China's Outreach

"I was a little surprised, but seconds after reading some of the comments, I realized this was probably a tactic by the Chinese government."
"This looks very orchestrated. We've seen enough of this stuff to know it's not coming out of nowhere."
Chemi Lhamo, 22, student-union president, Scarborough campus, University of Toronto

What might otherwise be the usual mudslinging around a student election has turned into a political firestorm on a Toronto university campus, where Chemi Lhamo, a newly elected student president is raising questions about the source of pro-China attacks against her. (Martin Trainor/CBC

"She is very deep into a group called Free Tibet. We think she is irrational about this."
"How would international students feel if they have a [student union] leader criticizing foreign countries?"
"International students need respect from the university now and the future. [She should not be president because of promoting her] miserable experience [to gain voter sympathy, and was overly linked to] outside groups."
Petition on change.org, signed by 11,000 Chinese students attending university in Canada

Ms. Llama, a Canadian citizen who spent the first half of her life in India with her family where many people of Tibetan descent migrated to for haven -- along with the Dalai Llama, from the Chinese government assault on Tibetans who spiritually rebel against the takeover of their homeland -- has for most of her adult life espoused Tibetan independence from China. She is proud of her heritage and with good reason aggrieved that Tibet's sovereignty has been wrenched away by force of arms by a foreign country.

As a student at University of Toronto she was recently elected as president of the Scarborough campus student union of University of Toronto. Immediately on her election a campaign of belittlement and offensive social media comments began with crude and insulting commentary against her, all by Chinese students at the university. Hers is by no means the only instance where Chinese students have accused others of promoting "hatred" against China.

At another university, McMaster in Hamilton, an invited talk by Uyghur Rukiye Turdush spoke of her experiences as a survivor of China's efforts to remodel its Uyghur minority, the talk entitled engagingly: "China's genocide of the Muslim Turkic minority", certain to grab Chinese attention, and it most certainly did. Chinese students have petitioned McMaster to be vigilant against infringement on the "dignity of Chinese students".

China has been engaged in efforts to extend its social-political influence across the world, including in Canada. There is well over a hundred thousand Chinese citizens attending post-secondary institutions in Canada. Experts engaged in China-watching speak of the soft-power initiatives China is engaging in, persuading among other issues, Chinese scholars and student associations to report to government officials, as dutiful citizens of China.

China has, moreover, invested heavily in some Canadian colleges and universities to launch Confucius Institutes to teach Mandarin and cultural studies, and many Canadian academics view these fully-funded institutes as yet another form of China's insidious infiltration throughout the world to gain acceptance, admiration and cooperative influence. As such, China is ultra-alert to any incidents that may impinge on its hard work in reputation-building.

At University of Toronto alone, of the entire student enrolment of 91,000, 12,000 students are from China. Most Canadian universities welcome foreign students since their fees are exorbitant in comparison to those paid by Canadians. In the instance of the Uyghur minority, the UN and human-rights groups have documented up to a million have been placed in "re-eduction" camps in Xinjiang, clearly placing China in a "police state" category.

This is not a descriptive China appreciates. The organizers of the petition on change.org and the Chinese Students and Scholars Association at University of Toronto have clearly organized a campaign of discreditation and harassment to undermine any legitimacy they feel this woman of Tibetan origin, and the other from Xinjiang region in China have in their presence at Canadian universities, informing the public of China's dictatorial hegemony.

"McMaster is clear in its commitment to freedom of speech. We have a wide range of speakers on campus, and we know that not everyone will agree on a particular view of opinion."
"As a university, we believe that even when views are controversial, they should be freely expressed."
Gord Arbeau, communications director, McMaster University

McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., says it is looking into the disruption of a presentation by Rukiye Turdush. (CBC)