On the afternoon of April 9, 2025, well-known independent media personality Lao Deng, who has hundreds of thousands of followers, attended the first performance of the Shen Yun International Performing Arts troupe at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver. He had even prepared a bouquet of flowers to present to the Shen Yun artists. (Dajiyuan)
[People News] As The New York Times published a series of articles in 2024 attacking Shen Yun and Falun Gong, the CCP escalated its transnational repression of Falun Gong. From the very beginning, prominent overseas commentator Lao Deng (Liu Xin) spoke out against the NYT’s attacks.
I. “I Know Falun Gong Too Well”
1. Falun Gong cultivates Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, teaching people to be good
If some see his defence of Falun Gong as simply rooted in his anti-CCP stance, in reality, it comes even more from his deep understanding of the practice.
Lao Deng explained: “I have a deep connection with Falun Gong. When Master Li first spread Falun Gong in Beijing, we lived in the same neighbourhood. At that time, I ran a bookstore, and I distributed tens of thousands of copies of Zhuan Falun back to my hometown. That kind of bond is undeniable. After immigrating to Vancouver, I often joined Falun Gong’s protests, until I later moved out to a farm.”
“I know Falun Gong too well. Back in China, I already knew. My home county — Shuangcheng County in Heilongjiang — had the highest number of practitioners. In the countryside, many neighbours I knew practised Falun Gong. Some were persecuted to death; their stories appeared in overseas newspapers. Too many examples. A brother and sister-in-law from my own village, the most kindhearted people, were arrested. Why is it that the best people take up Falun Gong? And why is it that the best people end up persecuted to death?”
“Once, when I returned home during the crackdown, I stepped off the bus and saw both sides of the road lined with trees bearing banners that read ‘Falun Dafa is good.’ They had been tied to stones and thrown up into the branches. That kind of unyielding faith was unforgettable.
I told my friends then: ‘Nothing can defeat Truth, nothing can overcome Compassion, and nothing can conquer Forbearance.’”
Lao Deng also recalled urging a county official he knew (once his teacher, later in charge of political and legal affairs) to treat Falun Gong lightly: “I told him: ‘The CCP always does this — today they suppress, tomorrow they rehabilitate. Isn’t history full of such flip-flops? We’re all from the same hometown — just go through the motions, don’t cause harm.’”
That official once told Lao Deng something that left a deep impression. While commanding flood relief in the countryside, he saw a township cadre carrying sandbags and sweating alongside the labourers. He was stunned because CCP officials never work like that. On inquiry, he learned the man was the township militia head — a Falun Gong practitioner. Not long after, that officer was arrested and beaten to death. Later, Lao Deng saw the report on Minghui.org.
Such experiences, he said, convinced him of the goodness of Falun Dafa and its practitioners. That’s why he has firmly supported Falun Gong, especially at critical moments when he feels compelled to speak out and stand with them.
2. Reciting “Falun Dafa is good!” to escape danger
Lao Deng shared a personal story: “One winter, it was snowing heavily. I was driving down a steep, winding slope. The brakes wouldn’t hold, and I feared I would skid off a cliff. Suddenly, I remembered a Falun Gong practitioner once told me: in danger, silently recite ‘Falun Dafa is good.’ So I kept repeating it. As I did, my heart calmed. With calmness, the car became easier to control, and the road didn’t feel so slippery anymore. I drove home safely.”
II. Shen Yun Artists Are Doing Something Sacred
1. Shen Yun preserves the very soul of Chinese civilisation
On April 9, this year, Lao Deng drove hundreds of kilometres from his farm back to Vancouver to attend Shen Yun International Performing Arts’ first performance at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
Afterwards, he told reporters with emotion: “The essence Shen Yun conveys is Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance — the deepest core of our people. Shen Yun is utterly different from the CCP’s fake, hollow, fabricated so-called culture. Shen Yun is the purest presentation of authentic Chinese art — the very best.”
“One day, Shen Yun’s culture will return to our homeland. It is living proof that our nation will not perish, and that our true culture will not be extinguished.”
Lao Deng believes Shen Yun artists are not only reenacting history but also creating it: “By spreading Shen Yun’s spirit, the spirit of Dafa, they are making history through art. Shen Yun’s greatness lies in the fact that it carries forward the very soul of our nation.”
2. Lao Deng’s deep respect for Shen Yun performers
When speaking of Shen Yun — especially its young artists — Lao Deng expressed profound respect.
He proudly shared a photo of himself after the show, holding flowers while being interviewed, and later posted it on his YouTube channel for his fans. “Their perseverance touched me so much. That’s why I bought flowers to present to them. They accepted them and even sent me a video in return.”
“What I said in interviews was also meant directly for those performers — especially the young ones.
I wanted them to know: their commitment to Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, their sacrifice, their refusal to betray their beliefs — these are sacred. We see it, and we thank them.” “I feared they might think my gesture was just an audience’s admiration for artists. But it was more than that — it was admiration for their faith, for their steadfastness in the storm, for their refusal to waver. They must understand: what they are doing is a most sacred undertaking!”
III . Why The New York Times Attacks Falun Gong and Shen Yun
Last August, when The New York Times began attacking Shen Yun and Falun Gong, Lao Deng expressed his support for both.
Based on information he had obtained, he exposed the CCP’s new round of suppression plans. After watching Shen Yun, he became even more certain that the series of attack articles by The New York Times could not be separated from the CCP. He believes that the Communist Party infiltrates everywhere, and its external propaganda machine has long penetrated into mainstream media in Western free societies. The New York Times, for the sake of profit, has abandoned principle and acted as the CCP’s enforcer in carrying out transnational repression in America.
Lao Deng said: “The New York Times is not only a base camp for the extreme left; it has lost even the most basic dignity of being a media outlet.
“I think that by repeatedly publishing those attack articles, pretending to stand from a neutral position, in reality, it has been bought off and is acting with premeditation.”
IV. “Adversity Reveals Loyal Ministers, True Gold is Tested in Fire”
1. Reports that the CCP Wants to Infiltrate Falun Gong
According to some internal CCP notices, online information, and certain leaks, Lao Deng learned what this round of attacks was aimed at.
“For example, when it comes to Dafa, recently there has been a campaign with a certain type of operation, with certain tactics. For instance, regarding Falun Dafa, the plan is to infiltrate from within—such as targeting individuals who once performed in Shen Yun or once practised Falun Gong.”
2. Attacks Are a Test for Practitioners
Lao Deng believes that some people do not practice purely, and failed to achieve their goals; some may have entered the Falun Gong community with bad intentions from the beginning; others might have been CCP agents planted inside from the start to carry out certain missions; and of course, some people may have accepted promises from the CCP, so when the time came, they jumped out to harm Falun Dafa. “In the end, the process of gold panning in a raging river will reveal the truth. Those who are not sincere will drop out.”
Lao Deng observed that those whose cultivation is shallow may waver and take such actions, but the majority stand firm. With emotion, he remarked: “That’s why they say, ‘Adversity reveals loyal ministers, true gold is tested in fire.’ It is through these ups and downs and tribulations that people are seen and tested.”
(From Dajiyuan) △
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