TV station claims Chinese government forced it from T.O. cultural festival

   Sat Feb 5, 5:36 PM ET  

GREG BONNELL

TORONTO (CP) - A television station that was denied visas to accompany Prime Minister Paul Martin to China claims Beijing has used its influence to remove it from a cultural festival in Toronto.

      

Organizers of Toronto Celebrates Lunar New Year 2005 asked New Tang Dynasty Television Canada to remove its booth on Saturday, citing contractual problems.


"It's not a contractual dispute, it's pressure from the Chinese authorities," said Joe Wang, president of the television network.


"This is extending their dictatorship, and control of the press, to Canadian soil," said Wang. "I'm surprised that the organizers actually listened to them and kicked us out. They're Canadians, they're a Canadian organization."


Last month, two New Tang Dynasty journalists had their visas withdrawn by the Chinese government only days before Martin left for Asia. The prime minister called it "a serious issue" and asked the embassy for an explanation.


The visas were not reinstated.


"Their visas were revoked without giving any explanation," said Wang. "This is . . . the same kind of situation right now."


New Tang Dynasty subcontracted the booth in the Automotive Building at Exhibition Place from the Formosa Cultural Association, one of 10 booths the latter had rented from event organizers.


"I assume that somebody told the Chinese embassy or consulate" that we were part of the festival, said Wang. "We were here yesterday without any problem."


Festival organizers were adamant that politics did not play a role in asking the TV station to pack up and leave.


"I rented a booth to (Formosa Cultural Association) but not to New Tang Dynasty," said executive producer Alex Yeung. "We checked our paperwork, there's no contract signed with us. Their display has not been approved."


Yeung said that although subcontracting is permitted, New Tang Dynasty's name wasn't on the registration list.


"Our agreement is that as soon as the regulation is not fully obeyed, we have our full right to disallow the exhibitor."


The founder of the Formosa Cultural Association says the decision to close down the booth was "political."


"They think New Tang Dynasty is involved with political promotion," said Annette Yang. "They found an excuse . . . they just want to get rid of them."


Yang admits that she submitted only a partial list to event organizers, but that she was assured it was OK to continue renting out the other units.


When the reporters' visas were revoked last month, Wang said that New Tang Dynasty - which carries news, entertainment, sports, business and children's programming - had been unfairly labelled by the Chinese government as Falun Gong media.

The movement, considered a cult by Beijing, gained wide exposure in China in the early 1990s, and within a few years it had up to 60 million practitioners, rivalling membership in China's Communist party.

In 1999, former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin ordered an official ban on the practice, which includes exercise and meditation.