Safety is NOT Something That Comes Easy when You’re WANTED by Chinese Communists
As Shen Yun was preparing for the first of 12 shows at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC with freezing temperatures outside, in came a bomb threat. Fire alarms screamed and everyone evacuated, spilling out into the street. For three hours, dancers, musicians, workers, and staff waited outside as authorities swept the complex.
The next day, Leeshai Lemish of the Shen Yun Performing Arts spoke at the Washington Press Club (LINK BELOW), about the incident. He also provided additional context that is often missing. That context – THIS IS NOT NEW.
“This tour alone, we have received 18 death threats, shooting threats, bomb threats in theaters where Shen Yun was scheduled to perform,” Lemish said. The routine always seems to be the same, with emails being sent the morning of a scheduled performance.
To quote Richard Clarke in the days up to 9/11, “The System is Blinking Red”. As threats increase and do not have the intended effect, those who issue the threats often take the next step, which is violent action. The key to preventing this from ever happening, says Lemish, is not just about increased security.
“It’s also about informing the public and calling attention to the evil intentions of the CCP,” he said.
The threats themselves are also similar, with minor variations. The emails state that bombs are placed throughout the theater and will detonate if Shen Yun is allowed to perform, turning the theater into rubble, “or that they will come in and kill everyone onsite,” said Lemish.
Lemish has been with Shen Yun since 2006 and says that the Chinese Communist Party wants the extinction of Shen Yun and has ratcheted up its attacks on the group over time. The more they do so, the more popular Shen Yun appears to become. The group has also discovered its tour bus tires covertly slashed in such a way as to not only be barely visible but to explode while on the highway.
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Relevant Article(s)
Kennedy Center targeted by threat over start of Shen Yun performances, officials say
VIDEO OF PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER BOMB THREAT AT KENNEDY CENTER
OPTIONAL Q&A:
- Can you describe what happened on the night of the bomb threat at the Kennedy Center and how it affected the Shen Yun performers and staff?
- You mentioned that Shen Yun has received at least 18 death threats during this tour alone. Do you believe these threats are directly coordinated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and if so, why?
- Beyond bomb threats, Shen Yun has faced other forms of sabotage, including slashed bus tires. Can you share more details on the extent of these threats and how they impact your tours?
- Despite the CCP’s efforts to silence Shen Yun, the group has continued to grow in popularity. Why do you think audiences are drawn to the performances, even amid these risks?
- What role do Western governments and law enforcement play in protecting Shen Yun? Have they been responsive to these threats?
- How do you ensure the safety of Shen Yun performers and staff while continuing to bring the show to audiences worldwide?
- What do you think the CCP fears most about Shen Yun’s performances? Why are they going to such lengths to try to stop them?
- For those unfamiliar with Shen Yun’s mission, what message does the group hope to share, and why is it so important in today’s world?
- 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.
ABOUT 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/
ABOUT LEESHAI LEMISH…
Leeshai Lemish has been with Shen Yun for 18 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Chinese history and language from Pomona College, California, and his master’s in International Relations from the London School of Economics. He has spent extended periods studying, working, and conducting research throughout East Asia, and has authored articles on Chinese current affairs in both English and Chinese. He joined Shen Yun Performing Arts as an MC when the company was founded in 2006 and has since emceed close to two thousand performances with the company, taking the stage with Shen Yun at prestigious theaters such as Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, the London Coliseum, Tokyo Opera City, and many others worldwide. In addition to his performance role, he has tracked and documented on his website over 100 cases of the Chinese Communist Party and its agents trying to sabotage Shen Yun internationally. He has testified on transnational repression in front of Congress, has been a featured guest on television and radio shows around the world, and is the host of the podcast Shen Yun Voices.
ABOUT 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:
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