Sweden: "Culture and Art Should Not Be Suppressed by the CCP"

Swedish Member of Parliament and member of the foreign relations committee Cecilia Wigstrom attended the third show of the Chinese Spectacular on March 25th, 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden. She said that such a great show should not be suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). She said she appreciated every aspect of the show.

The CCP interfered with the Divine Performing Arts show, calling and intimidating Swedish government officials. The resultant uproar has caught the attention of many Swedish people, drawing sell-out crowds to the performances.

Swedish Member of Parliament Cecilia Wigstrom

MP Wigstrom is a 35-year-old politician, elected to parliament in 2002. She said, "The Chinese Spectacular gives us a chance to learn more about Chinese culture. I enjoyed the meaningful dances, drums, songs, piano and other musical instruments. Perfect! I never thought it could be so fantastic."

MP Wigstrom sent a welcome letter to Divine Performing Arts in mid-March, which stated, "This is an issue of respecting freedom of expression. Each one has freedom of speech, press, assembly and petition no matter what his belief, gender, political view and lifestyle are. These are basic human rights. Any government that ignores these basic human rights cannot be considered a people's government."

The letter also pointed out, "People on this Earth should have rights of expression, thought, and belief. Unfortunately, people in China are not able to see the performance of the Divine Performing Arts. The Chinese government and its organizations around the world carry out dictatorship and totalitarian authority. This authoritarian government restricts Chinese citizens' rights and thinks it can get support by suppressing its citizen's discontent."

After seeing the show, MP Wigstrom said, "This show is perfect and touching, including the programs on the persecution of Falun Gong. Divine Performing Arts presented it properly with an art performance of Chinese culture."

MP Wigstrom said she'd like to encourage others to see the show. "I thought of my parents who live in another city. I am not sure if they can watch the show since I heard that the tickets are sold out. Next time I'll tell my friends and relatives first!"