The Chinese consulate in Sydney has urged Australians not to attend the upcoming classical Chinese dance performance Shen Yun, which showcases 5,000 years of true traditional culture and highlights the CCP’s near-27-year-long persecution against Falun Gong.

In a statement published in English and Chinese on their website and shared on several social media platforms, the consulate echoed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda claiming Falun Gong is a “cult” and that it was supposedly using Shen Yun to promote “anti-China narratives.”

It further claimed Australians had been “misled” on what traditional Chinese culture is and to contact the consulate for verification.

The diplomatic mission also called on “friends from all sectors” to remain “vigilant” and to “stay away from the ‘Shen Yun’ performance so as to avoid being misled or deceived.”

“We look forward to working together with friends from all sectors to safeguard the sound momentum of bilateral relations between China and Australia ...”

The statement was reproduced across several local Chinese-language media outlets, including 2CR Radio.

Shen Yun, based in New York, was founded by artists fleeing the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong. The group’s mission is the revival of 5,000-years of Chinese civilisation, which was systematically destroyed by the CCP after it took power in 1949, notably during the Great Cultural Revolution.

The performance also highlights the CCP’s ongoing persecution of Falun Gong, which has continued since 1999, and has resulted in the arbitrary detention, torture, and organ harvesting of thousands of adherents.

The CCP’s repression has also extended overseas in a myriad of ways targeting Shen Yun, including via media outlets and bomb threats.

Yet Shen Yun has been widely welcomed in Australian cities for many years since it began touring, earning praise from public figures like singer Tamarind Elkin, Village Roadshow Studios President Lynne Benzie, billionaire Imelda Roche, and chairman of Rothschild Australia Trevor Rowe.

The 2026 tour will perform in Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide from Feb. 25 to March 29.

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