Shen Yun performance terrorist threats
The host group for the Shen Yun performance coming up later this month say they’ve gotten threats to shoot up the performance they believe stem from China. But they believe the threat is a hoax and say the performances will still go on.
ATLANTA – The Falun Dafa Association of Atlanta claims it received an email on Dec. 11 threatening to kill everyone attending the global debut of the Shen Yun Performing Arts show later this month at Atlanta Symphony Hall.
Five performances are scheduled between Dec. 23 and 27. Atlanta Symphony Hall is one of two venues hosting the world premiere of Shen Yun 2025, the other being in Japan. The company will also perform at Cobb Energy Center in late January and early February.
According to the Falun Dafa Association, the threatening email was written in Chinese and stated, “Atlanta Symphony Hall will be attacked if Shen Yun is shown!!!” The message reportedly included a photo of a pistol, dozens of bullets, and two magazines. The sender identified themselves as the “Fourteenth Dalai Lama” in the Tibetan language.
“The Chinese Communist Party is behind this. They have been doing their utmost against Shen Yun to sabotage to make these so far unfounded threats,” Mary Silver of the Falun Dafa Association of Atlanta said.
“They have tried this many times in the past 6 months. There has been an escalation in their activities. But none of the Shen Yun Shows have been delayed or canceled because of this,” Frank Xie also with the Falun Safa Association of Atlanta added.
Shen Yun is a show featuring classical Chinese dance, original music, and a live orchestra blending Eastern and Western instruments. Many of the performers, including dancers and musicians, are practitioners of Falun Gong, an ancient Chinese meditation and spiritual cultivation practice.
Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese discipline with Buddhist roots. It gained widespread popularity in China during the 1990s, with tens of millions of practitioners. However, its independence from state control caused the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to view it with suspicion, as the CCP historically seeks to oversee religious and spiritual movements. Falun Gong practitioners have since become vocal critics of the Chinese government and have organized protests worldwide.
“We do take this seriously. I think there will be heightened security measures to ward off any threats,” Xie said.
“None of these things have been real. They’ve all been hoaxes intended to create confusion and fear,” Silver said.
“The more we bring it into the sunlight the less effect it has,” she added.
The show, a large-scale production with dancers, an orchestra, and singers, portrays traditional Chinese cultural history and modern political oppression that the CCP has attempted to suppress, according to the show organizers. The show is reportedly banned from China.
According to its website, the show visits some 150 cities around the world each year, including Tokyo, Paris, New York and more.
The Falun Dafa Association states it contacted the Atlanta Police Department and the FBI, and an investigation is underway.
FBI Atlanta told FOX 5 Atlanta that they are aware of the allegations. However, the FBI says they can not comment upon the existence or nonexistence of any investigation.
