Nearly wherever Shen Yun Performing Arts goes, it has encountered attempts by the Chinese regime to thwart its performances.
For 13 years, the classical Chinese dance company has toured the world showcasing stories from the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.
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Consulate Pressure in Spain
In January, the Royal Theater in Madrid canceled a show weeks before the company was due to perform for the first time at the venue, citing “technical difficulties.”Consulate Pressure in Holland
Last April, Dutch local media exposed Chinese diplomats’ attempts to convince the country’s foreign ministry to cancel Shen Yun’s appearances set for May.“Simply because Shen Yun’s program depicts how the Chinese regime suppresses the spiritual group Falun Gong, Chinese diplomats have met with Holland’s foreign affairs minister, requesting that Shen Yun’s performances be canceled,” Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad reported on April 18.
Holland’s foreign affairs ministry responded that the decision was up to the theater venue, the Nieuwe Luxor theater in Rotterdam.
The theater decided that the show would go on.
Consulate Pressure in Denmark
In Denmark, a 2018 report by radio station Radio24syv uncovered evidence that the Chinese embassy had placed pressure on the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen to not lease its venue to Shen Yun.According to emails obtained by the outlet, one of the theater’s employees told another staff member that they had met with the Chinese Embassy in August 2017.
“They [embassy] ended the meeting by asking if we had a dialogue with Shen Yun, and requested that we shouldn’t allow them to rent our facilities,” the email stated.
Thomas Foght, the journalist who investigated the story, said during a speech at the Danish Parliament in April this year that this case “puts light on why it was so difficult for Shen Yun to have access to the Royal Theater over 10 years.”
Following Foght’s report, then-theater director Morten Hesseldahl and Denmark’s then-Culture Minister Mette Bock denied accusations of Chinese influence, saying that they were not aware of any pressure from the embassy.
