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I regularly go to a restaurant run by some Falun Gong refugees, and I've spent a fair bit of time, while waiting, perusing their pamphlets and books. To be hone

I regularly go to a restaurant run by some Falun Gong refugees, and I've spent a fair bit of time, while waiting, perusing their pamphlets and books. To be honest, my feeling has been exactly the same as yours - while, from my very first interaction, I was aware that Falun Gong were persecuted in China, and while I don't really have a rosy picture of what that entails, their political writing and pampletting is just really awfully put together, especially for a western audience. They're full of gruesome paintings of torture that, you know, are paintings, so come across as melodramatic - even when you're pretty sure that torture is part and parcel of persecution, and you find it hard to imagine the chinese state _not_ torturing at least some Falun Gong. That's kind of what happens with all their material. You start looking at the people handing it out, and it's pretty obvious they've had a very hard time at the hands of the Chinese state, but then after reading it, you feel less convinced than if they'd handed you nothing at all.

schoen 8y ago
I'm also always struck by the culture gap when Falun Gong tries to communicate to western audiences. The main slogan that I've seen on banners at their protests: "Falun Dafa Is Good". This made me think of nothing so much as the "Log Song" from Ren and Stimpy: It's log, it's log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood. / It's log, it's log, it's better than bad — it's good!
- Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
  Never thought I'd see a Ren & Stimpy reference on HN.
- EdwardDiego 8y ago
  In my city in NZ, they like to do their tai-chi looking stuff in a park beside the main avenue of travel from the airport, with big banners about the Falun Dafa and Friends Association, but most of the banners are filled with hanzi - which makes me wonder who they're preaching to - Kiwis, or Chinese migrants?
chillacy 8y ago
FLG runs a propaganda machine in English, you’d have to read their Chinese pamphlets to see the crazy stuff. If you do more research, it’s the scientology of China, not exactly the stuff of credibility. https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Falun_Gong https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Falun_Gong

schoen 8y ago

I'm also always struck by the culture gap when Falun Gong tries to communicate to western audiences. The main slogan that I've seen on banners at their protests: "Falun Dafa Is Good". This made me think of nothing so much as the "Log Song" from Ren and Stimpy: It's log, it's log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood. / It's log, it's log, it's better than bad — it's good!

Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
Never thought I'd see a Ren & Stimpy reference on HN.
EdwardDiego 8y ago
In my city in NZ, they like to do their tai-chi looking stuff in a park beside the main avenue of travel from the airport, with big banners about the Falun Dafa and Friends Association, but most of the banners are filled with hanzi - which makes me wonder who they're preaching to - Kiwis, or Chinese migrants?

chillacy 8y ago

FLG runs a propaganda machine in English, you’d have to read their Chinese pamphlets to see the crazy stuff. If you do more research, it’s the scientology of China, not exactly the stuff of credibility. https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Falun_Gong https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Falun_Gong