<figure id="attachment_3292179" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3292179" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3292179" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/0a54bfa1-falun-gong-epa-27_02_26.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3292179" class="wp-caption-text">Founded in 1992, Falun Gong also known as Falun Dafa claims nearly 100 million followers across the world and is banned in China.  (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
SYDNEY: A security scare at the Australian prime minister&#8217;s residence this week was sparked by a bomb threat against an anti-Beijing Chinese dance troupe, the act&#8217;s hosts said Friday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was forced to evacuate his official residence in Canberra, The Lodge, on Tuesday over an unspecified &#8220;alleged security incident&#8221;.
Police said at the time that they found nothing suspicious in their search and declared there was no threat to the public, without saying what sparked the incident.
&#8220;We made the report to the national security agencies, including police,&#8221; Lucy Zhao, president of the Falun Dafa Association of Australia and host to the Shen Yun dance group, told AFP.
&#8220;We have to take it seriously.&#8221;
An email threat was sent two days earlier seeking to stop a performance in Australia by the New York-based dance group which is linked to the Falun Gong spiritual movement, also known as Falun Dafa.
A copy of the Chinese-language email provided to AFP said &#8220;large quantities of nitroglycerin explosives&#8221; had been placed in the prime minister&#8217;s residence.
&#8220;If the Shen Yun performance proceeds anyway, the prime minister&#8217;s residence will be blown into bloody ruins,&#8221; the email warned.
Zhao accused China&#8217;s Communist Party of seeking to stop performances by Shen Yun internationally, including by sending threats.
China banned Falun Gong, which it calls an &#8220;evil cult&#8221;, in 1999 after 10,000 members peacefully demonstrated outside a government building in Beijing.
In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters this week that it was not aware of the facts behind the security incident.
&#8220;China has always opposed various acts of violence,&#8221; the spokesperson said.
&#8220;It must be pointed out that the so-called Shen Yun performances are not any kind of normal cultural activity, but is a political tool used by the Falun Gong organisation to spread cult information and accumulate wealth.&#8221;
Founded in 1992, Falun Gong claims nearly 100 million followers and has been subject to &#8220;persistent persecution&#8221; in China, according to a January 2024 European Parliament resolution.
Despite being banned in China, it has found a global audience with Shen Yun performances around the world generating revenues of US$46 million in 2022 alone, according to the ProPublica investigative news site.

MatchPoint Times

Emails to Chinese dancers allegedly threatened Australian PM

An email threat targeted a dance performance at the Australian prime minister’s residence by a group linked to the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

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