A spokesman for the group discusses the attack, and why the Chinese Communist Party is so determined to hurt the group.
It’s no secret that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has held a significant grudge against Falun Gong, the organizers of the popular Shen Yun showcase touring the world. However, a new report suggests that its opposition goes much higher than expected.
According to The Epoch Times, Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a secret meeting alongside top state officials back in October 2022. During this time, he worked on developing a new strategy that would target Falun Gong in terms of international outreach. That includes the United States.
This included launching what has been deemed “disinformation campaigns,” through social media influencers and Western media outlets. Most recently, the New York Times published a slanderous piece against the touring show, which Shen Yun organizers have called “filled with inaccuracies.”
The information was brought forward by Yuan Hongbing, a Chinese legal scholar working through a pair of sources with close ties to the CCP. According to Jinping, the situation to fight back against Falun Gong was “dire.”
But the real question is why. Joining us now to discuss this further is a spokesperson for Shen Yun. We welcome them to the show.
Q&A:
- This report comes just days after the New York Times published a huge piece discussing poor treatment of Shen Yun performers. What does this say about the efforts to potentially hurt the show?
- Why is Jinping and the CCP so determined to hurt Falun Gong and the reputation of the show? Are they really that concerned about Chinese culture being shared?
- How damaging have the New York Times pieces actually been to the group as a whole, particularly with their “inaccuracies”?
- Several U.S. lawmakers have seemingly struck back at Jinping’s efforts. What can you tell us about what they’re doing to defend the show?
- What can fans look forward to with Shen Yun shows in 2025?
- Where can we learn more about the beautiful art of Shen Yun, and how it motivates others?
- The official website can be found here. Tickets to shows are also available there for purchase.
FROM SHEN YUN
Piotr Huang
Shen Yun Principal Dancer Piotr Huang holds a Master of Fine Arts in classical Chinese dance from Fei Tian College in New York. He won gold in New Tang Dynasty Television’s 2014 International Classical Chinese Dance Competition’s and has performed over 1,500 shows with Shen Yun on the some of the world’s most prestigious stages. Born in Poland, Mr. Huang may have pursued a basketball career had he not turned his energies to dance.
Samples of Piotr on camera:
- https://youtu.be/St0tJ1vAwVc?t=890
- https://youtu.be/St0tJ1vAwVc?t=1571
- https://www.shenyuncreations.com/video/_video_4c946017331d4f10a421600409ab2565/Shen-Yun-Principal-Dancers-Top-7-Essentials?pid=p_NLB4jvIQQ5u2&view=
Shindy Cai
Shindy Cai was born and raised in Sacramento, California. She attended the San Francisco High School of the Arts before furthering her studies in classical Chinese dance at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts in New York. She has been touring with Shen Yun since 2013 and has performed in over 900 shows around the world. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and writing, has a secret weakness for chocolate chip cookies and good poetry, and gets overly excited when she hears great music.
Samples of Shindy on camera:
Jared Madsen
Jared was one of the first students from Iowa to study in China where he fell in love with Chinese culture. For the past 18 years, Jared has served as MC for Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Samples of Jared on camera:
- https://www.shenyuncreations.com/video/_video_8c5f163284fe4e9281ac40a7c85f684c/An-Inside-Look-at-Shen-YunE28093And-How-ItE28099s-Defying-the-CCPE28099s-Global-Campaign-to-Cancel-It-?pid=p_DaJ4kSAASRyd&view=
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTRDEDglS24
Alice Liu
Alice Liu has performed over 1,500 shows with Shen Yun to date. A timpanist and percussionist, she also performed with Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and other prestigious venues, is featured on many recordings for CD and DVD, and boasts more than 16 years of orchestral performance experience.
FROM FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER
Levi Browde
Levi Browde serves as the Executive Director with the New York-based Falun Dafa Information Center – an organization dedicated to ending the human rights abuses against people who practice Falun Gong in China.
A career software entrepreneur, Levi’s life changed dramatically in 1999 when his best friend came to the office one morning and announced the Chinese Communist Party had taken away his mother in Beijing to be tortured and “brainwashed.” This marked the beginning of his volunteer work to defend human rights in China. Two years later, Levi himself was detained in a Chinese jail outside Beijing for secretly meeting with Western reporters and protesting on Tiananmen Square.
Over the past 20 years, Browde has been interviewed and quoted by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, CNN, the Associated Press, TIME Magazine, BBC, AFP, and other media outlets. He has spoken about Falun Gong and human rights in China at briefings on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, at the United Nations human rights sessions in Geneva, Switzerland.
Browde studied East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University and is an avid supporter of traditional Chinese culture. He founded several software start-ups, and lives in New York with his wife and two sons.
Samples of Levi on camera:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS3RS4vJguI
https://tv.faluninfo.net/unmasking-chinas-gestapo-610-office/
https://tv.faluninfo.net/levi-browde-exposes-the-new-york-times-distorted-coverage-of-human-rights/
For Interviews, contact Bookings@SpecialGuests.com or call Todd Baumann at 512-966-0983.
