Choreographed, military-style exercises at Taipei airport in 1980s

[paperbackwriter]

I would be interested to know if anyone remembers this, or better yet if anyone actually has links to video of this or similar events posted online.

Sometime after the mid-eighties -- probably between 1986 and 1989 -- there was an event at the Taipei airport that was recorded on video and shown at our meeting hall. (On Betamax of course!) I was in the Boston area, but I’m sure this recording must have been shown in multiple LCs across the globe.

This event consisted of highly-choreographed, almost military-style, exercises, involving hundreds of church members in Taipei, and took place in the airport terminal itself. The occasion was that church members from hundreds of localities from all over the world were arriving at the Taipei airport for a large conference. The exercises were Taipei church members' "surprise greeting" for the arriving conference attendees. The duration of the exercises was particularly long -- something like 15-20 minutes in my memory.

One particular “drill” -- and I use this word because that is what these exercises resembled -- involved a line of men at least a hundred in number. They all stood still for a moment; then, the first man fell purposefully forward onto his palms in a “push-up” position; as he fell forward, the second man next to him fell in the same fashion, followed by the third doing the same, and the fourth, and so on. And so it continued, this row of men falling like dominoes, in unison. Once they were all on the ground, they did another similar exercise, in which they changed the position of their bodies -- perhaps to a sitting position? Perhaps back to standing up? I don’t quite remember. But again it was all completely choreographed, and all done in front of the bemused or intrigued eyes of the human beings in the airport who had no idea what was going on.

There were LSM banners everywhere, many of them held aloft in the air by flag bearers.

My memory of this recording is rather surreal. I was a “young person” at the time, and I remember this being shown to us rather excitedly by the brothers who kept commenting on how “neat” it all was.

[GraceAlone]

So funny. I don’t remember seeing that particular performance (which would certainly have gone viral on YouTube, posted by a bemused bystander, if that were a thing back then). But it sounds exactly like a demo given at the infamous 1987 high school training in Irving. G-Men!

[gr8ful]

I don't have any links to the highly choreographed displays, but I distinctly recall the excitement of watching the videos with my small local church as a young person. I also recall people who had escaped totalitarian communist countries being very disturbed by seeing the displays and needing specific reassurances that they had not joined a communist front.

[PriestlyScribe]

Originally Posted by paperbackwriter

One particular “drill” -- and I use this word because that is what these exercises resembled -- involved a line of men at least a hundred in number. They all stood still for a moment; then, the first man fell purposefully forward onto his palms in a “push-up” position; as he fell forward, the second man next to him fell in the same fashion, followed by the third doing the same, and the fourth, and so on. And so it continued, this row of men falling like dominoes, in unison. Once they were all on the ground, they did another similar exercise, in which they changed the position of their bodies -- perhaps to a sitting position? Perhaps back to standing up? I don’t quite remember. But again it was all completely choreographed, and all done in front of the bemused or intrigued eyes of the human beings in the airport who had no idea what was going on.

The Taipei Airport "Drill Team" you described sounds almost exactly like the 1987 "G-Men" performance in Irving Texas, although there were fewer than 100 involved.
My new channel has that G-Men video along with many other videos that you might be interested in seeing yourself, or to share with others you care about who are not yet convinced that Witness Lee's empire went completely off the Biblical Rails!

P.S.

Originally Posted by PriestlyScribe

The Taipei Airport "Drill Team" you described sounds almost exactly like the 1987 "G-Men" performance in Irving Texas, although there were fewer than 100 involved.
My new channel has that G-Men video along with many other videos that you might be interested in seeing yourself, or to share with others you care about who are not yet convinced that Witness Lee's empire went completely off the Biblical Rails!

P.S.

Wowed, and not in a good way. Sends chills down your spine watching these videos. I’m not sure how would I share these things with my family, I highly highly doubt they are aware of this foundational principles of this movement. Any ideas?

[Nell]

Originally Posted by TRG

Wowed, and not in a good way. Sends chills down your spine watching these videos. I’m not sure how would I share these things with my family, I highly highly doubt they are aware of this foundational principles of this movement. Any ideas?

TRG,

PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! Ask the Lord if He wants you to go forward talking with your family. If you decide to go forward, pray for His leading. Prepare! Watch it again and write down your own problems with the video…why you reacted the way you did.

Give them the link and tell them you think it’s something they need to see, then walk away. You can’t force anyone to “see”. Give them a choice. If they watch the video fine. If not, that’s fine too. Freedom of choice was taken from us on many levels. If they watch and want to talk, fine. Listen to them. You might ask them to pray with you for the Lord’s wisdom and His speaking. Regardless, leave the door open.

Start with one thing that is the most egregious to you. You may get only one! Then, let them speak.

Be respectful. Communicate your respect and love for them most of all. A favorite quote: “Without respect, communication doesn’t take place.”

If they have a strong reaction against the video, ask for specific problems they may have with the video or with you for showing them the video.

These are just some thoughts. Come up with your own path along with the Lord’s leading. He may tell you “yes”, “no”, “not now”, or some variation.

Again, PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!

Nell

[paperbackwriter]

Originally Posted by PriestlyScribe

The Taipei Airport "Drill Team" you described sounds almost exactly like the 1987 "G-Men" performance in Irving Texas, although there were fewer than 100 involved.
My new channel has that G-Men video along with many other videos that you might be interested in seeing yourself, or to share with others you care about who are not yet convinced that Witness Lee's empire went completely off the Biblical Rails!

P.S.

Thank you so much for posting these. I guess I could be mis-remembering the original videos that I saw. I watched these a couple of months back when you first posted them. Very very disturbing. I noticed today that the links are now broken. Did you take them down?