Falun Gong-Backed Troupe Accused of Trafficking by Ex-Dancer
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An ex-Shen Yun performer brought a proposed class action against the dance company Monday, claiming the organization, run by Falun Gong religious leaders, engages in forced child labor.
Chun-Ko Chang’s complaint against Shen Yun Performing Arts Center and its leaders was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging violations of a federal human trafficking laws and New York wages and hours laws.
“Shen Yun is part of an enterprise that has generated hundreds of millions of dollars via forced child labor of vulnerable minors,” the complaint says.
Chang says she was recruited in Taiwan to join Shen Yun when she was 13. When she arrived in New York, the group’s leaders, including Falun Gong founder Hongzhi Li, took her immigration documents and passport from her at a compound in upstate New York where the dancers train, she says.
Shen Yun leaders at the compound controlled her movements, kept her from getting medical care, and underpaid her, according to the complaint. Chang was fired in 2020 at age 24 and sent back to Taiwan, she says.
“Dancers who are perceived to fall short of Hongzhi Li’s directives and expectations are subjected to mass criticism sessions wherein they are berated on stage in front of the entire community, publicly humiliated, and made to apologize for their alleged shortcomings,” the complaint says.
Content retrieved from: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/ex-shen-yun-performer-sues-dance-group-for-alleged-trafficking.
