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Ottawa, Canada: Tire Slashed on Shen Yun Performing Arts Bus (Photos)

Jan. 22, 2010 |   By Minghui reporter Zheng Yan

(Clearwisdom.net) Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company is touring eastern Canada from January 6 to 23. On January 13, in Ottawa, the Shen Yun bus was found damaged. There were two thin knife cuts in one tire. A garage technician said that the cuts could easily lead to a tire explosion at high speeds. Police are investigating the case.

There were two cuts on the front-right tire. One was 4 inches long and the other 2 inches. They are not easy to see, but could easily lead to blown tire at high speeds.

Ms. Zhou Limin, organizer of the Shen Yun show, explained that local police are investigating the incident. Shen Yun shows are warmly welcomed all over the world. Three recent shows in Ottawa were very successful, playing to sold out audiences. Shen Yun celebrates traditional Chinese culture, and many Falun Gong adherents take part in the show. Because of this, the Chinese Communist Party, which brutally persecutes Falun Gong in China, frequently tries to make trouble for Shen Yun in cities around the world.

"This is not the first time that the CCP tried to make trouble for Shen Yun Performing Arts," said Mr. Liang, the Shen Yun bus driver. "They have tried to damage the bus several times, so I check the bus very carefully every morning."

"On the morning of January 12, I found a 2 inch long thin cut on the tire, which seemed not very serious. On January 13, I found another one, 4 inches long. This made me worried, so I had the garage technician check the bus," Mr. Liang said.

According to the technician at Motor Coach International, Montreal, the cuts were purposely made with a thin blade. These kinds of cuts are very dangerous because they are almost invisible but can cause accidents when running at high speed or with a heavy load.

Mr. Liang said that a Shen Yun bus tire was damaged last year when the show was held in Phoenix, U.S.A. The tire exploded when driving. The garage technician checked the tire and concluded that there was a hole on the back tire, which was made with a special drill.

"Obviously, somebody did this damage on purpose," Mr. Liang said.

The CCP has tried all means to interfere with Shen Yun shows. CCP embassies have sent mail to congressmen, mayors and other VIPs in many countries, asking them not to go to the Shen Yun show. The CCP also exerted pressure on theaters, using threats to convince them not to provide stages to Shen Yun. On January 6, 2009, the CCP consulate in Frankfurt, Germany sent letters to local government officials and other countries' consulates, attacking the Shen Yun show. The letters were publicized later by the German media. On March 18, 2008, the largest TV station in Denmark, DR, reported that the CCP exerted pressure on a local theatre. In 2008, 25 congressmen from Sweden condemned the CCP for interfering with the show. The CCP also harasses the audience, sponsors and hotlines of the show. But their actions always have the opposite effect--more people learn about show through it.