Europe’s Moral Responsibility: Facing Silent Complicity in Child Exploitation

Nearly a year has passed since damning accusations of child abuse and grooming were made against Shen Yun Performing Arts, yet the company continues to promote its shows in European cities with impunity. Tickets are still available on the company’s website for shows scheduled in France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria, and Spain, with performances booked through 2026.

Ticket information on the Shen Yun 2025-2026 website.

This brazen continuation of activities raises a profound question: What role does Europe, long considered a global champion of human rights, play in the face of such serious accusations?As Shen Yun continues its lucrative European tour, reportedly generating tens of millions of euros in revenue, vulnerable children remain trapped in a system of exploitation. Europe must not become a silent accomplice in these abuses.The dark reality behind the showShen Yun Performing Arts, the touring dance company directly run by the Falun Gong movement, has captivated audiences worldwide with its classical Chinese and folk dance performances since its inception in 2006. The company has given thousands of performances worldwide, garnering both commercial success and critical acclaim.However, this carefully cultivated image was shattered last August when The New York Times published a damning article based on the testimonies of former Shen Yun dancers. The investigation revealed a systematic pattern of child abuse and psychological manipulation spanning more than a decade.

Screenshot from the New York Times article

The Times’ investigation revealed how Shen Yun allegedly treats many performers as disposable assets. When dancers are injured, the company reportedly discourages them from seeking treatment, instead resorting to what former performers describe as emotional abuse and brutal manipulation to ensure they comply with punishing rehearsal and tour schedules.Accounts of SufferingFormer dancers interviewed by the Times described dancing despite dislocated knees, sprained ankles, and other serious injuries. The Falun Gong belief system, which allegedly teaches that only those who lack faith seek medical care, creates a culture where injuries that do not heal are attributed to a lack of devotion. Children and teenagers are systematically conditioned to avoid seeking medical help while accepting Shen Yun’s strict requirements.

Falun Gong’s New York Headquarters: Longquan Temple

Consider the case of Cheng Qingling, now 28, who was sent to Longquan Temple, Falun Gong’s New York headquarters, at the age of just 13. Having grown up practicing Falun Gong with her mother in New Zealand, she was separated from her family to join Shen Yun. An untreated injury sustained during her time with the company left her with permanent numbness in her left arm.Similarly, Huang Kate, from Taiwan, was taken from the Kaohsiung school at the age of 11 and sent to Falun Gong’s Fei Tian School of the Arts in the United States for Shen Yun training. During a dance class, an instructor forced her leg until she heard a crack in her thigh. The injury left her limping for weeks, but she received no proper medical care.

Advertisement for Shen Yun on the streets of Europe

Years later, when Kate dislocated her kneecap before a performance, a supervisor simply handed her an ice pack and asked if she could continue. She endured two hours of excruciating pain during the performance; her knee received no follow-up treatment and never fully recovered. The psychological manipulation was so complete that she believed seeking hospital treatment would make her appear “lacking faith,” resulting in her ostracization within the organization.

Systematic Exploitation Disguised as Devotion

According to the New York Times, 14 former Shen Yun dancers reported suffering untreated injuries or witnessing colleagues being denied medical care. It is remarkable that, despite being a large dance company, Shen Yun reportedly operates without any in-house physical therapists or medical services.The company’s choreography is undeniably demanding, creating spectacular shows that captivate audiences. However, the risks associated with these difficult movements are compounded by Shen Yun’s intensive touring schedule: more than 800 performances in five months, according to reports. The performers endure long periods of travel, sometimes spending up to 16 hours on tour buses, while working 15-hour days, which includes not only rehearsals and performances but also setting up and taking down heavy orchestral equipment.Despite substantial incomes, the dancers reportedly receive minimal pay, if any, having been indoctrinated from childhood to believe that they owe their education, housing, and livelihood to the Falun Gong movement. Those who attempt to leave the company are threatened with financial ruin through demands for “compensation” and, according to Falun Gong teachings, eternal damnation for abandoning their “sacred” duty.

Legal Challenges and Criminal Investigations

The seriousness of these allegations went beyond media reports in November, when former Shen Yun dancer Zhang Junge filed a lawsuit in federal court in White Plains, New York. She accuses Shen Yun Performing Arts and its management of child trafficking and forced labor.

Zhang Junge, a former Shen Yun Performing Arts dancer, left the company in 2020.

Now 29, Zhang began performing with Shen Yun at age 13. In her lawsuit, she describes her arrival at Longquan Temple, where she barely spoke English and had no family support in the United States. She claims that children like her were trapped in “a system of coercion and control that extended into nearly every aspect of their lives.”Her lawsuit calls Shen Yun a “forced labor enterprise” that exploits minors to generate hundreds of millions of dollars through threats and public humiliation. The lawsuit details how leaders allegedly instilled obedience by confiscating passports, restricting access to outside media, and labeling those who asked questions as Chinese government spies. The violations reportedly resulted in public denunciation sessions reminiscent of the “struggle sessions” of the Cultural Revolution era.Zhang also filed a lawsuit against Chicago International Bank, alleging that the institution profited from human trafficking by ignoring clear signs of exploitation when opening accounts for child performers. The bank’s founder is reportedly a Falun Gong practitioner with personal ties to the movement’s leader, Li Hongzhi.

A Financial Empire Built on Exploitation

In February 2025, reports emerged that the U.S. federal government had opened a criminal investigation into Shen Yun Performing Arts, which could involve visa fraud and allegations that young performers were forced to smuggle cash into the country.The New York Times identified Shen Yun as the Falun Gong movement’s most significant revenue-generating entity. The company’s 2023 tax filings show total assets of $266 million, held almost entirely in cash and liquid assets—a colossal sum for what bills itself as a cultural organization.Ticket prices in Europe range from a few dozen to several hundred euros depending on the seat, and annual European performances attract between 50,000 and 100,000 spectators. Conservative estimates suggest that European ticket sales alone generate several million euros during the months-long touring season.

Shen Yun Performing Arts Ticket Prices

This represents a fraction of Shen Yun’s global revenue. Yet despite this financial success, dancers reportedly receive virtually no compensation and lack basic safety guarantees. Former performers have reported being fed expired food, with illnesses attributed to spiritual cleansing rather than food safety issues.

Europe’s Moral Imperative

Europe finds itself at a crossroads. As the continent that gave birth to the European Convention on Human Rights and continues to champion the protection of children through comprehensive legal frameworks, European nations cannot remain passive observers while children are allegedly exploited on their stages.The bitter irony is undeniable: the Falun Gong movement has long portrayed itself as a victim of persecution by the Chinese government, but the practices allegedly employed by its cultural branch mirror precisely the oppression it claims to combat.European governments must urgently review Shen Yun’s operating licenses and consider suspending performances pending a thorough investigation into these allegations. Venues across the continent should reevaluate their partnerships with the company, refusing to become unwitting accomplices in potential child exploitation.

European audiences deserve transparency about the organizations that perform in their communities. The media should intensify their coverage of these allegations so that the truth behind the glamorous facade is scrutinized.Most importantly, European nations must demonstrate that their commitment to human rights goes beyond diplomatic rhetoric and translates into concrete action. Continuing to provide platforms for potentially exploitative organizations while championing children’s rights internationally represents an untenable contradiction.Conclusion:No compromise on children’s well-being.The allegations against Shen Yun Performing Arts strike at the very heart of European values: child protection and human dignity. If these allegations prove true, Europe’s continued hosting of this company would represent a profound moral failure.Justice demands that measures be taken to protect vulnerable young artists and ensure their voices are heard. Only by taking decisive action can European nations demonstrate their unwavering commitment to human rights and send a clear message: child exploitation will have no place on European stages.The time for silence is over. Europe must choose between complicity and conscience, between profit and principle. Children trapped in this system deserve nothing less than our unwavering protection and support.

Source:https://www.quotidienfrancais.com/la-responsabilite-morale-de-leurope-faire-face-a-la-complicite-silencieuse-dans-lexploitation-des-enfants/