Violent Threats Made Against Australian PM in Attempt to Shut Down Major Cultural Performance
Udumbara
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Organisers of a touring cultural performance have received extraordinary threats implicating Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and officials.
The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, which seeks to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation, will begin its Australian tour in just a few days.
The group was founded by artists fleeing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s persecution of spiritual practice Falun Gong, and over the last few months, has been subject to repeated anonymous and Chinese consulate-backed threats.
In an email on Feb. 10, local organisers were sent a Chinese-language—albeit, poorly-worded—message that reads: “If Shen Yun performance goes ahead something will happen to Anthony Albanese.” The email body threatens the “personal safety of Anthony Albanese and all other Australian high officials” if the shows go ahead.
“It doesn’t matter as long as you can afford the cost. I won’t try to talk you out of it anymore. Just don’t regret it later.”
The second email, sent on Feb. 22, was titled: “Suggest to stop Shen Yun.”
The translation reads: “Large quantities of nitroglycerin explosives have been placed in the Australian Prime Minister’s Lodge located at Adelaide Avenue in the Deakin area of Canberra, Australia.
“If you insist on proceeding the performance, then the Prime Minister’s Lodge will be blown into ruins where blood flows like a river.”
The sender of the second email was supposedly from “Chen Pokong,” a U.S.-based columnist, political commentator, and YouTuber.
Chen played a key role in the pro-democracy movement in China during 1989, for which he was imprisoned and subsequently exiled to the United States. The Epoch Times has contacted Chen for a response.
The latest email messages follow a Jan. 2 statement by the Chinese consulate in Sydney and Melbourne urging Australians not to watch Shen Yun.
The consulate echoed CCP propaganda claiming Falun Gong is a “cult” and that Australians had been “misled” on what traditional Chinese culture is, calling on locals to contact the consulate for assistance.
The mission also called on “friends from all sectors” to remain “vigilant” and to “stay away from the ‘Shen Yun’ performance so as to avoid being misled or deceived.”
That message followed two bomb threats in November targeting a documentary screening that exposes the CCP’s organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Since 1999, Falun Gong has been persecuted by the CCP and has resulted in the arbitrary detention, torture, organ harvesting, and death of thousands of adherents.
Meanwhile, Shen Yun has received over 160 death and bomb threats around the world, most of which are emailed to theatres. Another 70 threats have targeted Falun Gong, according to the Falun Dafa Information Centre.
In response to the latest emails, One Nation federal MP Barnaby Joyce said it was “totally unacceptable in Australia to intimidate someone who is practicing their religion, in a form that is no threat to Australian culture, and does not intrude on the rights of others.”
“We live in an Australian culture. Australian culture has guardrails as to how you act ... it supports freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of movement, it believes in the centrality of the family ... and patriotism to Australia,” he told The Epoch Times.
The Epoch Times has contacted Prime Minister Albanese’s Office, the Leader of the Opposition Angus Taylor, and the Australian Federal Police for comment.
Shen Yun’s 2026 Australian tour will perform in Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide from Feb. 25 to March 29. It has been widely welcomed in Australian cities for many years, earning praise from figures like Village Roadshow Studios President Lynne Benzie and billionaire Imelda Roche.
Former AFP Agent Says Threats Could Come From Overseas
Former Australian Federal Police agent Paul Johnstone said the latest emails could have come from overseas.“The use of the word ‘Australia’ in this context appears unusually formal and somewhat inconsistent with typical Australian correspondence, where such wording would rarely be used. This linguistic irregularity may warrant closer examination as a potential indicator of external authorship,” he told The Epoch Times.
Johnstone, who has trained police and security personnel across Asia, said the threatening nature of the message suggested alignment with propaganda channels or elements linked to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) or the Ministry of State Security (MSS).
“Beijing does not regard Shen Yun as merely a cultural organisation, but as a platform that highlights human rights abuses and challenges the authority of the Chinese regime,” he said.
“Chinese diplomatic missions overseas, including in Australia, have reportedly sought to discourage or prevent Shen Yun performances through formal correspondence, engagement with venues and sponsors, and behind-the-scenes pressure on officials.”
The Epoch Times is a media sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts.
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