The Dangers of Being Shen Yun: an interview with Leeshai Lemish

Behind the beauty of Shen Yun, is a much darker story of political intrigue, sabotage and sleeper cells being activated worldwide. Master of Ceremonies Leeshai Lemish, shares his journey of becoming a student of Chinese History, the language and eventual activism as a practitioner of Falun Gong, a form of meditation and movement that has its roots in Buddhism. When Leeshai and a group of Falun Gong (a.k.a. Falun Dafa), practitioners went to Tienanmen Square to meditate and show solidarity for the incidents of 1989, it wasn't long before the police showed up, arrested them and put them in prison. Beaten and starved, their pictures were circulated throughout China as an example to not speak out against the government. From that moment on, Leeshai became an activist. He joined Shen Yun Performing Arts as an MC when the company was founded in 2006. This is a powerful episode on Awakened Nation as Leeshai tells the story of the (insert that which shall not be named), attempting to stop their performances— from activating sleeper cells cutting their tires in a way that would have killed every troupe member on the bus, to bomb threats, law-fare, and even getting the New York Times involved in attacking Shen Yun with propaganda. This is an eyeopening episode into espionage, and the unbridled power the performing arts has to fight the iron glove of Communism. © Copyright permission granted to Awakened Nation through Leeshai Lemish and Shen Yun, their PR Agency and limited usage for promotional purposes only. ABOUT LEESHAI LEMISH OF SHEN YUN: Leeshai Lemish has been with Shen Yun for 18 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Chinese history and language from Pomona College, California, and his master’s in International Relations from the London School of Economics. He has spent extended periods studying, working, and conducting research throughout East Asia, and has authored articles on Chinese current affairs in both English and Chinese. He joined Shen Yun Performing Arts as an MC when the company was founded in 2006, and has since emceed close to two thousand performances with the company, taking the stage with Shen Yun at prestigious theaters such as Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, the London Coliseum, Tokyo Opera City, and many others worldwide. In addition to his performance role, he has tracked and documented on his website over 100 cases of the Chinese Communist Party and its agents trying to sabotage Shen Yun internationally. Leeshai has testified on transnational repression in front of Congress, has been a featured guest on television and radio shows around the world, and is the host of the podcast Shen Yun Voices. Websites: https://www.shenyun.com/ https://www.shenyunperformingarts.org/ HOST OF AWAKENED NATION: Brad Szollose