The Shen Yun controversy, explained

Their advertisements can be found in almost every major city. On billboards, newspaper ads and flyers, even if you keep to yourself and stay at home — you’ll probably still find one of their ads stuffed in your letterbox. Shen Yun, a dance troupe and supposedly “the number one show in the world”. The company behind the performance has really amped up their spending on ads this year, and there’s been quite a few humorous responses to the advertisements on the internet questioning whether the show is real or not. 

The name supposedly means “The beauty of divine beings dancing” according to the Shen Yun website. The group behind the show is a not-for-profit religious movement that works solely with volunteers. However, the Shen Yun shows are banned in China and seem to be mired in controversy. So what exactly is the issue with this seemingly harmless dance show?

Falun Gong is the name of the movement behind the dance show. They direct multiple organisations across the world including the Shen Yun dance troupe. Falun Gong is staunchly anti-communist and against the Chinese government who has persecuted them since the nineties. There are even claims that the government harvested organs specifically from Falun Gong followers in the nineties. 

Outside of China, the movement has continued with the Shen Yun shows, however, they seem to push a right wing agenda. In addition to the Shen Yun performances they are also known for the Epoch Times, a far-right newspaper known for pushing conspiracies regarding vaccines and QAnon.

The movement was founded in the early nineties by leader Li Hongzhi, and it draws upon Buddhism and Taoism. Those that practice Falun Gong aim to ascend spiritually through meditation. The movement grew in followers until the late nineties; with 70 million people practicing, the Chinese Communist Party viewed it as a threat. Falun Gong was banned in China and the Shen Yun show was also banned as it promoted their “propaganda”.

In a statement from 2012, the Chinese government warned Americans against going to see Shen Yun, the labelling the show “a tool of the cult and anti-China propaganda”. The government called Falun Gong an “anti-society cult” who are manipulative of their followers. 

“This organization preaches heretical fallacies that are anti-humanity and anti-science, and exercises extreme mental manipulation on followers. It is a cult that seriously harms the society and violates human rights, and is a cancer in the body of the modern and civilized society.”

– Embassy of the People’s Republic of China

Of course, the Chinese government isn’t the most reliable when it comes to the matter of human rights. According to an article published by the Guardian in 2017, Chinese embassies across the world have tried to sabotage Shen Yun shows whenever they show up in major cities, supposedly going as far as slashing the tyres on the cars of the show’s presenters. Although it’s worth noting the Shen Yun are the ones reporting these occurrences.

But what can be said about the performance from those who have actually been to see it? According to a 2019 article in the New Yorker, it’s very pro-Falun Gong, and anti-communist, with songs that sing the praises of the movement. However, the show also has some troubling messages it encourages.

“In the final dance number, a group of Falun Dafa followers, who wore blue and yellow and clutched books of religious teachings, battled for space in a public square with corrupt youth. (Their corruption was evident because they were wearing black, looking at their cell phones, and, in the case of two men, holding hands.)”

Falun Gong teaches against homosexuality and promiscuity, and Shen Yun performances are used to push the agenda that homosexuality is wrong. The theory of evolution is also rejected and the show openly says that evolution is a “deadly idea”. So it seems there may be something in the rumors regarding Shen Yun being used to push propaganda for Falun Gong.

At first, the allegations that Shen Yun endorsed a cult seemed to be perpetuated solely by the Chinese government who wanted to eliminate a threat to their authority. However, based on reports from people who have been to see the performance in the US and other parts of the world, the controversial claims that Shen Yun is made to indoctrinate seem to be based on some truth. The views of the group funding the show are firmly rooted in the message it tries to communicate, and this pushing of an agenda is clear and upsetting considering some of the ideas it is encouraging.