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Chinese consular officials met with a Vancouver city hall employee last month and urged her to cancel an arts event that highlighted communist party repression, sources told Global News.<\/p>\n
At the meeting, representatives of China\u2019s consulate told a staff member of the city\u2019s civic theatres branch\u00a0that they wanted a series of performances by the Shen Yun<\/a> dance group to be\u00a0stopped, the sources said.<\/p>\n The event, a celebration of Chinese cultural traditions lost under Communist rule, also received bomb threats, but went ahead anyway April 8-12 at the city-owned Queen Elizabeth Theatre.<\/p>\n But the incident suggests that China continues to use its diplomatic missions to silence dissent in Canada, even as Prime Minister Mark Carney pursues a detente with Beijing.<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s intelligence agencies have alleged that China uses both diplomatic and foreign interference tactics, such as threats and harassment, to advance its interests overseas.<\/p>\n According to Public Safety Canada guidelines<\/a>, \u201ctargeting any level of government to influence public policy or decision-making in a way that is clandestine, deceptive or threatening, and is contrary to Canadian interests\u201d constitutes foreign interference.<\/p>\n Global News is not naming the city employee who met the consulate officials due to potential safety concerns.<\/p>\n Approaching Canadians in the diaspora, and who may have family members in China vulnerable to reprisals, is a common foreign interference tactic.<\/p>\n Beijing has long targeted Shen Yun, a New York-based performing arts group that has toured the world for the past two decades, and uses the banner \u201cChina before Communism.\u201d<\/p>\n Through its consulates, Beijing has decried the Shen Yun shows as \u201canti-China propaganda\u201d that are spreading the ideology of Falun Gong, a movement banned by Beijing as an \u201cevil cult.\u201d<\/p>\n A Vancouver city hall spokesperson confirmed that staff from Vancouver Civic Theatres (VCT), which falls under the city\u2019s direction, met with representatives from the Chinese consulate in early April.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring this meeting a range of cultural topics were discussed, including the Shen Yun production,\u201d a city of Vancouver press spokesperson wrote in a statement in response to questions from Global News.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the years,\u00a0VCT\u00a0has\u00a0engaged with many\u00a0organizations, individuals,\u00a0consulates\u00a0and community groups\u00a0expressing\u00a0differing perspectives on event\u00a0content,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n \u201cStaff may, from time to time, meet with representatives of consulates for\u00a0information-sharing\u00a0purposes. These conversations are high-level and do not involve policy decisions or commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVCT does not censor or limit lawful freedom of expression within its venues.\u201d<\/p>\n The city would not answer questions about what the Chinese officials said to the city employee regarding Shen Yun, but sources told Global News that the consulate wanted the event cancelled.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mayor and council need to take this very seriously,\u201d said former Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart, now an associate professor at the Simon Fraser University School of Public Policy.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s worrying to me is the level of interference. Taking pot shots at politicians is one thing, but starting to infiltrate within the civil service and directly intimidating civil servants, I haven\u2019t heard of that before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo this is perhaps an emboldened move by the consulate, if they are actively going in and trying to change city operations, bypassing politicians, bypassing political avenues and doing this internally.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s deeply worrying to me.\u201d<\/p>\n The Chinese consulate did not respond to questions. The Vancouver municipal official in charge of the venue where the Shen Yun show was staged did not respond to phone and text messages.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tBeijing seeks to silence criticism\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tPrincipal dancers, from left, Minghui, Angela Lin, Angelia Wang, Evangeline Zhu, Nara Oose, Lillian Parker and Tiffany Lin at premiere of film about Shen Yun, New York, March 24, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini\/Invision\/AP).\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n Shen Yun may be known to most Canadians for the colourful flyers dropped in their mailboxes promoting their events, if not for the performances themselves.<\/p>\n But for the Chinese government, the show has become a preoccupation, according to an organization representing Falun Gong practitioners.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy is a proclaimed superpower afraid of a dance performance?\u201d asked Joel Chipkar, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Association of Canada.<\/p>\n As far back as 2011, the Chinese consul general in Vancouver urged then-mayor Gregor Robertson to boycott Shen Yun on the grounds that it was all \u201ccult messages and political attacks,\u201d Business in Vancouver<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n During the foreign interference inquiry that delivered its report<\/a> in 2025, members of the Canadian\u00a0Falun\u00a0Gong community testified about efforts to interfere in Shen Yun performances.<\/p>\n They spoke about bomb threats to venues and said Chinese consular officials had warned Shen Yun\u2019s sponsors that their business with China would be impacted, and they would not be able to obtain travel visas.<\/p>\n \u201cChinese embassies and consulates around the world have tried to sabotage and prevent the show from performing in different parts of the world,\u201d according to a report submitted to the inquiry<\/a>.<\/p>\n Prior to the 2026 Shen Yun tour, Chinese consulates resumed their campaign<\/a>, releasing statements urging countries to \u201creject the cult\u201d and to instead attend \u201cauthentic\u201d Chinese events.<\/p>\n Although Vancouver city staff did not acquiesce to the consulate\u2019s alleged push to axe the shows, the sources said the employee who met with Chinese officials was upset about the encounter.<\/p>\n \u201cFor civil servants, it\u2019s very worrying. They really have no defence against this. It\u2019s elected officials who have to stand up for them,\u201d Stewart, the former Vancouver mayor, said in an interview.<\/p>\n He said the city should order staff not to attend any further meetings with consular officials, and ask the federal government to investigate the incident.<\/p>\n \u201cA letter has to go to Global Affairs asking for an investigation on this, and because this is repeated behaviour, Ottawa may want to review whether or not they should actually shut this consulate down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it is this blatant and there\u2019s this kind of pattern of interference with local affairs, maybe it\u2019s best if all the interactions are through the official embassy in Ottawa.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tToronto show cancelled over email threatening to detonate explosives\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tQueen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia on Oct. 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES\/Don Denton.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n Before landing in Vancouver, Shen Yun performed in Toronto on March 28 without incident, but a threat on March 29 prompted the evacuation of the theatre.<\/p>\n Sent by email, it said explosives had been placed inside the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, as well as on Parliament Hill.<\/p>\n The same email account sent another message the following day, warning that gunmen would enter the theatre disguised as audience members, shoot the performers and set fire to the venue.<\/p>\n \u201cJust wait and see,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Toronto police told Global News the threats \u201cwere determined to be unfounded,\u201d but the Canadian Opera Company, which owns the Four Seasons Centre, cancelled the remaining performances.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the venue said the decision was made, \u201cout of an abundance of caution, prioritizing the safety and well-being of our artists, audiences, and staff given the information, time, and resources available in that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Organizers announced on Monday that they had rescheduled the Toronto performances for June 24-28.<\/p>\n But at a recent Toronto screening of a documentary film about Shen Yun, attendees said the show should have gone on, since police had determined no genuine threat existed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been dealing with these kinds of targeted attacks for a very long time, not only in\u00a0Canada, but in Europe, in Asia,\u201d said Sunni Zhou, a Shen Yun dancer who grew up in Mississauga.<\/p>\n Each time, the threats were deemed false, she said. \u201cWe want to keep fighting because what we\u2019re doing here is so amazing,\u201d Zhou said. \u201cNo matter how hard it is, it\u2019s always worth it at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Lance, the executive producer of the film, Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun, said bomb threats also led to the evacuation of a performance in Taiwan.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the show goes on because at the end of the day, we know where these threats are coming from. They\u2019re coming from China. They\u2019re not credible, and they\u2019re really just meant to cause panic and terror.\u201d<\/p>\n In February, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was evacuated from his official residence after receiving a threat to blow it up unless he cancelled the Shen Yun shows in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really a form of terrorism, and not in the sense of an actual bomb threat, but to terrorize people and drive fear in them and prevent them from going out to their local\u00a0theatre\u00a0to see a performance.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Shen Yun is targeted because it showcases traditional Chinese culture \u201crooted in divinity and moral principles.\u201d<\/p>\n The Chinese Communist Party, which is atheist, therefore views it as a threat, he said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tIs China emboldened by Carney’s embrace?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tVancouver mayoral candidates Ken Sim, left, and Kennedy Stewart at town hall, September 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Darryl Dyck.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n The week Shen Yun was to open in Vancouver, an email arrived on April 2 that said a \u201clarge quantity\u201d of ammonium nitrate explosives and a remote detonation device \u201chave been placed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlease immediately cancel all future Shen Yun performances,\u201d it continued. Otherwise, the explosives would be detonated, read the email, which was reported to the Vancouver Police Department.<\/p>\n Police determined it was a hoax. Cybercrime officers found\u00a0that the email address used to send\u00a0the message was associated with a phone number in China, an officer told event organizers.<\/p>\n As a precaution, a bomb sniffing dog checked the theatre and found no explosives. In contrast to Toronto, the shows went ahead despite the alleged objections from the Chinese consulate.<\/p>\n There is no evidence that the threats come directly from the Chinese government, but Beijing\u2019s demonization of the show and of the Falun Gong may well have been contributing factors.<\/p>\n Further, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service identified the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC)<\/a> as recently as Friday as one of the \u201cmain perpetrators of foreign interference\u201d in the country, along with India, Russia, Iran and Pakistan.<\/p>\n