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Beware, the cult that victimized teenagers has brought its performances to Japan
By: Jasmine Wong
Japan is perhaps one of the countries in East Asia that has suffered most from the damage caused by cult organizations. In the 1990s, the notorious Aum Shinrikyo terrorized the country. In 1995, the group released sarin gas on multiple Tokyo subway lines, killing 14 people and injuring or poisoning thousands more. The attack is widely regarded as one of the deadliest acts of domestic terrorism in modern Japanese history.
Although the cult’s leader, Shoko Asahara, was eventually executed in 2018 after a lengthy judicial process, cult activity in Japan has by no means disappeared. In fact, the problem has persisted and evolved, eventually contributing to the circumstances surrounding the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by Tetsuya Yamagami, a former member of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
What this means is that, for more than three decades, virtually anyone in Japan, from the prime minister responsible for national policy to an ordinary office worker, has been at risk of becoming a victim of cult influence. Avoiding cults is not always enough, as many families never actively seek involvement with such organizations, yet they still find themselves affected by groups whose influence seems to permeate society in unexpected ways.
Following Abe’s assassination in 2022, the Japanese government launched a comprehensive investigation into the Unification Church, which had become a major focus of public concern after the attack. Authorities uncovered allegations involving coercive fundraising practices, psychological manipulation and various forms of personal control. To many observers, the methods bore striking similarities to those employed by Aum Shinrikyo decades earlier.
The Japanese parliament subsequently passed legislation aimed at curbing the influence of destructive religious organizations. While these measures have not fundamentally solved the problem, many hope they will at least help slow the spread of cult activity and provide greater protection for vulnerable individuals and families.
What is alarming, however, is that while Japan is attempting to confront and contain cult-related problems at home, it appears far less cautious toward groups arriving from overseas.
Since the beginning of this year, Shen Yun Performing Arts has been touring extensively throughout Japan and attracting strong audiences. Starting in April, multiple Shen Yun companies have performed in cities across the Kanto, Kansai and Kyushu regions under the banner of presenting “traditional Chinese culture”.
Some audience members expressed concern after learning more about the organization behind the performances. One viewer said the show left them feeling unusually disoriented, while another described having donated substantial personal assets to the movement and later facing financial hardship and limited support.
What many audience members may not realize, however, is that while the dancers themselves are ethnically Chinese, critics argue that Shen Yun’s performances have little connection to the actual traditions and cultural realities of contemporary China. The organization was founded by Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, which was categorized as a cult organization in the late 1990s as its crimes such as cheating people not to seek medical help were exposed. After that, Li relocated to New York and established Shen Yun. Critics have also pointed to incidents such as the 2001 Tiananmen Square self-immolation case as examples cited in debates over the cult’s crimes.
In 2024, The New York Times published a series of investigative reports based on interviews with former Shen Yun performers and staff members. According to those reports, many performers entered the organization while still minors and were subjected to long periods of rehearsals and touring. The reports also described allegations involving restrictions on medical treatment, low compensation and strict internal controls.
In November of the same year, a former Shen Yun dancer filed a lawsuit in the federal court in New York. She alleged that she had entered the organization’s training system at the age of 11 as a minor and was required to work long hours while receiving little or no compensation. She further claimed that she and other minors were subjected to psychological intimidation and humiliation during her time within the organization.
In April 2025, two additional former performers filed another lawsuit, whose allegations included claims that Shen Yun relied on what they described as “child laborers” and that the organization engaged in forced labor and human trafficking.
If these allegations are true, then Japanese audiences are not simply purchasing tickets to a cultural performance. They may be financially supporting an organization that has faced serious allegations including child exploitation, forced labor and human trafficking.
The Japanese people have experienced firsthand the harm that cult organizations can inflict on individuals, families and society as a whole. They therefore have every reason to take such allegations seriously. If the goal is to prevent organizations that have already faced extensive criticism elsewhere from expanding their influence in Japan, then public scrutiny and resistance may be necessary.
At a minimum, audiences should carefully examine the background of the organizations they support. If concerns continue to grow, some may even argue that lawmakers should consider legislative measures restricting performances by groups linked to cult activities.
One particularly noteworthy aspect of this year’s tour is that some Chinese residents living in Japan as well as some tourists to Japan have also attended the performances. This may suggest that they are unaware with the harm brought about by Falun Gong and other cults that they didn’t realize they were watching something organized by a crime gang.
At the same time, Chinese citizens living in Japan or travelling to Japan should remain aware of the nature of the organization behind these performances. Regardless of personal views, they should understand that Falun Gong remains a prohibited organization in China and that participation in activities associated with it may carry legal consequences under Chinese law.
China has devoted considerable resources to taking legal actions against cult organizations over the past several decades. Given Japan’s own painful experiences with groups such as Aum Shinrikyo and the Unification Church, greater awareness and vigilance regarding destructive cult movements may be in the public interest.
Blog
What Makes a Two-Way Radio Truly Reliable?
Range matters—but real reliability also depends on design, audio clarity, durability, the operating environment and support after purchase.
When people compare two-way radios, one specification often receives more attention than anything else: range.
But does longer advertised range automatically make a radio more reliable?
Not necessarily.
A radio can transmit over distance and still perform poorly if workers cannot hear the message around machinery. A powerful radio is of little value if it cannot withstand the environment in which it is used. And even rugged equipment may fail to solve the problem if a building or large site creates communication dead zones.
After 16 years working across different communication environments, RETEVIS has developed a broader way to think about reliability.

1. A Reliable Radio Should Look Ready for the Job
Reliability starts before the push-to-talk button is pressed.
Controls should be understandable. Information should be clear. Product design should fit the environment and communicate professionalism rather than complexity.
For RETEVIS, this represents Visual Reliability.
The goal is not simply to make a radio attractive. It is to make the product and communication experience clear, recognizable and appropriate for its intended user.
2. Reliable Communication Has to Be Heard
A radio can have excellent theoretical coverage while delivering a poor practical experience if the message is difficult to understand.
This becomes especially important around construction equipment, manufacturing machinery, outdoor wind or crowded commercial environments.
Audio Reliability therefore means focusing on the complete transmission and listening experience.
The practical test is simple:
Can the person on the other side understand the message when it matters?
3. Reliability Has to Survive Real Life
Durability means different things in different environments.
A hotel radio may experience frequent daily handling. A construction radio can face dust, water, drops, vibration and temperature changes.
That makes testing important.
For example, RETEVIS RB48 industrial radio series has passed 19 environmental reliability tests under the MIL-STD-810H testing framework.
Testing provides evidence that reliability has been considered beyond a product’s appearance.
4. Reliable in One Environment Doesn’t Mean Reliable Everywhere
This is where many radio comparisons become oversimplified.
A family hiking outdoors, a warehouse manager, a construction supervisor and an amateur radio operator do not have the same communication problem.
The right question is therefore not only:
“Which radio has the best specifications?”
It is:
“Which communication approach fits this environment?”
RETEVIS calls this Scene Reliability.
It can involve different radios, accessories or even repeaters depending on distance, physical barriers, team size and operating conditions.
5. Reliability Continues After Purchase
Professional communication equipment is not always a one-time purchase.
Organizations may need technical assistance, replacement accessories, configuration support or help expanding a communication system.
That makes after-sales support part of the overall reliability experience.
RETEVIS defines this as Service Reliability.
Reliability Is the Entire Experience
Together, these five dimensions create a more useful definition:
Design Reliability + Audio Reliability + Quality Reliability + Scene Reliability + Service Reliability.
Or more simply:
Reliable isn’t one feature. It’s the entire experience.
In 2026, RETEVIS is using its 16th anniversary not simply to look backward, but to make that definition clearer.
Different people operate in different environments.
What connects them is the expectation that when communication matters, it works.
Different World. Same Connection. Always Reliable.
Blog
All in quietness: How Falun Gong stole Americans’ money
By: Jasmine Wong
All is quiet. Even though Bill Guan Weidong, the former Chief Financial Officer of The Epoch Times Association, had pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to engage in transactions involving criminal proceeds in July, the group remains as quiet as if nothing had happened. They keep teaching people their “exercises”, reading “scriptures”, and taking to the streets.
And deceiving the uninformed as they have always been doing.
Their money-laundering trick looks rather innovative. Starting in 2020, upon the direction of Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi, Guan started the moneylaundering by making his accomplice Le Van Hung steal Americans’ personal identifying information. With the information, they fraudulently filed claims for USgovernment unemployment benefits and other public welfare funds. Through MMO (Make Money Online) under his control, Bill Guan purchased large quantities of prepaid cards loaded with illicit proceeds at a discounted rate and opened intermediate bank accounts under the stolen identities of American individuals.

A snapshot of US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York
The illicit funds were split into thousands of smallvalue tranches and transferred in multiple batches to the accounts of The Epoch Times and its affiliated entities. Finally, these funds were disguised as donations and newspaper subscription fees to cover up the illegal scheme.
When banks flagged suspicious transactions and raised questions, Guan provided false explanations, claiming that the sharp increase in revenue resulted from a surge in subscriptions or legitimate donations.
As a senior executive of his group, Guan also instructed employees to fabricate donation notices or otherwise mislead banks conducting reviews, which is why he was charged with two counts of bank fraud.
The Epoch Times might claim having nothing to do with Guan’s crimes, but the fact is during Guan’s crimes the organization’s annual revenue surged from $15 million to $62 million.
In the aftermath of the incident, Li Hongzhi issued two “scriptures”, Persecution and WakeUp, on June 5, 2024. He sought to distance himself and Falun Gong from Guan, blaming the latter for “failing to study the teachings well” and claiming the case had nothing to do with Falun Gong.
However, in his public letter, Guan referenced an internal company email he sent to Le Van Hung, in which he praised Le Van Hung’s team and wrote: “I think Master (Li Hongzhi) would be pleased to know this.” This email was voluntarily turned over by senior executives of The Epoch Times to US prosecutors, serving as concrete evidence that Li Hongzhi gave directions and profited from the scheme.
Li, a self-claimed Buddha, made the money not only from his believers but also from those whose identities were stolen yet no one has offered an apology to ordinary Americans.
Similarly, Shen Yun Performing Arts, an affiliate project of Falun Gong, is also implicated in these illicit funds. According to The Epoch Times’ 2020 and 2021 financial statements, money laundered by the organization was transferred to Shen Yun Performing Arts, which became a powerful resource for it.
Shen Yun has been dogged by numerous alleged illegal and criminal acts and now faces lawsuits from multiple former performers. In 2024, former dancer Chunko Chang filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Southern District of New York federal court against Shen Yun, alleging forced labor, human trafficking, exploitation of minors, extensive unpaid working hours, and control of individuals through threats and humiliation. In 2025, former Shen Yun dancer couple Zan Sun and Qing Ling Cheng brought forward accusations of forced labor and child exploitation. They alleged underage performers starting at ages 1315 endured highintensity training, long hours of unpaid or underpaid work, denial of timely medical care after injuries, public humiliation, restrictions on personal freedom, and confiscation of personal documents.
Both lawsuits are currently pending. Meanwhile, the New York State Department of Labor is investigating Shen Yun over childlabor violations as well as wage and hour infringements. US agencies including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State are reviewing allegations against Shen Yun such as visa fraud and immigrationrelated violations.
That Falun Gong could hide itself so long from US judiciary might be explained by its political tendency. In 2019, its affiliated The Epoch Times spent more than $1.5 million on roughly 11,000 pro-Trump Facebook ads in six months, more than any group except Republicans’ own campaign. Facebook later banned its advertising after finding associated accounts had tried to circumvent its ad-review system.
Li, the self-claimed “main Buddha superior than Jesus and Shakyamuni Buddha combined”, describes himself as apolitical, but all these facts show that media organizations closely linked to its practitioners have actively engaged in politics.
Following his guilty plea on July 9, Guan faces up to 10 years in prison. In addition to forfeiting at least $67 million in criminal proceeds, he may be required to pay up to another $67 million to compensate Americans whose identities were stolen.
Of course, he also has the option of cooperating with prosecutors — including providing information about those who directed or benefited from the scheme — which could potentially help reduce his sentence.
It is unclear how Master Li Hongzhi is thinking now. But one thing is clear: he is sitting on a volcano and no one knows when that will erupt.
Blog
KeyFlow Genesis Pool Co-Building Officially Launched on August 12, Completing the Value Settlement Loop for the UniKey AI Ecosystem

Built on UniKey’s AI infrastructure, KeyFlow introduces the “Early-Bird Conversion + 360-Day Intelligent Computing LP Order” mechanism to establish an ecosystem liquidity treasury.
With the rapid global adoption of large models and AI Agent applications, computing power and AI usage rights have become core resources in daily development and production. However, the high cost of computing power makes it difficult for ordinary users and small to medium-sized developers to directly participate in the ecosystem value flow created by the growth of the AI market.
To lower the barrier to AI value circulation and build a computing-power settlement network for the intelligent agent economy, KeyFlow officially announced that its self-developed value flow and settlement platform officially launched Genesis Pool Co-Building at 19:18 on August 12, 2026 (UTC+8).
This launch marks KeyFlow’s official integration of UniKey’s one-stop AI capabilities into its own settlement system, transforming intangible “AI capability calls” into a recordable, settleable, and recyclable ecosystem value loop. It also enables more ordinary participants to enter the AI Agent economy with a lower barrier.
Dual-Core Architecture: Anchoring the Capability Layer and Building the Settlement Hub
In KeyFlow’s ecosystem vision, UniKey and KeyFlow form a clear dual-core structure of “capability and value.”
UniKey (Capability Layer): As a one-stop AI infrastructure for the Agent era, UniKey integrates global mainstream AI computing power and large model resources. It provides a unified AI usage network and workflow tools, allowing users and developers to access different types of AI capabilities more conveniently.
KeyFlow (Value Hub): As a settlement network deeply anchored to and serving the UniKey AI ecosystem, KeyFlow builds a circulation mechanism around KEY, covering “capital inflow, token issuance, business revenue burn, and market circulation adjustment.” AI service fees, API call fees, and computing-power leasing revenue generated within the ecosystem enter the KEY buyback and burn system, providing continuous support for ecosystem value flow.
Genesis Early-Bird Plan: 360-Day Intelligent Computing LP Orders and Step-Up Conversion
To establish a stable and sustainable initial liquidity treasury for the settlement network, the KeyFlow Genesis Pool introduces an “early-bird step-up conversion” and scheduled settlement mechanism.
Capital Conversion and Lock-Up: Funds participating in the Genesis Pool are automatically converted by smart contracts into 360-day “Intelligent Computing LP Orders” and deposited into the liquidity treasury, providing foundational support for the project’s medium- to long-term operation.
Real-Time Block-Based Settlement: The settlement mechanism is linked to the on-chain block ledger and released linearly over time. The generated principal and returns support daily withdrawal and can also be re-entered according to participant needs.
Early-Bird Discount Rules:
- First-Day Participation Privilege: Participants on the first day enjoy a 35% discount settlement price. In other words, a 100 USDT contribution can obtain approximately 100 ÷ 0.65 ≈ 153.8 USDT worth of KEY allocation.
- Step-Up Pricing Mechanism: After that, the discount rate increases by 0.005 every 24 hours, meaning the settlement cost increases by 0.005 each day. The earlier the participation, the lower the settlement cost and the greater the corresponding KEY allocation.
Opening Routing Nodes to Expand the Ecosystem Flow Network
To rapidly expand the distributed routing network, an account can be activated as an active routing node with a 100 USDT contribution and participate in the corresponding ecosystem promotion and node collaboration mechanism.
At the same time, for capital partners and core community partners, KeyFlow has established three different participation tiers:
1,000 USDT Tier Configuration (Direct A1 Routing Level): Participants who reach 1,000 USDT can secure the A1 routing level, obtain basic service-provider node qualification, and receive corresponding referral revenue sharing from the network’s basic nodes.
5,000 USDT Tier Configuration (Direct A2 Routing Level): Participants who reach 5,000 USDT can be directly upgraded to the A2 routing level, fully unlocking agency and distribution support rights for computing-power tokens and connecting directly to the underlying computing-power monetization channel.
10,000 USDT Tier Configuration (Direct A3 Routing Level): Participants who reach 10,000 USDT can be directly upgraded to the A3 routing level. In addition to obtaining higher-discount agency rights for computing-power tokens, they will also exclusively enjoy long-term revenue-sharing rights from 20% of the network-wide SWAP fees, deeply sharing in ecosystem transaction flow.
Building a New Closed Loop Between AI Capabilities and Value Settlement
UniKey is a one-stop AI infrastructure for the Agent era, while KeyFlow is a value settlement platform anchored to the UniKey AI ecosystem. Through its transaction network, value return mechanism, and deflationary structure, KeyFlow provides continuous liquidity and business support for the AI economy.
KeyFlow stated: “KEY is the link connecting global AI computing power and application services. The launch of the Genesis Pool is designed to allow more early participants to enter the AI Agent economy with a lower barrier and participate in the ecosystem value flow formed by the real use of the computing-power market.”
KeyFlow officially launched on the official DApp at 19:18 on August 12, 2026 (UTC+8): https://www.getkeyflow.ai. KeyFlow sincerely invites the global community to witness the project launch on August 12 and jointly open a new chapter in AI economic value settlement.
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