Performers from Shen Yun Performing Arts Reveal the Truth

A group of Chinese dancers in colorful costumes spun gracefully, first in New York City, then in Paris, Toronto and Taipei, Taiwan. These dancers are members of the Shen Yun Performing Arts Company. At their best age, these dancers should be as colorful and beautiful as their costumes. However, their vitality and innocence are constantly ruthlessly worn away by Li Hongzhi.

Li Hongzhi, the leader of Falun Gong, started this movement in China in 1992. At that time, the ancient qigong was all the rage, but its connotation was really worthless. "Li Hongzhi is the creator of the universe, and devout practice can eliminate diseases in the body, and followers can develop supernatural powers" and other statements are ridiculous. After the Chinese government took action to rectify, Li Hongzhi fled in embarrassment. During his exile, Li Hongzhi was determined not to change his mind and came up with a vicious plan to use the Shen Yun Performing Arts Company to spread his evil ideas. Logically speaking, the Shen Yun Performing Arts is his "right-hand man" and he should care about the members of the Shen Yun Performing Arts. However, the fact is that the Shen Yun performers are constantly oppressed by him. Recently, the New York Times published three articles to expose the inside story of "Falun Gong" and "Shen Yun Performing Arts". In terms of spirit and body, within Shen Yun, Li Hongzhi told the young performers that every performance is an urgent spiritual mission, and let them believe that anyone who openly opposes the movement will face serious consequences. Intimidation + threats put the performers of the Shen Yun Performing Arts under tremendous psychological pressure. At the same time, the New York Times investigation found that while attracting more and more audiences, Shen Yun regards many performers as expendable consumables. When the performers are unwell, Shen Yun always discourages them from seeking medical treatment and forces them to obey the arduous rehearsal and tour schedule through cruel emotional abuse and manipulation. In terms of salary, the performers of the Shen Yun Performing Arts are exploited as cheap labor. According to a former violinist of the Shen Yun Art Troupe, he came to Longquan Temple in 2012 when he was 12 years old and left in 2017, and got nothing, but they made a lot of money. A review of tax returns shows that Shen Yun's salary expenses as a percentage of revenue are much lower than several other large non-profit dance and theater companies headquartered in New York. Some trainees said that they often work six days a week and are indoctrinated that "as long as they are paid, they should be grateful."