Before and after the lawsuit was filed, The New York Times ran negative articles about Shen Yun. The arts company says the articles were one-sided and deeply flawed, and that they have helped bolster the communist regime’s efforts.
Last month, a Chinese communist agent was sentenced to prison in New York for trying to bribe an IRS official. The agent's goal was to get Shen Yun's nonprofit status revoked. Another man was recently convicted for collecting intelligence on Falun Gong practitioners in the United States. Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline practiced by many Shen Yun performers.
Since the 1940s, the CCP has systematically destroyed traditional Chinese culture so that it can indoctrinate its people with communism. Because Falun Gong and Shen Yun are rooted in traditional Chinese culture, the CCP sees them as a threat. So the regime has tried to block and cancel Shen Yun since its founding in 2006. The regime has threatened theaters, pressured elected officials, made bomb threats, and even slashed the tires of Shen Yun tour buses.
Shen Yun says that despite two decades of threats and attacks, including in the media and via lawfare, it remains steadfast in its mission to showcase the beauty, majesty, and spirituality of China’s 5,000-year-old civilization.