ET's own admission. The FDIC's own website (https://faluninfo.net/about-us-our-staff/) lists the executive director:External Quote:Earlier this year, three CCP whistleblowers came forward with information about an escalation in the CCP's efforts to go after Falun Gong overseas.
A cornerstone of the campaign is to manufacture the type of allegations that would most likely trigger an investigation by U.S. authorities, according to whistleblowers who provided detailed information to the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC), a nonprofit monitoring the persecution of Falun Gong.
Per an article Levi himself wrote for minghui.org, an official FLG website, he is a member, which they call a "practitioner".
The same is the case for The Director of Government and Advocacy:External Quote:My name is Jonathan (Levi) Browde. I was born and raised in the southwestern United States. I am 27 years old... And, of course, I am a Falun Dafa practitioner.
https://en.minghui.org/emh/download/publications/enlighten_1.html
And The Director of Digital Outreach:External Quote:On June 3, 2004, the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Caucus held a Member's briefing on China's current human rights situation in the Rayburn House Office Building. Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Erping Zhang was invited to the briefing and gave a 7-minute speech on the persecution of Falun Gong.
https://en.minghui.org/emh/articles/2004/6/5/48924p.html
At the U.S. Department of State's first-ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom held on July 24-26, 2018, three Falun Gong practitioners were invited to attend the first two days of events that were open to religious groups and NGOs...
Erping Zhang, the spokesperson for Falun Gong and one of the three practitioners who attended the conference, talked about the current situation practitioners are facing in China.
https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2018/7/27/171282.html
This represents a lack of independence and a conflict of interest, which means the FDIC's claims are to currently be taken with a bucketful of salt until they're confirmed independently.External Quote:Benjamin Maloney from New York used to be addicted to alcohol and drugs. In 2008, a few months after he was arrested for DWI, a cousin of his introduced Falun Dafa to him, and he started to read Zhuan Falun (the main book of Falun Gong)...
Ben is grateful for Dafa and Master, who renewed his life and changed him from being a drunken and lost young soul into a useful adult who makes his parents and himself proud.
https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2018/6/23/170874p.html
But even if the CCP did have some campaign to make up allegations that would likely trigger an investigation by U.S. authorities, that doesn't mean that a given person or group who has made an allegation/s against FLG/Shen Yun is some CCP shill. You need more direct evidence (e.g. being a member of some CCP affiliated org) than that to conclude that they're a CCP shill. If you're going to go by what the person/group says against FLG, you need to demonstrate that what they say and what the CCP says shares a high enough number of relevant similarities before you can make a reasonable probabilistic inference that they are a shill.
As for the FDIC report mentioned by the ET, I will tackle that in the next post. Additional constructive feedback on this debunk would be appreciated.