Foreign Actor Interference Activity : China/Canada

"[Support for Chinese] reunification [with Taiwan is a] sacred mission of all Chinese sons and daughters at home and abroad."

"Chinese Canadians overseas will firmly support the Chinese government's political stance and fight against any external forces that try to split and undermine China's unity."

Chinese Canadian association joint declaration, Dawa News

"[Chinese Canadians consider Taiwan and China to be] one family. So why do we organize activities like this? Because we still have feelings for our country of origin and the hometowns we grew up in."

"We don't want to see people on both sides of the [Taiwan] strait to continue to argue with each other."

Pifeng Hu, honorary president, Peace and Development Forum of Canada, Richmond, British Columbia

"Let me ask you a question: Will Canadians agree if Quebec wants to be independent? Will the United Kingdom be happy if Scotland wants to be independent?"

"You can't have that double standard [toward China]."

"[U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan was a] publicity stunt [designed to pull China into war]."

"I was once told by other Chinese immigrants to go back to China. I replied, it's totally fine that you dislike my opinions. However, it's my personal choice to stay here or to leave."

Hilbert Yiu, former chairman, Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver

"[Canada should] pause and think [and back off from being a cheerleader for the United States]."

"We are departing from our traditional role as peacemakers."

"In the past, Canada had been unbiased when there was a conflict between nationals or political entities."

"[1.8 million Chinese Canadians would be] disgusted [if Taiwan was used as a pawn in conflict]."

David Choi, national executive chair, National Congress of Chinese Canadians

 

Canada has a significant number of Chinese-Canadians integrated into its general population comprised of people from all over the world, as a country of immigrants. With greater numbers of immigrants emigrating to Canada from their home countries globally on an annual basis, not to mention the tens of thousands of refugees who are also accepted as landed immigrants (and in good time, citizens) of this country where a cornucopia of ethnic groups and a babel of languages can be seen and heard on the streets of any Canadian city.

Chinese have a long history of citizenship in Canada. Originally brought over as a hard-working labour base in the 19th century when the country began its unification program of railroads from coast to coast to coast, a long, arduous project that included cutting tunnels and laying rails through the Rocky Mountains and the Coastal Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. When Chinese later wanted to immigrate, a steep 'head tax' to dissuade them was applied by a racist government that wanted only white Europeans.

 

In the last several decades however, China has called upon its expatriate community to heed the call of the motherland by supporting the government in Beijing's surreptitious methods of gaining influence and aiding China in its long-range plans of pulling countries into its economic, social and political orbit.  Confucius Institutes were installed in universities across the country eager for investment, where Chinese history, customs and language would be taught. A potential academic bonus screening a bid for increased Communist Party of China influence.

China's increasingly tyrannical demands on other nations for unquestioned respect despite its human rights abuses in Tibet and Xinjiang, its clever manipulation of consumer markets, wiping industrial production off the map for most countries that saw its blue-collar jobs disappearing to Chinese lower wage economy, Beijing's strident belligerence in the South and East China seas reflecting its territorial ambitions to its neighbours' deficit, and its slow and steady acquisition of the world's rare earth resources while calling upon Chinese abroad to support Beijing's ambitions through the Belt and Road and other initatives have put the West at odds with China.

 

China's abrogation of the treaty it signed promising a fifty-year autonomy for Hong Kong, placed the world on notice that the population-and-trade colossus was serious about its expansionist plans. It was clear that Taiwan was next in line to be drawn directly into Beijing's sphere of control. A long-autonomous, resourceful, wealthy democracy, Taiwanese and their government have no wish to accede to Beijing's demand for unification.  In presenting an aggressive agenda toward the island of Taiwan, defiant of the island nation's refusal, China's threats and bullying tactics have turned the eyes of the West in its direction.

In the wake of Nancy Pelosi's senior U.S. diplomatic visit to Taiwan that aroused Beijing to a rage of threats and violent intimidation, Canadian parliamentarians have also announced plans of a trade mission to Taiwan. Leading to Beijing trying to exert pressure on Canada's government not to recognize Taiwan as an independent state. Accordingly, 87 Chinese groups signed a letter published in a Chinese-Canadian newspaper pledging fealty on behalf of all Chinese-Canadians, to Beijing's assertion of 'one China' including Taiwan.

The truth is, by no means do these groups represent the best interests of Canadian-Chinese as a whole. Chinese who originated from mainland China are represented by these groups, but certainly not Chinese originally from Hong Kong, or Taiwanese Chinese n Canada, much less Tibetans and Uyghurs from China all of whom deplore Beijing's political trajectory. Taiwan denies it has ever been part of China and that it will ever in the future join China.

To use Quebec and Scotland's positions of discontent with the nations they are linked to as a comparison with Taiwan is ingenuous at best, deliberately misconstruing their positions, since if through a referendum either population voted for separation, it would be honoured by the nations involved, albeit sadly and reluctantly. Beijing has no such intentions; instead it plans a military invasion of Taiwan to unseat its government and absorb the island state just as it did Tibet.

"And again, I'm not saying (organizations were repeating views at the behest of foreign governments) that's happening in this case, but this is where my concern is."

:What I would like to be sure of is that all organizations are expressing their own personal views, and not passing on the views of another unnamed actor because then that, I think, is problematic."

David Muilroney, former Canadian ambassador to China

"[The Dawa news letter forwarded to her by many Taiwanese Canadians expressed views] not acceptable at all by all overseas Taiwanese."

"I don't know if the strategy is useful for others, but it's useless to Taiwanese Canadians."

Angel Liu, director-general, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Vancouver

A soldier holds a Taiwan national flag during a military exercise in Hsinchu County, northern Taiwan.. (Chiang Ying-ying / AP)