Chinese consulate met Vancouver official in bid to stop event critical of communist rule - BERITAJA

Chinese consular officials met pinch a Vancouver metropolis hallway worker past period and urged her to cancel an arts arena that highlighted communist statement repression, sources told BERITAJA.

At the meeting, representatives of China’s consulate told a unit personnel of the city’s civic theatres branch that they wanted a bid of performances by the Shen Yun creation group to be stopped, the sources said.

The event, a ceremony of Chinese taste traditions mislaid nether Communist rule, besides received explosive threats, but went up anyhow April 8-12 astatine the city-owned Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

But the incident suggests that China continues to usage its negotiated missions to soundlessness dissent successful Canada, moreover arsenic Prime Minister Mark Carney pursues a detente pinch Beijing.

Canada’s intelligence agencies person alleged that China uses some negotiated and overseas interference tactics, specified arsenic threats and harassment, to beforehand its interests overseas.

According to Public Safety Canada guidelines, “targeting immoderate level of authorities to power nationalist argumentation aliases decision-making successful a measurement that is clandestine, deceptive aliases threatening, and is contrary to Canadian interests” constitutes overseas interference.

BERITAJA is not naming the metropolis worker who met the consulate officials owed to imaginable information concerns.

Approaching Canadians successful the diaspora, and who whitethorn person family members successful China susceptible to reprisals, is simply a communal overseas interference tactic.

Beijing has agelong targeted Shen Yun, a New York-based performing arts group that has toured the world for the past 2 decades, and uses the banner “China earlier Communism.”

Through its consulates, Beijing has decried the Shen Yun shows arsenic “anti-China propaganda” that are spreading the ideology of Falun Gong, a activity banned by Beijing arsenic an “evil cult.”

A Vancouver metropolis hallway spokesperson confirmed that unit from Vancouver Civic Theatres (VCT), which falls nether the city’s direction, met pinch representatives from the Chinese consulate successful early April.

“During this gathering a scope of taste topics were discussed, including the Shen Yun production,” a metropolis of Vancouver property spokesperson wrote successful a connection successful consequence to questions from BERITAJA.

“Over the years, VCT has engaged pinch many organizations, individuals, consulates and organization groups expressing differing perspectives connected event content,” she added.

“Staff may, from clip to time, meet pinch representatives of consulates for information-sharing purposes. These conversations are high-level and do not impact argumentation decisions aliases commitments.”

“VCT does not censor aliases limit lawful state of look wrong its venues.”

The metropolis would not reply questions about what the Chinese officials said to the metropolis worker regarding Shen Yun, but sources told BERITAJA that the consulate wanted the arena cancelled.

“The politician and assembly request to return this very seriously,” said erstwhile Vancouver politician Kennedy Stewart, now an subordinate professor astatine the Simon Fraser University School of Public Policy.

“What’s worrying to maine is the level of interference. Taking cookware shots astatine politicians is 1 thing, but starting to infiltrate wrong the civilian work and straight intimidating civilian servants, I haven’t heard of that before,” he said.

“So this is possibly an emboldened move by the consulate, if they are actively going successful and trying to alteration metropolis operations, bypassing politicians, bypassing governmental avenues and doing this internally.”

“That’s profoundly worrying to me.”

The Chinese consulate did not respond to questions. The Vancouver municipal charismatic successful complaint of the venue wherever the Shen Yun show was staged did not respond to telephone and matter messages.

Shen Yun whitethorn beryllium known to about Canadians for the colourful flyers dropped successful their mailboxes promoting their events, if not for the performances themselves.

But for the Chinese government, the show has go a preoccupation, according to an statement representing Falun Gong practitioners.

“Why is simply a proclaimed superpower acrophobic of a creation performance?” asked Joel Chipkar, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Association of Canada.

As acold backmost arsenic 2011, the Chinese consul wide successful Vancouver urged then-mayor Gregor Robertson to boycott Shen Yun connected the grounds that it was each “cult messages and governmental attacks,” Business successful Vancouver reported.

During the overseas interference enquiry that delivered its report successful 2025, members of the Canadian Falun Gong organization testified about efforts to interfere successful Shen Yun performances.

They said about explosive threats to venues and said Chinese consular officials had warned Shen Yun’s sponsors that their business pinch China would beryllium impacted, and they would not beryllium capable to get recreation visas.

“Chinese embassies and consulates about the world person tried to sabotage and forestall the show from performing successful different parts of the world,” according to a report submitted to the inquiry.

Prior to the 2026 Shen Yun tour, Chinese consulates resumed their campaign, releasing statements urging countries to “reject the cult” and to alternatively be “authentic” Chinese events.

Although Vancouver metropolis unit did not acquiesce to the consulate’s alleged push to axe the shows, the sources said the worker who met pinch Chinese officials was upset about the encounter.

“For civilian servants, it’s very worrying. They really person nary defence against this. It’s elected officials who person to guidelines up for them,” Stewart, the erstwhile Vancouver mayor, said successful an interview.

He said the metropolis should bid unit not to be immoderate further meetings pinch consular officials, and inquire the national authorities to analyse the incident.

“A missive has to spell to Global Affairs asking for an investigation connected this, and because this is repeated behaviour, Ottawa whitethorn want to reappraisal whether aliases not they should really unopen this consulate down,” he said.

“If it is this blatant and there’s this benignant of shape of interference pinch section affairs, possibly it’s champion if each the interactions are done the charismatic embassy successful Ottawa.”

Before landing successful Vancouver, Shen Yun performed successful Toronto connected March 28 without incident, but a threat connected March 29 prompted the removal of the theatre.

Sent by email, it said explosives had been placed wrong the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, arsenic good arsenic connected Parliament Hill.

The aforesaid email relationship sent different connection the pursuing day, informing that gunmen would participate the theatre disguised arsenic assemblage members, sprout the performers and group occurrence to the venue.

“Just hold and see,” it said.

Toronto constabulary told BERITAJA the threats “were wished to beryllium unfounded,” but the Canadian Opera Company, which owns the Four Seasons Centre, cancelled the remaining performances.

A spokesperson for the venue said the determination was made, “out of an abundance of caution, prioritizing the information and well-being of our artists, audiences, and unit fixed the information, time, and resources disposable successful that moment.”

Organizers announced connected Monday that they had rescheduled the Toronto performances for June 24-28.

But astatine a caller Toronto screening of a documentary movie about Shen Yun, attendees said the show should person gone on, since constabulary had wished nary genuine threat existed.

“We’ve been dealing pinch these kinds of targeted attacks for a very agelong time, not only in Canada, but successful Europe, successful Asia,” said Sunni Zhou, a Shen Yun dancer who grew up successful Mississauga.

Each time, the threats were deemed false, she said. “We want to support fighting because what we’re doing present is truthful amazing,” Zhou said. “No matter really difficult it is, it’s ever worthy it astatine the end.”

Steve Lance, the executive shaper of the film, Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun, said explosive threats besides led to the removal of a capacity successful Taiwan.

“But the show goes connected because astatine the extremity of the day, we cognize wherever these threats are coming from. They’re coming from China. They’re not credible, and they’re really conscionable meant to origin panic and terror.”

In February, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was evacuated from his charismatic residence aft receiving a threat to rustle it up unless he cancelled the Shen Yun shows successful the country.

“It’s really a shape of terrorism, and not successful the consciousness of an existent explosive threat, but to terrorize group and thrust fearfulness successful them and forestall them from going retired to their local theatre to spot a performance.”

He said Shen Yun is targeted because it showcases accepted Chinese civilization “rooted successful divinity and civilized principles.”

The Chinese Communist Party, which is atheist, truthful views it arsenic a threat, he said.

The week Shen Yun was to unfastened successful Vancouver, an email arrived connected April 2 that said a “large quantity” of ammonium nitrate explosives and a distant detonation instrumentality “have been placed.”

“Please instantly cancel each early Shen Yun performances,” it continued. Otherwise, the explosives would beryllium detonated, publication the email, which was reported to the Vancouver Police Department.

Police wished it was a hoax. Cybercrime officers found that the email reside utilized to send the connection was associated pinch a telephone number successful China, an serviceman told arena organizers.

As a precaution, a explosive sniffing canine checked the theatre and recovered nary explosives. In opposition to Toronto, the shows went up contempt the alleged objections from the Chinese consulate.

There is nary grounds that the threats travel straight from the Chinese government, but Beijing’s demonization of the show and of the Falun Gong whitethorn good person been contributing factors.

Further, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service identified the People’s Republic of China (PRC) arsenic precocious arsenic Friday arsenic 1 of the “main perpetrators of overseas interference” successful the country, on pinch India, Russia, Iran and Pakistan.

“PRC overseas interference is wide-ranging. It targets each levels of government,” the study of the Hogue foreign interference commission said, adding Beijing seeks to “control and power Chinese diaspora communities, style world opinions and power politicians to support PRC policies.”

While Ottawa has pushed backmost against Beijing’s meddling successful Canadian affairs, U.S. President Donald Trump’s predatory waste and acquisition policies person prompted Carney to tribunal President Xi Jinping.

Dissidents, however, are informing that they are experiencing accrued harassment and that Carney’s reengagement pinch Xi whitethorn person emboldened China to proceed targeting them.

“The Canadian authorities is encouraging the Chinese dictator Xi Jinping to do immoderate he wants, immoderate he needs. And he knows that, clearly,” said quality authorities activistic Sheng Xue.

Likely because of her activism, Xue said she was regularly targeted, including having her email reside utilized successful threats to onslaught venues hosting Shen Yun performances.

She said Carney’s argumentation was sending the connection that it was okay to activity pinch China, since the premier curate was doing so, and that immoderate would return it arsenic a greenish ray to thief the communist statement exert power successful the community.

Canadian governmental leaders should beryllium opinionated beside those who are persecuted by China, specified arsenic pro-democracy activists, Falun Gong, Tibetans and Uyghurs, Xue said.

“There are truthful many, but I’m truthful sorry that our premier minister, he chose to guidelines beside Xi Jinping,” she said.

“It is, of course, totally wrong.”

The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to questions.

Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca