The group performs around the world using its shows to spread conservative Chinese values, as seen here in Paris in 2024 – Image: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images
The prime minister of Australia was briefly removed from his home after a threat alleging explosives had been planted nearby. The alert was later linked to controversy over a performance by Chinese dance group Shen Yun.
A security alert that embroiled Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was linked to a controversy around the traditionalist Chinese dance outfit Shen Yun, it emerged on Wednesday.
Albanese was evacuated from his official residence in Canberra late Tuesday after a message to the anti-communist dance group that explosives had been planted around the property.
Why was the threat directed at the Australian PM?
The bomb warning came among several emails sent to Shen Yun that threatened Albanese, a spokesperson for the group said.
It said that, if the performance were allowed to proceed, then the explosives would be detonated.
“If you insist on proceeding with the performance, then the prime minister’s residence will be reduced to a blood-soaked ruin,” the Reuters news agency cited one of the emails as saying.
Shen Yun’s spokesperson said the group reported the threats, originally written in Chinese and sent to its local organizers, to Australian national security and police.
The Australian prime minister’s residence was evacuated after messages were sent to the dance company – Image: Mick Tsikas/AAP/REUTERS
Responding to the threat on Wednesday, Albanese played down the incident and urged calm.
“I think it’s just a reminder, take every opportunity to tell people, turn the heat down for goodness sake,” he said at an event in Melbourne.
What is Shen Yun?
Shen Yun Performing Arts, a New York state-based dance company, is linked to the spiritual movement Falun Gong, founded in China in the early 1990s that combines meditation practices with traditional moral teachings.
Chinese authorities banned Falun Gong in 1999, labeling it a “cult,” following mass protests by its followers in Beijing. Since then, the group has operated mainly overseas and has maintained a critical stance toward the Chinese government.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference today that she had “taken note of the relevant reports,” but did not know “the actual situation.”
Shen Yun’s performances, according to the spokesperson, “are by no means a normal cultural activity,” but rather “a political tool used by the Falun Gong organization to spread sectarian information and raise funds.”
She also claimed that the company has been the subject of complaints over “systematic abuse of its employees, illegal labor practices and mind control.”
The group’s performances contain strong religious overtones, and Falun Gong is known for its anti-feminist and anti-LGBT stances.
A New York Times report in 2024 described poor treatment of injured dancers, while one dancer brought a lawsuit against the group, citing a “forced labor scheme” that exploits young dancers.
DW.com/NAN 26-2-26
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