The Disquieting Backstory of the Civil Complaint Targeting Shen Yun
The recent civil complaint filed against Shen Yun is undoubtedly part of a coordinated offensive against our company being orchestrated by the Chinese regime, which has tried to cancel Shen Yun since its inception in 2006. Media coverage that led up and gave prominence to this legal filing is only bolstering this attack.
When the dust settles and the smoke clears, it will become frightfully apparent to the American people that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has facilitated the spread of false narratives in mainstream media on a large scale. To expedite this moment of clarity, we will address the disinformation head-on. What is at stake is not just the reputation of our beloved company; what is at stake is America’s ability to prevent Beijing from controlling U.S. companies, the press, freedom of belief, and freedom of expression in the United States.
Yes, it’s that important.
Regarding the woman who filed the recent complaint against Shen Yun, in the two years after she left the company, she wrote about how she loved her time at Shen Yun. During this same period, she also made several requests to return to the company or teach at a school that trained many Shen Yun artists. Furthermore, she said she wanted to open her own dance studio, indicating she would help other aspiring young dancers join Shen Yun. All of this obviously contradicts what she now alleges in both her media interviews and legal complaint.
What changed?
Over the last two years, this woman started working with a Chinese government entity, married a man who she indicated is very controlling (and who also has suspected ties to Beijing), and more recently contributed to YouTube programs with Chinese social media influencers supported by the Chinese regime. Was the radical and sudden change to her story concerning her experience with Shen Yun a result of these factors? Perhaps. What is certain is that her new narrative serves as the basis for her legal complaint, and parrots a broader, sinister campaign to cancel Shen Yun.
As we explained in prior press statements, the CCP has targeted our company with a global campaign to malign and shut us down since our founding over 18 years ago. A January 2024 nonprofit report documented more than 130 incidents across 38 countries in which agents of the Chinese regime tried to sabotage Shen Yun by pressuring local elected officials, threatening theater managers, and even resorting to thuggery, vandalism, and death threats. Just in the past month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the sentencing of two unregistered Chinese government agents: the first was convicted of collecting intelligence on Falun Gong practitioners in the U.S. and the second was convicted of attempting to bribe an IRS agent to target Shen Yun.
This past year, the CCP significantly escalated its assault with a new campaign documented by an August 2024 report: Weaponizing Social Media. This effort is backed by China’s Ministry of Public Security and aims to sow disinformation about Shen Yun on social media and in the American press. This appears to be the origin of recent articles in the New York Times and other outlets.
To be clear, these articles are one-sided and deeply flawed. They cherry-pick the accounts of a mere handful of former Shen Yun performers—several of whom have public connections with the Chinese regime and/or were let go by Shen Yun for violating company rules—and use these accounts to make broad assertions about a company that has worked with hundreds of performers over the last 18 years. News organizations that seek to abide by basic standards of journalistic integrity should exercise restraint, skepticism, and engage in careful fact-checking before they amplify the accusations of such individuals, especially given the CCP’s well-documented effort to target Shen Yun with transnational repression and propaganda.
These recent articles are also riddled with inaccuracies and grossly distort the operations of our company. For example, a November 17, 2024, Times report claims that Shen Yun “relie[s] on minors and teenagers” for its performances. This is demonstrably false. On average, 85% of those who make up Shen Yun’s performing troupes are adults, with the remaining slots available to talented young people. The students who perform with Shen Yun do so as part of a curriculum approved by the New York State Department of Education. Additionally, all students are on full scholarship, which includes room and board, and amounts to about $50,000/year. The articles also assert that performers are discouraged from seeking medical treatment. In fact, performers regularly receive top-notch medical care for a wide range of ailments, from minor aches to Achilles ruptures, according to medical doctors who regularly treat Shen Yun performers.
Furthermore, the Times’ coverage of Shen Yun exudes cultural and religious bias, and greatly distorts who we are, what we believe, and the spirit of our organization. Given that ours is a faith-based community, the rhetoric the Times and other media are promoting, and recklessly so, stirs up hatred toward Shen Yun performers and Falun Gong practitioners more broadly. It is, therefore, no surprise that bomb threats, threats of mass shootings, and threats to rape and kill Shen Yun’s female performers have escalated in recent months.
Shen Yun’s founders came to this country with virtually nothing. We created an elite performing arts company in America and we did so without any assistance from the government or any corporation. We are entirely self-reliant. And while we are deeply dismayed by the vitriol being leveled against us in some media and through this recent legal filing, we remain grateful to America for the freedom and liberty it provides, and we want nothing more than to give back, in spades, to the United States and the world, through sharing a high-quality program filled with hope and inspiration.
Despite being the target of transnational repression from the CCP for almost 20 years, and despite these gross misrepresentations in the media and accompanying lawfare, we remain steadfast in our mission: to showcase the beauty, majesty, and spirituality of China’s 5,000-year-old civilization.
