Award-winning journalist. Producer and host of Zooming In, an in-depth report program on current affairs.
Washington, DC
Joined June 2011
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I think this NYSDOL record deserves the attention of lawmakers who have publicly supported #ShenYun. @RepStutzman @RepScottPerry @RepPatRyanNY @RepYoungKim @tedcruz @marcorubio
Shen Yun says a New York State labor investigation cleared it of wrongdoing. The state's actual order says Shen Yun was found in violation of New York labor law — including failing to keep and turn over the legally required records for a child performer.
Both documents are below. Judge for yourself.
Shen Yun's article is headlined "NY State Labor Department Finds No Shen Yun Wage Violations or Mistreatment of Performers." It tells readers that after a nearly two-year investigation, NYSDOL found no violation of any law governing the treatment of child performers, working conditions, or compensation — and that the allegations against Shen Yun were "baseless."
shenyun.org/news/view/articl…
I requested the underlying record from the Department of Labor. Here is what the agency actually issued: an Order to Comply, dated April 8, 2026, signed by Maura McCann, Director of the Division of Labor Standards. Its opening line states that the Order is "the result of an investigation conducted by the New York State Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards," and that Shen Yun Performing Arts, Inc. "w[as] found in violation of the New York State Labor Law." It assesses $4,000 in civil penalties.
The first finding deserves the most attention. The Order states that Shen Yun, as an employer "who employed a child performer," failed to maintain and preserve all records required by law regarding that employment, and failed to provide those records to the Department — for the period from on or about November 1, 2021 through March 17, 2025.
Four more findings follow, all covering the same period. Shen Yun failed to give employees written notice of their rate of pay and regular payday at hiring. It failed to provide wage statements showing gross wages, deductions, and net wages. It failed to establish, maintain, and preserve payroll records showing hours worked and wages. And it failed to keep or furnish for inspection true and accurate records of daily and weekly hours worked, wages, deductions, and allowances.
So the investigation did find violations. And these are not incidental to the questions that have been raised about Shen Yun. They concern precisely the records that would show how performers — including a child performer — were scheduled, worked, and paid.
Two things follow that Shen Yun's article does not tell its readers.
First, the Order contains no finding — none — that any allegation about treatment, working conditions, or compensation was investigated and determined to be untrue. It makes no determination on those questions at all. "The agency reached no finding" is not the same statement as "the agency found the answer to be no." Shen Yun's article presents the second. The document supports only the first, while affirmatively finding that the organization broke the law.
Second, NYSDOL's labor standards enforcement is complaint-driven. The agency evaluates what is brought to it. An investigation that produces no findings on a subject is not proof the subject was examined and cleared; it may simply mean no one has filed. That distinction matters for any workforce. It matters more for a workforce of young performers who live, train, and travel inside a closed institution, and who may have no idea a state agency is available to them at all.
Which brings me to the part of this that I think matters most.
Asked about the Shen Yun investigation, the Department of Labor's on-the-record statement led — first line, before anything else — with this:
"The New York State Department of Labor encourages workers who believe their rights were violated to file a complaint so their concerns can be evaluated."
Sit with that. Asked about Shen Yun specifically, the first thing the state chose to put on the record was an invitation to workers to come forward. That is not how an agency talks about a matter it considers closed and clean. It is a message aimed at people who may still be inside.
An employer that failed to keep, and failed to hand over, the very records that would document child-performer employment is in no position to cite the absence of further findings as proof that nothing happened. The missing records are the finding.
I haven't posted here for a long time. I'm posting this because a public claim and a government record are this far apart, and people — including public officials who have lent their names to this organization — are making judgments based on the wrong one.
I'm attaching the Order in full — every page, unedited — so reporters, lawmakers, and Shen Yun's public supporters can read the government's own document and compare it against what Shen Yun told the public. Don't take my characterization of it. Read it.
And if you performed for Shen Yun, or someone you love did: the Department of Labor has said, in its own words and as the first thing it had to say about this, that it wants to hear from you.
dol.ny.gov/labor-standards-c…
Merry Christmas, everyone! I’m doing very well—just taking a break from reporting and enjoying life. Wishing you all a peaceful and happy New Year.
Interviewed by Tom Del Beccaro @tomdelbeccaro from Politics and Perspectives.
Watch here: 🔴youtu.be/5h56Uxdi4nI?si=Z2VJ…
What Xi Jinping Fears Most About the Tariffs Isn’t What You Think
My latest in The Hill: Taiwan or the economy: Trump’s tariffs and Xi’s great dilemma
thehill.com/opinion/internat…
Check out this new episode of mine:
Trump's Tariffs Could Put Xi Jinping into His Greatest Dilemma: Taiwan o... youtu.be/fB29HnJW3wc?si=_LY7…
My new episode:
The Epoch Times Twists Partial Truths into a Massive Lie: Was X Used or a Willing Partner?
@elonmusk @RogerJStoneJr @GenFlynn @robert_spalding @tedcruz @SecRubio @JimShannonMP @benKeath @DanJarvisMBE @frankgaffney @Lancegooden
@CawthornforNC
A large number of former Falun Gong practitioners' accounts on X have been suspended. Evidence suggests that The Epoch Times mislabeled and reported them to X as CCP agents.
Watch here:
Falun Gong's real relationship with the CCP needs to be investigated, particularly whether Falun Gong has compromised practitioners' safety and security—for example, by sending their personal information to Beijing in an effort to gain favor with Xi Jinping. The Falun Gong media has published multiple special editorials to praise Xi during his first and second term.
The Epoch Times Special Editorial: Xi Jinping’s Promotion of Religious Freedom Is in Accord with Heaven’s Will ntdtv.com/gb/2016/05/01/a126…
The Epoch Times Special Editorial: Abandoning the CCP: Xi Jinping Could Secure a Place in History epochtimes.com/gb/15/10/13/n…
The Epoch Times Special Editorial: Xi Jinping is different from other CCP leaders in trying to save the nation from crisis hk.epochtimes.com/news/2015-…
Whistleblowers of Shen Yun and Falun Gong Respond to Falun Gong's Accusations: We Are Not CCP Agents
youtu.be/Hm829N9aPOY
My new episode:
The Epoch Times Twists Partial Truths into a Massive Lie: Was X Used or a Willing Partner?
Massive amount of former Falun Gong practitioners' accounts on X got suspended. Evidence points to The Epoch Times mislabeling and reporting them to X as CCP agents.
Watch here: 🔴youtu.be/zExxFN4oFEQ
Xi Jinping Is Ready to Move on Taiwan—But Here's Why He Won’t Just Yet
🔴youtu.be/rzcxq_m9Qv0?si=-mIP…
Watch this important in-depth report of mine on how hard China is expanding their businesses overseas.
Beyond Influence: Xi Jinping's Pursuit of Power and Control in America youtu.be/eZC9PZ45jGs?si=j4ww… via @YouTube
I will publish a new episode of Zoomingin with Simone Gao tonight at 7pm est. Stay tuned.
🟠youtu.be/8T-lBrgCgLs
😉Brilliant but not Revolutionary, China’s Innovation Model Will Not Dominate AI
😓China is still far away from producing its own chips for AI development;
🥴AGI and ASI Are on the Horizon, the US will lead the next phase of AI invention of existential importance to humanity;
🧐Why is it possible for AI to develop self-awareness?
🙏Can an AI model not emulate the binary opposition mechanism of human thought?
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My latest in The Hill @thehill : TikTok fight sets the tone for US-China relations under Trump 2.0
thehill.com/opinion/technolo…
The video version of it is here: youtu.be/FJsnhPiFCaQ?si=qchL…
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My new show:
TikTok Saga Set the Stage for U.S.-China Relations for Trump's Second youtu.be/FJsnhPiFCaQ?si=FD58…
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Whistleblowers of Shen Yun and Falun Gong Respond to Falun Gong's Accusations: We Are Not CCP Agents.
Watch Here:
🔴youtu.be/7LnJOFkFZ0A?si=dpav…
Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban? Chinese people don't buy it.
Today, the Supreme Court signaled it might uphold a law that bans TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell it by January 19th. The justices heard arguments in Washington, and here’s the big takeaway: national security concerns seem to be taking priority over free speech for content creators and companies.
Some justices argue that this law isn’t targeting free speech—it’s targeting ByteDance, the company behind TikTok. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said this: China could use that information over time to develop spies, to turn people, to blackmail people, people who, a generation from now, will be working in the FBI or the CIA or in the State Department. And that seems like a huge concern for the future of this country.
What adds to the drama is that Trump, who famously wanted to ban TikTok during his presidency, has now made a 180-degree turn.
Trump now has 14.7 million fans on TikTok and has called for holding off the ban until he’s back in office. He says his 'consummate dealmaking experience' could save TikTok while addressing security concerns.
And there’s more. The Chinese government hasn’t officially said whether they’d allow TikTok to be sold to a U.S. company—though in the past, they’ve said no. Meanwhile, TikTok-related businesses are booming, especially in cities with large Chinese communities in the U.S.
Malik, a Chinese TikTok influencer who has over 1.4 million followers, is urging his audience to double down on TikTok as a business tool. He said: TikTok will not be banned in the U.S.! Now is the time to go all-in on TikTok livestream sales.
This reflects a bigger picture—China’s full determination to enter the international market, especially the US market to counter its economic challenges.