China, Hong Kong and Foreign Interference

Hill Times Top Story: Lack of foreign interference registry ‘mystifying’ as Canada attempts diplomatic reset with primary culprits, says NDP MP Jenny Kwan

As Prime Minister Mark Carney attempts a diplomatic reset with China and India, his government has yet to name its candidate to oversee the promised foreign interference registry to address the threat of political meddling and transnational repression.

But as public attention shifts toward economic concerns over human rights, NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.) says the federal government must “walk and chew gum at the same time,” and remain focused on protecting Canadians caught in the crosshairs of foreign influence.

“The federal government can’t take its eyes off the need to protect Canadians and our democratic institutions,” said Kwan, her party’s public safety and national security critic, in an interview with The Hill Times. Her comments came as Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand (Oakville East, Ont.) wrapped up travel to India and China for talks with government officials.

Click link to read the news story - https://www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/10/22/lack-of-foreign-interference-registry-mystifying-as-canada-attempts-diplomatic-reset-with-primary-culprits-says-ndp-mp-jenny-kwan/477880/

Canadian Press: B.C. MP Jenny Kwan urges caution as Canada moves to mend trade relationship with China

 

In 2024, the RCMP publicly accused the Indian government of being involved in targeted acts of intimidation and violence against Canadians. Canada expelled six diplomats and India retaliated with by expelling six Canadian diplomats.

Kwan said the prime minister "would be wise to keep in mind that both of those countries attempted to undermine our Canadian sovereignty with foreign interference activities."

A public inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian democratic institutions found that China and India are top perpetrators of foreign meddling in this country.

Kwan said it seems foreign interference has been forgotten since the election. Expanding trade beyond the U.S. is important, she said, but "it has to be in the context of" protecting Canada's sovereignty and democratic institutions.

"We cannot abandon that primary goal," she said.

Click link to read the news story - https://vancouversun.com/news/ndp-mp-urges-caution-canada-mend-trade-relationship-china

CBC Radio: Jenny Kwan on Hong Kong overseas arrest warrants

Hong Kong officials have issued overseas warrants for nineteen people, including Canadians. NDP MP Jenny Kwan has spoken out against previous iterations of the warrants, and she joins us for more on the latest round.

Click link to listen to the interview:
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/audio/9.6848556

The Catholic Register: Pope Leo’s aid sought in freeing Hong Kong activist

A group of parliamentarians was recently thwarted in its efforts to see a motion passed in the House of Commons to grant honorary Canadian citizenship to Jimmy Lai, the prominent Catholic political prisoner jailed for his role in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests. 

Though essentially a symbolic gesture, it was understood to be an important one taken at the outset of the June 15-17 G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta.

The cross-party coalition seeking support for Lai included Liberal MP Judy Sgro, Conservative MPs Tony Baldinelli and Shuvaloy Majumdar, NDP MP Jenny Kwan, Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, Senator Pierre Dalphond and Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne.

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If Pope Leo XIV were to refer to Lai publicly it would be a divergence from papal practice since the Sino-Vatican accord on the appointment of bishops was signed in 2018. Though the late Pope Francis spoke of human rights abuses in Gaza, Sudan and Myanmar, he never spoke of China.

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In an email, a spokesperson for Lai’s defense team told the Register, “The Vatican has historically played a very important role in defending human rights around the world, and it could play a very important role in arguing for Mr. Lai's release.” 

Vancouver Archbishop Emeritus J. Michael Miller was one of 10 Catholic bishops, including Americans Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron, who signed a 2023 petition demanding the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region “immediately and unconditionally release” Lai. At the time, Miller told the B.C Catholic, “Mr. Lai is a person of faith who is being silenced and imprisoned for his pro-democracy convictions. Justice demands that we speak up for them and give them a voice.”

VIDEO: Remarks at Free Jimmy Lai Parliamentary Press Conference

June 10, 2025 - Ottawa, ON - MP Jenny Kwan joined Mr. Sebastian Lai, son of imprisoned Hong Kong pro-democracy leader and publisher Jimmy Lai, members of Jimmy Lai's legal team, and a cross-party group of MPs to speak at an All-Party Parliamentary Press Conference for Jimmy Lai.

As world leaders prepared to gather for the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, MP Jenny Kwan, along with other MPs and Senators from all parties called on Canada’s delegation to the talks to champion freedom for Jimmy Lai, one of the world’s most high-profile political prisoners and a man with close ties to Canada.

Jenny also asked the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship in Parliament the previous day: Will Canada grant honorary citizenship to Jimmy Lai? This isn't a private case - it's a human rights issue. The minister must stop hiding behind excuses. It's time for Canada to take a stand. The Minister has the ministerial authority to do so and should act immediately ahead of the G7 Summit.

Globe and Mail: Government told Liberal MP to shelve motion on honorary citizenship for Jimmy Lai

A drive to grant jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai honorary Canadian citizenship is on hold after the Liberal MP spearheading the move was told by her government’s House leader to shelve the motion just before she was about to present it.

The MP, Judy Sgro, had already gained the support of MPs from all parties for a unanimous-consent motion that raised the plight of Mr. Lai, who has been held in solitary confinement for 4½ years.

The motion was seen as a symbolic gesture by Canada to bolster support for Mr. Lai before the G7 leaders’ summit in Alberta this weekend.

Ms. Sgro said she was not given a clear explanation for the government’s move. She said she plans to persevere with the motion.

She was approached by Steven MacKinnon, the Government House Leader, on Wednesday and told that she could not present it.

 

NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who was born in Hong Kong, said Immigration Minister Lena Diab has the power to grant Mr. Lai honorary citizenship and should do so before the G7 summit, when world leaders are gathering.

“She should do it right now and absolutely before the G7,” she said. “The whole idea is to get it in front of the international community.”

Vancouver Sun: Criticism comes from all sides after B.C. Ferries awards contract to Chinese state-owned company

“The Liberals are set to hand over $30 million (in federal subsidies) to B.C. Ferries while B.C. Ferries hands over critical jobs, investment and industry to China,” Kibble charged.

Freeland responded that she agrees the federal government needs to be supporting local industry and working with allies and trade partners but that the B.C. Ferries’ contract wasn’t a federal project.

Jenny Kwan, NDP MP for Vancouver East, told Postmedia that Ottawa has a role in working with provincial governments to build up the country, including ensuring that domestic companies can compete for large procurement contracts.

“We have to re-examine how that procurement process is undertaken,” said Kwan.

Globe & Mail: MPs set to vote on motion seeking honorary citizenship for jailed Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai

Sebastien said at a press conference that the fact that his father had stayed in Hong Kong “in the face of oppression” showed his courage, but that if he were released he would likely come to Canada, where many of their family members, including Mr. Lai’s twin sister, live. He suggested he would also visit Britain where they have family.

Mr. Lai owns 12 hotels and 20 restaurants and spas in southern Ontario, as well as significant real estate in Canada. Local Conservative MP Tony Baldinelli said his properties are “a significant driver of local tourism in Niagara on the Lake.”

Immigration Minister Lena Diab was asked if she would grant Mr. Lai honorary citizenship on Monday by NDP MP Jenny Kwan in the Commons.

Ms. Kwan, who was born in Hong Kong, said Hong Kong’s national-security law had stripped people of their basic rights.

The law contains vaguely defined offences that Amnesty International has said mean “virtually anything could be deemed a threat.”

“Those who dared to speak up and to fight against this were persecuted. Jimmy Lai is one of those individuals. He dared to speak truth to power,” Ms. Kwan said.

She said Mr. Lai must be released if “the Chinese government values their reputation in any way, shape or form.”

HANSARD: Will the minister grant Jimmy Lai honorary Canadian citizenship?

ICIJ: Canadian lawmakers urge action against international regression in wake of China Targets probe

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: Members of Parliament have called on the newly elected government to enforce a law against transnational repression following reports of Chinese authorities targeting Canadian residents.

Jenny Kwan, a member of the left-leaning New Democratic Party who herself is an “evergreen” target of the Chinese government according to Canda’s intelligence agency, told ICIJ media partner CBC News that countering transnational repression has become an urgent matter.

“In light of the CBC investigation and the reports that have now come out, you would think that this would be a priority for the government,” Kwan, who was born in Hong Kong, said in an interview. “But so far, I have yet to hear the prime minister say foreign interference, transnational repression is a top priority for them.”