NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular Held in Ottawa, Political Leaders Attend, Prime Minister Sends Congratulatory Greetings (Photos)

By Ye Linghui

(Clearwisdom.net) At 8:00 p.m. on January 12, 2007, the New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV) Chinese New Year Gala was held in Southam Hall of the National Arts Centre, Ottawa, the capital of Canada. The Prime Minster sent a short video and wished the Chinese people Happy New Year and praised NTDTV's contribution to cultural diversity in Canada. Tickets for the show were completely sold out before the performance. All seats were occupied and the atmosphere was very warm. After seeing the show, many in the audience indicated that the performances were excellent, with rich connotations of Chinese culture.

Officials from Canada's three levels of government and representatives from the Chinese community attended the show. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) French TV covered the reception for invited guests. In the reception, there were three draws, two of which were sponsored by Chinese businesses. More than two hundreds guests showed up and half of them were from the Chinese community.

Six local mainstream media covered the show, including Canadian National TV Station, CBC French TV, CBC English TV, CBC French Radio Broadcasting Station, Ottawa Citizens and A Channel TV.

Political Leaders Gather, Prime Minister Sends Greetings

On January 10, before the first show in Canada, Prime Minister Harper sent a short greeting video to the Gala preparation group and wished all Chinese people in Canada a happy Chinese New Year. He represents the new government and sends best wishes to all Chinese people in Canada. Chinese New Year has become an important event in Canada, which indicates that Chinese people play an important role in Canadian life and culture.

On the evening of January 12, Mr. John Baird, Member of Parliament and Minister of the Environment, represented the Prime Minister to congratulate the Chinese New Year Gala. He said he was happy to see the Gala.

Others present included Vice Speaker MP Royal Galipeau, MP Pierre Poilievre, Ontario MP Richard Pattern, and Mayor Larry O'Brien of Ottawa. Six of twenty-three Ottawa City Council Members attended the Gala. In addition, administrative assistants of seven MPs came to watch the show.

Ontario MP Pattern read out the congratulatory letter to NTDTV and praised NTDTV in spreading Chinese traditional culture.

Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson: The Whole of Canada Observes Chinese Cultural Tradition

Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson sent congratulatory greetings to the Gala and said that with the help of NTDTV, the whole of Canada can observe Chinese cultural tradition.

City Council member Michel Bellemare and Rick Chiarelli also sent congratulatory letters to the Gala.

Warm Response among Audience Members

All 2,323 seats were occupied. The theater gave special permission to increase the ten standing-room-only tickets to eleven, and sold out early.

The reporter met the eleven lucky audience members before the performance. They were Chinese employees of a company, which had presented Gala tickets to them. One gentleman told the reporter, "We did not realize that the tickets were sold out so fast. When our manager told us so, we were surprised."

A woman surnamed Liu told the reporter during a performance break that her husband and she brought their grandson to watch the show. She said the performance was very good and she was lucky to buy tickets for good seats two months before. Her husband came over and said, "These are first-class performances." Her grandson said, "I love the program, 'The Loyalty of Yue Fei'."

Ms. Cai told the reporter after watching the show that she appreciated NTDTV for presenting such high-level performances and for this opportunity to get to know Chinese traditional culture and art. She said, "Several times, I was moved to tears." Ms. Cai said, "Especially in the dance, 'To the Rightful Place', where a Falun Gong practitioner was tortured to death for persisting in her belief. But she was brought to heaven and the persecutors were punished. I was moved."

City Council Member Maria McRae gave an interview during the break and highly praised the songs and dances in the show.

City Council Member Steve Desroches liked the costumes, Buddha, and the vivid background screens. He especially mentioned the musical instrument, the Erhu, and thought its sound could truly touch people. He thought that learning about a different culture is quite educational.

During a break of the show, Mayor O'Brien of Ottawa praised host Leeshai Lemish for his humor and said he enjoyed each performance. He said each performance was wonderful and he never saw such an excellent program.

When the reporter saw Mr. Lemish, he was sharing his experience as a host. When the reporter asked him which act on the program impressed him most, he said solemnly that he was very moved by the appearance of Bodhisattva. He would get tears in his eyes whenever he saw her appear.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/1/14/146817.html

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