1. The Issues
  2. China, Hong Kong and Foreign Interference

Born in Hong Kong, Jenny immigrated to Canada at a young age. She has been outspoken against human rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party, and is heartbroken to see the enactment of the draconian National Security Law and the Article 23 national security legislation leading to the demise of Hong Kong's One Country Two Systems. Jenny also advocates for the Uyghur Muslim minority. In 2023, Jenny was informed by CSIS that she is an "evergreen" target of the Chinese government.  She has declared that she will not bend to foreign interference.

ASIAN PACIFIC POST: FOREIGN INTERFERENCE FEARS GROW IN CANADA

Gloria Fung, past-president of Canada-Hong Kong Link, voiced her concerns recently, stating that a significant gap remains because Ottawa has yet to appoint a commissioner or clearly outline the registry’s operational framework.

Fung, alongside representatives from other cultural organizations, participated in a news conference to highlight the persistent threats of foreign interference, including intimidation and coercion directed at diaspora communities.

New Democrat MP, Jenny Kwan, who also attended the event, criticized the government’s delay in launching the registry.

“Where is that registry? What does it entail, and what are the obligations for those affected? We have no clarity on any of these issues,” she said.

 

Canadian Press: Groups call on Ottawa to activate foreign influence registry as election approaches

Gloria Fung, past-president of Canada-Hong Kong Link, said Thursday there’s “still a vacuum” because Ottawa has yet to appoint a commissioner or explain exactly how the registry will work.

Fung appeared at a news conference Thursday with several other representatives of cultural communities concerned about meddling, intimidation and threats from abroad.

New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan, who also took part in the event, accused the government of moving too slowly on the foreign influence registry.

“Where is that registry? What does that registry look like, and what are the requirements for people to follow the law?” she said. “We have none of that information.”

Neither the office of Public Safety Minister David McGuinty nor his department had immediate responses to questions Thursday about progress on implementing the foreign influence registry.

Global NEWS: UBC criticized for renting room to Hong Kong government for recruitment exam

“UBC, of course, can rent their space to anybody. However, from my perspective, I think that you should be looking at some ethical standards that should apply,” she said.

“In the very minimum, one would think that any organization, any institution that’s going to rent out a space to a government that is a regular, persistent, violent human rights violators, that they would apply some standards to it.”

Kwan suggested the university should have warned those taking the exam about the concerns regarding the NSL.

Kwan called UBC’s response “completely inadequate.”

“It’s just basically saying, well, it doesn’t matter. We’re blind to all of these issues,” she said.

“As a global institution, which is what UBC is, you would think that they would have a little bit more thought than to say, ‘We will just follow the regulations of basic rental requirements.’ That’s not good enough.”

 

Global NEWS: Sen. Woo downplays evidence that China ‘targeted’ MPs Chong, Kwan

In a statement, Kwan’s lawyer, Sujit Choudhry, said Woo’s allegation that the MP’s testimony was “flimsy” is “false and misleading.”

“It was CSIS who informed MP Kwan in a classified briefing that she was a long-time target of (Chinese Communist Party) interference and will remain an ‘evergreen target.’ MP Kwan testified and brought to the commissioner’s attention that she believed she had been de-platformed by Chinese community organizations,” Choudhry wrote in a statement to Global News.

Choudhry noted that CSIS officials testified that Beijing works through proxy agents in Canada’s Chinese diaspora and that Kwan is concerned the Chinese government used those proxies to target her for her advocacy on human rights issues in China.

“Senator Woo has every right to turn a blind eye to foreign interference actors and activities. MP Kwan chooses to use her voice to speak up and speak out to protect and defend Canada’s democratic institutions and processes.”

 

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