The Story Behind Shen Yun | Why We Traveled to Washington, D.C.

Let's go for it, Jesse. The capital looks amazing, actually. Wow. This entire video is just about Jisung explaining himself why he never watched The Unbroken documentary. Clap, clap, clap. Hey, welcome back, everybody. We have five musketeers. Today is a special episode because we're going to DC right now. And we're at a rest stop, but we're going for the screening of Unbroken. This is behind the scenes, so follow us for that. We'll get some food and we'll continue our journey later. Beautiful bus. Yeah. Cool. Just tell us a little bit about the bus ride so far. Extremely bumpy, but it's a comfortable seat, so it makes it better. Not much people on the bus, so more space. Okay. Three more hours to go. Let's get back on the bus. All right, let's go. Hey, good morning, guys. It's now 12.02. We've arrived at our hotel. How are you guys feeling? Waiting for a long nap. Long nap. So the screening will be tonight then? Yeah, tonight. All right, good night. Actually, good morning. Hi, good morning, everybody. So it's the morning of the day of the screening, and right now we're getting some breakfast at our hotel. And what did you guys get? Goat cheese. Yeah, goat cheese and tomato with scrambled egg with some toast. Nice. And it's gone. It's gone. Gone in the stomach now. I thought it was a lot of goat cheese, but it's just this much. Very little goat cheese, but it was okay. Kevin started stick croissant breakfast sandwich. I added some sausage. All right, so the reason we're actually in Washington, D.C. is because there's a screening of Unbroken tonight, the untold story of Shen Yun. That's why all of us Shen Yun artists are here. This movie is really important to us because you see all of the dancers, artists on stage all the time, but you don't see all that goes behind the scene. We were actually facing a lot of pressure from the Chinese Communist Party. Today, we're just here to participate in the event and talk to people and share our story. So we'll show you some behind the scenes. All right, guys, breakfast is done. It's time to go out and explore a little bit. Explore D.C. Let's go. Jisung needs to put on his sunscreen. It's a very Korean thing to do. I usually don't, but I need to take care of it now, from now on. I think Jisung's skin is the most tanned out of all of us. That's why I need to take care of it, you know? Guys, this is Capitol Hill. White House is down there. If you view it from the high up, it's like Lincoln Memorial, and then White House, Capitol Hill, and then Jefferson Monument, and then Washington Monument too. From the sky, the design is a cross. That's cool. So apparently this is where we'll be tonight when the movie is screening on Capitol Hill, which is monumental. It's so cool that we're here sharing our story, and there's gonna be a bunch of congressmen that are here because we're facing pressure from China and the Communist Party. Jared, you want to chime in on that? He got all so serious. He was like, Jared, you want to chime in on that? Like, we're just a performance company. We just do dance. But then our message is so crucial to the world today. We are trying to tell the world something that they're afraid the world will know about. I agree, I agree. Good words, good words. Have you seen the movie before? I'm broken. No? Playing on the bus. Cut, cut, cut. Never seen the movie. I'm shocked right now. No, I watched a bit, I watched a bit. I did watch him playing baseball. When the movie first released, we watched this on the bus, on tour, you know, while we're driving around. Are you filming this? Jisung's here to promote the movie today, but you've never watched it before. First viewing. Take this out, take this out. All right guys, right now we're in front of the Capitol, and we're gonna do some dancing stuff, so everyone's warming up a little bit. Jared. I'm not doing anything until Jisung does it. No, youngsters, youngsters. You're a young man, Jisung. Hold on, I'm 40. Are you even 30 years old yet? I'm 40. Jisung's 40, yeah. You can tell by his appearance. Jisung's doing splits on the stairs of the cabin. Warm up, warm up. Warm it up, warm it up. Jisung, how are you enjoying Washington, D.C. so far? The weather is nice, vibe is nice, and it's nicer than how I saw it online, website. All right, let's go get some drinks. We are thirsty, and it is very hot and humid here. All right guys, we're at our destination, Warka Coffee. Best country in the world. One and only. Go ahead. But you can't have- Everyone has matcha latte, other than me. What'd you get? I got a pour over and a yogurt. It's not here yet. I'm still waiting on it. Too much ice, too much ice. This is Jared's pour over parfait. Time to enjoy. All right, let us actually explain what's going on and why we're in D.C. today a little bit more in detail, because we've been just having fun and going around getting coffee. Today, we're here for the screening of Unbroken. I think it's important because it's kind of talking about like us as a company, an artist in America. There's a restriction on our artistic freedom right now. Why is that important, and why should people know about that? What a lot of people don't actually realize is Shen Yun is an American-based company, right? We're basically being threatened by the Chinese Communist Party because what we do in Shen Yun is we spread the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong. We spread values like faith and basically things that go against the very root of what the Chinese Communist Party stands for. And the fact that they are able to attack us this freely on American soil, I think is something that every American should take into account. And it's a threat to the fundamental American values and what makes us such a great nation. Another good question is what is Falun Gong and what's the relation to Shen Yun? I think we can ask Jisung and Jared that question. So Falun Dafa, or known as Falun Gong, is a spiritual practice that was introduced in China in 1992, and it quickly became widely popular. It's a spiritual practice, basically similar values from Buddhism, from Taoism. We just try to live by the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. And we have five sets of exercises that are beneficial for our health. Many of us here at Shen Yun have family members who have had either health problems, ailments that have miraculously disappeared because after they started doing the practice of Falun Dafa. Why are we persecuting? As I know, it is to see the members of a number of Chinese Communist Party. So at that time, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party was kind of felt like threatened, jealous, I don't know. So he decided to persecute the practitioners and ban that spiritual practice. It was a widely unpopular decision at that time, even within the Communist Party, because so many people in all facets of society were all practicing it. Falun Gong, it's really just like a set of moral guidelines to live your life. There's no social hierarchy. There's no fee that you have to pay, or there's like subscription. It's all up to like personal decision. No one's forcing you to stay or leave. The Chinese Communist Party has a whole propaganda campaign to smear Falun Gong. So that is actually really serious. It affects people here. Back to Jisung. Does Jisung have good words? Last chance. He's the last man. One chance, man. I mean, I agree. I agree. You guys are great. If there was a bomb threat to either school or students, it's gonna be a big news and everyone gonna talk about it. But now we've got so many bomb threats. I was like, oh, okay, this is another one again. But if I think about it carefully, it shouldn't be like that. And the people should actually pay attention and be aware about it. The documentary does a really, really good job of explaining like this entire thing is actually a very, very systematic way. The Chinese Communist Party is using information warfare to try to take us down. Like a lie told a hundred times becomes the truth. And then it really strengthens my resolve to just fight on no matter what happens. It's over. Yes, we're actually tied. Oh wait, Pat, Pat, Pat. We're missing somebody. We're waiting for Jisung. Welcome, Jisung. Forgot the boss. Jisung made it. I'm sorry, I forgot the boss. We almost left without you. We almost started driving. We have arrived. I don't look as disheveled, right? You look good. Today, we're at the Capitol and we're getting ready for the screening now. Let's go. The Capitol looks amazing, actually. Brandon, beautiful. On our way in. Excitement. This is where the documentary will be screened tonight. And the panel will happen here as well. Now we're inside the Capitol building, which is pretty cool. So cool. So this is the congressional, like one of the auditoriums. I don't know how free we are to explore around here because we had to go through like extensive security to get in here. But this room will be filled with lawmakers, congressmen. I heard there's a full house today. Is that right? Full house? Full house today, guys. Wow. Full house. That's where everyone else is. Must be pretty nervous. Jiayou. I'd be so nervous if I was there. Last time I wasn't nervous, but that's like in Hollywood. This is a different vibe. So right now, I've discovered where everyone was hiding. They were like upstairs on the second floor. That's Lucas's voice. There's five people on the panel tonight. Rachel, Angela, Jesse, Lishai, Lucas, Steve as well, but not from Shenzhen's artist side. My flexibility is not quite what it used to be. So my quick question is, are you guys ready for the panel? I'm ready for coffee. Coffee. Then we'll talk. Actually, while you're filming, can you get me some coffee, please? There's two G-signs that look like you have nothing to do over there. But Lishai, you can't bring drinks in here. No. Yeah, no coffee. You can make them here though. You can make it here, maybe. I'm contemplating whether I'm more excited to be part of the screening or more excited to be manning the Three Musketeers camera right now. Whoa. If it wasn't this kind of event, I'd never get a chance to come. Yeah. I'm not honored. I am honored. For me, watching stuff in different languages is pretty hard. So I was waiting for the career as a title. This entire video is just about Jisung explaining himself why he never watched the Unbroken documentary. No, I didn't make up the reason, okay? I just remember why I didn't watch it. Stay awake tonight, Jisung. No, definitely. So I gotta remember everything. I already kind of watched a bit. Not the whole thing. We should quiz him after the movie. See if he tells the truth. Let me see if he actually stays awake. Okay. So cool. Peppered orange and milk salad. Roast beef sandwiches. Chicken Caesar wrap. Some more wraps. Some more sandwiches. Oh, that's the sweet stuff. Wow. They even got these posters. Yeah, pretty cool. Unbroken posters all over the Congressional Auditorium. Nice decoration. They should probably just keep these decorations here. Jisung. I feel honored. Don't mess it up, don't mess it up. They got the stars. Lucas. We need to continue to fight for religious freedom, free speech, and that's why I feel that this showing is such an important story to be told here in the United States. It's also this year's Chinese 20th anniversary. This year is also America's 250th anniversary. I think just being part of something, getting the torch passed down to you, sometimes when you're born into something, your mission is to uphold it. No matter what it gets faced with, like all the attacks from the CCP that China's facing, or all the overseas attacks that America's facing, it's can each generation, each generation, each generation, withhold that and fight for it. Unbroken isn't a documentary, it's a principle that I think everyone should take into heart and always fight for what's right. So good job on the panel. I think that was really awesome. On Capitol Hill, that was so special to be here. And you did really great. Thank you so much. It's crazy. I'm like, oh, oh. You guys dreaming? No, you guys don't look nervous at all. Oh, really? This time I watched it, it was so good, and I kind of regret. As a part of the show, you remember, I think I should have watched it earlier. Yeah, you should have. So that I have more understanding of this, so I can speak with other people in a better words. Yeah, I learned a lesson. Don't regret, do it earlier. Good lesson. It was a great event, and definitely check out Unbroken if you have not seen it before. I think it's definitely worth checking out. Yeah, definitely worth to watch. Don't be like me. Even Jisung watched it. What do you mean even? At the end, it was pretty touching. Oh yeah, even though I know the story, especially when they mentioned about the artists that their family members have persecuted and stuff. I actually, like, about to cry a little bit. And I felt like, oh gosh, you know, I'm a part of the show, and I should be, you know, be, ah, whatever. One day, we'll be able to perform back in China. That's the dream. Yeah, definitely. We'll keep going. One day, the whole world will know what we're doing. And they're gonna raise their voice for us, I believe. Yeah, but it's such an important night for us to be on Capitol Hill. Thank you, Congressman Stutzman for sponsoring the event, and really appreciate you. And it's the first step, but I think it'll get better. And the people who are watching this video, thank you for supporting us. Thank you for supporting us. And we'll see you guys next time. Good night. Good night for now. Bye. I feel great. Oh my goodness. I teared up, it was great. Yeah, and then the, you know, the panel session was, like, amazing, especially the Lucas. So we're gonna give William here, William, and Jisung, and Sam. Sam, I'm Sam. What's up? Why you guys look so much taller? Come on, both of them are supposed to be shorter than me.