Clarification: The Epoch Times does not represent Falun Gong(附中文)

Dear Reader,
On June 3, 2024, the Department of Justice announced the arrest and indictment of the CFO of The Epoch Times. The media company has since suspended him until further notice. When reporting on this case, a majority of the news reports labelled The Epoch Times as “Falun Gong-affiliated” or something similar.
This label is vague and, I believe, misleading.
While The Epoch Times was founded by Falun Gong practitioners, the company does not represent nor speak for Falun Gong… no more than The New York Times represents or speaks for all of Judaism simply because The Times publisher for the past 85+ years has been a Jewish family.
Personally, I think the Epoch Times’ China coverage is excellent. However, I certainly do not agree with all of their editorial stances and can say unequivocally, as a Falun Gong practitioner, the paper does not speak for me nor my faith.
Furthermore, while Falun Gong originated in China, today it is practiced in over 100 countries around the world through an informal network of volunteers and meditation practice sites as Falun Gong has no formal clergy or membership. Indeed, people who practice Falun Gong are almost as diverse as humanity itself—a spectrum so vast that no single American media company could be formally “affiliated” with Falun Gong as a whole.
Of course, my colleagues and I welcome the Epoch Times’ consistent and insightful coverage of the persecution of Falun Gong in China, and its ramifications around the world. It takes courage and a strong moral compass to expose the atrocities committed by the Chinese regime, especially given the vast economic and political influence it wields worldwide. To do so in light of the dearth of coverage about the Falun Gong human rights crisis by many other news outlets is all the more admirable. That being said, if an individual at the paper has taken actions in violation of law or values of integrity, that is extremely disappointing.
For too long, news outlets have, intentionally or not, mischaracterized the relationship between The Epoch Times and Falun Gong, and so I felt it was necessary to clarify this issue at this time.

Sincerely,

Levi Browde, Executive Director
Falun Dafa Information Center

06-13-2024 |

澄清《大纪元时报》不代表“法轮功”

亲爱的读者，

2024年6月3日，美国司法部宣布逮捕并起诉《大纪元时报》首席财务官。该媒体公司已暂停其职务直至另行通知。在报道此案时，大多数新闻报道都将《大纪元时报》贴上“与法轮功有关”或类似标签。

我认为这个标签很模糊，而且具有误导性。

虽然《大纪元时报》是由“法轮功”修炼者创办的，但该公司并不代表“法轮功”，也不为“法轮功”代言……就如同《纽约时报》并不代表或为整个犹太教代言一样，因为《纽约时报》在过去 85 多年的出版商一直是一个犹太家庭。

我个人认为《大纪元时报》对中国的报道非常出色。但是，我当然不同意他们的所有编辑立场，并且可以毫不含糊地说，作为一名法轮功修炼者，这份报纸并不代表我或我的信仰。

此外，尽管法轮功起源于中国，但如今，法轮功通过非正式的志愿者网络和冥想练习场所在全球 100 多个国家/地区传播，因为法轮功没有正式的教职人员或会员。事实上，修炼法轮功的人几乎与人类本身一样多样化——范围如此广泛，以至于没有一家美国媒体公司可以正式与法轮功“结盟”。

当然，我和我的同事们都欢迎《大纪元时报》对中国迫害法轮功及其在世界范围内的影响进行持续而深刻的报道。揭露中国政权的暴行需要勇气和坚定的道德准则，尤其是考虑到它在全球拥有的巨大经济和政治影响力。鉴于许多其他新闻媒体对法轮功人权危机的报道很少，这样做就更加令人钦佩。话虽如此，如果报社的某个人采取了违反法律或诚信价值观的行为，那就非常令人失望了。

长期以来，新闻媒体有意或无意地歪曲了《大纪元时报》和法轮功之间的关系，因此我觉得这次有必要澄清这个问题。

真挚地，

法轮大法信息中心执行主任莱维·布劳德

注：翻譯器