China, Hong Kong and Foreign Interference

Globe & Mail: Hong Kong officials rebut criticism of police entry for World Police and Fire Games in Winnipeg

Ms. Kwan said in an interview on Thursday that the police officers from the Chinese-ruled city should have been red flagged, particularly those who are recognized human-rights violators. “But none of that was flagged through the process, and they all just came through.”

Global News: Foreign interference: CSIS told B.C. premier it can’t share intelligence, documents show

The notes of the meeting show that while the premier wanted to know more so his government could respond with policies and legislation, the CSIS official explained his agency reported only to “one client”: the federal government.

Otherwise, CSIS was prohibited by law from disclosing classified intelligence, the official said. “The province doesn’t know what the province doesn’t know,” the official added, according to notes taken by the premier’s staff.

The meeting highlighted what some see as a critical weakness in Canada’s fight against foreign interference: although provincial and municipal governments are key targets of China, they are not in the intelligence loop.

CTV News: 'We're not there yet': LeBlanc on status of foreign interference public inquiry

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says while the federal government is "not there yet" when it comes to launching some form of public inquiry into foreign interference, "constructive and collaborative" conversations are continuing — with more scheduled in the days ahead.

The minister taking the lead on the file told reporters that he met with senior officials from the Privy Council Office on Monday, has plans to meet again "in the next couple of days" with opposition party House leaders, and spoke to an opposition party leader over the weekend.

"We have made significant progress," LeBlanc said during a press conference in New Brunswick.

Media Release: NDP reacts to announcement of new immigration measures for Hong Kongers fleeing persecution

New Democrats welcome the federal government’s changes to Canada's lifeboat scheme that will clear a pathway to Permanent Residency for Hong Kongers in Canada. The NDP has called on the Minister of Immigration to remove the education requirement that restricted Hong Kongers from a pathway to permanent residency right at the start. Alongside advocates for Hong Kongers, I had pointed out that the restrictive 5-year graduation rule meant that many Hong Kongers would not be eligible under the program. Hong Kongers have contacted me and were extremely anxious that they would face deportation especially at a time when the Hong Kong police is escalating their hunt by placing a million-dollar bounty for the arrest of prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists that fled abroad in search of safety.

New Democrats have opposed the imposition of the draconian National Security Law since its installation by the Hong Kong government that violated the Sino-British Joint Declaration of One Country, the Two Systems Rule, and the United Nations Charter of Human Rights.

The NDP urges the federal government to take further action by lifting the criminal record check requirements for individuals accused of violating the National Security Law or in the very minimum substitute that requirement with an alternate means to satisfy public safety concerns. This is an essential component to ensure the pathway to safety is workable on the ground for Hong Kongers.”

Global News: RCMP investigating foreign meddling against Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan

There are dozens of investigations into foreign interference currently underway in this country, and one of them involves Vancouver East MP, Jenny Kwan. The acting RCMP Commissioner says Kwan is one of three MPs involved in the investigation. Kristen Robinson reports.

Globe: NDP stands by Liberal pact amid foreign-interference discontent

B.C. NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who is one of only three MPs (all on the opposition benches) who have been publicly identified as a target of Beijing’s interference, said going to an election amid foreign-interference concerns doesn’t make sense.

“If we’re going to go to an election, I am a sitting duck,” she said. “Others are as well.”

Moreover, she said, foreign interference isn’t the only issue voters expect Parliament to address. There are seniors in her riding who are left to eat blended food because they can’t afford to pay for a dentist, she said. Giving up on the deal would also mean letting the Liberals off the hook on the promises in it, Ms. Kwan said.

In the House of Commons since 2004 and in his fifth minority Parliament, Ontario NDP MP Charlie Angus said this is the first where he has a chance to directly shape government policy. As one of the NDP critics for natural resources, he has regular meetings with Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson and says those talks have forced the government to shift its sustainable-jobs policies aimed at helping workers transition to a net-zero economy.

Mr. Angus said the Liberals have worked with him in good faith and as a result of his advocacy have strengthened labour standards and the role of unions.

“The dance partner we have is a government that is tired, that is sloppy, that makes a lot of mistakes,” said Mr. Angus. “But my focus in opposition right now is to make them deliver on the promises that we made to Canadians.”

“If I came back to Northern Ontario and said, ‘hey, people, we forced a summer election over allegations that we still need to investigate.’ They’d kick my ass all over Northern Ontario.”

In terms of the priorities of Canadians, Nanos Research founder Nik Nanos said the polling shows that on the policy front, the NDP calculation is correct: The foreign-interference issue is of interest but not more so than the economy, health care and the environment.

Mr. Nanos described the NDP as “policy mercenaries” who are squeezing the government on the issues that matter most to them but stopping short of being full governing partners. However, he said there’s a risk for the NDP that they end up appearing too closely linked to the Liberals by the time the next election comes around.

Toronto Star: Critics are hammering David Johnston, but his most serious wounds are self-inflicted

Fourth, Johnston’s inability or unwillingness to provide clear answers may lead people to believe he did not do his due diligence. Under questioning from NDP Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan, Johnston would not say whether he had inquired into why an early version of an intelligence memo dealing into Chinese attempts to interfere in a Liberal party nomination race was changed.

Last month, Johnston concluded there were no examples of the prime minister or his ministers knowingly or negligently failing to act on intelligence or recommendations related to foreign interference. Now, the special rapporteur wants to move on to self-assigned public hearings next month, hoping to answer questions of how foreign interference affects Canadians and how it gets detected and deterred, with an eye toward strengthening Canada’s capacity.

 

PROC#80 Special Rapporteur David Johnston

“In the report, Mr. Johnston, you concluded that it was reasonable for the Prime Minister to take no action, even though in your own report you cited that there were irregularities and that there was well-founded suspicion.

From my perspective, I don't know how you can square that circle and how you can come to that conclusion when there was well-founded suspicion, and yet no action was taken. The common refrain from the report seems to be that no recommendations were made, so none were taken and none were ignored. Somehow, the notion is to say “I see no evil, I know no evil, so therefore there is no evil”, but in reality, there is much more and it's much deeper than what is going on.

My question, then, is this: Can Mr. Johnston explain if CSIS looked into nomination processes?“

Global News: ‘I will not bend’: B.C. MP Jenny Kwan says she won’t allow China to erase history

I hope those of us outside of Hong Kong and China would find the courage to speak up and let the people of Hong Kong know we stand with them and that our voice is an extension of their voice,” Kwan said.
She acknowledged that there’s a risk to continuing to speak out while she is being targeted by Beijing.
“People might distance themselves from me or they’re worried what implications this has and how it could affect them,” Kwan said.

“Those are definitely real concerns, but I cannot allow for anything to deter me from doing this work. If I’m afraid to speak up, what does that mean for everyday people?”

Globe: NDP MP informed she is being targeted by China as party renews call for inquiry

“The reason why I’m being targeted is because of my activism,” she said. “Coming out of this briefing it is more clear than ever that I will not be intimidated, that I will not be silenced in any way.”

Ms. Kwan said she could not disclose specific details provided by CSIS on how China tried intimidate her, but said the efforts date back as far as 2019. The Vancouver MP has been a strong critic of China’s 2020 effort to silence opposition and dissent in in Hong Kong, where she was born, as well as Beijing’s brutal treatment of Muslim Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang province.

Ms. Kwan said this revelation is all the more reason for a public inquiry, not just a probe by Mr. Johnston.
“I call on the government to do what is right, and what is just, and that is: We need a national public inquiry,” Ms. Kwan said. “It is not just for the protection of people like me, who is a member of Parliament, but it is also people who face those dangers every day. And they need protection and they need the government to be on their side.”

Ms. Kwan expressed dismay that she only found out years later that the Chinese government had sought to interfere with her role as MP. The government agreed to provide briefings to MPs who were targets of China as a result of national-security leaks to The Globe and Mail about the effort to intimidate Mr. Chong and his family in Hong Kong.