NEW YORK—A congressman says he is working with law enforcement agencies over a flurry of false bomb threats made against a New York-based performing arts group that has been a longtime target of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“Shen Yun, their performers, and their audiences deserve to feel safe and have peace of mind without any fear of violence,” Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) told The Epoch Times on March 28.
Over the past two weeks, Shen Yun Performing Arts and several theaters hosting its performances have received emails—some written in Chinese—including false bomb threats.
Mr. Ryan said his office is “in close communication with both [the Department of Homeland Security] and FBI in the wake of these deeply concerning threats against Shen Yun.”
“I will continue to work with law enforcement agencies across the federal government to ensure those perpetrating this behavior are brought to justice,” he said.
No explosives have been found, but the threats appear to be part of an escalating campaign to disrupt Shen Yun’s performances, which portray “China before communism.”
A similar bomb threat was made to a California theater as Shen Yun was readying for a weekend of shows.
The threat was unfounded, as a local law enforcement search ascertained, but its aim was apparent to Shen Yun.
“The objectives to me are clear: Whoever’s doing this, whether they are on the CCP’s payroll, or they’re just sympathizers, or people that are acting on behalf of the CCP, their goal is to cancel the show,” Leeshai Lemish, Shen Yun master of ceremonies, told The Epoch Times after a similar threat made to a Vancouver theater also turned out to be an empty one.
Other emails have threatened to detonate a bomb at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, to kidnap and murder Shen Yun’s female dancers, and to carry out a shooting spree at Shen Yun’s headquarters in Orange County, New York.
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture, which largely had been destroyed in the various political campaigns after the communist regime seized power in China. The 10-year-long Cultural Revolution, carried out under Mao Zedong, attacked China’s pre-communist arts, religion, literature, and architecture, demolishing the country’s most valuable treasures.
Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) described the recent incidents as a manifestation of the regime’s fear.
“Beijing and its cowardly sympathizers are scared of Shen Yun sharing the story of China without communism,” he told The Epoch Times’ sister media NTD.
“Threats to Shen Yun must not be tolerated, and those responsible should be brought to justice,” he added. “America must protect their right to free speech and expression and not allow the CCP to threaten anyone on American soil!”
Mr. Ryan, who represents the district that is home to the arts group, took his wife and staff to see the show at the Kennedy Center in February.
“It was an incredible performance,” he told The Epoch Times at the time.
“This show should be able to be seen around the world.”
Recently, in Costa Mesa, California, the tires of two Shen Yun tour buses were slashed. The cuts were made halfway through the rubber in such a way that causes the tires not to deflate immediately but to explode at speed. Similar previous incidents have forced Shen Yun to deploy increased security for its buses.
Two weeks before that, Shen Yun’s artists were harassed at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
A Chinese-born, Mandarin-speaking customs officer there called them “political” and “illegal” and questioned the performers’ religious background.
