Democracy is a fragile thing. It is sustained by strong institutions, trust, faithful leaders, and engaged citizens.
Recent media reports have brought to light attempts by the Communist regime in Beijing to meddle in our democracy and violate the safety and security of Canadians. A report in the Globe and Mail stated that my colleague MP Michael Chong’s family was targeted by Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei. These claims have since been validated by CSIS in a meeting with Michael.
Michael’s family abroad was targeted by Beijing security officials because of a parliamentary motion that condemned Beijing’s oppression of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities and declared Beijing’s actions amounted to genocide.
What’s worse is that the Trudeau government knew about the Communist regime targeting Michael’s family, and they chose to do nothing. Michael did not know about these efforts to target his family until the story appeared in the Globe and Mail.
It is unacceptable that the government has known that an MP and his family had been targeted by Beijing for two years and did not inform him about the threats posed to his family. The diplomat in question, Zhao Wei, has faced no repercussions, and not a single Beijing diplomat has been expelled from Canada, despite actively interfering in Canadian politics.
Michael Chong is an incredible parliamentarian. He is thoughtful, intelligent, principled, and poised. I am lucky to count him as a friend. The Conservative Party is fortunate to have him on our team. Canadians can be grateful that he is a Member of their Parliament. No parliamentarian, or Canadian, should have to face this type of interference or pressure from a foreign power.
To members of the Chinese community here in Canada, Michael’s story has come as no surprise. Canadians of Chinese descent are often the victims of intimidation and threats from the Chinese Communist Party. All Canadians across the country deserve to know that the government takes their safety and security seriously, yet Canada still hasn’t shut down Beijing’s police stations operating within Canada and has failed to protect members of the community from harassment and intimidation.
The Prime Minister must finally stand up for Canadians being harassed and threatened by the Communist Party in Beijing. One of the reasons the Communist Party in Beijing views Canada as a prime target for interference is our absence of a foreign agent registry – a registry Australia and the United States currently have in place. It is past time for the Trudeau Liberals to get out of the way and ensure this registry is in place to protect Canadians.
An open, independent public inquiry is the only way to credibly investigate Beijing’s interference in our democracy and to uncover what and when the government knew about this foreign interference. Our democracy depends on it.
(Photo of Parliament Hill by festivio on Pixabay. Photo of Scott Aitchison courtesy of Scott Aitchison.)
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To Mr Whillans: of course Chong understood there could be repercussions to his extended family in Hong Kong. That’s why he said he has distanceed himself from them over the last number of years, in an attempt to insulate them from coercion and threats. What chon could not anticipate though, is the cowardice and /or malice of Trudeau and his team keeping the CSIS intelligence from him. Trudeau and Mendocino’s excuses and obfuscations on this story change with every new day. I note with irony that Michael Chong is the very sort of red Tory that many Liberals bemoan were once the main voice of the conservative party. Trudeau has just taught Sean a lesson about just how far he will push to gain any partisan advantage. Trudeau has us on the path to the chaos scene in the US politics far more than Poilievre does
Mr Reuvekamp…..On the face of things, it should come as no surprise that some countries are (much) worse at the rule of law than others. The World Justice Project has been measuring 140 countries adherence to the rule of law since 2008.
The case of Gui Minhai is simple in my mind. Mr Minhai was charged with “providing intelligence to overseas agents” (spying in short). The Chinese claim he confessed to this crime and has been jailed 8 years of a 10 year sentence. The whole “disappeared from a vacation” story has been debunked (Guardian 2016).
The obvious question then is why would we trust the Chinese “justice system”. In 2022, the World Justice Project ranked China at 95th out 140 countries in adherence to law. (Note Canada is ranked 12th and the US is ranked 20th). Whether or whether or not this ranking is exactly accurate is mute….it seems right to me and their methodology seems right.
The point of my response is similar to my response to Mr Mackenzie. These are policy matters internal to a sovereign nation. I can and do object to the Uygur policy and to their rule of law/corruption.But it is absolutely ridiculous to get into a frenzy about Mr Chong being sanctioned for pushing for a genocide charge (which carries a lifetime term in prison for any and all involved). I was absolutely inevitable that China would target Chong and his family. Moreover, short reciprocating sanctions for the sake of reciprocation alone, there is nothing Chong’s home country can reasonably do….
Much ado about nothing……If a public figure threatens China (or the US) there will obviously be consequences. No need to be shocked.
Mr MacKenzie…..As it turns out I am a big fan of economic sanctions of protesting policy differences between countries and their citizens. There is not a a particularly enforceable body of international law to otherwise deal with policy differences. As such, if a country wants to put teeth in its policy position vis a vis another country’s internal policy, economic sanctions are likely the most effective way.
In this case Chong was protesting the treatment of the Uyghurs. In general I agree with Mr Chong (although I am suspect of the American intelligence sourced “facts”). However I don’t agree with Mr Chong’s claim that this represents “genocide”. He clearly doesn’t understand the term and the legal factors involved. This is just political showboating.
That the CCP is now targeting Chong and his family for economic sanctions is absolutely no surprise whether or not you agree with Mr Chong. Absolutely any other powerful country would and has done the same….including Canada.
So to be clear, I agree in general with Chong’s position on CCP position on the the treatment of the Uygurs. But if Chong didn’t understand that there would be repercussions for his inserting himself in China’s internal (though seemingly reprehensible) policies , then he was naive. Under the circumstances, CCP reaction was both proportionate and common.
I’m not really understanding this situation. How did the MP not notice that he was being targeted.
Mr. Whillans asks “what’s the difference” between Canada and China when it comes to “policy differences”. How about the fact that no one in Canada who dissents or annoys the Federal government gets “disappeared” for more than two years, like Gui Minhai. Trudeau was probably tempted to do this with Tamara Lich, but for now anyways the rule of law is still holding here. Mr. Whillans comment is offensive, given that Mr. Chong’s “policy difference” was voting to recognize the persecution of the Uighur peoples. Standing up for those oppressed people shouldn’t be a partisan issue
So…..That makes if Okay Paul?? Not in my books.
This seems like much ado about nothing. Currently Canada alone has a list of over 500 foreign citizens in over 8 countries which are targets for economic sanctions. These sanctions were put in place over policy differences. How is Michael Chong and his policy differences with the CCP any different? It would seem to be a very common practice in the world of foreign affairs
Well said Scott. !
Thank you…..