Chinese consular officials met with a Vancouver city hall worker last month and urged her to cancel an arts event that highlighted communist party repression, sources told Global News.
On the meeting, representatives of China’s consulate told a staff member of the town’s civic theatres branch that they wanted a series of performances by the Shen Yun dance group to be stopped, the sources said.
The event, a celebration of Chinese cultural traditions lost under Communist rule, also received bomb threats, but went ahead anyway April 8-12 on the city-owned Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
However the incident suggests that China continues to make use of its diplomatic missions to silence dissent in Canada, whilst Prime Minister Mark Carney pursues a detente with Beijing.
Canada’s intelligence agencies have alleged that China uses each diplomatic and foreign interference tactics, corresponding to threats and harassment, to advance its interests overseas.
In response to Public Safety Canada guidelines, “targeting any level of presidency to influence public policy or decision-making in a way that’s clandestine, deceptive or threatening, and is contrary to Canadian interests” constitutes foreign interference.
Global News is just not naming the town worker who met the consulate officials as a consequence of potential safety concerns.
Approaching Canadians within the diaspora, and who could have members of the family in China vulnerable to reprisals, is a standard foreign interference tactic.
Beijing has long targeted Shen Yun, a Recent York-based performing arts group that has toured the world for the past 20 years, and uses the banner “China before Communism.”
Through its consulates, Beijing has decried the Shen Yun shows as “anti-China propaganda” which are spreading the ideology of Falun Gong, a movement banned by Beijing as an “evil cult.”
A Vancouver city hall spokesperson confirmed that staff from Vancouver Civic Theatres (VCT), which falls under the town’s direction, met with representatives from the Chinese consulate in early April.
“During this meeting a variety of cultural topics were discussed, including the Shen Yun production,” a city of Vancouver press spokesperson wrote in a press release in response to questions from Global News.
“Through the years, VCT has engaged with many organizations, individuals, consulates and community groups expressing differing perspectives on event content,” she added.
“Staff may, occasionally, meet with representatives of consulates for information-sharing purposes. These conversations are high-level and don’t involve policy decisions or commitments.”
“VCT doesn’t censor or limit lawful freedom of expression inside its venues.”
Town wouldn’t answer questions on what the Chinese officials said to the town worker regarding Shen Yun, but sources told Global News that the consulate wanted the event cancelled.
“The mayor and council have to take this very seriously,” said former Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart, now an associate professor on the Simon Fraser University School of Public Policy.
“What’s worrying to me is the extent of interference. Taking pot shots at politicians is one thing, but beginning to infiltrate throughout the civil service and directly intimidating civil servants, I haven’t heard of that before,” he said.
“So this is maybe an emboldened move by the consulate, in the event that they are actively getting in and trying to vary city operations, bypassing politicians, bypassing political avenues and doing this internally.”
“That’s deeply worrying to me.”
The Chinese consulate didn’t reply to questions. The Vancouver municipal official accountable for the venue where the Shen Yun show was staged didn’t reply to phone and text messages.
Beijing seeks to silence criticism
Principal dancers, from left, Minghui, Angela Lin, Angelia Wang, Evangeline Zhu, Nara Oose, Lillian Parker and Tiffany Lin at premiere of film about Shen Yun, Recent York, March 24, 2026, in Recent York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP).
Shen Yun could also be known to most Canadians for the colorful flyers dropped of their mailboxes promoting their events, if not for the performances themselves.
But for the Chinese government, the show has change into a preoccupation, in keeping with a corporation representing Falun Gong practitioners.
“Why is a proclaimed superpower afraid of a dance performance?” asked Joel Chipkar, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Association of Canada.
Way back to 2011, the Chinese consul general in Vancouver urged then-mayor Gregor Robertson to boycott Shen Yun on the grounds that it was all “cult messages and political attacks,” Business in Vancouver reported.
In the course of the foreign interference inquiry that delivered its report in 2025, members of the Canadian Falun Gong community testified about efforts to interfere in Shen Yun performances.
They spoke about bomb threats to venues and said Chinese consular officials had warned Shen Yun’s sponsors that their business with China could be impacted, and they might not find a way to acquire travel visas.
“Chinese embassies and consulates all over the world have tried to sabotage and stop the show from performing in several parts of the world,” in keeping with 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 as a substitute attend “authentic” Chinese events.
Although Vancouver city staff didn’t acquiesce to the consulate’s alleged push to axe the shows, the sources said the worker who met with Chinese officials was upset concerning the encounter.
“For civil servants, it’s very worrying. They really haven’t any defence against this. It’s elected officials who need to arise for them,” Stewart, the previous Vancouver mayor, said in an interview.
He said the town should order staff to not attend any further meetings with consular officials, and ask the federal government to analyze the incident.
“A letter has to go to Global Affairs asking for an investigation on this, and since that is repeated behaviour, Ottawa will want to review whether or not they need to actually shut this consulate down,” he said.
“Whether it is this blatant and there’s this type of pattern of interference with local affairs, possibly it’s best if all of the interactions are through the official embassy in Ottawa.”
Toronto show cancelled over email threatening to detonate explosives
Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia on Oct. 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Don Denton.
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.
Sent by email, it said explosives had been placed contained in the 4 Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, in addition to on Parliament Hill.
The identical email account sent one other message the next day, warning that gunmen would enter the theatre disguised as audience members, shoot the performers and set fire to the venue.
“Just wait and see,” it said.
Toronto police told Global News the threats “were determined to be unfounded,” however the Canadian Opera Company, which owns the 4 Seasons Centre, cancelled the remaining performances.
A spokesperson for the venue said the choice was made, “out of an abundance of caution, prioritizing the protection and well-being of our artists, audiences, and staff given the knowledge, time, and resources available in that moment.”
Organizers announced on Monday that they’d rescheduled the Toronto performances for June 24-28.
But at a recent Toronto screening of a documentary film about Shen Yun, attendees said the show must have gone on, since police had determined no real threat existed.
“We’ve been coping with these sorts of targeted attacks for a really very long time, not only in Canada, but in Europe, in Asia,” said Sunni Zhou, a Shen Yun dancer who grew up in Mississauga.
Every time, the threats were deemed false, she said. “We wish to maintain fighting because what we’re doing here is so amazing,” Zhou said. “Irrespective of how hard it’s, it’s at all times price it at the tip.”
Steve Lance, the manager producer of the film, Unbroken: The Untold Story of Shen Yun, said bomb threats also led to the evacuation of a performance in Taiwan.
“However the show goes on because at the tip of the day, we all know where these threats are coming from. They’re coming from China. They’re not credible, and so they’re really just meant to cause panic and terror.”
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 within the country.
“It’s really a type of terrorism, and never within the sense of an actual bomb threat, but to terrorize people and drive fear in them and stop them from going out to their local theatre to see a performance.”
He said Shen Yun is targeted since it showcases traditional Chinese culture “rooted in divinity and moral principles.”
The Chinese Communist Party, which is atheist, due to this fact views it as a threat, he said.
Is China emboldened by Carney’s embrace?
Vancouver mayoral candidates Ken Sim, left, and Kennedy Stewart at town hall, September 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck.
The week Shen Yun was to open in Vancouver, an email arrived on April 2 that said a “great quantity” of ammonium nitrate explosives and a distant detonation device “have been placed.”
“Please immediately cancel all future Shen Yun performances,” it continued. Otherwise, the explosives could be detonated, read the e-mail, which was reported to the Vancouver Police Department.
Police determined it was a hoax. Cybercrime officers found that the e-mail address used to send the message was related to a phone number in China, an officer told event organizers.
As a precaution, a bomb sniffing dog checked the theatre and located no explosives. In contrast to Toronto, the shows went ahead despite the alleged objections from the Chinese consulate.
There isn’t any evidence that the threats come directly from the Chinese government, but Beijing’s demonization of the show and of the Falun Gong might have been contributing aspects.
Further, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service identified the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as recently as Friday as one among the “principal perpetrators of foreign interference” within the country, together with India, Russia, Iran and Pakistan.
“PRC foreign interference is wide-ranging. It targets all levels of presidency,” the report of the Hogue foreign interference commission said, adding Beijing seeks to “control and influence Chinese diaspora communities, shape international opinions and influence politicians to support PRC policies.”
While Ottawa has pushed back against Beijing’s meddling in Canadian affairs, U.S. President Donald Trump’s predatory trade policies have prompted Carney to court President Xi Jinping.
Dissidents, nonetheless, are warning that they’re experiencing increased harassment and that Carney’s reengagement with Xi could have emboldened China to proceed targeting them.
“The Canadian government is encouraging the Chinese dictator Xi Jinping to do whatever he wants, whatever he needs. And he knows that, clearly,” said human rights activist Sheng Xue.
Likely due to her activism, Xue said she was repeatedly targeted, including having her email address utilized in threats to attack venues hosting Shen Yun performances.
She said Carney’s policy was sending the message that it was okay to work with China, because the prime minister was doing so, and that some would take it as a green light to assist the communist party exert influence in the neighborhood.
Canadian political leaders ought to be standing beside those that are persecuted by China, corresponding to pro-democracy activists, Falun Gong, Tibetans and Uyghurs, Xue said.
“There are such a lot of, but I’m so sorry that our prime minister, he selected to face beside Xi Jinping,” she said.
“It’s, in fact, totally unsuitable.”
The Prime Minister’s Office didn’t reply to questions.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca