Falun Gong’s Shen Yun sued and investigated for child labor violations

Published By with Comments

Categorized as Uncategorized Tagged , , , ,

Shen Yun Performing Arts, the traveling dance troupe behind elaborate performances that show “China before Communism,” has been sued by a former dancer and also is being investigated over its allegedly abusive child labor practices, which were previously reported by The New York Times in August.

Shen Yun is affiliated with Falun Gong, the non-Christian spiritual movement behind The Epoch Times and Epoch Films. The National Religious Broadcasters and a Christian publicity firm have promoted the Epoch brands to Christian pastors and influencers while concealing their links to the controversial Chinese religious group some scholars consider a cult.

Chang Chun-Ko, who was a Shen Yun dancer from the age of 13 to 24, has sued the troupe in New York federal district court, The Times reported. She claims Shen Yun is a “forced labor enterprise” that engages in trafficking, abuses its under-age performers, engages in cultic tactics to separate performers from the outside world, and exploits their labor to generate millions of dollars in revenue.

Shen Yun’s latest season fielded eight separate troupes that performed 800 shows around the world. Shen Yun claims assets of more than $265 million.

Chang’s lawsuit says Shen Yun separates youngsters from their families and subjects them to “a system of coercion and control that extends to nearly every aspect of the dancers’ lives.” The suit seeks to be certified as a class action, meaning other performers could join the suit.

The lawsuit names Falun Gong founder Master Li Hongzhi; his wife, Li Rui; and International Bank of Chicago, which arranges finances for Shen Yun performers. Performers who tried to leave Shen Yun were warned “they would go to hell or face danger if they left, because they would lose Mr. Li’s protection,” the suit alleges.

Content retrieved from: https://baptistnews.com/article/falun-gongs-shen-yun-sued-and-investigated-for-child-labor-violations/.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trenton, New Jersey 08618
609.396.6684 | Feedback

Copyright © 2022 The Cult News Network - All Rights Reserved