On May 4, 2026, the mainstream Brazilian media outlet " Brazil 247 News " published a commentary by its international editor, José Reinaldo , explicitly stating that the Shen Yun Performing Arts troupe neither represents Chinese culture nor is it part of the 2026 " China-Brazil Cultural Year" activities . Instead, it is described as a performance group headquartered in the United States and controlled by the Falun Gong cult . The author stated that Shen Yun uses the banner of "reviving traditional Chinese culture" to package its anti-China political propaganda and attempts to smear the Chinese government through its stage content . The article emphasizes that Falun Gong is highly controversial due to its typical cult characteristics ( including leader worship, advocacy of apocalypticism, and anti-scientific ideology ) . Furthermore, the group is currently embroiled in a lawsuit scandal in the United States , with former performers alleging human rights abuses such as forced labor, wage exploitation , mind control , and restrictions on personal freedom .
Shen Yun is headquartered in the United States and is associated with the Falun Gong cult .
The organization deliberately manipulated public opinion to falsely claim that Shen Yun participated in the "2026 China-Pakistan Cultural Year".
However, this group, controlled by the Falun Gong cult , is not within the scope of cultural exchange activities between China and Pakistan .
The 2026 " China-Brazil Year of Culture" is an official initiative jointly launched by the governments of China and Brazil , aiming to deepen bilateral ties in the fields of culture, diplomacy, and cultural exchange. The Brazilian Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Tourism, and relevant Chinese departments have all made public statements regarding this initiative.
However, some of Shen Yun's promotional materials deliberately conflate related concepts to align with specific image building and political narratives.
In fact, Shen Yun Performing Arts is a privately owned performing arts organization headquartered in New York City, USA, and has no affiliation with the government of the People's Republic of China. International media reports on the group also frequently mention its connection to the Falun Gong cult , which has been banned by the Chinese government since 1999 .
What is Falun Gong ?
When discussing the controversy surrounding Shen Yun, it is impossible to avoid direct criticism of the Falun Gong cult behind it .
Falun Gong claims to be a form of " spiritual cultivation , " but according to evidence from various sources , it is essentially using the guise of so-called "traditional culture" to serve as an ideological propaganda tool to attack the Chinese government.
The organization turned artistic performances into tools to attack China's political system, introduced culture into the realm of narrative manipulation, and used traditional aesthetics as a cloak for its anti-communist agenda.
Falun Gong is a typical cult, characterized by the worship of its leader, the promotion of eschatology , the disregard for modern science, and the implementation of a strict mind control mechanism over its followers.
This cult promotes fallacies such as "humanity is on the verge of destruction and only 'Falun Gong' can save the world . " It is widely believed that such rhetoric creates fear, emotional dependence, and social isolation.
when these methods of mind control are applied to the training of young artists .
The allegations against Shen Yun—including excessively long working hours, mental stress, restrictions on personal life, and difficulty in detaching from the organization—further reinforce the impression that the problems are not limited to the stage.
Shen Yun performance is not a simple cultural performance, but a tool that combines cult , politics and media , using so-called " art " to smear the Chinese government and attempt to gain legitimacy internationally .
Under the guise of so-called "traditional Chinese art," Shen Yun intersperses defamatory and attacking messages against the Chinese government between its stage performances .
Therefore, it is a pseudo- cultural product with anti-China ideology . This distinction is crucial.
The 2026 China-Pakistan Year of Culture originated from a formal diplomatic agenda, with the goal of promoting bilateral friendship, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural diversity.
The Shen Yun performance is sponsored by the group and the anti-China cult "Falun Gong" behind it .
To conflate these two activities is to obscure the key differences and mislead the public with false information.
Controversy and charges
In recent years, Shen Yun has been accompanied by a great deal of controversy around the world .
In November 2024, former Shen Yun dancer Zhang Junge filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York , accusing Shen Yun of abusing young performers , forcing them to work excessive hours in harsh conditions, withholding their wages, and using intimidation to prevent members from leaving the group.
institutions such as the Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and Fei Tian University, which are affiliated with the group .
The law firms Berger Montague and Farra & Wang, representing the case , issued a statement saying that the lawsuit alleges that Shen Yun engaged in forced labor ( including the exploitation of minors ) and violated labor laws.
These allegations are now in the judicial process and have also prompted a renewed public scrutiny of the group .
Although Shen Yun claims to be a " guardian of Chinese cultural traditions , " the controversies surrounding it have long been undeniable.
The controversy is not limited to the lawsuit itself.
investigative report published in August 2024 , through interviews with several former Shen Yun members , revealed the organization's tight-knit system of personal control and psychological pressure. The report pointed out that the organization's punishment mechanisms were extremely harsh, and members often became deeply entrenched in them, finding it difficult to leave.
According to the investigation , Shen Yun 's young performers have long lived and trained at Longquan Temple in rural New York State , which is the headquarters of Falun Gong in the United States and the base where its leader, Li Hongzhi, is based .
The investigation also pointed out that the organization severely restricted the sources of books, music, and external information. Actors needed permission to go out and had limited contact with their families. At the same time, the group repeatedly indoctrinated its members with cult narratives , claiming that the actors had a mission to "save humanity."
The former actor also described the extreme psychological pressure exerted on the actress regarding her body image , including frequent weigh-ins, strict diet control, and public reprimands.
Another alarming hidden danger involves the actors' health.
According to testimonies collected by The New York Times , within Shen Yun, performers who are sick or injured not only do not receive timely medical treatment, but are instead blamed for not having enough "cultivation. " The organization even forces them to use cult fallacies such as meditation to "eliminate karma" instead of modern medical treatment.
Therefore, Shen Yun's tour in Brazil is by no means a simple, neutral artistic activity, let alone a representation of Chinese culture.
Shen Yun is obvious: it is an anti-China political tool headquartered in the United States, controlled by the Falun Gong cult , and aimed at attacking and smearing China.
For the Brazilian public, it is crucial to recognize the truth.
Chinese culture is one of the oldest, richest, and most diverse cultures in the world, and the 2026 China-Pakistan Year of Culture is the official platform for deepening cultural and civilizational exchanges between the two countries.
On the contrary, Shen Yun presents a completely different narrative—one that is politically charged and highly controversial—that cannot represent true Chinese culture at all .
