At our May 4, 2026 Rotary meeting, the inspiration was by Doug. Doug noted that on this day in 1987, the Supreme Court ruled that women must be allowed in Rotary. Rotary International fought the admission of women for decades, but finally accepted the ruling. Today, women make up close to 30% of the membership. LC Rotary is 50% women. Besides our speaker, our guests were Wen Lu, Patsy’s guest, and Seaver Milnor (online). Our Speaker: Wen Chen is a staff scientist at the California Institute of Technology, Chen came to the U.S. in 1994 for graduate school and earned a doctorate in biology from the California Institute of Technology in 2000. Since 2012, she has given over 200 presentations about Chinese culture, history, and human rights. She is a member of Amnesty International and coordinates all activities related to China while working as a human rights activist.  In her second appearance at our La Conner Rotary Club, Wen Chen focused on the Cultural History of China. She shared just a very small story about the more than 2000-year history of this very diverse nation (52 different ethnic groups). From the First century, the Emperor emphasized the native Taoist religion, promoting spiritual guidance. Buddhism came from India, 2000 years ago. Cultural influenced by 3 major religions. Tao Chi, which focused on physical and mental health as well as faith still plays an important role in China, as do all the religions. In the 8th century, China was like the US as far as foreigners coming for education. As they came to China, they embraced Chinese culture. 1966 - 76 Maoism - shut down all religions and schooling. Burned ancient objects. Wen described this period as a “Holocaust” - the destruction of historic structures. Mao/Govt. simplified over 2000 characters of their written language to limit anything objectionable to the Communist Message. During those 10 years, a generation was lost because schools were closed, and learning was forbidden. Still persecuting religions. The Bible has been rewritten to match the Communist Doctrine. Falun Gong, a movement striving to elevate their moral character ( over 100 million members), has suffered terrible persecution. Wen Chen ended with information about the Shen Yun movement. The dancers travel throughout the county sharing the elaborate dances that depict dramas of Chinese history - legends, such as the Monkey King Story - based on real history. Dance began as martial arts, which came from Taoism. Very different from Ballet. Every dynasty has different costumes, which are reflected in the dances. Very vibrant color, giant long sleeves to indicate wealth. All 52 ethnic groups, each have their own culture (and dance). All the proceeds from the performances go to support the Shen Yin high school and college in upstate New York. 9 groups of students who perform around the world. 3 months during the winter. Money raised pays tuition and room and board for students. During Covid, they began an online store, clothing, etc. All made in America (couldn’t be made in China ). shenyun.com. for more information.  Upcoming: Club Runner change over to Nova discussed. 6 - 8 are using it. There was discussion about changing now or wait til there is no choice. No decision made. Don Wick picked a blue marble. Mike got $5. Tate got last $5. Pam took out a second mortgage on her house for birthday bucks! Happy Birthday!
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Service Above Self
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
United States of America