Shen Yun Performing Arts will be returning to Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre in June after six previously scheduled shows were cancelled due to bomb threats that police said were unfounded.
The threats were similar to over 150 incidents experienced by the New York-based classical Chinese dance company over the past two years, including ones targeting the show in Vancouver in April. Vancouver police said a phone number associated with the email address that sent the threats targeting the show in that city—which is the same email address used to threaten the Toronto shows—is based in China.
The Falun Dafa Association of Toronto, the local presenter of Shen Yun, says even though police have confirmed the bomb threats are not credible, the shows will still proceed with additional safety measures.
“Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts and Shen Yun Presenter in Toronto have reached the consensus to implement enhanced security measures, which include metal detector gates, K-9 service, on-site police patrolling and professional security team to ensure the safety and smooth delivery of the performances in June,” the association said.
“Shen Yun Performing Arts is widely and internationally recognized for its presentation of classical Chinese dance and music, bringing to life a rich cultural heritage through artistic performance,” the association said in a statement.
“The company’s return to Toronto outside of its regular touring schedule reflects a meaningful commitment to audiences in this city.”
Founded in 2006 by leading classical Chinese artists to revive China’s traditional culture, Shen Yun performs around the world with the tagline, “China Before Communism.”
Interference Attempts
The cancellation of the scheduled shows at the Four Seasons Centre was a global first for Shen Yun. The Canadian Opera Company, which owns and operates the venue, said it made the decision to cancel the shows out of an “abundance of caution.”Organizers and Shen Yun artists say that in all similar incidents, after police conducted investigations and confirmed the bomb threats to be unfounded, the shows went ahead.
According to local organizers, there have been dozens of hoax bomb threats targeting Shen Yun in Canada in the past two years.
Most recently in Vancouver, an emailed bomb threat was received by the Queen Elizabeth Theatre just as Shen Yun was about to perform from April 8 to 12. The threat said that a “large quantity” of explosives had been placed in the theatre and would be detonated if the shows weren’t cancelled.
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) told The Epoch Times that after an investigation, it was confirmed that the threat was “unfounded.”
“The Shen Yun Performing Arts shows continued as scheduled,” a spokesperson for the VPD told The Epoch Times.
The VPD's Cybercrime Unit determined that a phone number associated with the email address used to send the threat is a Chinese phone number, with the phone number based in China, the local organizers said.
The same email address was also used to send the threats targeting Shen Yun in Toronto.
Following the cancellation of the Toronto shows, the email sender sent two more emails to the local organizers boasting of the cancellations while celebrating ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
“The Toronto Four Seasons incident was my most successful one ... Haha!” reads an email written in Chinese sent to the show presenter on April 3.
“Canada is hardly worth taking seriously. ... Even my motherland’s Communist Party couldn’t make the Shen Yun emcee cry, yet I actually did it.”
The Toronto Police Service, which confirmed the bomb threats at the Four Seasons were unfounded, told The Epoch Times that the issue is under investigation.
Liberal MP Judy Sgro condemned the “escalating pattern of foreign-directed intimidation” on Canadian soil.