BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—The classical Chinese dance company Shen Yun Performing Arts arrived in Argentina on Thursday June 25. They have been playing to sold out shows at the Auditorio Belgrano, in the capital, Buenos Aires, since Saturday June 27. Theatre-goers have been filling the theatre and enjoying the show, all the while oblivious to the machinations of the Chinese Embassy which attempted to stop the performers from ever arriving.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has attempted to derail Shen Yun’s shows around the world, since the first performance in 2007. Shen Yun Performing Arts is a dance company specialising in classical Chinese dance.
They have tried to pressure local authorities into denying visas, put pressure on the local Chinese community, and even repeatedly called the elderly nuns who preside over the auditorium, according to local organisers of the show.
One local Chinese man told organisers why he wouldn’t buy a ticket: When he went to get a visa at the Chinese embassy, staff told him that if he went to see the Shen Yun show he would be killed.
Shen Yun is a non-profit group based in New York. According to their website, “The company seeks to breathe new life into traditional Chinese culture while providing audiences everywhere with an experience of sublime beauty.” They have set out to restore China’s 5,000 years of artistic tradition, much of which was destroyed by the CCP during the Cultural Revolution.
The company will tour more than 80 countries in 2009. Their performance is often organised and hosted by local Falun Dafa Associations in different regions, and Shen Yun states they are proud to include performers who practice Falun Dafa, in their promotional material.
Falun Dafa is a spiritual practice that teaches “truthfulness, compassion, forbearance,” and which is persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. Shen Yun’s performance includes depictions of the practice and this persecution.
Shows often feature traditional Tibetan dances, too—another group persecuted by the CCP.
Alongside potential theater-goers, the Chinese embassy is also thought to have made contact with the Argentine government about the show, in an attempt to stop the performers from receiving visas.
The normal visa procedure takes 72 hours. Applications were sent in on May 19, a month in advance, yet no reply was received. Liwei Fu, from the local Falun Dafa Association, visited the Argentine authorities on June 16 to ask if pressure from the Chinese embassy was behind the delay. The person she spoke to did not answer. Fu then argued that if the visas were withheld, the authorities would have to come out and apologize to those who had already bought tickets. When she revealed her suspicions that CCP influence was cause for the delay, the official only said that the issue has been referred to “the highest power.”
After several back-and-forth conversations, the Shen Yun performers received their visas on Friday June 19—just one week before the show.
Fu said “I am glad Argentina’s government made the right decision.”
The theater was also implicated. After the Auditorio Belgrano was booked for the show in April, the Chinese embassy called the theater director frequently, asking her to cancel the show. The theater director is a nun, from the Nuestra Senora de la Misericordia school, which the theater belongs to.
The theater did not respond to their calls, and the director has enjoyed seeing the show each day it has performed.
Despite the CCP’s apparent attempts to stop the performance, tickets have already sold out for several of Shen Yun’s shows in Buenos Aires.
Reporting by Matthew Robertson in Buenos Aires, writing by Joshua Philipp in New York.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has attempted to derail Shen Yun’s shows around the world, since the first performance in 2007. Shen Yun Performing Arts is a dance company specialising in classical Chinese dance.
They have tried to pressure local authorities into denying visas, put pressure on the local Chinese community, and even repeatedly called the elderly nuns who preside over the auditorium, according to local organisers of the show.
One local Chinese man told organisers why he wouldn’t buy a ticket: When he went to get a visa at the Chinese embassy, staff told him that if he went to see the Shen Yun show he would be killed.
Shen Yun is a non-profit group based in New York. According to their website, “The company seeks to breathe new life into traditional Chinese culture while providing audiences everywhere with an experience of sublime beauty.” They have set out to restore China’s 5,000 years of artistic tradition, much of which was destroyed by the CCP during the Cultural Revolution.
The company will tour more than 80 countries in 2009. Their performance is often organised and hosted by local Falun Dafa Associations in different regions, and Shen Yun states they are proud to include performers who practice Falun Dafa, in their promotional material.
Falun Dafa is a spiritual practice that teaches “truthfulness, compassion, forbearance,” and which is persecuted by the Chinese communist regime. Shen Yun’s performance includes depictions of the practice and this persecution.
Shows often feature traditional Tibetan dances, too—another group persecuted by the CCP.
Alongside potential theater-goers, the Chinese embassy is also thought to have made contact with the Argentine government about the show, in an attempt to stop the performers from receiving visas.
The normal visa procedure takes 72 hours. Applications were sent in on May 19, a month in advance, yet no reply was received. Liwei Fu, from the local Falun Dafa Association, visited the Argentine authorities on June 16 to ask if pressure from the Chinese embassy was behind the delay. The person she spoke to did not answer. Fu then argued that if the visas were withheld, the authorities would have to come out and apologize to those who had already bought tickets. When she revealed her suspicions that CCP influence was cause for the delay, the official only said that the issue has been referred to “the highest power.”
After several back-and-forth conversations, the Shen Yun performers received their visas on Friday June 19—just one week before the show.
Fu said “I am glad Argentina’s government made the right decision.”
The theater was also implicated. After the Auditorio Belgrano was booked for the show in April, the Chinese embassy called the theater director frequently, asking her to cancel the show. The theater director is a nun, from the Nuestra Senora de la Misericordia school, which the theater belongs to.
The theater did not respond to their calls, and the director has enjoyed seeing the show each day it has performed.
Despite the CCP’s apparent attempts to stop the performance, tickets have already sold out for several of Shen Yun’s shows in Buenos Aires.
Reporting by Matthew Robertson in Buenos Aires, writing by Joshua Philipp in New York.
