New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts was due to start the Asia leg of its 2010 world tour in Hong Kong last Wednesday. But after several members of their crew were denied visas, it was forced to cancel its seven sold-out shows.  

 

On Sunday, almost 1,000 protesters gathered in Hong Kong for a rally and parade. They shouted, “Protect Shen Yun, Protect Hong Kong.”

 

Hong Kong Legislative Council member Albert Ho Chun-yan said that although there has been a significant public outcry against the visa denials, there’s been a kind of media blackout in Hong Kong.

 

[Albert Ho Chun-Yan, Hong Kong Legislative Council Member]:

“They had already rented a place in Hong Kong and sold 7,000 tickets. This is a huge issue. In addition, the Hong Kong Government used really rough methods here; it's really substandard. There's no reason that newspapers shouldn't be on this story.”

 

Besides principal media sponsors of Shen Yun shows worldwide—NTD and The Epoch Times—only two other Hong Kong newspapers have reported on the show’s cancellation: the English-language South China Morning Post and the Chinese-language Apple Daily.

 

NTD’s correspondents in Hong Kong have also been encountering difficulties trying to report in Hong Kong.

 

At a Hong Kong Immigration Department press conference last Monday, there was tight security. While other media were gradually admitted, NTDTV and Epoch Times staff were stalled outside.

 

[Hong Kong Immigration Department Security]:

“They don’t welcome you in.”

 

[NTDTV reporter]:

“Hong Kong has the freedom of press.”

 

The NTDTV reporter was eventually granted entry after being stalled for 40 minutes. 

 

During the Q&A session, the reporter raised her hand several times, but was not selected to ask a question. She eventually called out, asking why the Shen Yun production staff were denied entry visas, but the Director of Immigration did not respond.

 

Representative for the Eastern District of Hong Kong Tsang Kin-shing says these events illustrate the Hong Kong government’s submission to China's communist regime.

 

[Tsang Kin-shing, Eastern District Council Member, Hong Kong]:

“Why, at the crucial moments, did they choose to block New Tang Dynasty from reporting? Actually, this Special Administrative Region is being totally manipulated by the mainland.”

 

In the UK, British MP Brian Jenkins commented on the events that have unfolded recently in Hong Kong.

 

[Brian Jenkins, British MP]:

“What is happening now is that the Hong Kong system is being brought down to the mainland system, rather than the mainland system being brought up to the Hong Kong level.”

 

Shen Yun Performing Arts will re-start its Asia tour later this month, starting in South Korea on February 23.