In its 2010 annual report on religious freedom, the U.S. Department of State cited multiple cases of cancellation of Shen Yun Performing Arts shows due to pressure from Chinese authorities. The cancellation of performances took place last year in the  Eastern European countries of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine and were ultimately carried out by local authorities. The source of the pressure, however, is  traced back to representatives of the Chinese Communist Party’s regime, as cited in the report and throughout this website (see evidence chart).

The DOS report further detailed the cancellation of seven sold-out Shen Yun performances in Hong Kong, due to Hong Kong authorities refusal to grant visas to Shen Yun crew.

The report also cited the arrest of Jiang Feng, the husband of Shen Yun erhu virtuoso Mei Xuan.

Below are the relevant excerpts from the DOS report.

Moldova:

“The government cancelled two performances by Shen Yun Performing Arts, an organization that artistically presents Chinese culture through music and dance and speaks about the Chinese government’s mistreatment of Falun Gong. The Chinese government banned the Falun Gong in 1999 and has been reportedly pressuring governments in Europe, North America, and Asia to cancel Shen Yun performances. At a press conference held on May 27, 2010, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Popov voiced concern over the political nature of the show, and claimed that it might hurt diplomatic relations with China. The theater cancelled both scheduled performances on May 25 and 26, reportedly succumbing to pressure from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, despite a contract signed with the Falun Dafa Association on January 20, 2010.”

Romania:

“In January 2010 government intervention prevented Shen Yun Performing Arts from performing at a theater in Bucharest. Shen Yun Performing Arts is an organization that artistically presented Chinese culture through music and dance and references the Chinese government’s mistreatment of Falun Gong. The Chinese government-banned Falun Gong in 1999 and has been reportedly pressuring governments in Europe, North America, and Asia to cancel Shen Yun performances. Several Romanian members of the European Parliament unsuccessfully tried to reverse the government’s decision. Falun Dafa Romania, which sponsored the shows, alleged that the Chinese Embassy pressured the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to forbid the performance. The MFA said the cancellation was due to a contract issue.”

Ukraine:

“The government cancelled a performance by Shen Yun Performing Arts, an organization that artistically presents Chinese culture through music and dance and speaks about the Chinese government’s mistreatment of Falun Gong. The Chinese government banned the Falun Gong in 1999 and has been reportedly pressuring governments in Europe, North America, and Asia to cancel Shen Yun performances. The show was scheduled to take place in Odesa on May 28, 2010, but was cancelled, allegedly following pressure from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Odesa’s local government.”

Hong Kong:

“The Epoch Group, a media organization with ties to Falun Gong, rented premises and sold out a several-day run of performances of the Shen Yun Performing Arts Show in January 2010. The show presents Chinese culture through music and dance and references the mainland government’s treatment of the Falun Gong. The HKSAR denied visas to six technicians of the Shen Yun troupe. The Immigration Department stated that the visas were refused in accordance with laws protecting the employment of local workers, and that the troupe could hire competent staff locally. Epoch Group contended that local staff could not replace the specialized expertise of its staff. The government sustained its refusals, and the Epoch Group cancelled the show. Epoch Group is seeking judicial review of the refusals.”

Mei Xuan:

“In February 2010 Jiang Feng, the husband of a musician in Shen Yun, a Falun Gong-related performing arts show, was reported missing in the country. His family members have received no information on any arrest, charges, or sentence.”

And in general, as part of a larger pattern:

“The Falun Gong also reported several incidents of the government’s interference with their activities abroad. According to NGO reports, the Shen Yun Performing Arts Company, and several media outlets, government officials pressured venues and governments in Asia and Europe to limit the broadcast time of Falun Gong-associated radio stations and cancel or otherwise delay Shen Yun performances. The performances artistically present Chinese culture through music and dance and reference the Government’s treatment of Falun Gong.”

The evidence chart has been translated into Chinese, and is available here.

For a word.doc copy of this chart, please email a request via the contact form.

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AI URGENT ACTION FALUN GONG PRACTITIONER MISSING IN CHINA

Falun Gong practitioner Jiang Feng went missing in Shanghai on 18 February and is believed to be detained by the Chinese authorities. He is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

On 18 February, Jiang Feng went missing at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport. He checked in for his flight to New York, but never boarded the flight. Airline staff said he was taken away by public security officials after passing  through the security check point.  The authorities have not told Jiang Feng’s family where he is held, and their efforts to obtain information from police in Shanghai about his whereabouts have failed. Friends in China believe he may have been taken to his home city of Hefei in Anhui province, hundreds of kilometres from Shanghai.

Jiang Feng had previously been imprisoned for three years from 1999 to 2002 for his Falun Gong spiritual practice. When he went missing, he was on his way to join his wife, Mei Xuan, a musician with the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts group. She fled to the United States in 2006, following her release from four years’ imprisonment in China for practising Falun Gong. Jiang Feng may have been detained in order to pressure her to cease her involvement with the Shen Yun Performing Arts group, as some of the group’s performances includes artistic representations of the persecution of the Falun Gong.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English, Chinese or your own language:
Urging the authorities to reveal Jiang Feng’s whereabouts;
Calling for his immediate release unless charged with an internationally recognized crime;
Calling for a guarantee that he will not be tortured or otherwise ill-treated while he remains in custody.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 21 JUNE 2010 TO:
Director of the Anhui Provincial Department of Public Security
XU Liquan Tingzhang
Anhuisheng Gong’anting
282 Anqinglu
Hefeishi 230061
Anhuisheng
People’s Republic of China
Fax: +86 551 2801208
Salutation: Dear Director

Director of the Hefei City Public Security Bureau
Shouqunlu 290
Hefeishi  230041
Anhuisheng
People’s Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Director

And copies to:
Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China
MENG Jianzhu Buzhang
Gong’anbu
14 Dongchang’anjie
Dongchengqu
Beijingshi 100741
People’s Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Minister

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives of China accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Amnesty International site

“I am just here to show my support to the Shen Yun Performing Arts. I believe that with respect to the human rights issues in China, everyone of us must know that the Chinese government is one of the most outrageous violators of human rights. And again they are not allowing the Shen Yun Performing Arts to go in to China to perform there. It is just another indication of how the Chinese government are trying to suppress any kind of expression that will challenge their right to supremacy, Read the rest of this entry »

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“I urge you to take action…”

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