Shen Yun Organizers Disheartened After Toronto Shows Cancelled Over Fake Threat They Say Is Linked to Beijing

All remaining Shen Yun Performing Arts shows scheduled to play in Toronto have been cancelled by the hosting venue following a fake bomb threat on March 29 that disrupted that day’s performance.Shen Yun’s local presenters, who say the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is behind the threats against the New York-based classical Chinese dance company, say police have confirmed that the threat was fake and are urging theatre management to rethink their decision to cancel the remaining performances.“We condemn the CCP for its continued threats to Canadians and our institutions and urge the theatre to stand with artists and reverse its decision,” said Joel Chipkar, a spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Association of Toronto, the local presenter of the show.“We are all victims.”Shen Yun, which tours to around 200 cities worldwide each year and whose mission is to revive China’s traditional culture, began its performances at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on March 28. It was set to perform its third show at the theatre on March 29, but shortly before the start of the show at 2 p.m. local time, audience members were told to vacate the theatre due to a bomb threat.A group shows their support for Shen Yun after the performances were cancelled by the theatre over a bomb threat that police said was unfounded, outside the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto on April 1, 2026. Teng Dongyu/The Epoch TimesThe Toronto Police Service told The Epoch Times that after an investigation they found the threat, which was sent to the theatre by email, to be unfounded.The local presenters say the CCP has been targeting Shen Yun with similar attempts to disrupt its performances for years. According to Shen Yun, its artists practice the spiritual meditation discipline of Falun Dafa, which has been persecuted by the CCP since 1999. The show’s tagline is “China Before Communism.”The presenters say the Four Seasons Centre’s decision to cancel the remaining shows over the fake threat is a global first, and that they’re disheartened by the decision. Shen Yun was set to perform five additional shows at the venue from April 1 to 5.“Public safety is always our top priority. Police confirmed the threat was not credible. We fully cooperated to enhance security. Despite that, the show was cancelled,” Chipkar said.“Thousands of audience members have been affected.”The presenters say that in all previous instances in which theatres received threats—including the dozens of cases in Canada—the venues conducted additional safety measures, such as extra security screens and protective sweeps, and proceeded with the performances.“The Four Seasons Centre’s decision is, regrettably, unprecedented,” the Falun Dafa Association of Toronto said in a statement.“Globally, over 150 similar false bomb threats have been received, all aimed at shutting down Shen Yun. No threat has ever materialized and all the shows have continued to perform—until now.”On March 15, Mississauga’s Living Arts Centre received a bomb threat just as a Shen Yun performance was about to begin, but once police confirmed that there was no threat, the show was allowed to go on after a 1 ½ hour delay. The Peel Regional police confirmed to The Epoch Times that their investigation found no “credible threat.”The Epoch Times contacted the Four Seasons Centre for Performing Arts and its operator the Canadian Opera Company for comment but didn’t hear back.Audience members outside the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto on April 1, 2026. The theatre decided to cancel Shen Yun’s performances over a bomb threat that the police said was unfounded. Teng Dongyu/The Epoch TimesA spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service told The Epoch Times that an investigation into the issue is “ongoing at this time.”The presenters say that following the Mississauga incident, the RCMP told them that fake threats constitute “public mischief.” The Epoch Times contacted the RCMP for comment, and was told to get in touch with the local police of jurisdiction.Fake ThreatThe threat targeting the March 29 Shen Yun matinee in Toronto was made in an email written in Swedish, which the show’s presenters say resembles other foreign-language threats received by theatres hosting Shen Yun, and which a Taiwan police investigation traced to China.The March 29 email was sent to multiple recipients at the Four Seasons Centre and was received at 12:55 p.m. local time, according to the presenters.The content of the email translates to: “Many explosive devices have been placed at the Four Seasons Theatre and Parliament Hill in Canada. If the Shen Yun performance is not cancelled and continues to be shown, explosions are planned at Parliament Hill and the Four Seasons Theatre.”The presenters say that despite police conducting a search and confirming 45 minutes after arrival that the threat was unfounded, the theatre decided to cancel the March 29 show.They add that the theatre initially told them on March 30 that the remaining performances would go ahead with extra security measures such as K-9 sweeps and additional screening and security personnel. However, the presenters say, the theatre management told them the next day that they had received “escalating threats” over the past 48 hours and decided to cancel the remaining shows.The presenters say the theatre didn’t share with them the evidence of those threats, and that the Toronto police have confirmed that no further threats have been reported since March 29. The Epoch Times contacted the Toronto Police for comment on this issue but didn’t hear back by publication time.The presenters say they worked closely with the theatre to address safety concerns and agreed to pay for enhanced security measures, including onsite K-9 services, more screening, and more personnel.“Despite these efforts, meaningful engagement toward practical solutions was not pursued by the Four Seasons Centre, and the unfortunate decision was ultimately made by them to cancel all the rest of Shen Yun’s performances scheduled,” the presenters said.Shen Yun Performing Arts presents the beauty of traditional Chinese culture, as it existed before communism. Courtesy of Shen Yun Performing ArtsChipkar says cancelling the show under such circumstances sets a precedent that foreign actors “can disrupt Canadian business operation and society at will.”The presenters added that they remain “committed” to finding a path forward with the venue so that Toronto audiences can see Shen Yun. “We will defend your right to see it and we refuse to be silenced by the Chinese Communist Party,” they said.Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said the cancellation of the shows is “shocking and tragic.”“What has happened to our country?! A classical Chinese dance and music show that a foreign government doesn’t like is shut down on our soil because of anonymous threats,” Genuis said on social media on April 2. “We must strengthen our country in the face of these threats.”Conservative MP James Bezan said the incident is “completely unacceptable.”“This is an attack on fundamental freedoms, freedom of expression and freedom of conscience, which must be protected,” Bezan said on social media.Attempts to Disrupt Shen YunThe threat received by the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto resembles other fake threats written in foreign languages received by some theatres hosting Shen Yun.Last year, the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver received an emailed threat written in Irish Gaelic just before the Shen Yun shows were about to begin.Also last year, two days before Shen Yun was to begin its performances at Mississauga’s Living Arts Centre, the theatre received a threatening email from a sender with an account name in Chinese pinyin that translated as “Fighting for the country.”A few minutes later, the Centre In The Square theatre in the nearby Ontario city of Kitchener, which was also scheduled to host Shen Yun around the same time, received an identical email from the same sender.Police determined that the threats weren’t credible.Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau said last year that it traced threats that theatres in the country received over hosting Shen Yun to Xi’an, China.The tactics targeting Shen Yun have also taken on other forms.In 2024, two Chinese agents received prison sentences in the United States for attempting to bribe  an Internal Revenue Service agent to open an investigation into Shen Yun.Chinese Consulates also routinely contact local venues to thwart Shen Yun’s performances.Shen Yun Performing Arts held its second Toronto performance of the 2026 season at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on the evening of March 28, 2026. The theatre was filled to capacity. May Huang/The Epoch TimesIn one such instance in 2024, Grzegorz Grabowski, president of the Jordanki Cultural and Congress Centre in Toruń, Poland—where Shen Yun was scheduled to perform—told The Epoch Times that the Chinese consul personally visited him weeks before the shows and urged him to cancel the contract. Grabowski said the agreement could not be terminated, and the performances ultimately went ahead.Another tactic targeting Shen Yun has been impersonating emails that appear to be attempting to smear the performing arts company.In one case, a Canadian parliamentarian who has publicly supported Shen Yun received an email in early December 2024 from someone claiming to be a former Shen Yun dancer. The message alleged overwork and trauma during their time with the company, according to an incident tracker by the Falun Dafa Information Centre.The parliamentarian questioned the email’s authenticity, and an inquiry with Shen Yun found no current or former performer matching the name of the sender.In another incident earlier this year, Shen Yun’s ticketing service in Taiwan received an email impersonating the country’s interior minister, and warning that if the performances proceeded, violence would follow, including the assassination of Taiwan’s president.Such threats were also made against Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and five other world leaders in an email sent to the show’s Canadian presenters this year, warning that if Shen Yun was allowed to perform, the leaders could face harm.The Falun Dafa Association of Toronto is calling on Canadian authorities to address the CCP’s transnational repression.“We condemn the CCP’s desperate transnational threats and call on the Canadian government to protect targeted groups like ours, publicly condemn these actions, and launch a comprehensive investigation,” the association said.“Foreign authoritarian regimes must not be permitted to export coercion and intimidation onto Canadian soil.”Kui Teng, a Hong Kong kickboxing champion, and his wife outside the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, where Shen Yun was scheduled to perform, on April 1, 2026,. Teng Dongyu/The Epoch TimesAudience Members Disappointed by CancellationDespite the Four Seasons Centre’s notice that the April 1 show was cancelled, many audience members still came in case it went ahead, or to express their support for Shen Yun. Some others hadn’t learned about the cancellation until they arrived at the venue, and said they were very disappointed that the show was cancelled.Kui Teng, a Hong Kong kickboxing champion, said even though he knew about the cancellation, he came to the theatre to express his support for Shen Yun and condemn the CCP’s interference.“Because Shen Yun has a very high level of influence, the CCP suppresses it. The CCP always targets good people. If the CCP says Shen Yun is bad, then Shen Yun must be good,” he said.Margaret and her husband had come to see Shen Yun at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, on April 1, 2026. Teng Dongyu/The Epoch TimesTeng added that this incident is “very serious,” and people should speak out to ensure it doesn’t occur again.“If we choose to remain silent this time and not oppose the CCP’s transnational repression, it will happen again in the future, a second time, a third time. They will use the same method to carry out transnational repression in all different things.”Margaret, who came to see the Shen Yun with her husband, said they were sorry to learn the show had been cancelled when they arrived at the theatre, as they had wanted to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary by attending Shen Yun.“I feel so disappointed,” said Margaret, who only provided her first name.Another audience member, Serena, who also only provided her first name due to privacy concerns, drove three hours with her family to downtown Toronto to see the show for the third time, because she says Shen Yun presents the essence of Chinese culture and values.Serena and her family drove three hours to see Shen Yun at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, but found the show had been cancelled over a fake bomb threat, on April 1, 2026. Teng Dongyu/The Epoch Times“It genuinely tells people what the culture of China is,” she said in an interview outside the venue. “It tells people how to be kind.”She said she hopes those who have it within their control do what they can so the rest of the performances can go on.“Shen Yun is a performance that deserves to [be shown], because it’s preserving Chinese culture, and it deserves to show people what the truth is,” she said.Xiao Wang, a student from China, said in an interview in Chinese that he was “very angry” about the CCP’s transnational repression.He added that the theatre should say “no” to this attempt at interference by the CCP.“I feel very sorry that the performance was cancelled. Shen Yun is a wonderful cultural event, and the CCP should not treat it in this way,” he said.Teng Dongyu contributed to this report.