Chinese Canadians Distrust Elected Officials Due to Perceived Beijing Links, MPs Hear

The Parliament Hill Peace Tower is framed in an iron fence on Wellington Street in Ottawa on March 12, 2020. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Some members of the Chinese community have a lack of trust towards elected officials due to their perceived close links to Beijing, a Chinese democracy activist told MPs during a committee hearing.

“Despite being afraid to voice their concerns publicly, many community members distrust elected officials due to their perceived close relationships with PRC [People’s Republic of China] officials and pro-Beijing organizations and proxies,” said Cherie Wong, executive director of the Alliance Canada Hong Kong.

Wong was testifying before the House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee on May 9, in relation to its study on foreign interference.

A main theme in her testimony related to the lack of trust not only toward politicians but also security agencies which she criticized as being non-responsive.

Wong’s group advocates for democracy in Hong Kong and for the protection of groups persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It also speaks out against PRC interference in Canada.

Wong didn’t specifically name any elected officials perceived to be close to Beijing, but two politicians have recently left their parties at the federal and provincial level after they were linked to foreign interference in national security leaks reported in the media.

Cherie Wong, executive director of the Alliance Canada Hong Kong, testifies before the House of Commons Committee on Canada-China Relations on May 31, 2021. Screenshot via parlvu.parl.gc.ca

Wong identified the main driving force behind the interference as the PRC’s United Front Work Department, which specializes in infiltrating countries to further Beijing’s interests.

She said the United Front’s interference “operates on interconnected dependencies between politics, economics, culture, technology, academia, governance and community, which most Western governments fail to grasp.”

The United Front also “disguises” its work to appear as advancing the interests of the community, Wong said, and that it presents the community as a monolithic bloc to “actively discredit dissenting voices.”

This has taken the form of creating fabricated grassroots campaigns, she said. “Years of astroturfing has made it difficult for the diaspora to mobilize without Beijing’s interference.”

She spoke of being threatened herself in relation to her advocacy and lamented that her complaint to police was not taken seriously.

Wong told the committee that at the time of founding her group three years ago, she had received a threatening phone call that she reported to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), but she said police have not met with her on the matter.

The Epoch Times contacted VPD for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.

Wong says events like these have led to some community members losing trust in security agencies’ ability to deal with foreign interference.

“Many of the diaspora don’t believe in intelligence or security agencies anymore, because when we do report incidents, they fail to inform us of any progress or anything,” she said.

Interference

If trust is reportedly shaken at the popular level, recent events on the political scene have also raised questions about how the government machinery operates when it comes to communicating key information on foreign interference threats.

The Globe and Mail reported on May 1 that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) produced an assessment in 2021 speaking of a Chinese spy service intent on targeting Canadian MPs.

A national security source told the Globe that Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family were being specifically targeted.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau initially said the information had never left CSIS, but it was later clarified it had been sent to his National Security and Intelligence Adviser (NSIA), which sits within the Privy Council Office (PCO).

The PCO told The Epoch Times that the acting NSIA at the time, Mike MacDonald, did not recall having seen such material during his brief time in the role, hence it was never briefed to the prime minister.

The Globe revelation led to events culminating on May 8 with the Chinese diplomat in Canada reportedly involved in targeting Chong being declared persona non grata.