Romania: The CCP's Interference Fails to Affect the Success of the Spectacular in Romania

The Divine Performing Arts held two shows in the biggest national theatre in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, on April 7th and 8th. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intimidated local Chinese people to deter them from attending the shows and attempted to interfere with the performance. Nevertheless, the two shows were successfully held with no vacant seats.

Audience at the Chinese Spectacular

CCP Intimidation Fails - Many Chinese People Attended the Performance

Several people confirmed that, before the show, the Chinese Embassy in Bucharest, attempting to stop the show, called and met with administrators of the national theater, requesting that the theater cancel its contract with the Divine Performing Arts. But this unreasonable request was turned down.

In addition, CCP official Zhou Jihe from the Chinese Embassy called local Chinese business people and Chinese organizations to try to coerce them into not attending the performance. The locals were threatened that they would face trouble when they visited China.

A Chinese person who received one of the calls told the reporter, "Zhou Jihe said on the phone, 'The performance is 'anti-China.' If you go, you are also anti-China.' I answered, 'Romanian people will see the performance. Are they also anti-China? How can you draw such a wrong conclusion?' Zhou Jihe intimidated me loudly, 'I won't talk to you about this since I cannot convince you. For whatever reason, you cannot go to the show. Otherwise, you will be on a blacklist. When you go to China, you'll be arrested.'"

Though the Chinese Embassy attempted to interfere with the show by various means, several dozen Chinese people attended the two Spectacular shows. One couple who wished to remain anonymous, said afterward, "The performance was very good. The songs were sung very well, especially Guan Guimin's song. I liked his singing before, and I was excited to see him today. The costumes, backdrop, and performance were all great."

Local People Commend the Performance

Romania was once a communist state. People there suffered under the dictatorship of a communist regime, so they were sympathetic to the messages conveyed in some of the performances. In the "The Power of Awareness," when spectators drove away two police officers, the audience applauded and expressed strong, sympathetic accord. The two main players answered a curtain call twice in response to the audience's warm applause.

After the show, several audience members gladly shared their impressions with the reporter.

Ms. Carmen said she liked the drum playing and the Erhu performance. It was her first time experiencing an Erhu performance.

Electronic engineer Domnul Iena said, "All the performances were very good. It was like being in another world."

The Romanian performance is the last stop for the Divine Performing Arts in Eastern Europe. The touring company left for Milan and Munich for its final performances in Europe.