The United Christian Churches of Korea (UCCK) issued an official notice on April 11 to member denominations expressing concern over Shen Yun Performing Arts’ ongoing shows in South Korea and advising all citizens to exercise caution when considering attendance Shen Yun has been staging regular performances in major South Korean cities for several years Although Shen Yun claims to restore and preserve traditional Chinese culture the UCCK stated that the actual content is structured in a way that packages specific religious doctrines in artistic form The performances repeatedly include religious symbolism such as the appearance of a winged Creator and scenes of apocalyptic collective salvation which appear to metaphorically represent the teachings and worldview of Falun Gong “This type of performance can be seen as a typical example of ‘disguised proselytism,’ which delivers a belief system under the guise of culture and art without prior notice to the audience of its religious nature,” the UCCK said the structure of revealing doctrinal messages in the latter part of the show is even more problematic as it can indirectly lead the audience to make religious judgments Some viewers only realized the religious content after the performance,” it added Citing domestic and international media reports and testimonies from former members “Shen Yun Performing Arts is not a mere artistic group but a structurally organized community formed to spread Falun Gong’s belief system Its activities should be regarded as religious propaganda disguised in artistic form.” The UCCK emphasized that “Shen Yun’s performances are not merely cultural events but propaganda activities that deliver a religious worldview disguised as art We urge the Christian community and civil society to raise awareness and jointly respond to such disguised proselytizing attempts.” Originally published by Christian Daily Korea translated and edited by Christian Daily International staff 2025: References to certain media reports and a judgement by a single Korean denomination were removed in this translated version as they do not meet CDI's standards of objectivity Help keep The Christian Daily free for everyone By making a recurring donation or a one-time donation of any amount you're helping to keep CDI's articles free and accessible for everyone Hope you’ll give us another try and check out some other articles. Return to homepage. Already new life can be seen returning to the scarred LA landscape It is a reminder that in the face of overwhelming devastation and destruction we can retain hope in new creation through Jesus and work now in our environments to testify to that hope This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page N.Y.—A tall Chinese temple looms over the small Hudson Valley town of Warwick The temple is the centerpiece of a sprawling and secretive school/dormitory complex for Falun Gong which the People’s Republic of China notes is a cult that sponsors the Shen Yun dance company infusing classical Chinese dance with propaganda skits against the Chinese government and socialism The dance company is particularly active now that we are approaching the big annual holiday season for shows Falun Gong is also in legal trouble with both New York state and the federal government But the advertising for the dance company doesn’t tell you that While the temple is the centerpiece of Falun Gong’s sprawling complex near Warwick The complex includes the Fei Tian Academy of the Arts for training and schooling Shen Yun dancers “Fei Tian students aren’t employees and as such cannot be paid salaries,” the dance company told the Epoch Times Many former Shen Yun dancers told the New York Times they were not paid at all in their first year on tour most were being paid $12,000 a year or less The federal minimum wage of $7.25 hourly works out to $15,080 for a year of 40-hour weeks But many of the ex-dancers told the paper’s probers their workweeks were far longer than that—with no overtime pay The New York Labor Department is investigating other abuses at the Warwick complex and in the dance company The prime one is using underage performers—the teenage dancers—without seeking It mandates the dance company report to the state every month about underage performers and get a new permit every month But both the dance company and Falun Gong maintain the dancers are “students” at their academy Under current National Labor Relations Board rulings such as the Shen Yun dancers are “employees” with the right to unionize and bargain over working conditions though a Republican-majority board appointed by incoming President Trump could reverse that Complaints about lack of pay finally prompted the New York State Labor Department to open an investigation of the dance troupe earlier this year after a multi-part New York Times expose blew the cover off the secretive Shen Yun and Falun Gong’s abuses Those abuses have lasted for more than a decade according to a state audit almost ten years ago the state Labor Department cannot act on its own but only respond to complaints it receives And it didn’t get any until the Times’s stories hit the pages nationwide But some of the abuses the Times revealed aren’t legally covered The Times and other sources reported that “an atmosphere of fear” and isolation of the students-turned-dancers are a big abuse There are also threats that individual dancers would “go to hell” for mistakes they make and there is a lack of proper medical care for on-the-job injuries an Australian who left Falun Gong after a dozen years as a member reported four years ago that even then—three years after his initial blog about it—he got reports from once-scared members “The stories express a mix of excitement and terror,” Hurley wrote on the Religion and Ethics website after the Australian Broadcasting Corp “Excitement that they can now listen to pop music or hang out with non-believers—without feeling filthy and unworthy “And lingering terror as they face up to their living god and attempt to banish him from their minds and out of their lives.” “A number of people labored over the decision to contact me before finally plucking up the courage because they believed that Li could read their minds,” Hurley wrote It’s not the only belief Li fosters in Falun Gong “The ABC portrays Falun Gong as a threat to public safety due to its dangerous teachings on medicine Foreign Correspondent and Background Briefing”—the two Australian programs that ran ABC’s exposes—“both rejected such a characterization of its coverage.” The two Australian programs said “They simply gave critics an opportunity to be heard and Falun Gong a fair opportunity to respond after being a staunch follower for 12 years such a characterization would be accurate.” Other Falun Gong beliefs promulgated by its founder are “gay people being disgusting interracial children have no heaven to go to and aliens are slowly taking over human bodies—not to mention the less-publicized belief that Donald Trump is an angel from heaven.” especially after Trump takes it over in January when he enters the White House again “Just days after Trump was found guilty” in a New York courtroom of multiple counts of violating state campaign finance laws the Justice Department “arrested and charged the CFO of the far-right newspaper Epoch Times in a $67 million money-laundering crypto scam,” SFist reported promotes and helps fund the ubiquitously advertised propaganda dance show Shen Yun.” The dance company’s ads are ubiquitous at bus stops got a tax break from New York State years ago to construct the Warwick complex even though the New York Times revealed its annual revenue totaled $265 million last year the ad money comes from the Epoch Times plus local chapters of Falun Gong scattered around the U.S The Epoch Times itself doesn’t want to pay full freight for its ads according to one newspaper advertising rep who posted her experience with the paper’s ad buyer on Reddit The buyer claimed that as a non-profit organization After an increasingly testy hour-long discussion the paper’s ad rep walked away from the sale Propaganda against the People’s Republic of China infiltrates the Shen Yun dance itself Gia Tolentino reported in a long expose in The New Yorker Many audience members seemed to realize it a survey of postings on Reddit and other social media shows “A man came onstage to sing a song in Chinese which was translated on the screen behind him singing about a Creator who saved mankind and made the world anew,” the New Yorker story said Modern trends destroy what makes us human,” he sang 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 The city in the digital backdrop was obliterated by an earthquake and then finished off by a Communist tsunami A red hammer and sickle glowed in the center of the wave “’Was that…?’ I said to my brother wondering if I needed to go to the hospital I think that was a tsunami with the face of Karl Marx.’” Award-winning journalist Mark Gruenberg is head of the Washington He is also the editor of the union news service Press Associates Inc Mark is a compassionate interviewer but tough when going after big corporations and their billionaire owners U.S. imperialism’s new Cold War against China fosters anti-Asian racism at... India and Sri Lanka being drawn into U.S.’ new Cold War... Book review: ‘Blue Collar Empire—How Anti-Communism Undermined Workers Everywhere’ ‘Sinners’ review: Horror, history, and Black American folklore combine for trailblazing cinema  Amidst capitalist crisis and war, Russian Communists struggle against Putin and the oligarchs Chickens coming home to roost: Remember what Malcolm said U.S. imperialism’s new Cold War against China fosters anti-Asian racism at home Big changes in the Catholic liturgy Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker A gripping film about how the persecuted spiritual movement took on their repressive state Plus: London teens exchange places with high-schoolers from the US Culture clash … School Swap: UK to USA Photograph: Channel 4This new documentary series charts two plucky groups of teens – one from a diverse south London secondary school the other from a rural Arkansas high school – as they trade places Despite a very real sense of cultural dislocation everyone’s heart seems to be in the right place as they get to grips with energised cheer squads and scratchy school blazers Champions League football: Liverpool v Paris Saint-Germain 8pm This article was amended on 11 March 2025 The comic-book artist Daxiong did not take part in the hijacking of the Chinese state news broadcast as stated in an earlier version owing to an editing error expressing concern over Shen Yun Performing Arts' ongoing shows in South Korea and advising all citizens "This type of performance can be seen as a typical example of 'disguised proselytism,' which delivers a belief system under the guise of culture and art without prior notice to the audience of its religious nature," the UCCK said Some viewers only realized the religious content after the performance," it added Citing domestic and international media reports "Shen Yun Performing Arts is not a mere artistic group but a structurally organized community formed to spread Falun Gong's belief system Its activities should be regarded as religious propaganda disguised in artistic form." the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapShin) defined Falun Gong as a cult in a 2018 General Assembly resolution characterizing it by its deification and doctrine of absolute salvation "Falun Gong makes Li Hongzhi and his teachings the object of faith brainwashing believers through books and music The UCCK emphasized that "Shen Yun's performances are not merely cultural events but propaganda activities that deliver a religious worldview disguised as art We urge the Christian community and civil society to raise awareness and jointly respond to such disguised proselytizing attempts," and added "We also call on local governments to exercise careful judgment in allowing the use of public cultural facilities and planning cultural events to prevent social controversy." Originally from Webpage "Christian Daily International" Bitter Winter A magazine on religious liberty and human rights 04/28/2025 A+ | A- Wang, however, continued to protest the detention of his wife, hired a lawyer, and petitioned local authorities. As a result, he was arrested again on August 26, 2023, and was sent to Gongzhuling Prison notwithstanding his health problems. Not unexpectedly, his health further deteriorated in prison. He was sent to the old and disabled ward of Gongzhuling Prison and then to the jail’s infirmary.  He died there. Those who ignored two medical reports recommending that he should not be jailed are responsible for his death. Yang Feng uses a pseudonym for security reasons The authorities seem unable to resist the pressure and threats of the extremist organization Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan Many Yiguandao followers escaped to Taiwan fleeing Mao’s persecution His only crime is his consistent refusal to join the government-controlled Three Self Church and son-in-law were all found guilty by the Mentougou District Court CESNURVia Confienza 1910121 TorinoItalyinfo@bitterwinter.org Copyright © 2025 · Bitter Winter · PRIVACY POLICY· COOKIE POLICY 04/16/2025 A+ | A- Her daughter Liu Meili received a jail sentence of two years is enforced against those who simply practice a proscribed spirituality or even are just suspected of doing it An Chaoxu could not find work there and moved to Beijing some 160 kilometers away from Baoding.  The Hebei police answered that none had been found.  as this cured her migraines and made her into a more calm and pleasant person including the arrested mother and daughter The District Court relied not only on civil cases but also on settlements and statements 皮肉なことに、解散は、裁判所が非難していた献金勧誘の方法がほぼ消滅した後に宣告された。 この決定は、日本に「公共の福祉」に基づいて権利を制限しないよう求めた国連の３つの勧告を無視した。 この裁判所の決定は、政治的な動機を持つ貪欲な弁護士による宗教運動への約40年にわたる嫌がらせの頂点である。 Hilde Fålun Strøm, our new ambassador at large, is one of the most inspirational voices calling for protection of the Arctic. With friend and fellow explorer Sunniva Sorby she founded Hearts in the Ice which is dedicated to motivating climate action she and Sunniva embarked on what was planned to be nine months in an isolated cabin conducting scientific research and highlighting climate change in the Arctic but which turned into 19 months because the Covid pandemic struck while they were there and they could not be picked up as planned Recently named one of the Explorers Club 50 — 50 people who are changing the world — by the Explorers Club, here she talks to us about her inspirations and upbringing, about protecting the Arctic, and about living in an isolated cabin while a pandemic raged worldwide. What prompted your interest in the Arctic? I would take care of a trappers’ cabin in the north of Svalbard for two months during the high winter season, April and May. A friend and I would hunt seals for the trappers who lived there while they were gone for two months, and because we were doing that, we had a lot of polar bear encounters. So that was a taste of the life that I really wanted to do. It’s a very simple life in the cabin. There’s no running water, electricity or connectivity, so you need to work every day to survive and make sure that you are safe. Mentally and physically, it’s a harder type of living, but it’s so purposeful. Photo: Kt Miller / Polar Bears International Hilde Fålun Strøm, Polar Bears International's Krista Wright and Kt Miller, and Sunniva Sorby at Bamsebu cabin in Svalbard. Research has shown that Longyearbyen now has an increased risk of avalanches due to climate change, and I knew that I needed to do something different. I knew that I wanted to be more part of the solution, not only part of the problem. I met Sunniva in 2016, and she soon said that she wanted to join me. And it took us basically two-and-a-half years to prepare: We worked really, really hard to get sponsors on board, to get contracts with all the researchers that we wanted to work with as citizen scientists, collecting data for them. We worked really, really hard to get this off the ground as two women. Living in such an isolated environment for nine months must be immensely hard. But suddenly realizing you couldn’t leave as planned must have been tremendously emotionally challenging. Since we didn’t have radio, we didn’t have television, we didn’t have any imagery of what was happening out there. We got a message from the person who was helping with our social media; she was the one who told us there was a pandemic. And we thought, “OK, it will not affect us because we’re so far from anyone.” But then we started to understand what was happening. It was tough, but we felt more purposeful being out there gathering data, doing the thing that is close to my heart, talking about what’s happening in the Arctic and how to actually make a difference. It just felt right. So we planned a short little expedition to go back to Longyearbyen, which also meant a lot of preparation and a perfect weather window for us to actually cross the sea ice, cross all the glaciers, having Ettra on the sled and then running beside us and then on the sled again. We stayed in Longyearbyen for a few days in May, when we were originally supposed to have been picked up, and then returned to the cabin.  We expected friends and family to come a week later with some more supplies, but then, boom, all of a sudden, there was no longer enough snow to support a snowmobile. So that never happened. By July, we were completely out of everything.  In August, after the ice had broken up enough, my husband was able to visit in his boat, and we returned to Longyearbyen for another two months to resupply and then returned to the cabin for another seven months. So we eventually came home in late May 2021, after 19 months. Was that hard? Were you ever tempted to say, “We’ve done 12 months, nobody would blame us if we didn’t return?” You bet. That was really, really hard for both of us, and we couldn’t bring Ettra back either, she became sick while we were in Longyearbyen and had to have surgery. It was really, really tough. Did you need a lot of time to recover before plunging back into advocacy? Yeah, I think we used the full summer. But then we did a road trip along the Norwegian coast with an electric car, meeting nine- and ten-year-old kids in their classrooms, signing climate agreements with them and their local mayors. We had reached out to 104,000 kids, I think, through our stay in the cabin. So to be able to physically be there with them and talk to them and  be inspired by them and vice versa: that was great. I get the impression it’s very important to you not just to tell people what to do for the climate, but to help empower them to make their own choices. Is that part of what drew you to Polar Bears International? Yes, I think so many people are afraid of how this will impact their life, and all the things they think they have to stop doing. But for me, it’s more about focusing on optimism and on values. I think all of us have a set of values, and if you stand for your values, you will find that being a caretaker for the natural world is a more purposeful life.  And that's why I'm tremendously proud to be associated with Polar Bears International. I find PBI's work very inspiring and I hope to be able to work with them to inspire others.  Hilde Fålun Strøm with Polar Bears International's Geoff York, Christian Zoelly, and Joanna Sulich in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, during our maternal den study in March 2024. What do you want people to know about the Arctic? The Arctic affects all of us, not only the 4 million people that live there. What’s happening in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic. And what I mean by that is the fact that a warming Arctic impacts weather systems and impacts temperature rise. When ice and snow cover melts in the Arctic, the ground and water below absorbs more warming: like wearing a black T-shirt on a summer’s day. So I really want people to understand that what’s happening in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic. So we need to make sure that we mitigate the impact of this now, and it’s not all about technology and new solutions. It’s about ourselves. It’s about our greed. We need to learn how to share more and we need to learn how to take less. And when we do, we’ll find that that life, I think, is going to be more purposeful and enjoyable.   Only that I hope people understand how important they are as individuals, because it’s us individuals that collectively will move the needle. It is us that vote for politicians, it’s us that go to the grocery stores and make decisions on what to buy and use.  Of course, we need system change. We need big change. Shifts happen, but it all starts with us. Kieran Mulvaney is the author of The Great White Bear: A Natural and Unnatural History of the Polar Bear. He is a frequent contributor to the Polar Bears International website and also writes for publications including National Geographic, Smithsonian, and The Guardian. Become part of a community committed to protecting polar bears with our free e-news. © 2025 Polar Bears International. Polar Bears International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in the U.S.A. (EIN: 77-0322706) and a recognized registered charity in Canada (CCR: 862722279 RR0001.) The actions we take today give polar bears a chance at an even better tomorrow. Sorry, this product is unavailable. Please choose a different combination. (Photo courtesy of Blumenthal Arts)If you’ve lived in Charlotte for any extended period of time — or in any city around the world that’s home to a decent-sized performing arts theater for that matter — you’ve likely been witness to the awe-inspiring marketing campaign that is Shen Yun Often featuring a dancer in mid-split leap and leaflets made to look like carryout menus that are then placed in restaurant lobbies But what is this magnificent nod to the ancient Chinese aesthetic it’s a large-scale and beautiful colorful dance performance Originating in 2006 and translating to “the beauty of heavenly beings dancing,” Shen Yun is a touring dance troupe that seeks to revive Chinese culture as it was before 1927 when the Chinese Communist Revolution occurred “Shen Yun is a brilliant artistic revival and celebration of China’s rich cultural heritage. But after decades of communist rule, much of this divinely inspired culture has been lost,” reads the official website ancient legends and timeless virtues come alive on stage preserving the essence of a civilization that has endured for millennia Shen Yun conveys the extraordinary depth and breadth of genuine Chinese culture bringing the magnificence of 5,000 years of civilization vividly back to life.” The event returns to Charlotte in April with a two-night run at Belk Theater Tickets for the Charlotte showings start at $114 So an anti-communist company explores the history of China through dance They have as much right to freedom of speech and expression as anyone else The controversy that swirls around the company including allegations of forced and unpaid labor and its role as the cultural arm of an organization that some around the world consider to be a cult sued the organization for forced labor and trafficking in November 2024 alleging that it has made millions of dollars by exploiting young dancers whom it recruits from abroad Those young performers are then allegedly forced to work grueling hours and threatened with harm or deportation if they quit A series of articles published by the New York Times since August 2024 has uncovered that many Shen Yun performers are paid as little as $12,000 a year for their work while first-year performers aren’t paid at all Shen Yun reportedly employs many underage performers violating state laws that regulate working hours rest time and access to education for workers under the age of 18 The Times reported that the New York State Department of Labor (NY DOL) which enforces their state’s child labor rules has opened an inquiry regarding the matter that remains active Shen Yun representatives have insisted that labor laws do not apply to these minor performers because they are students and not employees The NY DOL investigation is ongoing at the time of this writing According to the New York Times Shen Yun has reported $266 million in assets which comes from ticket sales to its performances government grants and donations from followers of Falun Gong Falun Gong is a spiritual practice that combines elements of meditation It was introduced by Li Hongzhi in China in 1992 The practice is centered on three main principles: truthfulness Practitioners believe that centering these values helps to improve their physical The “qigong” exercises involve gentle movements and meditation Meditation groups are common in big cities around the world with weekly Sunday morning sessions held in at least two Charlotte parks The North Carolina Falun Dafa website states “Falun Gong is an advanced self-cultivation practice of mind and body The practice consists of meditation; four gentle easy-to-learn exercises; and moral teachings based on the core principles: Truthfulness and Forbearance … Volunteers provide instruction and maintain practice sites free of charge Participation does not require any obligations.”  Founder Li Hongzhi claims to have been born on May 13 which would give him the same birthday as Gautama Buddha which has labeled Falun Gong an “evil cult” and banned its practice in the country has placed Li’s date of birth as July 1952 In the years following the founding of Falun Gong in 1992 the movement quickly grew in popularity across China and was even celebrated by the government there the Chinese Community Party (CCP) had already begun its crackdown The movement became a symbol for human rights advocacy after its practitioners were placed in forced re-education labor camps it was estimated that more than 2,000 members had been killed by the CCP Falun Gong adherents and an organization called Friends of Falun Gong that tracks claims and cases of torture rape and death of Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP have made allegations that CCP harvests the organs of Falun Gong detainees who die in custody Those claims have not been fully substantiated while the CCP has publicly stated that it stopped any organ harvesting in 2015 and denied that such practices ever specifically targeted followers of Falun Gong eventually settling in a compound in Deer Park The Chinese government labeled Falun Gong as an “evil cult,” stating that its teachings oppose state-sanctioned atheism Li’s passport was revoked, which prevented him from traveling internationally, and issued an international arrest warrant that Interpol has refused to honor He has received many international awards in relation to religious freedom and persecution or Falun Dafa as most practitioners prefer to call it draws on oriental mysticism and traditional Chinese medicine with a critical view of modern science Practitioners see the movement not as a religion but a new form of science Li also claims that he has the power of invincibility and levitation During an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation “The leader of Falun Gong claims that race mixing in humans is part of an alien plot to drive humanity further from the gods … He says that when a child is born from an interracial marriage that child does not have a heavenly kingdom to go to.” “The aliens mix up different human races and keep them away from gods.”  “God’s first target of annihilation would be homosexuals “Repulsive homosexual behavior meanwhile bespeaks of a filthy deviant state of mind that lacks rationality.” Many Falun Gong practitioners believe that the use of modern medicine is a rejection of faith in “Master Li.” One former follower believes that her mother died due to not taking her blood pressure medication after joining Falun Gong The Falun Dafa Association publicly states that it is a personal choice whether someone seeks medical treatment insisting that when people have taken up the practice and understand the universal principles behind it Li founded The Epoch Times in 2000 and New Tang Dynasty Television in 2001 to disseminate Falun Gong talking points to American readers and viewers he founded Shen Yun to further promote these teachings through cultural performances The Epoch Times and New Tang Dynasty Television (NTD) have been known to promote far-right conspiracy theories such as QAnon and claims that the 2020 US presidential election was fraudulently stolen from Donald Trump Li claims that he is apolitical, and that by extension so is Falun Gong. As reported by The Guardian Falun Gong spent around $11 million dollars on pro-Trump Facebook ads in 2019 The platform banned the group for not disclosing political content The organization was also accused of creating fake profiles to spread political misinformation Falun Gong also spent close to $930,000 on Youtube and other digital advertising around that time The Epoch Times CFO Weidong Guan was arrested for allegedly engaging in a money-laundering scheme that federal prosecutors say helped drive their growth in revenue over the recent years co-founder and CEO John Zhong Tang resigned “You were thinking that it’s hard to fight the CCP’s persecution without funds and wanted to make money for this cause; and that the U.S government would be understanding if something wasn’t handled quite right Li has since asked Falun Gong adherents to refrain from speaking publicly about political leaders, though the organization’s leadership is still hard at work pushing propaganda. In a recent Epoch Times column titled “The Media’s Shen Yun Blind Spot,” Levi Browde executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center takes the stance that Shen Yun’s labor practices aren’t wrong because they’re not equal to the torture tactics carried out by the CCP the media love a juicy angle: Aren’t they overworked Aren’t those young artists being manipulated?” Browde writes ‘overworked’ means forced labor until your body gives out ‘Discipline’ means electric shock batons on your skin if you won’t renounce your beliefs ‘Manipulated’ means you are expelled from school for your faith and condemned to poverty simply for your identity Shen Yun’s rigor isn’t exploitative — it’s defiance.” this style of CCP whataboutism doesn’t negate the fact that Shen Yun organizers are potentially breaking American laws nor does it justify any of Falun Gong’s many other problematic teachings Read more: Project Safe Delivery and the Impacts of a Broken US Postal Service (2024) The teachings of Falun Gong are based around the core of its principles: truthfulness (zhen) it’s a wonder that as an organization they can’t learn from their own Falun Gong advocates homophobia and bigotry Falun Gong stands in opposition to mixed-race relationships especially when shared through the performing arts the money isn’t going to the hard-working performers you see onstage it’s going to an organization that refuses to follow its own tenets and teachings SUPPORT OUR WORK: Get better connected and become a member of Queen City Nerve to support local journalism for as little as $5 per month Our community journalism helps inform you through a range of diverse voices I’d like to add a few points to this article Shen Yun states that actually 85 percent of the performers are adults and the rest our outstanding young performers who are allowed to tour with Shen Yun and the students in Shen Yun are on a full scholarship worth $50,000/year which has been approved by the New York State Education Department food and activities are paid for as they tour some of the world’s most renowned stages That’s a much different picture than the one painted by The NY Times One thing the New York Times’ articles fail to mention is the conflict of interest between the former Shen Yun dancer making the allegations and her affiliation with the Beijing Dance Company which is under the control of the Chinese Communist Party The former dancer posted comments on social media expressing positive feelings about her time with Shen Yun; she even tried to return to Shen Yun when she stopped dancing so she could be an instructor according to Shen Yun’s response to The NY Times’ articles she started her own dance school in Taiwan and later began collaborating with the Beijing Dance Academy This is when her stance towards Shen Yun shifted 180 degrees Regarding the comments about Falun Gong and mixed races many people who practice it are part of mixed race families which suggests that the teachings might be interpreted by some differently than those who are practitioners Falun Gong has never been against gay rights and those who practice it don’t tell others how to live their lives I’d like to mention the part of the article that mentions The Epoch Times’ allegedly “pro-Trump” ads They were ads highlighting their phenomenal reporting and analysis of the Trump-Russia collusion allegations which some call the Trump-Russian collusion hoax and other media were screaming that these were pro-Trump ads Any objective observer could see that The Epoch Times was promoting its own excellent dissection of that complicated story Comment *document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id" "a976ee327fe0497358c296a3ab0a52eb" );document.getElementById("b526024170").setAttribute( "id" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Email: info@qcnerve.com OR (f)(last name)@qcnerve.com Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information An ex-Shen Yun performer brought a proposed class action against the dance company Monday 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 took her immigration documents and passport from her at a compound in upstate New York where the dancers train Shen Yun leaders at the compound controlled her movements Chang was fired in 2020 at age 24 and sent back to Taiwan “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 and made to apologize for their alleged shortcomings,” the complaint says Shen Yun’s dance and music performances are staged at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center and in global tours a religious movement that has faced persecution by the Chinese government Chang also says Shen Yun leaders retaliated against her for speaking to a New York Times reporter by smearing her as an agent of the Chinese Communist Party The Times reported earlier this year that Shen Yun dancers are subjected to grueling schedules and denied medical care for injuries and that New York’s Department of Labor is probing Shen Yun’s workplace practices The complaint brings claims under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and New York State laws setting minimum wages Shen Yun didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Berger Montague PC and Farra & Wang PLLC represent Chang and the proposed class The case is Chang v. Shen Yun Performing Arts, Inc. To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Vilensky at mvilensky@bloombergindustry.com To contact the editor responsible for this story: Martina Stewart at mstewart@bloombergindustry.com workflow tools and premium legal & business news Log in to keep reading or access research tools The cross-country skiing World Cup season 2024/2025 continues this weekend in Falun is the place for another stage of the cross-country skiing World Cup season 2024/2025 followed by a 10km interval start race in classic technique on Saturday and a 20km mass start race in freestyle technique on Sunday Also Read: 2024/2025 cross-country skiing World Cup calendar In a press release the Swedish Ski Association has named their cross-country ski team for the upcoming World Cup in Falun “The Swedish Ski Games are always a highlight of the World Cup calendar and it is extra fun to compete on home soil now before the World Championships We hope for a great atmosphere and a lot of spectators,” says Swedish national team manager Anders Byström and adds: “It will be very exciting to see Maja Dahlqvist chasing new successes after her World Cup victory in Cogne Linn Svahn and Moa Ilar are back on the World Cup after a break with World Championships preparations,” says Anders Byström “We also have our U23 World Championship gold medalists Märta Rosenberg and Anton Grahn in the national team squad who took the U23 World Championship bronze is also competing in the national team colors in the sprint but silver medalist Måns Skoglund has unfortunately fallen ill and will miss this weekend’s competitions Sweden is allowed to field a national team in each competition This means that six women and six men will have the opportunity to compete in the national quota “The national quota gives us the opportunity to give many people the chance to compete at the highest level It is great to see many new names in the World Cup Friday, February 14: Sprint Classic (More details can be found HERE) Saturday, February 15: 10km Interval Start Classic (More details can be found HERE) Sunday, February 16: 20km Mass Start Freestyle (More details can be found HERE) the World Cup heads to Norway (Trondheim) for the World Championships at the end of February and beginning of March the World Cup ends the season with weekends in Norway (Oslo) 2024/2025 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Calendar Finland Interval Start C / Sprint C / Mass Start F SwitzerlandTeam Sprint F / Sprint F / Interval Start C Period III – After Tour de Ski and before World Championships FranceInterval Start F / Sprint C / Mass Start C SwitzerlandMixed Relay / Sprint F / Interval Start F ItalyTeam Sprint C / Sprint C / Interval Start F SwedenSprint C / Interval Start C / Mass Start F FinlandTeam Sprint F / Sprint F / Mass Start C Read More: World Cup calendar for the 2024/2025 Winter Season   Are you interested in traditional cross-country skiing? Click HERE and read more about it you get full access to all content on the site and live streaming of Ski Classics Pro Tour events with English commentary When you become part of one of the world’s leading XC ski communities you will receive many exclusive offers all year round.  REGISTER HERE AS A MEMBER posted the fastest time in the sprint qualifier at the World Cup in Falun Full results from the women’s sprint qualifier in classic technique The top 30 skiers qualified for the sprint finals at the Falun World Cup sprint race Women’s sprint heats start at 11:30 CET.  Full qualify results can be found HERE Also Read: Cross-country World Cup: Complete program for Falun Friday, February 14: Sprint Classic (More details can be found HERE) Saturday, February 15: 10km Interval Start Classic (More details can be found HERE) Sunday, February 16: 20km Mass Start Freestyle (More details can be found HERE) the World Cup heads to Norway (Trondheim) for the World Championships at the end of February and the beginning of March Read More: World Cup calendar for the 2024/2025 Winter Season  You don't have permission to access the page you requested. What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed. 2025·Cross-CountryJohannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) Iivo Niskanen (FIN) and Erik Valnes (NOR) on the podium @NordicFocusIivo Niskanen (FIN) won the Men's 10km Interval Start Classic in Falun showing that he will be a medal candidate in the event at the upcoming FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Trondheim had the best times at every split around the course and claimed his first Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup victory since winning the same event in Ruka finishing 12.9 seconds before runner-up Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) as Erik Valnes (NOR) completed the podium it snowed a bit and there was a lot of skiing outside of the classic lines." finishing 22.1 seconds before Niskanen in second place "I remember it really well and this year has been a bit better for me so far," Niskanen said Hopefully I will stay healthy until the World Championships so it will be exciting games.– Iivo NiskanenThis year The overall World Cup leader started with bib No.60 and was able to race knowing his main opponents' split times but had to focus on getting past Valnes to claim the second place Klaebo was still in third place but made a strong push in the last third of the race Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR) had the ninth best time at the 3.8km mark but caught up to finish in fourth place who started in position 33 to cheers of the home fans had made a solid run to finish in 25:43.1 and take a seat in the leader's chair he could watch Nyenget in bib No.44 pace his race perfectly to beat him by almost half a minute The Norwegian however hardly had time to sit down in the leader's chair before Niskanen completed his Interval Start Classic masterclass It was the first 10km race since Niskanen's last victory Having claimed a gold medal in the Men's 15km Interval Start Classic at the World Championships in Lahti Niskanen will look to repeat the feat in the 10km Classic on 4 March He said he wants to use the two weeks remaining to get even stronger "I will try to improve a bit," Niskanen said I still train quite a lot and hopefully the shape will be at its best in the biggest games of course every guy wants to be at the top there It is the biggest goal of the season waiting so I'm really looking forward to it.Hugo Lapalus (FRA) finished in fifth place as Edvin Anger's (SWE) sixth place made him the best home skier Mika Vermeulen (AUT) claimed the seventh place three seconds faster than Halfvarsson and Simen Hegstad Krueger (NOR) Paal Golberg (NOR) completed a top-10 that was less dominated by Norway than usual this season Andres Fjorden Ree and Harald Oestberg Amundsen however made it seven Norwegian skiers among the best 12 The Falun World Cup stage concludes with the Men's 20km Mass Start Free on Sunday that will be the final rehearsal before the World Championships Click here for full results from the Men's 10km Interval Start Classic and here to follow FIS Cross-Country on Youtube Inquiries: msnow@hudson.org Miles Yu is a senior fellow and director of the China Center at Hudson Institute Independent researcher and author of Freedom House’s report The Battle for China’s Spirit New York City architect and son of a woman tortured to death in China Nina Shea is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Religious Freedom at Hudson Institute Listen to Event Audio the Chinese Communist Party launched one of the most severe acts of religious persecution since the Cultural Revolution—a violent campaign to wipe out Falun Gong an indigenous spiritual group with tens of millions of Chinese practitioners this CCP campaign continues with large-scale imprisonments inside China as well as systematic propaganda and harassment in the United States Beyond the horrific toll on the Falun Gong community the CCP’s relentless repression campaign has had wide-ranging repercussions for China and the world Executing the campaign has sharpened the CCP’s security apparatus served as a blueprint for repressing other designated enemies and honed the party’s ability to influence Western media Join Hudson Institute as expert panels take stock of the Falun Gong crackdown over the past quarter of a century Panel 1: The Modes of CCP Persecution and Effective US Policy Responses This panel will discuss the current state of repression transnational repression against the group abroad and recommended US policies to counter the CCP’s campaign This panel will discuss the CCP’s evolving mechanisms for spreading propaganda narratives to influence foreign media and how this has affected the Falun Gong diaspora and the American public Join Senior Fellow Peter Rough as he sits down with Tsikhanouskaya for a conversation on the state of affairs in Belarus and the geopolitics of Central and Eastern Europe Experts and policymakers will join Hudson’s Michael Sobolik to discuss how leadership in the fight against malaria matters to US-China competition Prime Minister Plenković will discuss the future of the EU-US relationship and why strong alliances are important for meeting today’s challenges Join Senior Fellow Matt Boyse for this discussion with Martin Vladimirov director of the Energy and Climate Program at CSD Europe-Russia policy and energy analysis team lead at CREA CSD Program Director Ruslan Stefanov will provide opening remarks Jessie Diggins is heading to the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Trondheim with serious momentum after securing a hard-fought victory in the 20km Mass Start Free in Falun The 33-year-old World Cup leader edged Norway’s Heidi Weng by just 0.7 seconds while Sweden’s Ebba Andersson claimed third in a tight contest on the demanding course fueled by an earlier success in the men’s race Gus Schumacher finished second in the men’s 20km falling just 0.3 seconds short of his first World Cup win The electrifying result had Diggins and teammate Julia Kern “That was so awesome,” Diggins said of Schumacher’s performance “Julia and I were jumping up and down on the beds Schumacher’s podium finish in Falun marked another historic moment for U.S The 23-year-old from Alaska became the first American man to ever podium in a 20km World Cup race It was his second career podium and first since his groundbreaking victory in the 10km skate at the Stifel Loppet Cup in Minneapolis earlier this season male skier to claim a distance World Cup victory since Bill Koch in 1983 Schumacher executed a tactically smart race staying near the front of the pack on Falun’s fast course and conserving energy on the climbs he positioned himself in fourth before surging into second place down the finishing stretch narrowly missing out on the win to Norway’s Pål Golberg Schumacher now sits 16th in the overall World Cup standings gaining key momentum heading into the World Championships the women’s battle in Falun was also a test of endurance and tactics which features the infamous ‘Murder Hill,’ Sweden’s Andersson initially dictated the pace determined to add a second victory after winning Saturday’s 10km Interval Start Classic the lead pack had narrowed to five skiers—Andersson Carl’s bid for the podium ended when she fell on the stadium flats breaking a pole and dropping out of contention surging to the front and holding off Weng and Andersson in the final stretch “Huge congrats to the wax technicians,” Diggins said This was a win for the whole truck and the whole team and it’s an awesome momentum going into Trondheim.” Weng finished second for her seventh podium of the season while Andersson settled for third in front of an onlooking King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden delivered a career-best World Cup distance finish “It’s really exciting to see Julia break through in distance racing,” Diggins said reinforcing the team’s strength ahead of the season’s biggest event now with six World Cup wins this season and 28 in her career further extended her lead in the overall standings just eight points ahead of Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen With the FIS Nordic World Championships in Trondheim beginning on February 26 “I’ve been pushing a massive training load so I’m ready to rest a bit and then come into Trondheim fresh.” The American team heads into the World Championships with high expectations across sprint With Diggins leading the charge and a rising squad around her contingent is poised to make an impact on the world stage once again Cambell Wright´s Silver in Biathalon makes this a hat trick 02/18/2025 A+ | A- The term “useful idiots” is apocryphally attributed to Lenin but it was probably first used by Giuseppe Saragat a future President of Italy and the leader of the Italian Social Democrat Party He coined it in 1948 to designate the non-Communist Socialists who (unlike him and his faction) had entered into an alliance with the pro-Soviet Italian Communist Party long used as such in a variety of contexts It designates those who are not Communists but favor Communism and its projects naively believing they can outsmart the Communists and come out of this game with clean hands “apostate” is not a synonym of “ex-member” but a term used by sociologists to designate the minority of former members who turn into militant critics of the groups they have left and that China commits crimes against humanity is part of the obvious Invoking censorship and trying to persuade venues to prevent artistic performances from taking place that have been applauded by millions throughout the world with various arguments, one of which is that they have an anti-CCP “political content,” is another matter entirely. A matter for totalitarian censors and useful idiots. Only two lines on the website of the Chinese Catholic Church about the Pope’s death they celebrated the 76th anniversary of the Communist victory in Nanjing Per Marx il controllo forzato delle nascite malthusiano era una forma di oppressione capitalista The cross-country World Cup season 2024/2025 continued today in Falun with a 20km mass start race in freestyle technique for women and men took first place in the men’s 20km mass start race in freestyle technique at the cross-country World Cup in Falun showed his form and won today’s 20km race with a total time of 48:05.1 Andreas Fjorden Ree and Simen Hegstad Krüger rounded out the top 5 by finishing 4th and 5th Complete results can be found HERE Also Read: Cross-country World Cup: Complete program for Falun REGISTER HERE AS A MEMBER has been banned in China and is closely monitored in Vietnam Vietnam’s Ministry of Interior said it planned to take a strong stance against followers of the sect and would act to prevent the formation of “illegal organizations” according to a report on Tuesday in the Capital Security page a special publication of the People’s Police newspaper The ministry had received a petition from voters to “handle those participating in Falun Gong practice activities which are currently complicated and negatively impacting the political security and social order situation in many localities,” the newspaper reported Authorities had been told to strengthen state management of beliefs and religions and to discourage participation in “complicated activities” related to the group propagate and distort against the party's policies and guidelines affecting political security and social order,” would be dealt with according to the law Freedom of religion is technically enshrined in Vietnam's constitution, but it also allows authorities to override rights, including religious freedom A Falun Gong practitioner told Radio Free Asia that the group was not political and members did not create any disorder “We do not gather to cause disorder and we are not interested in politics,” said the follower “A few times the security officers asked and contacted us they were very happy and did not hinder or oppose our practice.” Ha added he had been involved with Falun Gong for two years and it helped him improve his mental and physical health and made people more at peace with society and their families In 2018, the head of the Propaganda Office of the General Politics Department in Vietnam's Ministry of Defense ordered a close watch by authorities on the activities of Falun Gong followers Sporadic cases of harassment by police and even brutal use of force have been reported by Falun Gong practitioners over the years when they conducted exercises in public places such as parks the government banned participation in Falun Gong after members staged a massive silent protest outside China’s main leadership compound in Beijing in 1999 Chinese state-run media portrays Falun Gong as a fringe often referring to it as an “evil cult,” and tens of thousands of Falun Gong followers have been jailed or sent to labor camps without trial with many reported to have been tortured and killed Chinese authorities have also put pressure on other governments to restrict Falun Gong gatherings overseas The movement has followers around the world Everything is ready for the 20km mass start races at the World Cup in Falun and start times for Sunday’s competitions in freestyle technique The 2024/2025 cross-country World Cup season continues this weekend in Falun and start times for the 20km mass start races in freestyle technique.  Also Read: Cross-country World Cup: Complete program for Falun See the complete program for the Falun World Cup at the end of the article Start lists can be found HERE FACTS Falun World Cup Season 2024/2025 I’m not – I’ll bet a pound to a penny that Xi Jinping has never heard of me probably doesn’t even care about Falun Gong as it’s basically a non-entity in China which is losing a lot of ground globally through its own deceptions coming to light However Congressman Perry has written extensively about a secret meeting in which President Xi instructed “top state officials — overseeing political and influence operations — on a new strategy to target the Falun Gong religious group internationally.” Epoch Times’ source for the secret meeting is actually… a secret Yet another egregious claim by a media outlet famous for egregious claims always citing anonymous sources What I coincidently found while researching is that now we’re reaching the point where Falun Gong is passing into a new generation Falun Gong is most definitely banned in China someone else will appear and pretend to be his reincarnation manifest himself in different places at different times in order to ensure his followers are being good followers and cure all ills Others who have died recently are Ma Lijuan vice-president of Falun Gong’s New Tang Dynasty Television who died in New York at the age of 59 in 2023 and her husband who was editor-in-chief of the English Epoch Times the head of the English version of the Epoch Times none of the people who passed away were able to seek medical care and this is just one of the reasons why Falun Gong is banned in China; preventing a person seeking medical intervention when it’s needed is a crime Something else that’s a crime in China is the leader of a religion getting wealthy on the donations of the poor This is something the US doesn’t seem to see as a problem given that there are so many “disciples of Jesus” driving very expensive cars and flying from venue to venue in private jets there are 63 private jets followed by a website called Trinity Foundation which tracks religious fraud only Christian evangelists who profit from what the founder but it does have a huge compound in Upstate New York which is constantly being added to and improved so money is filtering in there are still more than 96 million members of the party and a waiting list It’s also a fact that full membership is not given until a one year probation elapses and the applicant may leave at any time meaning there is no need to have an organisation tasked with “helping them leave” Especially when most people don’t want to get out they’re there to help their communities especially in societies where there are a great many anxieties Qigong and Taichi are wonderful solutions to these modern day ailments and are massively practised in China including by millions of people who both support and are often members of the Communist Party This is the initial attraction of Falun Gong its exercises and meditation offer relief for many people but in doing so financially and in many cases mentally takes far more from the practitioner than it gives Jerry Grey is a former British Police officer who was a general manager in a multi-national security company based in Australia for 17 years travelled extensively and studied in China for almost two decades He holds a Master Degree in cross cultural change management Jerry Grey is a freelance writer living in Southern China’s Guangdong province