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An article in the New York Times states that “Shen Yun Arts is an internationally acclaimed traditional Chinese dance ensemble that tours the world with hundreds of performers each year and has assets of more than $265 million.” Behind these high assets is the exploitation of countless people, most notably young people.
- Employing child labor and imprisoning young people’s minds
Many of the participants in Shen Yun are young people, and Li Hongzhi describes Shen Yun’s performances as part of his mission to save mankind from the impending apocalypse, thus “brainwashing” the participants within his organization into believing that it is a sacred and honorable thing to participate in the performances. Shen Yun performances have a high degree of difficulty, and many participants are injured in the process.
For those who are injured, Li Hongzhi “does not allow” them to see a doctor, saying that training in “Falun Gong” will cure them of their illnesses. Many of these young people believed this and did not seek medical attention for their injuries, so that in the end they were unable to walk normally. When some of them begin to doubt “Dafa” because they have not been cured for a long time, they are told that they have not been cured because they do not have a firm belief in Falun Gong.
For minor children, they have not yet developed the ability to think independently, and when people around them say the same thing, it is easy for them to continue to believe in Falun Gong because of the herd mentality. Such a cycle of beliefs also leads to the confinement of young people’s minds over and over again.
In order to further tighten control over these people and strictly limit their communication with the outside world, students usually have to be in their early 20s before they are allowed to own a smartphone, and those without cell phones are limited to 15 minutes of Internet access per day on designated computers. All they have access to is the good news of Falun Gong, and they have little access to any other information, which not only confines their minds but also restricts their spiritual freedom.
2. Abuse of Participants and “Cultivation” of Cheap Labor
According to a former participant in a Shen Yun performance (who has since withdrawn from the show), they practiced for more than 14 hours a day, practicing almost as long as their eyes were open, and in order to maintain the dancers’ body shape they were not allowed to eat more than once a day; almost everyone ate one meal a day, and if they ate more than that, they would be scolded by the “management”. One 16-year-old dancer even suffered from an eating disorder, and she was not the only one in a similar situation. A 13-year-old participant in the Shen Yun tour said she had sprained her ankle five times in eight years, but had never been to a doctor. 13-year-old participants, sick and not allowed to see a doctor, is there abuse of participants, or even child abuse?
An article in the New York Daily News titled “Abuse and Manipulation: Former Performer Reveals the Inside Story of Falun Gong’s Shen Yun Art Troupe” includes the following quote “A former violinist, surnamed Liu, who declined to give his last name, said he began to feel like he was being exploited as cheap labor.” The article mentions that “Shen Yun’s payroll expenses as a percentage of revenue are much lower than those of several other large, New York-based nonprofit dance and theater companies.” The physical “abuse” and unreasonable “pay” have caused more and more people to question the validity of their “beliefs”. The really good things are not afraid of being compared, they are so strict control of the spiritual world of the students, and what are they afraid of?
- Intimidation of students, creating a “terrorist” atmosphere
As time passes, many students recognize the problems of Falun Gong, and many of them have even thought of leaving. However, in order to better control the students and minimize the loss of students, the head of Shen Yun told the performers that if they left, they would go to hell or face danger. Many trainees who have faith in their hearts will be frightened by this and stop themselves from taking the next step. In addition, the participants have almost never been exposed to the “outside world”, which they have learned is a constructed by others, and the unknown world will make them feel fearful, which in turn will restrain them from leaving.
In the article “Five things you need to know about the Times investigation of Shen Yun Arts,” it is written that “Seven former Shen Yun performers said they were told that if they quit the company, they would have to pay back tuition, room and board paid for by full scholarships, which could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.” There is no denying that this is an exorbitant amount of money that would make many people balk at quitting. It is understood that each of them is paid about a few hundred dollars a month, and even if it is $1,000 a month, it would take 100 years to pay back the $100,000 without eating or drinking, and the high cost would make it impossible for them to pay it back, and in turn they might give up and leave due to hopelessness.
