Issued by Clearwisdom Net

"I wish to pluck fresh green leaves to wipe away your tears."

Matsuo Basho, a great haiku poet, visited the Toshodai Temple in Nara City, Japan in 1688 and wrote this poem while standing before a statue of the Chinese monk Jian Zhen. This sentence consists of only 17 syllables, but is elegant and conveys the author's sincere respect for Jian Zhen, which is why it is well-known and has been passed down through the generations in Japan.

Matsuo Basho is a beloved poet, and the Yamoto people - another name for the Japanese - admire even more monk Jian Zhen from the Tang Dynasty. He brought the Japanese classic Buddhism, as well as culture and science from the Tang Dynasty, all of which profoundly impacted the Japanese civilization.

1,243 years ago, Jian Zhen went to Japan as a cultural exchange envoy; in the year 2007, the Divine Performance Arts Troupe stepped on Kansai soil, the cradle of Japanese civilization. They went to Osaka, where the first group of Japanese envoys dispatched to the Tang Dynasty embarked, to disseminate the divine culture of the Great Tang Dynasty.

The audience watches the first 2007 NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular's performance in Asia at the Archaic Hall of Amagasaki Cultural Center

During two shows on March 10, the dance troupe not only transmitted the truth, compassion and beauty of the Great Tang Dynasty's culture, they also conveyed innumerable historic facts. They came with Truth that gives them free reign, disseminated orthodox divine culture, and inspired people's kindness and conscience while bringing them auspiciousness, compassion and beauty. Not surprisingly, the performance received high praise.

Yasuharu Matsuki traveled to Osaka from Hiroshima just to watch this show. He was touched from beginning to end, starting with the first program "Creation." He said, "I kept shedding tears. I strongly felt right then the presence of gods!"

The audience praised the performance with comments such as, "This is a highly skilled, world-class performance;" "Every program is so beautiful; the costumes, the movements, the performers--they were so wonderful! They revealed before us a heavenly paradise and the world of gods. It's magnificent!" "Outstanding! Extraordinary! I was touched from beginning to end, starting with the first program 'Creation.' I kept shedding tears. I strongly felt right then the presence of gods! I really cannot describe this in words. I'll tell all my friends and I'll bring all of them to next year's show." This show "conveys the connotation of seeking one's roots and seeking the roots of one's life. I really hope this wonderful show will go on for generations to come." The programs "felt as if gods were performing themselves; it moved me to tears."

Koichi Hatada, the former vice president of Osaka University, said, "The songs were most touching. Although I didn't understand the lyrics, I felt something was conveyed to the audience through their performance; so at the end, they gave us a sense of hope."

Many political dignitaries from both the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors sent letters of congratulation to wish the show success. Some senators watched the show in person.

Mr. Hirofumi Hirano, a member of the House of Representatives, wrote in his letter of congratulation, "[The NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular] music and dance bring to life the luxurious glory of traditional Chinese culture. The elegance and beauty showers the entire humanity with wonderful bliss. This would certainly inspire people's pure hearts and awaken the peace and benevolence that is essential for cultural development in the world and that we all pray for."

Mr. Takashi Otsuka wrote in his congratulatory letter, "For 2000 years, Japan has been showered with the blessings of various advanced civilization from China - the birthplace of world civilization - to this day." "The Divine Performance Arts Troupe tours across the four oceans and is active in five continents. They are goodwill ambassadors to all countries."

Mr. Yoshihiro Seki, a member of the House of Representatives, emphasized after having attended the performance, that his favorite part of the program was "A Dunhuang Dream." He said, "The root of Japanese culture is in China; many aspects of Japanese culture, including Buddhism, originated in China. Today, after watching this performance, this belief is even more reinforced: The root of Japanese culture is in China." He stated in his congratulatory letter, "I am infinitely pleased that the NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular, after receiving good feedback around the world, has put on public performances in Japan this year. I think the glorious ancient Tang culture would certainly plant seeds of predestined relationships in our hearts."

Mr. Takao Miida, a member of the Kshiwazaki City Council, said in his congratulatory letter, "People who cherish their traditional culture would certainly prosper, as history has proven. Therefore, the New Year performance, with the mission to disseminate the essence of Chinese divine culture, will most certainly create a new historical era."

Just as Mr. Miida had said, the Divine Performance Arts Troupe is a messenger spreading the magnificent divine culture during a new era. At the Dharma's end, they arrived in the land of Fusang [another name for Japan] and revealed the divine culture of the Great Tang to the Japanese people through artistic forms. The performances planted seeds of predestined relationship in Japanese people's hearts after learning the Truth and being showered by the divine culture of the Great Tang.

The grand feat and the historic significance from which the divine culture and compassionate message were disseminated by the Divine Performance Arts Troupe may not yet be fully and clearly realized by people. But in the near future, history will certainly verify that their historic achievement is grand and magnificent. The performers are the true messengers disseminating culture, and they are truly the angels of spreading bliss. As such, they will forever receive posterity's praise.

Eons ago, Matsuo Basho wanted to wipe away monk Jian Zhen's tears when bowing before his statue. Jian Zhen was blind. We do not know whether he cried or not before, we could deduce that was Matsuo Basho's artistic imagination. Today, after having watched the Spectacular, many people spoke from their heart, "I kept crying and I simply could not stop." The performers "were like gods, and they moved me to tears." The feeling of being moved from the depths of one's heart is one of the most common feedbacks from the audience; it is not an isolated incident from one area or from some individuals, but a common phenomenon of the same nature.

It was said that before the show, many performers on the stage were trying their best to adjust their state of mind to avoid shedding tears. What is such a power that moves people so much? The audience has actually already given us the answer, because this show "conveys the connotation of seeking one's roots, and seek the roots of one's life;" "They revealed before us heavenly paradises and the world of gods in their entirety;" "I strongly felt right then the presence of gods!" In other words, the boundless compassion transmitted during the Spectacular transformed the audience; they were touched by the pure truthfulness, pure compassion and pure beauty the performances and their presenters exuded; they were moved by the broad and profound Chinese divine culture, and their natural selves were delighted and excited after their hearts were cleansed. This is an echoing effect that comes to the fore once a being responds to divine culture, and this is a specific manifestation of the essential inner strength of divine culture.

In history, Japan received the genuine divine culture from Great Tang Dynasty and has kept many of those cultural customs. The depth of the cultural relationship between China and Japan, the span of time, profundity and tremendous impact of Chinese culture on Japanese culture are unique. It is truly a "divine relationship." Today, the Japanese people welcomed the Divine Performance Arts Troupe, who disseminates the divine culture of the Great Tang Dynasty. It is indeed a "predestined relationship" that was forged in the heavens and now being realized in this world.

Denmark's second largest city Aarhus is considering severing its sister city relationship with China's Harbin City. The reason is the fact that forced labor camps in Harbin City have perpetrated a large-scale, cruel persecution against Falun Gong practitioners and the allegation that these forced labor camps and hospitals have harvested organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. Recently, a leading national daily newspaper "Jyllandsposten" carried a statement submitted to the Aarhus City Council, entitled "The atrocities perpetrated in Aarhus' sister city--Harbin." The statement was made by Mr. Christoffer Brekne, chairman of the Network for Human Rights in China.

On January 23, 2007, the Network for Human Rights in China sent a letter to the mayor of Aarhus City, Mr. Nicolai Wammen, to call on him to freeze cultural exchange with Aarhus' sister city Harbin until the Harbin city authorities stop the cruel torture and killing of Falun Gong practitioners in the forced labor camps and detention centers in Harbin. We were pleased to learn that the mayor has taken this case seriously and asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate into this matter, and that many City Councilors are also concerned about this case.

It is an undeniable fact that the Chinese Communist regime has perpetrated the atrocities of genocidal persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. Over seventy million Chinese citizens, the official figure of Falun Gong practitioners released by the Chinese authorities in 1998, are the direct targets of the persecution in the past eight years. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were illegally arrested and subjected to cruel torture, and many people were forced to leave their home and become destitute. As of today, 3,013 people have been confirmed to be tortured or persecuted to death. Nonetheless, many experts agree that the actual death toll is far higher than the figure released by the Chinese regime. It is estimated that the figure may be as high as tens of thousands. The persecution has been extensively reported by media around the world and can be confirmed by the archives of the United Nations, the U.S. Department of State, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations.

Harbin is a major city in Heilongjiang Province, in which the death toll resulting from the persecution of Falun Gong in Heilongjiang ranked as number one in the country. Harbin is the worst city in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Heilongjiang. Many appalling forced labor camps and prisons are involved in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, including Wanjia Forced Labor Camp, Zhanglinzi Forced Labor Camp and Harbin Women's Prison, among others. In recent years, human rights organizations have collected concrete testimonies revealing the information about the dates, times and locations that the persecution was perpetrated, as well as names of perpetrators and witnesses. The testimonies of the persecution in Harbin are 500 pages long in A4 size paper. These testimonies indicate that atrocities of shocking Falun Gong practitioners with electric batons, forced feeding them with human excrement and various other cruel torture methods have been employed by the Chinese Communist regime, aiming to completely eliminate innocent Falun Gong practitioners.

In July 2006, Mr. David Kilgour, former Canadian MP and Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific, and renowned human rights lawyer Mr. David Matas released an investigation report on China's harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. In the conclusion, the report pointed out that the atrocities of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners are carried out extensively in various places in China. On January 31, 2007, they released a revised report detailing additional concrete evidence of the persecution. It is estimated that there were some 41,500 organs, or even more than that figure, being harvested from living Falun Gong practitioners between 1999 and 2005. Similar conclusions were drawn by Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. Edward MacMillan Scott, and Belgian Senator Mr. Patrik Vankrunkelsven, after conducting independent investigations. Interviews with some victims conducted by Mr. Gao Zhisheng, renowned human rights lawyer, have revealed facts about the harvesting of organs from living people, and the atrocities have astonished the international community.

In the revised report released by Mr. David Kilgour and Mr. David Matas, a witness exposed her horrendous experience in Harbin's Wanjia Forced Labor Camp, which is often referred to as a place having much to do with organ harvesting cases. She had undergone organ-matching tests four times to make sure her physical condition was sound. However, her internal organs were disqualified for transplantation, as they were severely damaged during the cruel torture. Ironically, it was her poor health that saved her life. Why did those working in forced labor camps want to check the condition of organs of someone who was almost on the brink of death due to persecution? Why were Falun Gong practitioners subjected to the tests?

These are very important issues. The report indicated that the persecution in Harbin City is a top-down practice, and the mayor and many local officials are directly responsible for the genocidal atrocities. The persecution against Falun Gong not only takes place in those notorious institutions, but also infiltrate in the city government's various departments at all levels. Mayor Shi Zhongxin's speech at the Chinese central government is quite telling: "Harbin has successfully 'defeated Falun Gong.'" The mayor and other officials are even proud of having employed these terrible atrocities to deal with Falun Gong practitioners.

Given that Harbin is Aarhus' sister city, the Aarhus city authorities must face this fact. Harbin City's evil persecution of its innocent citizens is totally against the values promoted by Western democratic societies. As the autocratic Chinese Communist regime is on the brink of collapse, the appalling despicable atrocities will be exposed one after another as what had happened after the end of the World War II and the Berlin Wall fell. When the day comes, what people have done at present will be judged by the world's people and history.

On March 10 and 11, 2007, two days before the conclusion of the "Taiwan Lantern Festival," Falun Gong practitioners' Divine Land Marching band, waist drum team, and flag and drum team were invited to participate in the parade. Under the golden light of the setting sun, the moving performance of these practitioners impressed the spectators and brought the celebration to its peak.

Flag and drum performance

To celebrate the 2007 Lantern Festival, from March 3 to 11 the Chiayi County Government held a splendid "Taiwan Lantern Show" on the county square. Each night, the twinkle of colorful lights and fireworks shined across the broad plains. Tens of thousands people went to watch the show. On the large stage in front of the main lantern, there were song and music performances by domestic and foreign bands.

On March 10, the 300-member Divine Land Marching Band performed on the square and won acclamation from the spectators.

An older man said, "This is the first time in my whole life to see such a band. It is wonderful." His friend said, "It seems that I was waiting for this performance." Someone in the crowd said, after hearing the comment, "On the streets in Taiwan, most bands only have a few people. Such a band, with 300 people, is rarely seen."

A long row of trumpet players passed by, sending forth stirring music. A young girl gazed in delight and continued to applaud warmly even after the band had passed by.

The band members wore blue jackets and cream-colored trousers. The procession was dozens of meters long and marched toward the main lantern area.

The practitioners' waist drum team participated in the parade on March 11, as did the flag and drum team. The waist drum team members wore yellow kerchiefs on their heads and yellow outfits and carried drums at their waists. Their powerful play resounded in the air to wake up people in the maze.

The flag and drum team was composed of six drum players and four flag bearers. The strong performers wore blue long trousers, blue vests, and black boots. Their performance on the county square was especially appealing. The big sound from the six drums was accompanied by the intricate movements of four yellow flags, each with the Chinese character "Tang" in red. The spectators concentrated on their performance and gave warm and long applause after it concluded.