About
My name is Leeshai Lemish. I have been a master of ceremonies with Shen Yun Performing Arts since its inception in early 2007. While traveling around the world and emceeing hundreds of shows, I started noticing something strange following us.
When we arrived at a new city like Prague, Seoul, or even Little Rock, we found that someone else had beaten us there. Long before I knew our tour schedule, a representative of the PRC embassy or consulate already threatened the local theater managers not to allow us to perform, and warned local officials that supporting our show would harm their business relations with China.
I immediately recognized this phenomenon from years of activism against the persecution of Falun Gong in China. For over a decade, PRC “diplomats” have been engaging in covert action in North America, Europe, Australia and, really, wherever they are found, to try to sabotage any activity that exposes persecution in China. In 2002, I testified at a Congressional briefing in Washington about PRC clandestine operations in the West, which eventually lead to House Resolution 304.
Documented cases of such covert action include not only hounding elected officials, but also infiltrating media entities, twisting scholars into self-censorship, phone tapping, monitoring electronic communications, and even breaks ins, beatings, death threats, tire slashing, and setting a vehicle on fire, to name just a few examples of incidents in the U.S.
This website is the first attempt to systematically document these activities and incidents, starting with the interference with Shen Yun Performing Arts and freedom of artistic expression.
It is my hope to expand this website to include incidents against other groups and individuals. If you have information about other cases, I would very much like to hear from you.
About me
I have bachelor’s degree in Chinese History and Chinese from Pomona College, and a master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. In previous incarnations I have been a baseball pitcher, intelligence sergeant, and investigative journalist. I have spent extensive periods studying, working and conducting research in East Asia, most recently with Ethan Gutmann for an upcoming book about the persecution of Falun Gong. I am married and live in New York, with family in Israel and other parts of the world.
My Shen Yun Performing Arts bio.
You will find some of my recent articles under the category “My articles” on the right-hand side, or here.