In mid-1999, China’s ruling communist regime launched a nationwide persecution targeting the then widely popular spiritual practice Falun Gong.
At the time, it was estimated that some 100 million people—including Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members—were doing and benefitting from the practice that was loosely organized and only made public in 1992.
Falun Gong consists of five gentle exercises, including meditation and moral teachings, based on the three principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. It spread by word of mouth, beginning in northeast China, and was free to learn.
In a nutshell, the practice was targeted because it got too popular for the regime’s liking, especially for then CCP leader Jiang Zemin.
To try and justify and ultimately fuel its brutal crackdown, the CCP’s propaganda apparatus went into overdrive (both in China and abroad) to demonize the practice and turn public sentiment against its millions of adherents.
For those who knew what Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) was about, the hate propaganda was absurd, but given how things operate in such a repressed society, there were few ways to counter the propaganda marathons put out by state media.
Many practitioners petitioned the authorities or tried to counter the propaganda peacefully, with one of the boldest efforts being a small group that hacked into state television.
The hacking incident occurred in 2002 and is now, two decades later, the subject of a feature-length animated documentary, Eternal Spring, that has been published online by Vice media, which you can watch above.
Press the top left play button on the above feature image to watch the award-winning documentary for free.
Among the people caught up in the communist authority’s brutal response to the hacking attempt was comic book illustrator Daxiong (Justice League, Star Wars), a Falun Gong practitioner who later sought asylum in the United States.
Eternal Spring combines present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, bringing to life what is an extraordinary story of defiance in the face of brutality told through eyewitness testimonies and Daxiong’s incredible drawings.
The documentary was the second feature film of Peabody Award-winning filmmaker director Jason Loftus. He is interviewed at the end of the above video, discussing the filmmaking process.
Produced by Lofty Sky Entertainment, Eternal Spring was Canada’s official entry for the 2023 Oscars in the Best International Film category. Below, you can watch the film’s trailer.