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Special Guest: Jaya Mangalam Gibson
Special Guest: Jaya Mangalam Gibson
Jaya was a Falun Gong practitioner for over 15 years, and was born into another cult before becoming involved with Friends of the Western Buddhist Order and then Scientology prior to Falun Gong. He has over 25 years of experience as an artist, futurist, and activist, using various printmaking, graphic design, and digital painting techniques, as well as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative art, to create provocative and impactful artworks that challenge the status quo and support social causes.
EPISODE DETAILS
EPISODE DETAILS
Written and Hosted by Sarah Steel
Music by Joe Gould
April 23rd, 2025
1 hrs 11 mins 51 secs
Season 7
Episode presenting partner:
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Falun Gong is familiar to many as a spiritual exercise movement, and a sect that has been persecuted by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China. In Sydney it’s not uncommon to see practitioners demonstrating by Town Hall with flyers sharing such atrocities as organ harvesting of wrongfully imprisoned members. But former devotees have come forward with stories of coercion and abuse, alleging that in one thing at least the Chinese Communist Party is correct: Falun Gong is a socially harmful cult.
If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via www.cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via www.icsahome.com). You can also support and get involved with Decult in Aotearoa New Zealand.
EPISODE LINKS
EPISODE LINKS
“I am the only one propagating true Dharma”: Li Hongzhi’s Self-Presentation as Buddha and Greater — by James R. Lewis, ColomboArts Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol II, Issue 2, 2017
The life and times of Li Hongzhi: ‘Falun Gong’ and Religious Biography — by Benjamin Penny, The China Quarterly 175, 643–661, 2003
Li Hongzhi: the man, his deeds and fabrications — CCP biography on the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Kingdom of Thailand, 21 February 2008
The Two Hand Positions for Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts — Essentials for Further Advancement II, Falun Dafa, accessed April 2025
The power of Falun Gong — By Eric Campbell and Hagar Cohen, Foreign Correspondent-Background Briefing, ABC, 21 July 2020
CHINA 2022 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT — U.S. Department of State
Inside Dragon Springs, the high-security compound in upstate New York that's home to a 'cult' tyrannized by China — by James Pasley, Business Insider, 10 September 2019
Faith Becoming an Issue in Communist China — by John Pomfret, Washington Post, 23 July 1999
China Outlaws Nonconformist Spiritual Sect — by John Pomfret & Michael Laris, Washington Post, 23 July 1999
Falun Gong Leader Says He's Misunderstood — by Hanna Rosin, Washington Post, 24 July 1999
China Tightens Its Grip on Falun Gong — by John Pomfret, Washington Post, 31 October 1999
Shen Yun Factsheet — accessed April 2025
Shen Yun — official website, accessed April 2025
Shen Yun: The Dark Side of a Dance Troupe — The Daily, New York Times Podcasts, 3 April 2025
What Is Going On with Shen Yun? All About the Controversy Surrounding the Chinese Dance Group — by Jordana Comiter, People, 7 April 2025
Facebook bans ads from The Epoch Times after huge pro-Trump buy — by Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins, NBC News, 23 August 2019
‘Wake Up,’ by Falun Gong Founder Mr. Li Hongzhi — The Epoch Times, 6 June 2024
Money laundering charges raise questions about the direction of The Epoch Times — by Jude Joffe-Block, NPR, 15 June 2024
This Pro-Trump YouTube Network Sprang Up Just After He Lost — by Craig Silverman, BuzzFeed News, 8 January 2021
A key source for Covid-skeptic movements, the Epoch Times yearns for a global audience — by Alessio Perrone & Darren Loucaides, coda, 10 March 2022
Some Canadians who received unsolicited copy of Epoch Times upset by claim that China was behind virus — by Andrea Bellemare, Jason Ho & Katie Nicholson, CBC News, 29 April 2020
DoJ accuses far-right Epoch Times of being money-laundering operation — by Richard Luscombe, The Guardian, 4 June 2024
Shen Yun Is Said to Be Under Federal Investigation Over Possible Visa Fraud — by Michael Rothfeld & Nicole Hong, The New York Times, 6 February 2025
Falun Gong, Steve Bannon And The Trump-Era Battle Over Internet Freedom — by David Folkenflik, NPR, 14 April 2021
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called “heretical organizations” — Amnesty International report, 23 March 2000
Ex-Dancer Accuses Shen Yun of Forced Labor and Trafficking in Lawsuit — by Michael Rothfeld & Nicole Hong, The New York Times, 25 November 2024
Behind the Pageantry of Shen Yun, Untreated Injuries and Emotional Abuse — by Nicole Hong & Michael Rothfeld, The New York Times, 15 August 2024
2023 Report on International Religious Freedom: China (Includes Hong Kong, Macau, Tibet, and Xinjiang) — US Department of State
The origin of Falun Gong issue — Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Auckland, 2 September 2009
China's stance on the issue of Falun Gong — Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Auckland, 2 September 2009
Stepping Into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun — by Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 19 March 2019
Their posters are everywhere, but behind Shen Yun lies a darker story — by Anthony Segaert, The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 February 2025
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