The former performer, who was recruited to join Shen Yun at age 13, said the prominent dance group coerced children into making money for it.
A former dancer for Shen Yun Performing Arts, the prominent music and dance group operated by the Falun Gong religious movement, filed a lawsuit on Monday, accusing its leaders of trafficking vulnerable children to work for little to no pay.
The lawsuit, brought in Federal District Court in Manhattan, describes Shen Yun as a “forced labor enterprise” that has exploited underage dancers through threats and public shaming to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
Shen Yun instills obedience in its dancers through a wide range of tactics, the lawsuit alleges, including by confiscating their passports, cutting them off from outside media, denouncing them as Chinese government spies if they questioned the group’s practices and subjecting rule-breakers to public critique sessions.
The former dancer who filed the lawsuit, Chang Chun-Ko, said she was recruited from Taiwan to join Shen Yun as a dancer at age 13, in 2009. She performed with the group until she left in 2020, when she was 24.
Ms. Chang sued under a federal law that allows victims of forced labor to bring lawsuits against their traffickers.
The lawsuit comes three months after The New York Times revealed that Shen Yun’s performers had been working in abusive conditions for years. Ms. Chang, now 28, was among the former performers and instructors quoted in the article.
The New York State Department of Labor has opened an inquiry into the company’s labor practices, including its use of child performers, The Times reported last week.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages. Ms. Chang is the only named plaintiff, but she is seeking to certify the lawsuit as a class action.
Shen Yun, which performed more than 800 times on five continents in its most recent tour, puts on a two-hour dance and music show that spreads the message of Falun Gong, a religious movement that is banned in China and has been persecuted by the Chinese government.
Representatives of Shen Yun and Falun Gong did not immediately provide a comment on Monday. They have previously denied violating any laws and said labor laws did not apply to their underage performers because they are students who tour with Shen Yun as a learning opportunity, not employees. Every student participates in Shen Yun voluntarily, they have said.
“Sure, some people leave because it’s not for them, and that’s perfectly fine,” Shen Yun’s representatives said in a recent statement. “But the vast majority of students will tell you this is their dream come true, and the parents rave about the positive changes in their children.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
