Inside Shen Yun and the Epoch Times, with NYT's Nicole Hong and Michael Rothfeld

This week on Sinica, I speak with Nicole Hong and Michael Rothfeld, both investigative reporters at the New York Times, about a series of stories they've done, stretching between August and December 2024, on the Falun Gong-run performance troupe Shen Yun, and the Falun Gong-affiliated newspaper The Epoch Times. Read the latest two articles in that series here and here. There will be links to the other stories on the transcript page.

4:33 – Nicole and Michael's collection of pieces on Falun Gong 

6:26 – Background on [the?] Falun Gong: Li Hongzhi, the context out of which the movement emerged, its international spread, and the CCP’s crackdown in the '90s

12:00 – Shen Yun performances, and audience reactions 

18:46 – Following the money: Falun Gong’s dramatic financial growth, gray areas, and where the money goes 

29:03 – Spiritual project or big grift?

31:39 – What Nicole and Michael uncovered 

36:23 – Memorable individuals: Chang Chun-ko, Kate the performer, and Josh the violinist

41:10 – The dynamics within [the?] Falun Gong, and what has been alleged

45:34 – The Epoch Times, and their editorial changes 

53:02 – The appeal of Falun Gong, and the level of scrutiny it gets

Paying It Forward:

Nicole: Researchers/freelancers/translators Yi Liu and Peiyue Wu 

Michael: New York Times colleague Susan Beachy 

Recommendations:

Nicole: Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung 

Michael: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel; One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (and the new One Hundred Years of Solitude TV series (2024)); and the TV series Gomorrah (2014-2021)

Kaiser: TikTok accounts workplace_doodles (a former Shen Yun performer born into a Falun Gong family) and cocolarkincooks (a fantastic cooking resource)

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