The recent defeat of a defamation lawsuit filed by a former head of a well-known Toronto-area umbrella group of Chinese-Canadian associations serves as a “devastating blow” to Beijing, a China critic says.
The group in question, the
Council of Newcomer Organizations (
CONCO), was founded in 2011 by
Geng Tan,
now a former Liberal MP, before he he was elected to Parliament. Before becoming MP, Mr. Tan had held executive positions in several Toronto-area Chinese community groups with close ties to the Chinese Consulate. CONCO has aligned with Beijing on multiple contentious issues, including the regime’s clampdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by Zhu Jiang, then-CONCO executive chair, against four CONCO co-chairs. Amid expiry of his two-year term in August that year, Mr. Zhu sued the co-chairs for having publicly accused him of manipulating CONCO’s upcoming biennial election. The co-chairs also alleged that Mr. Zhu made political remarks—including pro-Beijing remarks—on behalf of CONCO’s member associations without authorization, which they said harmed the group’s reputation.
Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice
dismissed Mr. Zhu’s defamation lawsuit on Dec. 4, 2023, with the judge describing the defendants as “whistleblowers.”
Toronto human rights activist Sheng Xue, a key leader of the overseas Chinese pro-democracy movement, told The Epoch Times that “the court’s decision in this lawsuit will, firstly, deliver a devastating blow to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and those closely aligned with it. The case also serves as a warning to organizations cultivated by the CCP in Canada.”
‘Extensive Infiltration’
CONCO is an umbrella group for 29 Chinese hometown associations, each representing individuals in Canada whose families originated from the same province or city in China.Ms. Sheng noted that the ruling against Mr. Zhu “will further raise public awareness about the [regime’s] extensive infiltration through the United Front,” referring to the Chinese communist regime’s United Front Work Department (UFWD).
The UFWD is the CCP’s “primary foreign interference tool,” according to an Australian Strategic Policy Institute
2020 study cited by
Public Safety Canada at the time. It’s used to “stifle criticism, infiltrate foreign political parties, diaspora communities, universities and multinational corporations,” Public Safety Canada
told the Canada-China Relations Committee in February 2021.
During his term as CONCO’s executive chair, Mr. Zhu had publicly said CONCO “is now more valued by the Chinese Consulate than any other organization,” according to a 2020
article by the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times, citing a source close to CONCO’s leadership who requested anonymity.
CONCO has received
five federal grants, totalling $187,900, since its establishment in
June 2011. This includes two separate grants of $25,000 in
2021 and
2020 from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). It received
$64,760 in June 2019 and
$35,000 in February 2019 from the Department of Canadian Heritage. It earlier received
$38,140 from ESDC in 2016.
Legal Battle
According to the Dec. 4, 2023,
court ruling, Mr. Zhu launched a defamation lawsuit against the four CONCO co-chairs for posting messages on their hometown association members’ WeChat groups, alleging “lack of financial transparency, election manipulation and violations of CONCO’s Constitution/Bylaws.”
The defendants
alleged that Mr. Zhu’s lawsuit was primarily aimed at limiting public participation on matters of public interest, the court document said. They also alleged that the lawsuit specifically sought to suppress debate on the administration of a publicly funded organization and that it undermined democracy, freedom of expression, and transparency in matters of public interest.
In response, the co-chairs filed a motion opposing what’s called “a strategic lawsuit against public participation” (SLAPP), also known as an “anti-SLAPP regime,” seeking to dismiss Mr. Zhu’s lawsuit. Such a regime is designed to prevent parties from misusing the legal system or justice agencies by filing strategic lawsuits for improper reasons.
The presiding judge,
Eugenia Papageorgiou, ruled in favour of the motion and dismissed Mr. Zhu’s legal action.
The judge described Mr. Zhu’s evidence as “primarily bald assertions” while stating that the defendants’ evidence was backed by documentary evidence and the testimony of independent witnesses.
“I agree with the defendants that one of the fundamental goals of freedom of expression is the ability of citizens or those in positions of power, particularly in public organizations, to be able to call out questionable leadership,” the judge said.
“I agree that if people in our society cannot hold public figures or entities in receipt of public funds accountable or question their leadership, there is a significant risk of waste, fraud and abuse.”
The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Zhu for comment through his lawyer, Christopher Goldson, but didn’t hear back.
Supporting Beijing’s Clampdown in Hong Kong
Among other allegations, the defendants accused Mr. Zhu of making “political statements” that contradicted the nature of CONCO as a “non-political organization,” as indicated in the organization’s constitution.The allegations emerged after Mr. Zhu attended a pro-Beijing
rally in Markham, a city in the Greater Toronto Area, on Aug. 11, 2019. The
event was held to show support for Beijing’s clampdown on ongoing democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong since June 2019.
Other attendees included Michael Chan, a former Ontario Liberal
minister at the time and currently
Markham’s deputy mayor. Mr. Chan’s Beijing ties were the subject of a Canadian Security Intelligence Service
warning to the provincial government in 2010, as reported by The Globe and Mail. Mr. Chan has launched a
lawsuit against the Globe over the report. He has not returned Epoch Times requests for comment.
Justice Papageorgiou noted that one defendant in Mr. Zhu’s lawsuit provided evidence that CONCO purchased an advertisement criticizing the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. She referred to a 2020
report prepared by Amnesty International Canada in consultation with other members of the Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China.
“In October 2019, a Chinese-Canadian group known as the Council of Newcomers Organizations, which has previously received federal funding, paid for a newspaper advertisement in the Chinese Canadian Times condemning Hong Kong democracy protesters and adopting Chinese government talking points,” the report stated.
“The use of Canadian taxpayer money to fund such an organization was decried by spokespeople for pro-democracy groups in Canada, who criticized the Canadian government for allowing public funds to be used to enable CCP influence in Canadian society and politics.”
Xinjiang Association
Besides being a past CONCO executive chair, Mr. Zhu is also president of the
Xinjiang Association of Canada,
one of the 29 CONCO member organizations. The human rights advocate Ms. Sheng pointed to
media reports stating that this association has also expressed support for Beijing during the Hong Kong democracy movement.
Despite widespread reports of the CCP’s mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims in China’s western province of Xinjiang, Mr. Zhu and his
affiliated organizations have promoted the regime’s governance. This includes CONCO’s response following MPs’ unanimous vote in February 2021 in support of
a motion to designate as genocide the CCP’s incarceration of an estimated
one to three million Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
CONCO issued a statement in March 2021 expressing opposition to the motion, stating that it “harms Canada-China relations, damages Canada’s image, and goes against Canadian values,” as
reported by the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times.
Ms. Sheng noted that several Toronto Chinese Consulate officials were in attendance at
a 2010 event celebrating the establishment of the Xinjiang Association of Canada. This included then-Consul General
Zhu Taoying and then-Deputy Consul General
Meifang Zhang. Mr. Chan, who was then serving as an Ontario cabinet minister, was also present.
“When the Xinjiang Association of Canada was established, ... he [Mr. Zhu] extended invitations to a substantial number of officials from the Chinese Consulate in Canada. This is akin to providing them with a platform,” Ms. Sheng said. “This clearly indicates his significant standing and the importance accorded to him by the Chinese Communist Party.”
An estimated 400 people attended the event,
the association reported.
‘Roots-Seeking Programs’
CONCO has been described as “a commanding level United Front organization” in the “Mosaic Effect,” a book
recently published by former RCMP intelligence officer Scott McGregor.
The book underscores CONCO’s hosting of
“roots-seeking” programs allegedly aimed at “cultivating the next generation of pro-nationalist Chinese-Canadian youth.” These programs were
reportedly held in partnership with the Chinese Consulate in Toronto.
The National Post reported on Dec. 3, 2023, that a group of 20 young Canadians in the summer of 2023 visited Xinjiang on a
“roots-seeking” trip that appears to have been arranged by CONCO and the Xinjiang Association of Canada. The article said the trip was organized by a Canada-sanctioned Chinese entity—the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC)—along with a branch of the UFWD’s All-China Federation of Overseas Returned Chinese.
A 2021 Global Affairs Canada backgrounder says the federal government was imposing
sanctions on the XPCC Public Security Bureau effective March 22, 2021, along with four Chinese officials, “in response to gross and systematic human rights violations that have been committed in China.”
The Epoch Times contacted CONCO for comment but didn’t hear back.
‘Strength of China’s Power’
Mr. Zhu’s other engagements with the Chinese regime that have also come under scrutiny include his attendance at an October 2019 event celebrating the 70th anniversary of communist China’s National Day and showcasing a military parade.Mr. Zhu’s attendance received widespread coverage, including by
Chinanews.com, an online media outlet
affiliated with one of the CCP’s major mouthpieces, China News Service. The Chinanews.com article reported Mr. Zhu as saying that he couldn’t help but choke up and shed tears upon seeing the military parade, stating that it showed the strength of China’s power today and evoked a sense of pride in him.
Ms. Sheng highlighted a
report by SuperLife.ca in which Mr. Zhu said he was invited to attend the military parade on the recommendation of the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto and the UFWD of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, with the invitation issued by China’s Overseas Chinese Affairs Office.
“[Mr. Zhu] said in the report that it had always been a dream of his to see the National Day military parade live. With that kind of fundamental attitude, we can confidently say that he is someone valued by the Chinese Communist Party,” Ms. Sheng said.
“So, being valued by the Party of course means he will be utilized. Therefore, the utilization naturally includes the active, vigorous efforts he has been making in Canada in a variety of different spheres.”
