连日来，由于其欺骗性政治宣传和低下的艺术水准，由“法轮功”“新唐人电视台”主办的所谓“新年晚会”在渥太华演出后，遭致观众诸多批评，并引起加拿大主流媒体的关注。

　　1月17日，加拿大CBC电视台播发了《中国大使馆：中国新年晚会只不过是法轮功的宣传》的新闻，转述了中国驻加大使馆的观点，并援引了一位华人的来信，该信说：“看了法轮功的新年晚会，我感觉到上当了。”

　　1月18日，中国驻加拿大使馆黄惠康临时代办接受了加最大私营电视台CTV记者的专访，进一步揭露了“新唐人电视台新年晚会”的真面目。

　　黄代办表示，晚会结束不久，使馆即收到不少观众以电话、电邮、传真等不同方式对晚会主办者和晚会节目表达的强烈不满，其中不少人还直呼上当。黄代办强调指出，假的就是假的，伪装应当剥去。“新唐人电视台”根本不是它所自称的独立新闻机构，而是“法轮功”的喉舌和宣传工具。它举办所谓的“全球华人新年晚会”的真正目的既不是传播中国文化，也不是庆祝中国农历新年，而是以此为幌子散布谣言，诋毁中国，破坏中国同有关国家关系。这从晚会上表演的节目便可一目了然。关于加拿大某些政要通过该晚会向加华人致以新年问候事，黄代办应询表示，向华人拜年祝福本身并不成问题，问题是这些政要选错了“平台”和“渠道”。“法轮功”是地地道道的邪教和反华政治组织，它既不能代表中国文化，也不能代表广大旅加华人华侨和留学生。希望加方认清“法轮功”和“新唐人电视台”的真实面目，不要被其利用，特别是不要允许其利用加领土从事反华政治活动。

　　1月21日，CTV播放了有关采访内容。
 
（中华人民共和国驻加拿大大使馆 2007/01/23）

Chinese New Year Spectacular 'just propaganda': Chinese Embassy

The Chinese Embassy in Canada has denounced a Chinese New Year celebration show that depicts Chinese police killing a Falun Gong practitioner.

The Chinese New Year Spectacular, billed as a celebration showcase of top Chinese traditional music and dance, took to the stage at Ottawa's National Arts Centre on Jan. 12 as part of a worldwide 30-city tour that includes Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Paris and New York. This is the show's third year in some of those cities.

Included in the show's first performance in Ottawa was a dance depicting police attacking and killing a person performing movements of Falun Gong, a group that practises special exercises and meditation, and which is banned by the Chinese government.

Following the show the Chinese Embassy issued a formal statement to an Ottawa media outlet denouncing the show, hosted by the U.S.-based New Tang Dynasty Television network.

A spokesman for the embassy said Wednesday he could not immediately provide a copy of the statement, but could offer the embassy's position.

"Its aim for hosting the spectacular evening show is to smear [the] Chinese image and sabotage [the] Canada-China relationship," he told CBC.ca. "In essence, it's just propaganda."

Show received congratulations from prime minister

The statement specified that the embassy opposes officials in other countries sending congratulatory messages to the show organizers, as was done by Ottawa's mayor, Governor General Micha?lle Jean and Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the Ottawa show brochure.

"We oppose any actions that will be harmful to our relationship [with Canada]," the embassy spokesman said.

Ottawa show organizer Jean Zhi denied accusations that the show was politically motivated.

"We are not political," she told CBC-TV. "We don't have any political agenda. We don't want anything from China."

But the embassy spokesman said he has heard from many Ottawa residents complaining that the show was not what they expected from the advertising.

Andy Murray wrote a letter to the National Arts Centre outlining such complaints after watching the show.

"In the end, I felt deceived," Murray told CBC-TV. "We went there looking for traditional Chinese culture and a celebration of New Year and it wasn't either of those things, really."

NAC not in 'censorship business': spokeswoman

Centre spokeswoman Jayne Watson said Murray's complaint was one of very few the centre has received.

She said the centre is willing to compensate audience members with tickets to another show if they feel the Chinese New Year gala was not what they were led to expect.

She said the centre didn't know the show was connected to Falun Gong, but that wouldn't necessarily have made a difference.

"We present all kinds of art and performances here ourselves, … we produce it, we present it," she said. "And I think for an arts organization, you can't be in the censorship business."

China has spoken out yearly against the show and its organizer since it launched in 2004.

On Jan. 4, 2004, shortly before the show's inaugural performance, New Tang Dynasty issued a statement stating that "officials from the Chinese Consulates have been making the rounds to verbally attack NTDTV and the Gala."

The statement said the attacks are a waste of time and "the issue of Falun Gong will help to unite the Chinese people all over the world with a bond of peace and freedom, creating a better, more harmonious and tolerant future together."

(CBC News, January 17, 2007)