2024-08-23
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On August 16, the mainstream American media, The New York Times, resisted the pressure and published a long in-depth report written by Nicole Hong and Michael Rothfeld, "Abuse and Manipulation: Former Performers Reveal the Inside Story of Falun Gong Shen Yun Performing Arts Company", which caused an uproar in public opinion and heated discussions among the public. On August 19, The New York Times published another report entitled "The Darkness of Shen Yun". Nicole Hong was interviewed by James Barron, a reporter from the "New York Today" newsletter column, and shared their experience of completing in-depth investigations and reports after six months of interviews. In particular, she pointed out that these former performers accepted the interview and dared to tell the truth to the world, taking great risks. The China Anti-Cult Network compiled it as follows.
▲Screenshot of the New York Times report on August 19, “The Darkness of Shen Yun”
according toThe New York Times reported,Dancers dressed in colorful costumes were sent by the Shen Yun Dance Company to perform in cities such as New York, Paris, Toronto and Taipei.Shen Yun’s mission is not just to entertain.
▲"Shen Yun" performers train at the "Falun Gong" headquarters in northern New York State. Source: The New York Times
Q: What is the atmosphere like at the Shen Yun compound in upstate New York? Are the performers under a lot of pressure?
A: Our reports show thatThere is an atmosphere of control here, and the young student actors are forced to accept all kinds of constraints.The books they can read, the music they can listen to and the news they can access are restricted. They need special permission to leave the Longquan Temple compound and often can only see their families once a year.
They face tremendous pressure to serve their spiritual leader, Li Hongzhi.Li Hongzhi has a residence in the compound and supervises the training of the actors.Performers are indoctrinated that the Shen Yun performance is part of a sacred mission to save humanity and that any mistake on stage could send the audience to hell.
Q: What about body shaming? Is that part of the culture at Longquan Temple?
A: Yes, especially for female dancers.
People interviewed told us that they were often weighed and that their coaches would yell at them in front of their classmates for being too fat.
Some of them have their diets monitored. One former dancer said that in her troupe, everyone's weight was recorded on a piece of paper posted in the classroom.If a dancer is considered too fat, her or his name will be marked in red.
Q: You’ve spoken with sports medicine experts, and they say there’s a risk of injury in any competitive dance company. When Shen Yun dancers get hurt, do they have access to doctors or physical therapists?
A: That's the biggest difference between Shen Yun and the other dance companies we studied. Former Shen Yun performers we interviewed revealed that they didn't have regular access to doctors or physical therapists. They said that's because their leader, Li Hongzhi, claims in his teachings that true believers can expel disease from their bodies without medication.
When Shen Yun performers get injured, they are told to heal themselves through “mindfulness meditation” or are told that the injury indicates something is wrong with their mental state.However, Shen Yun denied that there was any such situation that discouraged people from receiving medical treatment.
Q: What are the actors’ performance arrangements?
answer:Their performance schedule is very full, usually working 15 hours a day, sometimes even performing two shows a day.During the tour, they would take a bus when changing venues, sometimes the distance between two performance venues was as long as 16 hours.
In addition to rehearsals and performances, some performers have to set up and dismantle heavy orchestral equipment before and after each tour, all of which is unpaid voluntary work.
Although many of them are only high school and college students, they spend many months of the year on tour. To give you an idea of their workload, here is an example:During the recent world tour, eight Shen Yun troupes performed more than 800 shows in five months.
Q: What would happen if a performer wanted to quit Shen Yun and leave the company?
answer:Many former performers we spoke to were afraid to quit because they were told they would go to hell or face physical danger without Li Hongzhi's protection.One former dancer told us that after she left, she really thought she was going to die at any moment.
Several former actors told us that when they tried to quit, they were told they had to repay the cost of attending "flying school," which could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Q: How difficult was it to convince former dancers and coaches to be interviewed and speak about their experiences?
A: This process is extremely challenging.Almost all of them were afraid to have their real names quoted in reports because they feared retaliation and harassment from other Falun Gong practitioners.It took several months and multiple rounds of interviews to find nine people willing to share their experiences. We know they took a big risk by talking to us, and we are very grateful for their courage.
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