Hong Kong Court Upholds Freedom and Shen Yun

In Hong Kong there are no specific visa schedules for visiting artists or sports teams. Such groups have to apply under the so-called GEP schedule, known as General Employment Policy. The provision essentially requires the applicants to prove the necessity for “employment” and that their work cannot be performed by local experts.

While in most cases such proof is not enforced, the final decision has been left to the director of Immigration, whose powers remained largely unchallenged.

The Chinese communist regime has been seeking to interfere with our performances for years by trying to pressure officials and theaters to cancel our shows.
—Shen Yun Performing Arts statement

This latest court decision by Judge Andrew Cheung has created an opening for greater discretion, says To Yiu Ming, assistant professor, Department of Journalism, Hong Kong Baptist University.

“I feel that the court’s decision respected art exchanges [and] has a positive effect on cultural exchange in future,” said Mr. Ming.

“This is a testing case to see if the court is really independent,” he added.

One unique feature of the Shen Yun performances is the use of state-of-the-art technology to project digital backdrops, often synchronized with the dance performers.

The court documents from Judge Andrew Cheung cite evidence the six visa applications were denied to the staff that was specifically responsible for technical support and back stage assistance, in particular lighting, sound, and projector operations.

According to the summary of the minutes from the Immigration Department meeting provided as evidence, the director asserted, “The duties of applicant as audio engineer are of [a] general nature and the knowledge, experience, and skills required do not meet the requirement that they are not readily available in Hong Kong.”

In other words, the visa applications were refused on the grounds that the staff can be replaced by local engineers.

The reasons were refuted by the applicant’s lawyer, Mr. Paul Harris.

“The decision to refuse all production staff … ignores the simple fact that being able to operate the lighting [and] sound effects of backdrop for a stage event is not a matter of knowing how to operate them, but a matter of when to operate them,” argued Mr. Harris.

The Epoch Group plans to reinvite Shen Yun to Hong Kong as soon as possible, says Mr. Kan.

The government can appeal the court’s decision within four weeks, but some feel that will be unlikely.

“I can tell you, he may not dare to appeal after going through the verdict,” said Albert Ho, leader of the Democratic Party.

Mr. Ho believes the verdict re-established Hong Kong’s values.

“There is a bottom line, Hong Kong is still a place where rule of law is a deeply rooted tradition, that does not easily lose its function under political pressure,” he said. “This is also what’s valuable in Hong Kong.”