The New York Times has been banned in China since 2012 reportedly over a story about the corruption of the family of then-Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, along with its critical reports on China’s politics and human rights.
In recent couple of months, however, the same newspaper suddenly became a favored source of reporting for China. A number of New York Times stories were translated and posted on the official website of China Anti-Cult Association, which is under the Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council. What were those stories？
June: “Epoch Times Executive Accused of Laundering $67 Million”
August: “How a Persecuted Religious Group Grew Into a Global Movement,” “Behind the Pageantry of Shen Yun, Untreated Injuries and Emotional Abuse,” and “Lifting the Curtain of Shen Yun to Reveal a Dark Side.”
What connects these stories? Falun Gong, or “Dharma Wheel Work” in literal translation, a new religious movement based on breathing and moving meditations. Founded in the early 1990s in China by Li Hongzhi, its tenets are said to be truth, compassion, and tolerance. It encourages followers to eliminate their attachments, look inward, and achieve enlightenment. Banned as a cult in 1999 in China after Falun Gong practitioners mounted a large demonstration in Beijing, Li and many of his adherents came to live in the United States and elsewhere in the world.
With its headquarters now located in Deerpark, NY, Falun Gong now runs the Epoch Media Group, including the Epoch Times and the New Tang Dynasty Television, as well as the Shen Yun Performance Arts. Epoch Times has now come to be recognized as a conservative news outlet and a Trump supporter.
On June 3, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced the arrest of Bill Guan, the finance chief of the Epoch Times, and charged him with allegedly leading a scheme to launder at least $67 million in illicit funds. Such charges carry a maximum of 20-30 years in prison. The New York Times reported the story on the same day.
On Aug. 15, the New York Times began publishing a series of reports on the Shen Yun, the performing arts group. These stories were the results of a 10-month investigation by the reporters Nicole Hong and Michael Rothfeld. The two say they talked to 80 people, including 25 former dancers, musicians, and instructors, many of whom feared retaliations.
What they reported was an allegedly coercive institution where young performers, often teenagers, were discouraged from seeking medical care for injuries, worked 15-hour days for $12,000 a year, were barred from looking at unapproved media, were restricted from leaving the Deerpark compound, were subjected to emotional abuse and manipulation, and basically were brain-washed by the Founder Li, their spiritual master, god, and creator of the universe.
The New York Times stories have created new and confusing dynamics.
On the one hand, they were a bonanza for the Chinese government which long considered Falun Gong an anti-state and anti-humanity cult. Now they and the New York Times, which China had banned, have something in common with these stories critical of Falun Gong. On the other, the Falun Gong organization itself condemned the Times reporters as pawns of the Chinese Communist Party and echoed CCP propaganda. The Epoch Times carried a long rebuttal piece on Aug. 18, with its own analysis and interviews. These stories accused the New York Times of distortion, omission, and smearing of Shen Yun and reiterated how Falun Gong had been persecuted in China.
Meanwhile, the two New York Times reporters said they will continue their reporting in the coming months.
Thanks for this report, Wendy. Two things seem clear at once: a) the CCP is authoritarian; and b) Falun Gong is a cult.