American Thought Leaders, Epoch Times | 40min | Interview
July 20, 2019
Twenty years ago today, the Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin delivered the order to “eradicate” the spiritual discipline known as Falun Gong, and started a campaign to demonize, imprison, re-educate millions of people across the nation.
Just what exactly is Falun Gong, which is also known as Falun Dafa? Why did the Chinese communist regime spend billions of dollars to persecute and vilify these nonviolent spiritual believers? And while the persecution continues, why do we hear so little about it today?
This is American Thought Leaders, and I’m Jan Jekielek. Today we sit down with Falun Dafa Information Center spokesperson Peter Erping Zhang, who has been practicing Falun Gong for 25 years. Zhang has consulted on China and Asia-related issue for over a decade in both the government and non-governmental sectors. He is a graduate of Beijing International Studies University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and John F. Kennedy School of Government.
We discuss Falun Gong’s participation in the recently concluded US State Department Ministerial For The Advancement of Religious Freedom, Falun Gong’s origins, and how, in Peter’s view, the Falun Gong belief system is antithetical to Marxist ideology. As a result, it’s continued popularity poses a threat to the communist regime’s ability to control the minds and souls of the Chinese people.
