China tells South Korea to stop dancing.

中國禁止神韻在南韓演出

Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,

歡迎收看「中國解密」

I'm your host Chris Chappell.

我是主持人 Chris Chappell.

Did you ever see The Sound of Music?

各位有看過《真善美》嗎？

More like The Sound of Propaganda!

根本就是政治宣傳片嘛

Here I think I'm watching a nice musical celebrating Austrian culture...

我以為這部音樂劇是在宣揚奧地利文化

when suddenly it turns into a story about Nazi oppression.

結果變成在講納粹迫害的故事

Now clearly, the Third Reich is not one of their favorite things.

很顯然的他們不太喜歡德意志第三帝國

But I mean, how dare they use art to make people think?

但怎麼可以用藝術讓人做出反思呢？

Now speaking of artistic performances that make people think: Shen Yun.

說到使人反思的藝術表演 我們來談談神韻藝術團

It's a classical Chinese dance show run by a nonprofit Chinese-American company.

神韻是由華裔美國人創立的非營利組織 專門表演傳統中國舞蹈

Apparently, the Chinese Communist Party considers Shen Yun a major threat

但中共似乎視神韻為一大威脅

including in South Korea.

甚至連在南韓表演 都受中國阻撓

Why is that? Well let's see.

怎麼會這樣呢？ 讓我們繼續看下去

According to the Shen Yun website,

根據神韻的官方網站所述

It's "reviving 5,000 years of civilization."

他們的宗旨是「復興中國五千年的文明」

It "features the world's foremost classically trained dancers";

「團員都是頂尖的傳統舞者」

and it was "established by Falun Dafa practitioners in 2006."

「於 2006 年由法輪功信徒創立」

I feel like it's probably one of those three.

原因應該就是其中一點吧？

And if you want some background

如果你想深入了解

on why the Communist Party is so intent on stopping Falun Dafa, a.k.a. Falun Gong,

中共為何極力抵制法輪大法 也就是法輪功

watch this video here.

可以觀看這部影片

Now Shen Yun tours around the world

神韻藝術團於世界各地巡演

in hundreds of cities.

造訪過無數個城市

I've watched it a few times at Lincoln Center in New York.

我也在紐約的林肯中心 看過幾次他們的表演

Each show has about twenty dance and music numbers.

每場表演大約涵蓋二十首歌舞

Some of them depict historical things,

表演內容包括歷史事件

like the founding of a dynasty.

例如古代王朝的興起

And a couple of them usually depict contemporary issues,

有時則探討現代時事

like Falun Dafa meditators standing up the to Communist Party's suppression.

像法輪功信徒 對抗中共壓迫的過程

Well apparently, in South Korea,

看來，在南韓

the use of the arts to make people think

使用藝術來讓人反思

about certain contemporary issues is a huge threat

探討某個現代時事

to the stability of the Chinese Communist Party.

對共產黨政權是個大威脅

You see, KBS Hall in Seoul had signed a contract

南韓首爾的 KBS 劇院

with promotion company New Cosmos Media

跟新宇宙媒體 (New Cosmos Media) 宣傳公司簽約

to host Shen Yun performances here in May 2016.

同意神韻於 2016 年五月 在 KBS 劇院演出

But then on January 26, just a few weeks ago,

但是在一月二十六日 短短幾星期前

KBS suddenly canceled the contract.

KBS 卻突然解約

Organizers suspect the Chinese Embassy was behind it.

主辦單位懷疑是中國大使館在背後操縱

Now, I know that sounds like wild speculation.

雖然這個推論相當大膽

But there are numerous, well-documented cases

但以前已有無數公開的案例

of Chinese Embassies around the world trying

顯示中國大使館在世界各國

to stop Shen Yun.

干涉神韻藝術團的表演

Let's call it "diplomacy with Chinese characteristics."

我們姑且稱為中式外交吧 [施壓]

They often tell theaters that hosting Shen Yun

中國大使館常告知當地劇院

"may compromise relations" between China and their country.

舉辦神韻藝術團表演 可能對中國與該國的關係不利

For example, according to Spain's biggest newspaper,

例如，西班牙最大家的報社就曾報導

in 2014 a Chinese diplomat tried to pressure a theater in Barcelona

中國外交官曾於 2014 年 對巴塞隆納的一間劇院施壓

to cancel its contract with Shen Yun.

要求該劇院解除與神韻的合約

When the theater refused,

該劇院拒絕此項要求

the Chinese official tried to pressure Spain's Foreign Ministry instead.

中國官員轉而向西班牙外交部施壓

Shen Yun performed anyway,

最後神韻藝術團仍照常演出

and it got rave reviews from Spanish media.

並受到西班牙媒體一致的好評

And when Shen Yun was scheduled to perform in Berlin that same year,

同年，神韻預計於柏林演出

the German Chinese Embassy's cultural attaché

駐德國的中國文化外交人員

met with the theater’s marketing and sales manager, Jörg Seefeld,

與戲院的行銷經理約·錫腓德安排會面

telling him he had better cancel Shen Yun.

告訴對方最好取消神韻的演出

This German Newspaper reported on the incident, saying,

這家德國報社報導此事並稱之為

“It sounds like something out of the Cold War.”

「冷戰時期才會發生的行為」

Fortunately for Shen Yun,

還好神韻很幸運

Mr. Seefeld had been a prisoner during the Cold War in communist East Germany.

錫腓德曾於冷戰期間 遭東德共產黨監禁

He told the Chinese attaché to go pound sand.

他請中國外交人員到一旁「玩沙」

And those are just two of literally dozens of examples,

這兩起事件還只是冰山一角

around the world, of Chinese diplomats

中國在世界各地使用外交手段

"diplomatically" trying to force theaters to cancel Shen Yun.

企圖迫使劇院取消神韻的演出

And most of the time, their efforts have failed because theater managers stand up to them.

通常都被劇院經理一口回絕

So when getting theaters to cancel on Shen Yun doesn't work,

當對劇院施壓無效

they sometimes try a different approach.

中國有時會轉而使用其他手段

Like trying to stop people from attending.

例如阻止民眾前往觀賞表演

"Last week, Seattle City Council members received a letter from the Chinese Consul in San Francisco

「上週，西雅圖市議會的成員 收到一封來自舊金山中國大使館的信

urging them not to promote or attend the show."

要求他們不要宣傳 或親自出席神韻的演出」

Or the year before:

該事件發生的前一年

"The Chinese government's been told to butt out of local politics

「地方政府警告中國 別介入地方事務

after apparently asking city council members to stay away from a dance show."

因為中國要求市議員別去觀賞舞蹈表演

"Cathy Casey says the Consul-General's letter is a breach of human rights."

「凱西·凱希認為領事館長的來信 已經侵犯人權」

"'China has its own laws. This is New Zealand.

「中國有他們自己的一套法律 但這裡是紐西蘭

We are a democracy. We have freedom of expression and freedom of association.

我們是民主國家 我們有言論自由和集會結社自由

And this breaks every rule in the book.'"

這項舉動已經違反基本人權」

You know, I feel like there are more important things the Chinese Embassies could be doing.

我覺得中國大使館 應該有更要緊的事情需要處理才對

But anyway, back to Korea.

總之，我們來看看南韓的情況吧

Shen Yun has tried to perform here every year since 2008.

自從 2008 年起 神韻每年都來南韓演出

And almost every time, whether in Seoul, Busan, or another city,

不論是在首爾，釜山或其他城市演出

the theaters have told organizers they received pressure from Chinese officials not to hold

當地劇院都告知主辦單位 他們受到中國官員施壓

the show.

要求他們取消神韻的演出

In some cases, theater owners have withstood the pressure and let Shen Yun perform.

在少數情況下劇院承受壓力 允許神韻照常演出

But in many cases,

但多數情況下

the Korean theaters folded under pressure like it's their first time at the poker table

韓國劇院仍不敵中國的壓力

claiming "Hey, it's not our fault! The Chinese Embassy pressured us!"

並宣稱這不是他們的錯 因為他們受到中國施壓

But let’s not completely blame the victim.

但先別責怪這些受害者

I should point out that Chinese pressure on Korea has been unusually severe.

中國政府對韓國施加的壓力 有越來越不容小覷的趨勢

You see, South Korea has a very tight relationship with China.

南韓跟中國關係緊密

China is South Korea's largest trading partner

中國是南韓最主要的貿易夥伴

a relationship worth more than 200 billion dollars a year.

每年貿易額高達兩千億美元

And Chinese money is critical to Korea's economic development.

中國資金對南韓的經濟發展是不可或缺的動力

And that may be why KBS Hall broke Shen Yun's contract and canceled this year's show.

有可能因為這樣 KBS 劇院 才取消神韻今年的演出

Also, KBS Hall is owned by state-run Korean TV broadcaster KBS.

順帶一提，KBS 劇院是由 南韓國營的 KBS 電視台營運

And KBS has lots of reporters in China.

KBS 電視台在中國派駐了許多記者

Reporters who need Chinese media visas.

而這些記者需要辦理中國媒體簽證才能採訪

And speaking of media,

說到媒體

guess who shares a building with KBS in Seoul?

猜猜看 KBS 跟哪家公司在首爾共用一間大樓？

Why, the local bureau of China Central Television!

那就是中國中央電視台

But, you know, I don't want to make wild accusations

當然我不敢隨便下結論

about what's behind KBS Hall's cancellation of Shen Yun.

胡亂猜測神韻演出取消的原因

So I attempted to contact KBS for their side of the story.

所以我試著聯絡 KBS 電台 想聽聽他們的說法

I sent a letter to their official email account,

我寄信到他們的官方電子郵件

but it was returned because of "an error in the mail server."

但是系統卻出問題 把我的信退了回來

I called several numbers for the relevant departments,

我也試著打給相關部門

but they all said something like this.

可是打過去都是這樣的答覆

“The number you have dialed is temporarily not in service."

「很道歉，您所撥打的號碼暫停使用」

Then we called their main phone number,

然後我們又打給總機

and asked to be transferred,

請總機幫我們轉接

but the representative refused;

但是總機小姐卻不願幫我們轉接

she insisted we send an email instead.

她堅持要我們用寄信的方式聯絡

I did speak about the issue with Changsik Lee,

我有機會與李章熙 (音譯) 討論此問題 [李章熙，新宇宙媒體董事長 ]

who's promoting Shen Yun in South Korea.

他負責在南韓替神韻做宣傳

”Shen Yun has been performing in Korea for the last nine years

「神韻過去九年都來南韓演出

and 10,000 people every year have watched Shen Yun and the response has been fantastic,

每年都有一萬人左右觀看神韻演出 反應也都很好

they like the show very much."

所有觀眾都很喜歡神韻的演出

"Have you talked to anyone at KBS since they canceled the contract?"

合約取消後你有找 KBS 電台的人談過嗎？

"Yes, yes we met with some people,

有，我們與幾位相關人員會過面

and they all know that the show has no problem and the show is very famous worldwide."

他們都認為神韻的演出沒什麼問題 而且在全世界享有聲譽

"So why cancel the show?"

那為甚麼要取消呢？

"They have no choice.

他們別無選擇

They just got ordered from the higher level."

他們只是聽命行事

"Did they say who the higher level is or why?"

他們有提過高層長官是誰 或他們為何做出這項決定嗎？

"They cannot tell."

他們不方便透漏

Mr. Lee also gave me a copy of KBS's official termination notice for Shen Yun.

李先生也提供一份 合約終止通知的影本給我

KBS wrote that, "there is concern that it may damage our public corporation's image."

KBS 電視台在通知書中寫道 「我們擔心該演出可能影響本公司形象」

Hmmm.. Well that same concern didn't seem to apply for this show,

怪了，他們就不擔心 這場表演會破壞公司形象

which I saw rehearing at KBS Hall:

我在 KBS 劇院看到他們排練

The "Korean Overseas Chinese Friendship Association Lantern Festival Gala."

韓國華僑華人社團聯誼華星元宵晚會

And it's sponsored by, you guessed it, the Chinese government!

這場活動是由...沒錯，你猜對了 正是由中國政府贊助的

It's performing this week.

他們將在本週表演

Oh, according to the program,

根據他們的節目表

it features such traditional Chinese classics as,

表演內容包括中國傳統歌舞

"I'm so sexy."

像是《性感無比》(I'm so Sexy)

Which is apparently fine for KBS’s public image.

KBS 電台似乎不認為 這會影響他們公司的形象

It's just that, when you compare it to Shen Yun...

只是跟神韻比較起來…

Wait a second! I know what's going on!

等等，我知道是怎麼回事了

It's like those off-brand LEGOs I kept seeing in South Korea.

我在南韓看到很多山寨樂高

I guess KBS Hall only wants the cheap, Chinese knockoff.

KBS 劇院可能比較喜歡 便宜的山寨中國表演吧

So what do you think?

你的看法呢？

Leave your comments below,

歡迎在底下留言

and subscribe to this channel for more episodes.

並且訂閱我們的頻道

Once again I'm Chris Chappell. See you next time

我是 Chris Chappell 下次再見