The latest in a series of empty bomb threats targeting classical Chinese dance company Shen Yun caused the evacuation and closure of Washington D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, prompting Shen Yun to call for an investigation by U.S. authorities into the threats.
In the morning of Thursday, Feb. 20, as Shen Yun was getting ready to put on the first of 12 shows at the theater, the venue received a notice claiming that a bomb had been placed on the premises and would be detonated if Shen Yun was allowed to perform as scheduled.
Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded in 2006 with the mission of presenting the country’s ancient culture prior to the ravages of communist rule. It was established and is run from its headquarters in upstate New York by adherents of Falun Gong, a traditional Chinese spiritual practice that has faced violent persecution at the hands of the Communist Party in mainland China since 1999.
In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has stepped up its overseas campaign to defame and undermine the Falun Gong community in the U.S. and other countries. Details of this effort, allegedly coming from the top echelons of the Party, have been leaked by insiders in the Chinese regime.
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The tactics include intimidation such as that bombing and other threats targeting Shen Yun, as well as the mobilization of foreign media to run hit pieces against Falun Gong, its teachings, and companies founded by its adherents to expose and counteract the CCP’s repression.
‘If it doesn’t stop with Shen Yun, it won’t stop with somebody else’
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At a press conference held by Shen Yun the day after the bombing threat, which caused the scheduled shwo to be delayed by several hours, Leeshai Lemish, an emcee for the company, called for the U.S. government to investigate and “really try to find out who is behind” the threats at Kennedy Center and other theaters where Shen Yun has performed.
Shen Yun has throughout the years come to perform at hundreds of venues annually around the world (with the notable exception of mainland China), reciving critical acclaim from among its millions of audience members.
Threats targeting the company, meanwhile, typically come in Chinese or in broken English. Other messages, often from the Communist Chinese diplomatic institutions, warn politicans not to see the show, or try to pressure theaters not to host Shen Yun. In recent years, threats of violence, such as mass shootings and sexual assault against Shen Yun’s female dancers, have also been deployed.
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None of the threats has been acted on, though a pro-CCP YouTuber in New York was arrested and charged with illegal possession of firearms after he claimed he would go after Shen Yun and posted photos of guns and ammunition.
Leeshai Lemish, the Shen Yun emcee, described the challenges facing Shen Yun as a challenge to America’s rule of law and religious liberty. “It’s basically targeting the entire U.S. government, society, and everything that we stand for,” he told The Epoch Times at a press conference at the at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 21.
“If it doesn’t stop with Shen Yun, it won’t stop with somebody else. They’ll continue on,” he said. “It’s [going to be] an increasing problem until we do something about it.”
Rep. Lance Gooden, a Republican from Texas, denounced the bomb threats on a post on X/Twitter, derided the CCP’s “shameless history” of trying to saboatge Shen Yun.
“Yesterday’s baseless bomb threat at the Kennedy Center was yet another attempt to intimidate,” he wrote. “CCP sabotage efforts will not prevail. Shen Yun will continue to showcase authentic Chinese culture free from communist influence!”
At the beginning of Feburary, the U.S. Department of State condemned the CCP’s “acts of intimidation” against Shen Yun and Falun Gong, and urged “protection of the right to free expression.”
The U.S. diplomatic agency also called upon Beijing to end its quarter-century of persecution against Falun Gong in China.
