Interview with a Falun Gong Practitioner who is the Lead Singer of Swedish Group "Yellow Express"

Listening to Anders Eriksson give a solo rendition of his song “Walk On” in Vienna’s famous square, Stephansplatz, on June 19th 2004, it was hard to guess that such a performance would once have been inconceivable for him to give in the past. Before he practised Falun Gong, the thirty seven year old Swede was very resistant to performing to an audience, especially his own material. After performing at the rally in Vienna, which was arranged to raise awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong in China, he described to a Clearharmony reporter how things had changed. “Before, I was scared to perform. I was playing in bands when I was around twenty - I knew I could sing then, but I didn’t. Later I started to sing in the bands, but I never dared to sing my own songs, because it is like a part of me. When I wrote this song, “Walk On” I sent it to some other practitioners, asking for their feedback. They found it very good and asked me to sing it at an outdoor activity in Copenhagen in September 2002 - I said “I am not sure if I want to sing my own song.” But I did it anyway. That was the first time I sang one of my own songs in front of an audience.”

Anders works in digital photo editing and has been practising Falun Gong since 1995. In 2003 he formed a band called “Yellow Express” together with other Falun Gong practitioners. The main purpose of the band was to use their music as a way of raising awareness about Falun Gong and the persecution. Now, Anders has begun to give solo performances of some of the songs, as it has been difficult to get the band together the last couple of months. Anders also points out that it is much simpler technically to set up a guitar and mike than a whole band, and that some people prefer a solo singer.

Anders describes how he found the courage and inspiration to perform to large audiences through the practise of Falun Gong and the wish to raise awareness of the persecution in China. “Falun Gong gives you more inner peace, It helps you let go of the concepts which are blocking you. I have learned not to be so critical of myself. And also before I had no specific reason for making music, except that it was fun, of course. I now have more reason. I have something to write with an important message. I try to write things that are in line with what I practise, with what I realise and what I have enlightened to in the practise of Falun Gong. What I have learned. About life. Also about the persecution.”

The confident performance which reached the hearts of many who stood listening in the Vienna sunshine, had a sincerity and modesty which is consistent with someone who is not wishing to show off or seek a reputation. Talking to Anders, it is touching to realise that this quiet-spoken Swede has had to overcome many internal processes to give his performances. One can sense that he really is not doing it for himself, as for him, perhaps it would be easier to sit quietly at home, writing songs and make recordings. “I have played with Yellow Express in front of hundreds and it has sometimes been very difficult. I am not that kind of person who likes the attention.” He performs because he has something he wants to say, and the music is the way he can say it. “It took a while before I realised what I wanted to do with my music. I have been playing and singing for a while. In 1998 I moved to another city and lost contact with my bands. In 2003, Yellow Express recorded two songs on a CD, one of them was called “Walk On”. There is such a clear message in that song. It is about the Chinese practitioners’ determination. They are standing up for their beliefs in the face of torture and imprisonment. I want to tell the world: Stop the Persecution!.”

Just like Anders, many Falun Gong practitioners have had to face their worst fears and overcome all sorts of internal obstacles, to expose the evil acts of the Jiang regime. In China, the unselfish and courageous acts of the practitioners are shown even more clearly. In fact the song “Walk On” was inspired by the stories of practitioners who went to Tiananmen Square in Beijing to appeal for an end to the persecution.

Their courage is typical of so many unsung heroes in China who continually risk imprisonment, torture, beatings and death to uphold their belief in Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance. Thousands who have made appeals on Tiananmen Square have been detained and tortured. Some are no longer alive, joining the statistics which have recorded nearly 1000 documented persecution deaths.

Anders hopes that people sense the good intention in what he is doing, “I hope that one can feel the compassion in the music and in the performance. I also have that in mind when I record it.” But he does not shy away from the fact that one needs to give a clear message to the Jiang regime which persecutes Falun Gong: “When you are addressing the regime, you have to be very direct. We cultivate Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. Truthfulness is also very important.”

Before Ander’s performance at the rally in Stephansplatz, the various speeches describing in detail the horrific nature of the persecution in China, and a torture exhibition left the onlookers in no doubt as to the situation in China. Coming after the speeches, the words of the song expressed so simply what everyone was feeling: “Stop the Persecution.”