TORONTO—“This is a world-class, phenomenal production,” human rights advocate Ardeshir Zarezadeh said after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts. “It is not just entertainment. It tells us how important it is to protect our cultures and traditions. This show protects Chinese culture, protects humanity, and gives a voice to the voiceless.”

On the evening of June 27, Mr. Zarezadeh attended Shen Yun' fourth performance at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.

Mr. Zarezadeh is a prominent Canadian human rights advocate, director of the International Centre for Human Rights in Canada, and a lawyer with his own law practice.

Mr. Zarezadeh praised New York-based Shen Yun for preserving traditional Chinese culture and highlighting the importance of protecting cultural identity. He said that protecting true Chinese culture benefits all of humanity.

“It reflects the voices of those who are voiceless inside a country because the government of China is suppressing their voices,” he said. “I really admire that, and I’m happy that I watched the show.”

He explained that those voices include “people in China who are suffering, who cannot practice their own faith, who cannot protect their culture, and who cannot live according to their identity.”

Mr. Zarezadeh also spoke about the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to suppress traditional Chinese culture beyond China’s borders.

“China’s government is trying so hard to suppress the voices of Chinese people who are working to protect their identity and culture in Canada and around the world,” he said. “But they have not been successful so far because Shen Yun is protecting that identity and culture.”

He added that support for Shen Yun extends well beyond the Chinese community.

“Not only Chinese people, but people from different backgrounds are helping Chinese people stand against the destructive and suppressive policies of the Chinese government,” he said.

“In my view, Shen Yun is doing a great job protecting identity, culture, and traditions,” he said. “This is a really successful program. Every day, I see many people coming to the show, and I also see people in different communities talking about Shen Yun, Chinese identity, Chinese culture, and tradition.

“That part, where the Chinese government is suppressing the voices of Falun Dafa practitioners, especially touched my heart,” he said.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline and meditation practice with moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.  It rapidly gained popularity in China during the 1990s. However, the Chinese Communist Party, unable to accept any group having more influence than itself, began persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners in 1999.

Mr. Zarezadeh said Shen Yun presents this subject in a compassionate and effective way through the arts.

“They are trying to educate people and tell everyone that they are practicing kindness, truthfulness, honesty, and tolerance,” he said. “Those are the basic universal values of our way of life.”

He emphasized that these values are rooted in tradition rather than newly created.

“They are not something we invented or imported into our lives,” he said. “We grew up based on those values. The Chinese government is trying to destroy those values, and that’s not acceptable.”

Mr. Zarezadeh believes these traditional values remain essential in today’s increasingly materialistic society.

“We are becoming more materialistic every day,” he said. “But those values, whether they are old or new, are the basic principles of our lives. We have to stick to them. Absolutely.”

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he said. “You wouldn’t understand unless you go and see it in person.”