In China, there are several taboo topics that are (as taboos go) not to be discussed in the media, or really at all. These include any criticisms of the Chinese government, the situation in Tibet or other contested areas in China, pornography, and the Falun Gong group. Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, is a group which, while it doesn't necessarily challenge the Chinese government directly, presents an alternative system of philosophical belief which challenges the collectivist mentality of the majority of Chinese society. Falun Gong members focus on using meditation to look inward on oneself and gain power and control over one's body. Practitioners are said to be able to sit for long periods of time in harsh climates (snow, etc.) and meditate without being affected. They represent, to the Chinese government, a threat because of their ability to gain control over their own bodies and minds, and to teach others how to achieve this control, which the Chinese government would rather maintain for itself.
In the International Media class I am taking as preparation for this trip, rather than state that China has four taboo topics and leave it at that, we devoted about an hour of class to investigating and discussing the Falun Gong (as typical Americans will do with taboo topics). The assignment for this discussion had us first research the group to gain a better understanding of why they posed a threat to the Chinese government. Most of the students in our class went to the Falun Dafa website to get a basic overview of the group, and got the impression from the site that the organization worked as a sort of fusion of Buddhism and yoga, that taught meditation and the power of inner strength (a popular concept in American culture). Some students, myself included, noticed some slightly cultish undertones in the group's literature, and began to suspect some ulterior motives behind the organization. Others sympathized with the group and its peaceful teachings, seeing its repression in China as a sort of restriction on personal freedom.
Discussion in class led us to the topic of human rights, with the suggestion that the Chinese government had established 'concentration camps' where Falun Gong practitioners were being tortured or killed in places that claimed to be rehabilitation centers for Falun Gong followers. We looked at reports from Falun Gong news sites and from government-run Chinese newspapers, and while both presented opposite claims on the topic, the general mood of the class was that the government was likely covering up the 'concentration camps.' Finally, we began looking at U.S. government sources which could neither confirm not discredit the existence of the alleged human rights violations, but listed China as a country of concern because of the allegations.
When we finished researching the Falun Gong, the conversation turned to our resident Chinese professor, Winying, to get the general Chinese population's perspective on the Falun Gong. Winying explained that the general population viewed the Falun Gong as a nuisance. They make a distinction between the people who practice Falun Dafa privately for exercise and meditation, and those who publicly protest against the Chinese government in the name of Falun Gong. She went on to explain that the individuals who protest are a lot like religious extremists. They hand out flyers to local residents, track people down at home, or leave information about the organization in people's mailboxes. In class, after Winying explained this to us, everyone began to liken the Falun Gong to Hari Krishnas, Mormons, or Jehovah's Witnesses. The idea that these people were part of a misguided, cult-like religion began to take hold and the class's opinion of the group began to drop.
I found all of these in-class shifts of opinion to be really interesting. In a way, I think they are somewhat indicative of how Westerners, and especially Americans, perceive Eastern culture. We start by romanticizing them. We relate what we know from our highly stereotyped media to what is being introduced to us. In class, we related the Falun Gong to the concept of monks and meditation and Western-style Buddhism (which is more fashion than religion), and even to past footage of monks setting themselves on fire in protest. We heard rumors of the Falun Gong being capable of such things, and because we were accustomed to the concept, we accepted them without direct proof.
When the human rights issue came up, we again pulled from our past media-based experiences, which led us to believe that the Falun Gong's claims were legitimate without any direct proof. We came to this conclusion by pulling again from the image of the protesting monks, and coupling that with the portrayal of China as an enemy to the U. S, and as a country that relies on cheap labor (by which we usually mean child labor or slave labor) and which therefore is not America's equal when it comes to protecting human rights. We may even have pulled from past fears of Communism from the cold war era (or at least from the hints of these fears as they are related to China in our media) to paint the Chinese government as the undisputed villain in the rumors of human rights abuses.
It was only when Falun Gong was related to something we know (and most of us kind of hate) through the first-hand experience of a living, breathing person sitting next to us, that our opinions about Falun Gong really changed. This is why I think going to China, or even going to any foreign country, is so important. We have a very closed, controlled perspective on what a place like China is like. Until a person actually gets on the plane and goes there, and experiences the culture and the place first hand, can they begin to understand what it is really like. The two week trip we are going on will barely scratch the surface of what China is like, but it will at least be a start toward understanding a complex society that is vastly different than ours, yet possibly more similar to us than we currently know.
Original text from: http://wvusojchina.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/thoughts-on-falun-dafafalun-gong/
