Hang on, Shaoliners, this is a complicated one. It starts with my report in our Shaolin special 2004 in the article Shaolin Temple in San Francisco: Venerable Abbot Shi Yongxin, California’s “Songshan Shaolin Temple Day,” UNESCO and a Buddhist Music Concert. You all read that, right?It was one of the most between-the-lines articles I wrote for that issue - those who follow Shaolin politics know. If you can, reread it now, so you're familiar with the 'players'. It documented Abbot Yongxin's second trip to the USA.
Yesterday, World Journal (the largest Chinese newspaper) ran a big expose on the Shaolin monk tour that will be at the Masonic Auditorium this weekend (March 5th). This tour, promoted by Stephan Ho, (same as last year) has been advertising that the Abbot will attend again, with a contingent of Shaolin wuseng. If you caught the SF Chinese New Years Parade, there was a group of Shaolin monks which I beleive were part of this group.
March is the People's Congress, right after Chinese New Years. There is no way the abbot would leave China during this time. He sent a rep to investigate - Shi Yanfeng - who visited us a few weeks ago to discuss the situation, as well as others (our official report on him and his visit will be in our next issue May June 2005). Yesterday, I received an email from Shaolin's attorney, Huang Kun, concerning this matter.
The Abbot made a statement about this performance for the newspapers. He specified five points about thsis performance, which I'll paraphrase here:
1. Since January 2005, Shaolin Temple has not sent any official groups to America. Any performance groups are not from Shaolin Temple itself; they are from local schools.
2. Ho said there was a new abbot in his tour, Shi Yongyao. There is no Shaolin monk named Yongyao. (note: the sure way to **** off the Abbot is to impersonate him)
3. Shaolin Wheel of Life and Shaolin Warriors are the only real tours from Shaolin Temple and both performance troupes are still in China. He has no plan to come for this March "charity" performance.
4. Fake Shaolin groups have already jeopardized Abbot name and Shaolin's repuation.
5. Because they are using Shaolin's name to deceive people in the name of charity, we hope public can investigate to not be cheated.
We've heard, but been unable to verify that Stephan Ho never paid the promised 50K to Abbot Yongxin or HK film star Simon Yam, who also appeared at that event.
Shaolin's Attorney Huang Kun states that there are three ways to tell if a show is from Shaolin Temple.
1. Go to official website www.shaolin.org.cn where the important offical activities are listed. Also there is a telephone number there to contact the temple directly.
2. Major performances are led by Abbot Yongxin personally.
3. If monks go abroad to perform, they need government official approval from both religious and cultural departments.
This gets very political because of California Speaker Pro Tempore Leland Yee's involvement. (See Yee with the Shaolin monks - photo #1 & photo #2 ) Yee asked Yongxin to come to his inauguration last year. When the Abbot couldn't come, another monk was arranged, apparently through Stephan Ho. That was Shi Guosong and it was reported in the Chinese media. According to our sources, Guosong has left the temple in disgrace. Yee stated for the World Journal that he hopes he can meet with Abbot Yongxin to sort this all out.
Ho still claims he has the real monks and the performance this weekend is still go. Ho fudged a bit when interviewed by stating that the monks belong to the Shaolin Chanshu Xueyuan, not the temple necessarily, but Abbot Yongxin is the honorable president of that school (note: Abbot Yongxin is the honorable president of almost every school in Dengfeng). He claims this school is directly under Shaolin, but funded by private investment. And the president of the school is Guosong. Ho says that many have learned Shaolin martial arts, but it's quite different from the students of this school. He says he's losing money on this show because he's giving away so many tickets. He hopes through this event, America knows the real Shaolin Kung Fu.
Ho claims to be the Northern American Director of China Songshan Shaolin Temple. Apparently Ho has legally established the Shaolin Temple American Branch, already registered in California. Under the authority of the bylaws of this organization, Ho claims the power to use 25 wuseng for any activities. He says that the Abbot was notified, and questions the attorney's email since it lacks a signature, so he questions if it is really official.
Attorney Huang beleives that Ho's organization is established as the Shaolin Temple San Francisco Inc. He states that it is NOT Shaolin Temple American branch. There is no relationship. Any usage of Shaolin Temple without Abbot's permission cannot say it represents Shaolin Temple. If someone registered Shaolin Temple's name, such as a Shaolin restaurent or Shaolin department store, it is protected by American law, but there's no recourse or connection for Shaolin Temple. But if they claim Shaolin Temple's name, then they will take action.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by taai gihk yahn
