By Mata Press Service

 

Canada’s Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson, has warned MPs not to accept tickets to a Las Vegas-style show being staged across the country by the Falun Gong group.

She believes that the free tickets being offered for the Shen Yun show by the Falun Dafa Association of Canada and its affiliates maybe an attempt by the group to influence Canadian politicians.

The Shen Yun show is being staged in Vancouver this week at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and presented by the Falun Dafa Association of Vancouver. 

Tickets for the shows produced by this group, described as stunning by the Falun Gong-friendly media and spectacularly tacky by its detractors, range from $60 to $170

In a notice issued to MPs, Dawson said the Shen Yun show is being staged by a group that is seeking their support.

“Because the Falun Dafa Association of Canada is seeking support for its cause, these free tickets could reasonably be seen to have been given to influence Members in the exercise of a duty or function of their office,” wrote Dawson. 

“Therefore they are not acceptable under the Members’ Code. Members who have already accepted the free tickets must either give them back or reimburse the cost.”

Curiously the original advisory has disappeared from the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner web page after strident protests by the Falun Dafa group and replaced with another advisory which makes no references to the show.

When asked why the orginal advisory dated Dec 2, 2011 was taken down and replaced with another dated Dec. 21, 2011 that makes no mention of the show, a spokesperson for the commission had this to say; “We are continuously updating the website to improve the way information is presented on it. We recently deleted several advisory opinions related to events that have passed.” 

However, at Press time advisories going back to June of last year remained on the website.

Most MPs and their aides contacted said they can’t recall getting the invitations and that they would respect the advice of the commissioner.

It could not be determined if any BC MLAs or municipal politicians received the free tickets or if they would be attending the show.

A source in Victoria said it would be unlikely that any sitting Liberal MLAs would attend the show.

The Falun Gong or Falun Dafa movement is a meditative practise outlawed by China, which describes it as a cult whose leaders have caused the deaths of many of its followers and collected tens of millions of dollars worldwide.

While the movement claims it has no structural hierarchy, Falun Gong websites state it has gathered over 100 million followers since its inception in 1992 by Li Hongzhi — a former trumpet-player from northeast China who is known as “Living Buddha” to his devotees and an evil charlatan to his critics.

The reclusive Li — who has been variously described as an anti-Chinese doomsday cult leader, head of a sinister organization and a spiritual master - apparently also can fly, believes that Africa has a two billion-year-old nuclear reactor, and that aliens who look human but have “a nose made of bone” invaded Earth to introduce modern technology.

The BBC has reported that Falun Dafa founder Li has condemned gays as “immoral” and “disgusting,” and akin to criminals.

Ipolitics.ca reported that Falun Dafa Association of Canada described Dawson’s directive as a shock – particularly since the ethics commissioner’s office never contacted them before warning MPs not to accept tickets. 

“MPs are invited to a lot of luxury functions,” Lucy Zhou, spokeswoman for Falun Dafa, was quoted as saying on ipolitics.ca.

 “I think we’re being singled out.”

Leading up to this year’s Ottawa run, Falun Dafa sent an invitation and a price list to a number of MPs, said Zhou.

She said only a small number of MPs took them up on the invitation.

Dawson’s office says the advisory opinion came in response to questions from MPs about whether they should accept the tickets.

“It was prompted by a request from a Member as to whether that Member could accept the gift of those tickets,” explained spokeswoman Margot Booth, according to ipolitics.ca

“That Member informed us that other Members were receiving similar offers.”

“I can confirm as well that we were not contacted by the Chinese embassy.”

Booth did not name the MP.

In a sharply critical letter to Dawson, lawyer David Matas questions why she singled out the Shen Yun performance and called on her to withdraw the advisory, take it off her website or remove all references to the Falun Dafa Association and Shen Yun.

“No reasonable person could possibly think that a Member of Parliament would be influenced in performing a function or duty of his office by a free ticket to the Shen Yun performance,” Matas wrote, according to ipolitics.ca

The latest controversy comes as the case between the Vancouver-based Asian Pacific Post and Epoch Press Inc. of Burnaby, which is run by Falun Gong followers heads to the B.C. Supreme Court.

The case has already attracted international attention and is being touted as a showpiece to highlight the clandestine connections of the Falun Gong movement, which reportedly uses front components to wage a proxy information war against China.

The case in B.C. revolves around an article about a theatre-and-dance production, similar to the Shen Yun production that claims to showcase Chinese culture. The story — entitled “Dancing to their own tune” —  said the show by the Divine Performing Arts company had been targeted by the Chinese government because it is founded by and affiliated with Falun Gong practitioners.

It was to be published in the Asian Pacific Post edition of January 8, 2009.

Frank Cui, the owner of Epoch Press and Falun Gong adherents did not like the story’s “balanced” approach. They did not want readers to see the Chinese government’s views of the Falun Gong. They wanted to control the content and said they had a “legal right” to do it, according to the lawsuit.

When Harbinder Singh Sewak, the publisher of the Asian Pacific Post, said no, Cui refused to release the edition of the paper from the print shop.

Cui in an e-mailed press statement later said: “Unfortunately, news reporters feel that they must ‘balance’ stories about Falun Gong or events they are involved in by adding the bad words or opinions from the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], but in my feeling, between victim and perpetrator there can never be any neutrality or balance.”

Publisher Sewak said his right to free speech has been suppressed by Cui and the Falun Gong followers involved in the incident.

“You can’t complain about not having freedom of the press in China and then turn around and suppress the same freedoms in Canada,” said Sewak.

Sewak said he has received legal letters from lawyers for the Falun Dafa Association of Canada, the Falun Dafa Association of Vancouver, pro-Falun Gong broadcaster New Tang Dynasty Television Canada, and the Divine Performing Arts Company. The entities say they are not in any way responsible for the actions of the Burnaby-based printer and his staff at Epoch Press.