Deputy mayor of Markham, Ont., and former Ontario cabinet minister Michael Chan visited China recently to meet with representatives of the United Front Work Department—an agency described as having “a leading role” in foreign interference and as one of Beijing’s “magic weapons” to further the regime’s priorities abroad.
That
description comes from a CSIS intelligence assessment declassified as part of Canada’s recent foreign interference inquiry. National security experts in the United States, Australia, and other places have also long flagged the UFWD as a threat.
Mr. Chan’s meeting was hailed as a way to connect Markham and the two Chinese cities he visited, Nantong and Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu province, for economic and trade exchanges. The meetings were detailed on the Chinese social media platform WeChat by the accounts of the UFWD branches in both cities.
A
May 18 post by the Nantong UFWD says Mr. Chan visited the city the previous day and met with Zhiwei Jin, deputy director of the Nantong UFWD and director of Overseas Chinese Affairs Office for the city.
The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office was deemed
by a Canadian federal judge in 2022 to be an organization that engages in espionage “contrary to Canada’s interests.” The judge upheld an immigration officer’s decision to deny an applicant entry based on his employment with the office.
Mr. Zhiwei noted Ontario and Jiangsu province’s “sister-province” relationship, says the WeChat post in Chinese.
“For a long time, the two [provinces] have had frequent economic and trade interactions and close cultural exchanges, achieving fruitful cooperation in the fields of commerce, education, and science and technology,” the post said. “These achievements would not have been possible without the active efforts of a large number of outstanding Chinese diaspora in Canada, with [Deputy] Mayor Chan as a notable example.”
Mr. Chan visited multiple companies in the region regarding opportunities for cooperation, the post said. The companies are manufacturers of machinery for plastic waste recycling.
Zhangjiagang UFWD also
posted on WeChat about the visit, and noted its representatives accompanied Mr. Chan. It lauded the opportunities for companies in Jiangsu province to collaborate with those in Ontario for “win-win results.”
Mr. Chan did not respond to Epoch Times inquiries regarding his meeting with UFWD representatives prior to publication.
UFWD and Foreign Interference
The Chinese Communist Party’s UFWD works in China to neutralize opposition to the Party, but it also “has an important foreign influence mission,” said a staff research
report prepared for the U.S. Congress’ U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in 2018.
“To carry out its influence activities abroad, the UFWD directs ‘overseas Chinese work,’ which seeks to co-opt ethnic Chinese individuals and communities living outside China,” it said. The UFWD seeks connections that are difficult to prove malignant, because they are “interwoven with sensitive issues such as ethnic, political, and national identity, making those who seek to identify the negative effects of such influence vulnerable to accusations of prejudice.”
A post on the U.S. State Department website warns about sister-city programs. “The United Front has also penetrated deeply into state, local, and municipal governments through a myriad of front organizations such as the CCP’s sister-cities programs, trade commissions, and friendship associations,” it says.
Reported CSIS Concerns Around Chan
Mr. Chan testified on April 2 at the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions.Mr. Chan’s name has come up repeatedly since 2015 in media reports citing leaked CSIS intelligence on Chinese interference. He has denied wrongdoing and has not responded to repeated requests by The Epoch Times for comment.
The Globe and Mail has reported that CSIS warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s top aides about Mr. Chan’s “alleged ties” to the Chinese Consulate in Toronto. CSIS also warned the Ontario provincial government in 2010 that Mr. Chan—then an Ontario cabinet minister—may be under the influence of China, according to the Globe’s articles. Mr. Chan has sued the Globe for its reporting.
Andrew Chen contributed to this report.
