MPs React to Prime Minister’s Evacuation Due to Bomb Threat Linked to Shen Yun

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Politicians have spoken after law enforcement were forced to evacuate Prime Minister Anthony Albanese from his official Canberra residence on Feb. 24 amid violent bomb threats.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said they were “very troubling circumstances,” echoing past comments by Albanese that Australia needed to “take the temperature down.”

“We’ve seen in other countries there is political violence and threats against politicians, but here in Australia, we’re lucky able to get around and mix with the community and operate safely,” she told the ABC the day after.

The evacuation was triggered by a Chinese-language email that had been sent to local organisers for the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, which warned that “large quantities of nitro-glycerine explosives” had been placed at The Lodge in Deakin.

“If you insist on proceeding with the performance, then the prime minister’s Lodge will be blown into ruins and blood will flow like a river,” the threatening email read.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) were notified of the threat on Feb. 24 and acted on the same day.

The threat was similar to those directed at leaders of the UK, South Korea and Denmark when Shen Yun toured.

Shen Yun is a New York-based performing arts company which seeks to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation and was founded by artists fleeing the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, a peaceful meditation practice.

The incident saw Albanese leave the residence for several hours as police conducted a search, before he was given the all-clear to return.

Gallagher said “this is just another reminder that there are threats out there and where there are threats, the police will take them seriously.”

Gallagher remarked on a series of recent arrests made on individuals threatening MPs.

“I can say that certainly, in my time in politics, I haven’t experienced some of the turbulence and some of the push against politicians at the moment,” she said.

“I think certainly the online world is alive and flourishing.

“This happens not just to government members, it’s across the parliament, where some politicians are subjected to just unbelievable threats against their safety.”

Prime Minister Albanese wrote a simple comment on Instagram a day after accompanied by a photo of his dog, Toto.

“Toto on alert but all good,” he wrote. “Thanks to AFP for your ongoing work and professionalism and to people who sent kind messages of care and support.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said he was pleased to hear Albanese was safe and well.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said she was shocked to hear about Albanese’s evacuation.

“I feel for the prime minister and his family to have to go through that it’s not a nice feeling, I know because I’ve been there myself, especially in ‘97, ’98, I had threats against my life, and I had federal police protection with me 24/7 for 18 months,” she said.

“My children had to be evacuated from school one time it was a threat against them.”

The Epoch Times contacted the AFP, who said they had no plans to make a statement on Feb. 25.

The Falun Dafa Information Center, which has been tracking the campaign, has counted more than 130 death and bomb threats made against Shen Yun since March 2024. Dozens more violent threats have targeted U.S. officials and institutions that support Falun Gong, according to the center.

Most of the emails are in Chinese, with the senders claiming, falsely, that they would stage acts of violence should the performances go ahead. In February 2025, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, now named the Trump Kennedy Center, was evacuated due to a bomb threat targeting Shen Yun.