(Minghui.org) Around 4 a.m. on February 22, 2013, Dan, a volunteer working to support the Shen Yun performance in Texas noticed an 18-wheel semi approaching the bus used for transporting Shen Yun artists. A tall African-American driver got out, opened the bus's gas tank and tried to stick a hose into the tank. When Dan asked what he was doing, the man replied that he was doing maintenance. But it looked more like he was trying to put something into the tank.
Another volunteer called 911 as soon as he got there. Then the driver immediately pulled out the hose, jumped into the truck, and drove away. Dan stood in front the truck to stop the person from escaping, but the driver sped up. Dan jumped to the side and quickly got into his car to chase the truck. There were no license plates on the truck. It raced down the street, running red lights and nearly causing several serious accidents. In the end, five or six police cars managed to stop the truck, but the two people in it jumped out and ran off.
According to Dan, the suspicious person might have attempted to pour chemicals into the Shen Yun tour bus to cause damage to the engine. The police found that the unsuccessful crime was unusual for the following reasons: 1) to steal gas, no one would take such a risk, especially since a semi-truck is worth $70,000 to $100,000; 2) common thieves don't usually speed, run red lights, and refuse to cooperate with the police.
The police announced the arrest of the two suspects on February 25.
This is likely another crime organized by the Chinese Communist Party. A similar incident occurred in Atlanta earlier this year. Three gangsters hired by some people with a Chinese communist background interfered with the show in January.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has tried to interrupt Shen Yun's world tours in many ways. Just in terms of Shen Yun's tour buses, the CCP has damaged them at least two other times previously. When Shen Yun was touring Phoenix in 2009, the bus blew a tire, and the mechanic reported that a hole had been drilled into the tire with a special tool. During the tour between Ottawa and Montreal in January 2010, one of Shen Yun's bus tires was cut with sharp, thin blades. According to the mechanic, that kind of cut could cause the tire to burst while driving on the highway, resulting in a serious accident.
The CCP has employed vicious means that could cost lives to interrupt Shen Yun tours, out of fear of Shen Yun's power to spread the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong and the evil nature of the communist party.
The CCP's fear can be interpreted from two perspectives. First, Shen Yun shatters the CCP's lies. Shen Yun is comprised of artists who practice Falun Gong or agree with its philosophy. The CCP's propaganda defaming Falun Gong was spread around the world at the beginning of the persecution. The purity and beauty that Shen Yun demonstrates refutes the CCP's propaganda. The CCP is afraid that the world's people will get to know the truth and choose good over evil.
Secondly, Shen Yun presents traditional Chinese culture, respecting nature and spirituality through elegant artistry. The spirit of Chinese culture is rooted in China's history; however, it has been cast out almost entirely by the CCP in various endless political movements since the CCP took power. While the CCP is destroying traditional culture, Shen Yun is bringing it back, not only to Chinese people but to the whole world. Re-establishing traditional culture may lead to the end of the communist era as people awaken to a peaceful and harmonious alternative and abandon the culture of communist terror. It is not surprising that the CCP would react with fear to the success of Shen Yun.
Since its founding seven years ago, Shen Yun has grown rapidly to be the best show of its kind in the international community. Three touring groups have been traveling to most countries to perform an average of three hundred shows each year. Its popularity is evident in the full attendance at ninety percent of its shows in the last two years. While people are awed by the beauty of Shen Yun and traditional Chinese culture, they may never have imagined that a government would hire gangsters to interfere with the performances. The CCP's behavior not only reflects a deep fear of its unavoidable destruction, and draws a sharp contrast with the positive and harmonious merits of Shen Yun.
