Canada: Prominent Human Rights Lawyer David Matas says New Year Spectacular is a Continuation of Chinese Culture As a Living Entity

Prominent Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas attended New Tang Dynasty Television's (NTDTV) Chinese New Year Spectacular on January 13th, 2008 at the National Arts Center in Ottawa. He told the reporter that he noted "...the continuity between the show and ancient Chinese cultural traditions, and the costumes, the music, choreography, and the lessons around the show of faith. It's a continuation of Chinese culture as a living entity rather than just as a museum artifact."

Prominent Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas

Mr. Matas remarked, "I see this also in context where I am aware that the Chinese government is trying to discourage people from going to the show and preventing the show from taking place.

"It's not just striking as show but it's a striking contrast between the community which is trying to keep Chinese culture alive and the communist party which is in effect trying to scrounge Chinese civilisation and cultural history as if all of China began in 1949 with the advent of the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] in power."

Matas continued, "To me the Chinese [government's] effort to frustrate this sort of performance is like environmental destruction and it's a form of cultural destruction, one of the richest cultural heritages in human history and human civilisation."

Matas stated, "The community which is putting on this performance is not just providing a lot of entertainment but I would say adding to contemporary cultural diversity and keeping alive this rich and diverse Chinese culture in the face of huge obstacles."

You can't have a meaningful Chinese culture while the CCP remains in power in China

Regarding the CCP, Mr. Matas stated, "It's antithetical to culture and spirituality, it's a foreign imposition. The theory of Communism was developed in the West, by Marx and Engels, who were German. It has no historical connection with China. The way it relates to Chinese culture is simply by trying to destroy it, obliterate, repress it. There's no real connection between China and communist culture, and so any continuity of Chinese culture like what we see through the show is something that has no connection to communism whatsoever."

Matas said, "I think culture has to come from the people, it can't come from the government. Culture by its very nature is a grassroots phenomenon, and in a communist system it's a controlled system and any controlled system thwarts culture."

Matas illustrated this with an example, "That's what we saw in the Soviet Union, which had a very important culture before the Russian Revolution. I think a number of important cultural figures afterwards were basically suppressed.

"You can go through the various elements of Russian culture where everybody who was doing important work had to do it in spite of the communist party rather than with support of the communist party. That's what we see in China as well, we either see suppression or total obliteration."

Matas said, "To me the whole notion of central control which is essential to the notion of communism is antithetical to cultural development from the people, which is by its very nature something that comes out. You can't have a meaningful Chinese culture while the CCP remains in power in China."

The show aids in developing Chinese culture

Mr. Matas stated, "Culture is important to identity, and different people develop their own identity based on the identity of the communities to which they belong. When you obliterate the Chinese culture which is basically what the CCP has been trying to do, you are basically attacking the identity of the Chinese people so what you get is people who are lost in a sea that is devoid of culture and are losing or have lost important identity markers."

As for the impact that the show brought about, Mr. Matas said, "As Canadian people, you have to distinguish between ethnic Chinese and people who are not. With the ethnic Chinese, it's the connection with their identity. With the people who are not ethnic Chinese, it's an indication of the cultural diversity, the richness of the Chinese civilisation. Both groups would appreciate the people who are putting on this show for their commitment to continue, and preserve, and develop this culture.

"It isn't just the preservation, because you see things in the show that would normally help cultural development that don't just replicate the past but bring the past up to the present. One of the things we saw was the marriage of modern musical instruments and ancient Chinese instruments and that in itself is an important cultural development, important for global culture, important for Chinese culture."

Matas commended the show, "It's a very high-quality show, the costumes were wonderful, the music was terrific, the choreography was imaginative and very pretty to look at. It was a very professional show. That too added to the importance of the event."