Written by a Falun Dafa practitioner in Australia.

What is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) really up to? From alleged death threats against our Australian Prime Minister to over 130 instances of intimidation of theatre managers and attempts to harm Shen Yun artists, the pattern is deeply troubling. What does this ongoing campaign by the CCP against Shen Yun reveal?

The Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, was evacuated from his Canberra residence on the evening of Tuesday, 24 February, 2026, after a bomb threat was made against the Lodge. The threat, sent by e-mail to the presenters of Shen Yun Performing Arts, warned that if their shows proceeded, explosives would target the Prime Minister’s residence, and ‘blood would flow like a river.’

Screenshot of the email in Chinese sent to the Shen Yun organisers Image credit: The Epoch Times

All the threats are written in Chinese and have a similar tone to previous threats by the CCP.

Since January, six world leaders have been threatened by email, targeting Canadian leader Mark Carney, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The latest on the list is Albanese.

“If you insist on proceeding with the Shen Yun performance, something will happen to the Canadian prime minister,” reads a Feb. 10 email obtained by The Epoch Times. “If you don’t care about Mark Carney and all Canadian high-ranking officials’ personal safety, then go ahead with the performance.”

“Won’t rule out shooting Lai Ching-te!” reads another from Jan. 8. “Or even crashing an explosives-loaded SUV into the Presidential Office Building. Go on if you don’t believe me.”

“If you don’t care about Mette Frederiksen and all Danish high-ranking officials’ personal safety, then go ahead with the performance,” another Feb. 10 email in Chinese reads. “I don’t care, as long as you can afford the consequences.”

Shen Yun is currently touring globally, with eight troupes performing worldwide. The company is based in New York, and was originally started by a group of talented Chinese performers who fled China.

Australia 2026 Shen Yun Tour Kicks Off

Shen Yun have kicked off their Australian tour with performances that started on Feb. 25. Shen Yun’s blend of classical Chinese dance, orchestral music, and striking digital backdrops revives ancient stories and highlights the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa.

Most Shen Yun performers practice this ancient meditation, making them targets of the CCP’s ongoing slander and misinformation campaigns, which aim to silence their efforts to reveal the truth.

Both Shen Yun Performing Arts and Falun Gong are banned in China, with many of their Chinese relatives threatened, arrested and even tortured in an effort by the CCP to bring practitioners to their knees.

With such brutality, one has to wonder why anyone in their right mind would go along with CCP ideals. How many Chinese Communist Party members really align with the blood oath they were made to make? I would say either money or fear drives many of them to commit the atrocities they do.

Threats Made Against Theatres

In the past two years alone, there have been more than 130 death, bomb and other threats targeting Shen Yun. Most of these threats have been directed at theatres planning to host the performances. The CCP has employed deceptive tactics—including impersonating various individuals—in an effort to pressure government officials, theatre managers, and the general public, to block Shen Yun.

To further smear Shen Yun and Falun Gong, the CCP has ramped up its global campaign, using CCP resources to enlist social media influencers to spread defamatory content. These actions underscore the regime’s determination to conceal the truth.

Transnational Repression of organisations related to Falun Gong

The Diplomat published an article on February 24, 2025, highlighting China’s suppression of overseas dissidents, especially Falun Gong practitioners. “The Chinese Communist Party has been working to ‘suppress Falun Gong’s momentum’ around the world – including in the United States.”

According to the Diplomat, leaked information from high-ranking whistleblowers revealed the large-scale, organised suppression of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that extended overseas, including to the United States. In particular, the CCP has weaponised overseas media and engaged in lawfare to target organisations related to Falun Gong. Practitioners in China have been persecuted by the CCP for many years, including the atrocity of forced organ harvesting.

“At the center of these revelations are leaked official documents and insider accounts of a high-level CCP meeting of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee in 2022, attended by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

According to the leaked documents and insider accounts, Xi voiced frustration over the CCP’s failure to neutralise Falun Gong’s overseas activities,” reported the article. “He reportedly instructed officials to ramp up efforts to ‘completely, and on an international scale, suppress Falun Gong’s momentum.’ This directive placed the Ministry of State Security in charge of executing this transnational crackdown.”

Background information about the persecution of Falun Gong

This long-standing persecution of Falun Gong was initiated by former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, who, driven by jealousy over the movement’s popularity—reportedly around 100 million practitioners, outnumbering CCP members—vowed to eradicate the practice.

The CCP’s pursuit of money and power at any cost has led to horrific human rights abuses, including reports of systematic organ harvesting from living people. While Falun Gong practitioners have been the primary victims, reports suggest this atrocity has expanded to include Christians, Tibetans, and even children, fuelling a lucrative illicit trade.

Shedding light on the actions of the CCP

Shen Yun’s talented performers, most of whom practice Falun Gong, have brought global attention to the CCP’s actions through stage presentations that are both entertaining and educational. Their performances have informed millions of audience members around the world about these serious abuses.

It is no surprise that the CCP’s efforts to silence Shen Yun have become increasingly desperate, as international awareness of their actions continues to grow. Their ultimate goal is to shut down Shen Yun and eradicate Falun Gong. What they haven’t taken into account is the extraordinary resilience of Chinese people, and their desire to return to what was once known as a ‘pure land.’

My experience seeing Shen Yun performances

I have attended several Shen Yun performances over the years, often bringing family and friends to share the experience. I have always left the theatre with a feeling of hope for the future, and that good will ultimately prevail over evil. To reach green pastures, one has to travel through swamps, but the result is sure to be worth it.

I think the truth is clear for all to see. We must not be deceived by propaganda, and I feel that we as Australians can try to reject all pressure by the CCP, particularly within Australia.

The Chinese people's fight for religious freedom continues. Only with the support of democratic governments and citizens can this injustice be brought to an end.

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Views expressed in this article represent the author’s own opinions or understandings.

Australian Falun Dafa practitioner: “Why is China so desperate to stop people seeing Shen Yun?”