Shen Yun in Canada: Falun Gong cult spreads anti-China messages

Written by: Barbara Waldern

Shen Yun embarks on a massive advertising campaign to promote the dance company’s shows across Canada every new year. The troupe performed in Canadian cities in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and BC from March 21 to April 20.

The ads feature beautiful and colourful traditional dance scenes and, therefore, have great appeal. Audiences are largely unaware of the political purpose to paint China in a poor light and thereby stir up anti-China sentiment by means of these shows. The message is not subliminal, as viewers report jolting scenes of violence between dance numbers, such as one featuring a police officer beating someone or an abduction that takes the victim to a lab for organ removal.

Shen Yun is owned by the notorious Falun Gong, fanatics whose main two missions are to recruit members plus their wallets and spread rumours against the Chinese state by claiming there are torture chambers, mass extrajudicial killings, harvesting of human organs for sale and such. Falun Gong is assumed to be backed by the US as a typical means by which to destabilize internal life and foster international condemnation of the government of China. Canada appears to be just as enthusiastic about allowing Falun Gong to manufacture anti-China assertions and rumours.

Falun Gong Media

Falun Gong developed the Epoch Media Group in the 2000s to extend their anti-China campaign, thereby establishing New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television and the Epoch Times first in the US then in Canada. Broadcasts began on Rogers Cable in 2012, while NTD created its YouTube channel, “China Uncensored” that same year. Videos make wild claims—that China is acting aggressively towards the US and its allies in the region, that Chinese military helmets have self-destruct bombs and that China is exercising hegemony through global institutions.

Falun Gong is featured in an animated documentary film, “Eternal Spring”, chosen by Telefilm Canada as the Canadian nomination for the Oscars best international feature in 2023. The film shows Falun Gong attempting a coup by attempting to take over a Chinese TV station. It won the Hot Docs Audience Award in 2022.

The US corporate media only confuses the public because they want to oppose China For example, an Associated Press article identifies the problem of Shen Yun as its use of the supposed ‘practices’ of the Communist Party of China they claim contradict human rights, such as oft-alleged ill treatment of children and workers. However, Falun Gong and Shen Yun say the same about China.

Alleged exploitation and Abuse of Children

However, Falun Gong may be guilty of abusing children and workers. In addition to the sinister political propaganda, audiences mostly do not know of the terrible conditions endured by the Shen Yun dancers, especially the children among them, and the profiteering from this kind of severe exploitation. A lawsuit began in White Plains, New York State on November 25, 2024, in which a dancer named Chang Chun-Ko accuses Shen Yun of inhumane treatment and labour violations of herself and many others.

Now an adult, Chang claims that she was not paid at all for her first year of work as a trainee at the age of 11 years in 2009 and underpaid subsequently, receiving $500 a month in her second year and $1000 a month after graduating in 2019. She reports having worked 18 hours a day all that time, performing in around 100 shows. While she had the measles at age 14, she was not allowed to see a doctor or even take sick days.

It is because of the regular labour law and other violations, such as denying the children proper nutrition and not allowing enough rest even to recover from injuries, that China banned Shen Yun. Shen Yun adopted Dragon Springs in Cuddeback Ville, New York, as its new base. Promising scholarships of $50,000 USD each and classes in accredited New York and New England educational institutions, it recruits youth, often from poor and desperate families, who train in the Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and Fei Tian College, also owned by Falun Gong.

Recalling the Moonies Cult

The China Report on Breakthrough News reporters Amanda and K.J. Noh discussed the above case and the problems with Shen Yun. K.J. Noh characterized Shen Yun as a copy of the cult – the “Moonies” lead by Moon Sun-Yung, a pastor from the Unification Church which was founded and based in Busan, South Korea, in the 1954. He was born in the north of Korea and is one of many defectors who have played a role in stirring up animosity against the DPRK and communism in general. Moon established a US headquarters in Terrytown, NY, in 1973.

The Moonies still exist. Their actions towards members have been linked, indirectly, to the assassination of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The “Moonies” had a dance troupe, too, which was accused of similar issues. They were involved in multiple businesses and forced to shut down entirely after being convicted of tax evasion in 1982. Moon served 18 months in prison and paid a fine of $25,000 USD. K.J. Noh believes the Moonies served as the template for Shen Yun. They both used children, forced their members into isolation and developed a cult and cult leader worship which strayed far from Christian s**ture, values and norms. Like Falun Gong, Moon pled that he was being persecuted for his religious beliefs in a state that supposedly discourages religion in preference for a common nationalist perspective.

Why is Shen Yun accepted in the US and Canada? It serves its role in the West targeting China and stirring up consent for all-out war on China. Shen Yun offers a channel for anti-China propaganda to the general public, which both the US and Canada, along with the rest of NATO, are trying to fan.

https://www.thecanadafiles.com/articles/shen-yun-in-canada-falun-gong-cult-spreads-anti-china-messages