I Became a Corrupt Communist Official for a Dance Competition

In this year's dance competition, I played a corrupt communist official. Why did I choose this role and did I win anything? Make sure to watch to the end to find out. >> That's where the names are going to be announced. What's happening? You ready? Oh, we just finished dancing and um it's pretty intense. We're doing a duet together. It was originally Hubert's idea. >> So, our story is called The Price and it basically touches upon how in journalism, one lie can hurt millions of people. There really is a price for everything for journalism. If the integrity uh comes with a price tag, then it loses its value and it becomes propaganda. So that's something very meaningful topic that we wanted to touch upon through our piece. Our dance follows the story of this journalist who's in China for the first time. In the beginning, you know, he tries to report truthfully the situation going on in China. Obviously, the communist regime in China has very strict control over the flow of information. There's a lot of censorship. You can only show what they want you to show. And so that's exactly what happens to this reporter. He gets bribed at first. He [music] tries to resist, but you know, the temptation's too great. There's like Ferraris and Lamborghinis, Rolex, and [music] everything. So he gives in and he becomes a mouthpiece for the regime. He's justifying and painting a pretty picture of what's going on in China. Even though very brutal things are happening, people are getting arrested and getting killed. Eventually, he realizes how far he slid in this whole journey. He goes into this redemption arc where he tries to expose [music] the truth that eventually leads to the downfall. a communist official. >> Yeah, that's basically the story in a nutshell. >> I wanted to actually interview Levi of Browy. He's the executive director of the Fallen Information [clears throat] Center. So, let's go to Levi real quick and see what he has to say. >> Levi, [snorts] you watched. What are some thoughts you had watching? >> That was very good. Yes, I did. I enjoyed the dance. The persecution of falling started in '9s, some good, some bad, but right around 2002 2003, silence. And that was the moment I was thinking about when I saw your performance. Is it because that they had pressure from the Chinese government that they were afraid to write anything? >> You know, there's a famous scholar from Princeton University who talked about it as an anaconda and a chandelier. Everybody kind of knows that if they say the wrong thing, they're going to get kicked out of China. They can't report there. So, it was overt pressure, but it was also this sort of shadow hanging over the reporters [music] to be careful. >> Wow. Shadow hanging over the reporters. That's exactly what happened in our dance. >> And it's not just reporters. It's not just academics. It's business people. It's politicians. Anybody who has a real touch point with Beijing that they want to have leverage on is going to be faced with that kind of situation. The leadup to the 2008 Olympics, we had a media company just tell us outright, "Look, if we cover you, we're not going to be allowed to cover the Olympics." We've had cases where people were about to publish a big story in [music] the United States, major media company. They called the embassy for a quote and that afternoon their editors killed it. And so there's all kinds of these stories of people trying to go after and actually tell the fall gong story and they get cut off. You know, a lot of the fallen gong was beloved in the 1990s was all over the place in China. And so what what happened? It was this terrible propaganda campaign that Beijing started at the turn of the century that transformed the reputation of fallen gong into something it wasn't. And we're kind of seeing that especially in this last year or two where a lot of those lies and false narratives about falling gong are being rebranded, put on Western platforms [music] and really making their way into some of the major papers in the United States. So that's the part that's kind of spooky. >> I see. Is there anything that you would like to say to our [music] viewers? >> Be critical minded. In the largest totalitarian regime on Earth, the Chinese Communist Party [music] has a vested interest to distort. be very very critical-minded on stories about Fallon Gong and other dissident where they're trying to silence them or lie. Double check your facts. Double check your sources. Go to places that you know tell you the truth like >> Okay, Levi also has a YouTube channel and >> sure it's a fairly small channel. Uh it's called What's the Deal with Levi. What I do is I take Western press media and we just go line by line, see how much is fact, how much is fiction, how much is false narrative. So we just sort of break media pieces down. >> That's great. Okay, Levi, thank you so much for uh the interview. >> Thanks for having me, Sam. Great job today. >> So, right now, we're here in the theater. They're about to announce who made it to the semi-finals. Huber and I are waiting to see if we make it. So, that's where the names are going to be announced. Huber, how you feeling? We're prepared for any results. >> I'm just saying the good thing about having two people is if one of us doesn't make it, our piece still makes it to the end, >> right? >> Yeah. >> Unless we both don't make it. >> If we don't make it, I feel like it's still worth >> At least we made a video. >> Yeah. Yeah, at least we made this video. Oh, here we go. It looks like Hubert made it, but I didn't make it. But as I said, it's still great because our piece still gets to go on tomorrow. >> Yeah, Sam had a good run and he'll be less nervous tomorrow. >> Actually, it's seems a lot easier for me now. >> Yeah, >> free lunch. Tony Sun says free lunch. But here go. You need to take photos of us on stage. >> We are number four. >> Okay, that's good. Congrats, man. How do you feel? >> Uh, it was a long day, [laughter] so I was like, let's go. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, we got to make it to the finals, though. Come on. >> Let's go. Let's go. >> All the hope is on you. See tomorrow, man. >> No pressure. >> No pressure at all. [music] I just finished the semi-finals with Hubert. We finished our piece. Actually, yesterday my mom called me and then she was like, "How are you doing?" And I was like, "I'm doing fine." [music] And then she's like, "Oh, okay. Just checking up on you." And I was wondering why did she call me? And I realized that because I've been through so many dance competitions. Usually when I don't get a good result, for example, this time I didn't make it past the prelims, I'd [music] be really sad for a long time. And I feel bad about myself. I lose a lot of confidence. But this time, actually, when she called me, I almost felt like, "Oh, why should I feel sad?" And I think the reason is this time I cared a lot more about what I went through or what I improved through this journey as opposed to the results. [music] Actually I improved a lot in dance this whole process and also I improved in choreography because I made this piece [music] with Hubert. This all these things are more valuable than getting first place or getting a prize. So I just want to share with you guys [music] if you guys are ever like trying to pursue something are really nervous about an upcoming event just try to think about the journey. The most valuable things we gain is through the [music] journey. the moment of truth right now. We're against the brick wall. We're going to find out if we made it to the finals or not. How do you feel today? >> I think I was more nervous than yesterday. >> Actually, when I was dancing with you, I felt you were more nervous cuz I saw your hand shaking. I remember telling you before you went, I was like, "Hey, you know, just remember the reason you're doing this. Don't worry about exactly what you're doing." >> That was helpful. >> We have a reason for doing all this. Just think about what you're here to do [music] instead of like getting all nervous and like, "Oh, am I going to mess up?" Stuff like that. We're about to find out the results. You ready? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> When you're anxious, it's more like you're thinking of yourself. like I'm thinking about myself, how I'm performing as opposed to like the message the audience should see. >> At least that's what I found out this year. Like I was really nervous, but then right before I went out, I told myself, just remember the real reason why you're doing this. You're not doing this to get first place. You're not doing this to show yourself off. You're doing this because there's a deeper meaning behind the piece that we're performing. >> So, it's happening now. What's happening here? You ready? >> Oh, snap. We made it. >> Oh, first of all, congratulations. >> Good job, s >> one more time. Let's do this. [music] >> Let's do this. Number 15. We're third to last. >> Oh, that's pretty crazy. Actually, it's going to be a long day, but Sam >> number 15. Why can't you get like number one or something? >> I'm sorry. >> All right, see you tomorrow, Hugh. >> Jo, man. Let's go. [music] >> July 1999, a brutal campaign >> targeted the 100 million people practicing felon. CCP is committing genocide. [music] >> [music] >> How was it today? >> It's over. >> It's over. >> Like in a good way. It's over. >> Yes. Everyone's very uh relieved. >> Look at us. We're chilling. We're chilling. >> You guys have a little nice mat. >> Look at how nice the weather is right now. >> Yeah. Jeffree, how [music] do you guys feel today? >> Jefferson, come on. Say anything. anything. [laughter] >> Let me speak for Jefferson. He feels fantastic today. >> What do you feel about, you know, what place you get, >> dude? I'm happy that [laughter] we got made it made it this far. >> I'm just happy we're here. >> We thought we were going to be like one day. >> Yeah. Yeah. Let's see what Hubert gets. But before [music] we show what prize Hubert won, I have an important announcement to make. We are officially launching our Three Musketeers merch. This is still a soft launch, so we're looking forward to any feedback that you may have. Also, I really want to take this chance to thank you guys for your continued [music] support. It's what's kept us motivated throughout this whole journey. Okay, we're going to show what Huber got now, but remember to check out our merch afterwards. >> Hubert, [applause] [music] [applause] >> are you satisfied with your results? >> I'm very satisfied. I feel like even if you don't dance, you should come join the dance competition next round cuz the food is really good. So come for the catering. >> Thank you catering team. The last two days I wasn't eating. I was just eating. It was great. I think we did a lot better than we expected. Most important thing is like, comment, subscribe. Okay, guys. Exactly. >> See you next time. No, I'm just kidding. Most important thing is people are able to see what we did. That's it for this one. Peace. >> See you next time.