Beijing Controls Chinese Media Bosses in Canada to Curtail Opinions, Former Editor Tells Interference Inquiry

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa in a file photo. The Epoch Times

Beijing seeks to control the owners of Chinese-language media in Canada, using them to censor content and suppress viewpoints unfavourable to the regime, a veteran journalist told the Foreign Interference Inquiry.

Victor Ho, former chief editor of Chinese-language newspaper Sing Tao Daily, told the inquiry on Oct. 1 that due to language barriers, immigrants from mainland China have “a universal habit” of consuming news from their home country, making them particularly vulnerable to Beijing’s disinformation and propaganda campaigns.

“The Chinese community in Canada has long been caught in the crosshairs of political discourse, disinformation, and propaganda originating from the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.

According to Ho, Beijing controls the content of Chinese-language media by exerting influence over media company owners who may have investments or other vested interests in mainland China.

Ho said that under influence by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), these media outlets help suppress reports deemed unfavourable by the regime, particularly those concerning oppressed groups that the regime labels as the “five poisons”: Falun Gong, Uyghurs, Tibetans, advocates for Taiwan independence, and Chinese democracy movements.

“They control the boss. They control the owner,” Ho said. “And then the boss will do the ‘right thing,’ the so-called ‘right thing.’ That is the highest level of control.”

Journalist Victor Ho poses for a photograph in Richmond, B.C., on Aug. 24, 2022. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

Toeing the Party Line

Another way media owners help Beijing censor content is through selecting guests for political commentary programs, Ho said.

“The boss won’t invite people with opposing viewpoints to [that of] Communist China. That would contrast with the boss’s commercial interests in mainland China,” he said.

Ronald Leung, a veteran columnist at two Chinese-language newspapers and hosts a weekly television show, echoed Ho’s remarks in his testimony before the inquiry.

He noted dissent is not permitted in China, forcing individuals to adhere to the CCP’s narrative. This practice extends to the Chinese community and ethnic media in Canada, where he said most conform to the official Party line.

“It is like that in the Chinese [community]; most people will toe the official line from China in any discussion. Only a very small percentage of people will have a different opinion, and the commentators used by those media outlets—the majority of them—will toe the mainland China official line in all discussions,” he said.

Leung cited an example of how an influential figure within the Chinese diaspora, who was close to a Chinese consulate in Canada, moved to suppress reports on Beijing’s killing of pro-democracy students during the Tiananmen Square Massacre in June 1989. Despite widespread coverage in Western media of Beijing deploying troops that opened fire on protesters, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries, he said these community figures claimed otherwise.

“The Chinese community leader, who has a very close connection with the consul general’s office, they came out and spoke to the media, [saying] ‘No one died at the square.’ How can they say that?” Leung said.

Tanks sit in a street in Beijing two days after the suppression of the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. Photo by David Turnley/Getty Images

Amplifying Western Conflicts

In addition to censoring public opinions unfavourable to the regime, the CCP manipulates the diaspora by amplifying social conflicts in Western societies, Leung told the inquiry, citing social issues such as drug abuse, gender identity, and crime.

“When China tried to amplify those conflicts in Western countries, we can see in the Chinese media in Canada, they will do the same thing to amplify those problems, creating a diversion of opinion between the Chinese community and the Canadian public in general,” he said.  

Leung expressed concern about the impact of this tactic on the integration of newcomers from China into Canadian society. He noted that while immigrants initially appreciate Canadian values such as human rights and freedom of speech, their exposure to news that highlights Canada’s social problems can diminish their support for these values over time.

“It’s not a very good sign, but we can see that if we do not explain to new immigrants in their first five to 10 years in Canada what our system is, how we can live harmoniously as a society, to bring Canada forward,” Leung said. “We will have a lot of problems after the first five to 10 years, when they see more and more Canadian problems.”