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Shen Yun was scheduled to perform in Chisinau, Moldova, on May 25 and 26. On the day of the first show, however, the performers were not allowed inside the theater.
One of the dancers reported: “The show was sold out, and we had no idea that something like this would happen. We tried talking to them [the theater's management], but the director [of the theater] refused to see us and ran away—literally.”
The theater director indicated that she received “daily” visits from the Chinese Embassy, said Mr. Lemish. The director and the Moldovan Minister of Culture were told that Moldova would face financial repercussions if the shows were not canceled.
Interference Repudiated
In 2009, Shen Yun Performing Arts held 311 performances in over 100 cities worldwide. In most countries toured by Shen Yun, officials and theater management expressed resentment that the Chinese regime would dare to interfere with their freedom of expression and the arts.
Many of the CCP’s letters to the theaters and elected officials have been passed to Shen Yun organizers, and public officials have openly condemned the regime’s actions.
The Chinese Consulate in Frankfurt sent letters to the government leaders and foreign consulates in Germany on Jan. 6, 2009, “reminding” them not to see Shen Yun. The letter was made public and was credited with causing many people in the region, who were previously unaware of the show, to attend the performance. European Union Parliament Chairman Hans-Gert Poettering and Vice Chairman Edward McMillan-Scott both sent letters wishing the show success.
Disregarding pressure from the CCP, 25 members of the Swedish Parliament published a joint statement in 2008, saying they were going to see Shen Yun and adding, “We warmly welcome the first visit of the Divine Performing Arts [the former name of the Shen Yun Performing Arts] to Sweden! We, members of different political parties in the Swedish Parliament, condemn the Chinese Embassy for violating freedom of speech in our country.”
In 2007, California’s Chairman of Orange County’s Board of Supervisors Chris Norby received a letter from the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, requesting him not to see the show.
Mr. Norby responded: “Your request is an insult to me. Of course I will not comply.”
Reviving Culture
According to Mr. Lemish, the CCP is interfering with the performances “because it is terrified of Shen Yun.”
The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts is a nonprofit organization that has set out to restore the traditional culture of China and “breathe new life into traditional Chinese culture while providing audiences everywhere with an experience of sublime beauty,” according to the company’s website.
The show has been targeted by the CCP because the very culture Shen Yun has set out to revive is the one that the CCP has spent decades trying to destroy, explained Mr. Lemish through e-mail.
“This is a 5,000-year heritage, steeped with spirituality and ideas such as there being consequences for every action—good or bad—that we take,” Mr. Lemish said. “These are ideas that the Party has labeled as superstitious and tried to uproot and replace with atheism, Marxism, and absolute materialism.”
This article was corrected June 19 and June 22. The original article said the theater in Athens backed down and allowed the Shen Yun performances. This is incorrect. A second theater in Athens was found where the Shen Yun performances took place at the scheduled time. We regret any misunderstandings this may have caused.
