logo
A Global Phenomenon Overcoming Adversity

A Global Phenomenon Overcoming Adversity

Epoch Times05-06-2025
Commentary
As many performing arts companies struggle financially in uncertain economic times, Shen Yun Performing Arts has completed its 18th global tour earlier this month, performing what it calls a historic run of 799 shows in 199 cities across 26 countries to an audience of more than 1 million people.
Shen Yun not only has to overcome the financial challenges the industry faces, but also faces ongoing sabotage attempts by the communist regime in China. This includes threats directed at theaters, performers, and their families in China and warnings of economic and diplomatic reprisals in locations where Shen Yun performs. Additionally, there are issues with online disinformation and gross misrepresentations by various media outlets.
How does a performing arts company presenting traditional Chinese culture today survive and flourish when facing such challenges?
Performing Arts in the West
In the post-COVID-19 pandemic arts landscape, traditional performing arts productions, such as ballet and classical music, are under increasing pressure to remain financially viable.
Australia's largest performing arts companies, Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet, have each posted recent losses, despite receiving significant government grants.
The Paris Opera Ballet, the world's oldest national ballet company, receives government subsidies to ensure financial stability.
What Sets Shen Yun Apart?
Shen Yun is a nonprofit organization established in New York in 2006. Its success is almost entirely funded by ticket sales and limited donations, not government grants or corporate sponsorships.
Related Stories
5/11/2025
11/18/2024
It is audience appreciation and support that allows Shen Yun to grow and be successful. More and more people want to experience what Shen Yun presents.
A full house at FirstOntario Concert Hall in Hamilton, Ontario, on Dec. 31, 2019.
Evan Ning/The Epoch Times
Shen Yun's mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture, which has been decimated by the impact of communism in China for more than 70 years, and share these inspirational stories with the world.
The traditional values displayed on stage are not an act—performers aim to embody these principles each day. Most artists practice Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, a spiritual and meditation practice with teachings centered on truth, compassion, and forbearance.
After being introduced to the Chinese public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi, Falun Gong's popularity grew exponentially, reaching at least 70 million by the decade's end, according to official estimates.
Fearing that the popularity of Falun Gong would threaten its authoritarian rule, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a brutal persecution campaign to eradicate the practice in July 1999. The persecution continues today, including the killing of practitioners to harvest their organs for the state-run organ transplant industry in military and civilian hospitals.
Media, Negativity, and Truth
Media outlets that intentionally publish sensational, one-sided articles attacking Shen Yun and Falun Gong ignore the harmful impact on millions of practitioners, including those suffering persecution in China.
Psychological research has identified an inherent negativity bias in human beings. It relates to survival mechanisms developed thousands of years ago, where identifying danger or negative threats was essential and could be a matter of life or death.
The impact of negativity bias on our decision-making is well understood in the media and politics today. Negative news draws greater attention and can be perceived as believable or truthful. Negative information can lead people to vote against a candidate.
If people are not mindful, they can be swayed to accept what is good as something bad or to be avoided.
Negative media reporting in the United States is part of Beijing's campaign,
In contrast, the Paris Opera Ballet, which has rigorous professional standards similar to Shen Yun, and a modest pay rate (as of 2020) for a full-time entry-level dancer of 2,000 euros per month (around $2,280), does not attract such negative media attention. This distinction lies in its focus on European culture, which isn't seen as a threat by the CCP.
CCP's Fear of Shen Yun
The CCP knows it does not have the support of the will of the Chinese people. In transforming itself from a 'revolutionary' to a 'ruling' party, it has killed tens of millions in its drive to replace traditional Chinese culture with communist culture.
A Chinese paramilitary policeman guards at Tiananmen Square under crimson clouds at sunset after several days of heavy air pollution on July 4, 2013 in Beijing, China.Its manic campaign to sabotage Shen Yun displays its deep-seated insecurity: Shen Yun presents an inspiring vision of what China was, and can be, without communism. This dissolves the CCP's illusory claim to represent Chinese civilization, and that 'China' and the party are inseparable.
Communism and Secularism
Some Western media seem to take their reporting cues from the propaganda used by the CCP to demonize and persecute Falun Gong. There is nothing 'Chinese' about the Communist Party. It has been an invasive form of foreign interference in China since 1921, and, like a pandemic, it has contaminated China and the world with its Marxist–Leninist ideology that declares religions are human creations, denies the possibility of life after death, and the existence of God or a Creator.
Over the past 50 years, the importance of religious belief has declined in the West, accompanied by a rise in secular thought. While secularism provides for the reasonable separation of church and state, it can also include philosophical elements that reject religion and align with communist atheist ideology that interpret life solely through a focus on the material world.
A focus on materialism and 'self' in the West has led to a sense of isolation from the totality of being human—body, mind, and spirit—and can lead to depression as life may appear random or even meaningless. Chinese traditional culture emphasizes the unity between Heaven and Man and the intrinsic value and spiritual essence of every human being.
Shen Yun's Universal Appeal
Archbishop Makarios Griniezakis, head of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia, saw Shen Yun perform in Sydney in February this year and was moved to write to Shen Yun in appreciation.
Archbishop Makarios Griniezakis of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia watched Shen Yun in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 26, 2025.
NTD
'Through this rich and most captivating performance, you [Shen Yun] offer a beautiful and spiritual message to the wider society, which is of the utmost importance in our current days,' Archbishop Makarios wrote in the March 3
'This testimony of cultural and spiritual revival is not only paramount for the people of China, but it sends a pertinent message to the whole world.
'It is through the artistic exploration of faith, love, hope, and unity that the audience is able to contemplate such virtues of which the contemporary world seeks not only to deny but to systematically reject.'
The message of hope and kindness that Shen Yun brings to the world is a universal blessing; its audiences truly appreciate it, regardless of their political or religious orientation. There is nothing the CCP can do to stop that momentum.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tom Holland Hints 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Will Return to "Old School Filmmaking"
Tom Holland Hints 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Will Return to "Old School Filmmaking"

Hypebeast

timean hour ago

  • Hypebeast

Tom Holland Hints 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Will Return to "Old School Filmmaking"

Summary Tom Hollandhas givenMCUfans a major update on the upcomingSpider-Manfranchise. The fourquel,Spider-Man: Brand New Day, will see the return of producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal and will be helmed by Daniel Cretton ofShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Speaking on theFlip Your Wigseries, Holland gives fans a hint at what fans can expect. While he is reprising the titular role of Peter Parker, Holland shares, 'I'm obviously over the moon and so excited. Playing Spider-Man is like hanging out with an old pal. And I think we were really restricted with what we could do in the last movie because of COVID; we shot the entire film on stages.' He added, 'Now, we're really gonna lean into that old-school filmmaking and shoot in real locations, which is why we're starting in Glasgow and we're gonna use the streets of Glasgow to build this massive set-piece that we're putting together. So it's gonna feel like making [2017's]Spider-Man 1again. It's been such a long time since I've done it, it's gonna feel like a breath of fresh air, and I think the fans are going to be over the moon with what we're putting together.' The film is set to release on July 31, 2026 and will see Zendaya reprise her role while new characters will see Sadie Sink and Liza Colón-Zayas a part of the movie. Production for the fourquel is expected to begin when the duo ends filming for Christopher Nolan'sThe Odyssey.

‘Eddington' Takes Big Swings And Connects
‘Eddington' Takes Big Swings And Connects

Forbes

timean hour ago

  • Forbes

‘Eddington' Takes Big Swings And Connects

Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) find themselves in a ... More contentious political race in COVID-era Arizona. Is it too soon for a character drama that takes place during the onset of COVID? Are you ready for social distancing, lockdowns, mask mandates, and all of their accompanying conspiracy theories to be plot points in a film? Is it too soon to find the absurdist humor buried in the crazed antics of Americans under pandemic pressure? If so, then Eddington, the new film from writer/director Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar), may not be your cup of tea. I, on the other hand, found the film to be a compelling, insightful and frequently hilarious look at how our country has lost its collective mind over the past six years. The film opens in the small town of Eddington, New Mexico during the early days of COVID, where Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) is openly violating the mask mandate issued by the Governor. Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) chastises the sheriff for blatantly ignoring the law while being the head of local law enforcement. In one scene, Sheriff Cross strides unmasked through the local grocery store. When he encounters a masked shopper who doesn't approve of his noncompliance, he informs her that the Governor's edict is a recommendation and not a law, and he'll do as he sees fit unless the local city council officially passes an ordinance requiring masks. Sound familiar? As the Sheriff tries to enforce curfews and lockdowns, and the Mayor tries to enforce mask mandates, and each ignores the other, tensions grow until Sheriff Cross spontaneously announces his intention to unseat Garcia as mayor. A philosophical war of words becomes an acrimonious political race in small town America. Every movement, protest group and fringe ideaology is present and accounted for. Sheriff Cross' mother-in-law is waist deep in internet 'research', uncovering one crazy conspiracy after another. His wife (Emma Stone) becomes enamored with a traveling religious zealot (Austin Butler). Mayor Garcia's son joins the Black Lives Matter movement to use his newly-found social awareness to meet girls. And there may be Anitfa terrorists lurking somewhere in the background, but that could also just be the ravings of Sheriff Cross' mother-in-law. Between Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master, Inherent Vice) and Ari Aster (Beau is Afraid), Joaquin Phoenix appears to have found his cinematic soulmates. Make fun of the obsessiveness of Method Acting all you like, but Phoenix's performance in Eddington is unlike any other in his career. I'll be the first person to point out the little irritating tics, quirks and affectations that often feel tacked on to a 'Method' performance. From his posture, his movements, his diction and his line readings, he becomes Sheriff Cross and carries the film with apparent ease. It'll be interesting to see if Oscar voters remember a performance from July when it comes time to cast their ballots. Then again, they remembered Cillian Murphy's work in Oppenheimer, a July 2023 film. Ari Aster proved himself a master of suspense in the horror genre with his 2018 tale of the occult, Hereditary. While Eddington is more character drama meets crime film, that same sense of dread remains. With the addition of each agenda, each passionate cause that grows more and more aggressive as its members grow more agitated, the tension in the film increases. The audience knows we're on the verge of violence, but we just don't know what form it's going to take. (And I certainly won't reveal that here.) In a film landscape where reliance on tropes and cliches leads to a predictable time at the movies, Ari Aster marches to the beat of his own, often deranged, drummer. Anytime I thought I had Eddington nailed down, it gleefully veered in another direction. Kudos to editor Lucien Johnston who keeps the 148-minute film moving at a clip. It never stalls. It's hard to satirize the crazy times we live in. The nightly news is already beyond belief. When reality has jumped the shark, how do you satirize anything? Despite that, Ari Aster has created a compelling drama with a dark streak of absurdist humor running through it. Whether I was laughing at his depiction of the folly of my fellow man, or sitting on the edge of my seat during the film's darker moments, I was always fully engaged. As I waited for the lights to go down and my Eddington screening to begin, my post on social media said, Tonight's screening is sure to be thought provoking. It was a safe prediction. Even a big misfire from an auteur like Aster was guaranteed to prompt discussion. Instead, he gave us one of the best films of the year so far.

Good luck finding Labubu dolls in Austin
Good luck finding Labubu dolls in Austin

Axios

time3 hours ago

  • Axios

Good luck finding Labubu dolls in Austin

Austinites are lining up for Labubu dolls, mischievous little monsters with fangs that have become America's must-have toy. State of play: The "cute horror" character from Chinese toy giant Pop Mart has gone viral worldwide. Sold in "blind boxes," buyers don't know which version they'll get — sparking a resale frenzy and soaring prices. Zoom in: In Austin, demand is outpacing supply. Toy store Ellicor saw lines that wrapped through the parking lot during the store's soft opening, which featured Labubu dolls and other blind box items. Austin Food Adventures, an Instagram account known for food reviews, has hosted Labubu meal popups around the city. The next events are scheduled for Wednesday at 5pm at JewBoy Burgers (sold out) and at Parker and Scott 11-3pm Sunday. What they're saying: Amanda Wong, the creator behind Austin Food Adventures, estimates as many as 400 people have showed up to her previous pop-ups. "I think they're popular because there's so much going on in the world and it's an innocent and fun interest that people can have," Wong tells Axios. "It's fun to try getting the color you want and they're so cute!"

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store