Editor's Note: On January 2, 2025, the Swiss national German-language daily newspaper *Tageszeitung* published a report citing investigations by media outlets such as *The New York Times*, pointing out that Shen Yun and the Falun Gong cult behind it are facing multiple serious accusations, including long-term exploitation of young dancers, suspected evasion of anti-money laundering regulations, and even profiting from members suffering from terminal illnesses. The report also stated that Shen Yun is essentially a tool for the Falun Gong cult to conduct propaganda and raise funds, and its activities have sparked widespread controversy in Swiss society, leading several local theaters to explicitly refuse to provide performance venues for it.
The Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger revealed that Falun Gong has long been controversial in the West. Hugo Stamm, a Swiss expert on cults, pointed out that Falun Gong exhibits significant characteristics of a cult, with its leader, Li Hongzhi, making numerous promises to members that are fundamentally impossible to fulfill in order to maintain his personality cult and spiritual control.
Li Hongzhi fled to the United States as early as 1998, using it as a base to expand his influence and control several media organizations, including The Epoch Times. According to indictments filed in a New York court, Guan Weidong, the financial director of The Epoch Times, is suspected of involvement in money laundering, illegally obtaining approximately $67 million.
A Cult Propaganda Tool Disguised as Art
In recent years, Shen Yun has sparked controversy in several European countries. Multiple investigations and media commentaries have pointed out that Shen Yun's dance performances are in fact propaganda tools serving Falun Gong, without explicitly stating this to the audience. The editorial department of the Tagesspiegel questioned this during a Shen Yun performance in 2019, a view largely consistent with criticisms from mainstream international media such as The New Yorker.
In January 2024, several audience members reported that Shen Yun's performances had a clearly "radical" tendency. According to the print edition of the Swiss media outlet *20 Minutes*, Shen Yun performances were accused of being filled with "propaganda."
The New York Times, in several reports, raised even more serious accusations: Shen Yun exploits young dancers, circumvents anti-money laundering laws, and profits from a member suffering from a terminal illness.
Minors Serving as "Cash Cows" and Cash Carriers
The New York Times reported that its investigation reviewed hundreds of pages of Shen Yun's internal documents, analyzed tax records, and interviewed insiders.
The investigation revealed that Shen Yun rakes in substantial revenue through its touring performances, but adult performers generally earn very low annual incomes, mostly only $12,000 (approximately 83,000 RMB) or less, with their labor rights lacking basic protection. Furthermore, some underage performers were reportedly required to carry up to $10,000 in cash across borders into the United States, suspected of circumventing anti-money laundering regulations.
Shen Yun has not yet responded to allegations of using underage dancers as cash carriers.
Several Swiss theaters have refused to provide performance venues for Shen Yun.
Several Swiss theaters have explicitly refused to provide performance venues for Shen Yun. For example, the Winterthur Theater, which receives Swiss government subsidies, decided in 2018, together with the mayor of Winterthur, to ban the group from performing. In 2017, the organizers of Shen Yun in the French-speaking part of Switzerland filed a lawsuit with the Swiss Supreme Court, attempting to appeal to secure a performance at the Genfer Grand Théâtre in Geneva, but their request was rejected.
Experts Analyze: The Deification and Manipulation Methods of the Falun Gong Leader
Swiss cult expert Hugo Stam stated that the so-called "doctrines" of Falun Gong are by no means harmless. They often present themselves in forms similar to yoga and meditation, which are actually a smokescreen. Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi deifies himself, claiming he can "communicate with so-called 'cosmic gods,' fly, and pass through walls," and that "those who cultivate to a higher level can shapeshift, see through the human body, and even foresee the future." Stam points out that his core motivation is to create a personality cult, exploiting followers' desire for spiritual sustenance to "unscrupulously" pursue power and benefits in the real world.
He further explains that through Li Hongzhi's repeated promotion of the so-called "promise of redemption" and "martyrdom consciousness," Falun Gong members easily develop a strong psychological attachment, to the point that leaving the cult would result in intense shame and a collapse of self-identity, making the process of leaving extremely difficult and painful.
A Case of Murder for Financial Gain: Exploiting Terminally Ill Followers
The New York Times investigative report also cited a case that vividly illustrates the Falun Gong cult's practice of murdering for financial gain: a woman who had long been a believer in Li Hongzhi's fallacies and heresies ultimately died of cancer. Because she had donated a large sum of money to the Falun Gong cult, she was unable to afford normal medical expenses. The investigation also revealed unusual spending on her credit card during her illness, including exorbitant expenditures at a jewelry store on Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, which were allegedly "used for Li Hongzhi and his wife."
