The Baeckryung Art Center apologized for the cancellation, saying it was not acting on its own volition: ‘The Ministry of Education insisted.’
A South Korean court has ruled to allow Shen Yun Performing Arts to continue its planned performances despite Beijing’s disruption efforts, handing a win to a group that has, for years, been a target of the Chinese regime’s global repression efforts.
The hosting venue, Kangwon National University, greenlit the New York-based classical Chinese dance company’s application to perform at its Baeckryung Art Center on April 1, only to walk back the agreement after the Chinese Embassy voiced a complaint.
The university stated that its decision to cancel the show had to do with the public interests of the school. As the university is a national institution under the country’s Ministry of Education, it is in a position to “directly and indirectly represent the official position of the Republic of Korea,” which makes the matter a “diplomatic issue,” a university letter obtained by The Epoch Times reads.
The center further stated that it made the decision out of public interest concerns, citing the roughly 500 Chinese nationals studying at the center who it claimed could stage protests, potentially leading to clashes, should the performance go on as scheduled.
The Chuncheon District Court on April 30 sided with the show presenter, describing the university’s contract cancellation as an “abuse of discretionary power.”
Shen Yun, the court noted, has heldshows in South Korea since 2007, holding two successful runs at Baeckryung Art Center in 2017 without any incidents.
With no solid evidence backing its claims, the school’s stated concerns about potential clashes are vague and difficult to justify, the court said in the judgment, calling the decision “illegal.”
It further noted that the cancellation happened just 20 days ahead of the scheduled performances on May 6 and May 7, with nearly two-thirds of the tickets sold. Calling off the performance at that point would have made it hard for the show organizers to recover their financial and reputational damage, the judge said.
By Eva Fu
