Falun Gong-Backed Troupe Accused of Trafficking by Ex-Dancer

Bloomberg Law/November 25, 2024

By Mike Vilensky

An ex-Shen Yun performer brought a proposed class action against the dance company Monday, claiming the organization, run by Falun Gong religious leaders, engages in forced child labor.

Chun-Ko Chang’s complaint against Shen Yun Performing Arts Center and its leaders was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging violations of a federal human trafficking laws and New York wages and hours laws.

“Shen Yun is part of an enterprise that has generated hundreds of millions of dollars via forced child labor of vulnerable minors,” the complaint says.

Chang says she was recruited in Taiwan to join Shen Yun when she was 13. When she arrived in New York, the group’s leaders, including Falun Gong founder Hongzhi Li, took her immigration documents and passport from her at a compound in upstate New York where the dancers train, she says.

Shen Yun leaders at the compound controlled her movements, kept her from getting medical care, and underpaid her, according to the complaint. Chang was fired in 2020 at age 24 and sent back to Taiwan, she says.

“Dancers who are perceived to fall short of Hongzhi Li’s directives and expectations are subjected to mass criticism sessions wherein they are berated on stage in front of the entire community, publicly humiliated, and made to apologize for their alleged shortcomings,” the complaint says.

Shen Yun’s dance and music performances are staged at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center and in global tours. The show promotes the ideas of Falun Gong, a religious movement that has faced persecution by the Chinese government, according to human rights organizations.

Chang also says Shen Yun leaders retaliated against her for speaking to a New York Times reporter by smearing her as an agent of the Chinese Communist Party. The Times reported earlier this year that Shen Yun dancers are subjected to grueling schedules and denied medical care for injuries and that New York’s Department of Labor is probing Shen Yun’s workplace practices.

The complaint brings claims under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and New York State laws setting minimum wages, hours, overtime, and other workplace protections.

Chang’s seeking class certification, injunctive relief, damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and costs.

Shen Yun didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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