The Messy Divorce Proceedings Between Ottawa and Beijing

One legislation can change your life. Tomorrow when you get up, your life will be different. Nothing belongs to you anymore."

"This could affect thousands of Canadians with benign links to China because of their familial, commercial, educational, or civil society relationships in the mainland [China]."

"It seems very likely to me that these individuals will be seen in an unfavourable light. In the current context of extreme suspicion about all things Chinese, the risk of stigmatization is real."

"Your name goes on a list, whether  you are guilty or whether you are in fact a foreign agent. Once your name goes on the list, you will have a mark on your head and you will be stigmatized and that can affect your career and your life prospects."

Canadian Senator Victor Oh

"This is straight out of the CCP's [Chinese Communist Party] playbook, using racism as a deflection from the proper issue at hand."

"It's downright offensive."

Cheuk Kwan, Toronto Association for Democracy in China

"[The anti-registry push is similar to the disinformation campaign that targeted me in the 2021 election]."

"They are using the fear of newer immigrants."

"It's fertile ground for misinformation and they're exploiting the opportunity."

Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu

Marco Mendicini, Minister of Public Safety: "Today, we launched consultations on the creation of a Canadian Foreign Influence Transparency Registry. We invite Canadians to share their views on this important tool to protect our institutions." Twitter

 

That Beijing has been infiltrating Canada at every conceivable level for years is well known. Agents loyal to the People's Republic of China have inserted themselves in academia, science, business and politics; their purpose to gain influence for China. During the mainland takeover of Hong Kong and the persecution of democracy activists those same activists cojoining forces with the Chinese missions in Canada and enlisting the support of Chinese students on study visas championed Beijing.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Chinese Canadians of Hong Kong background deplored Beijing's dashing of Hong Kong's freedom to lean into democracy, imposing on the city Beijing's heavy hand of communist-style justice. The Confucius Institute chapters that were opened in many universities to foster friendship with China, to feature its heritage and promote its language was recognized as a propaganda tool and lost favour in Canada. 

Above all, the harassment of Chinese-Canadians by Chinese agents working out of Canada, some in the confines of shadowy Chinese police stations that threatened those who rebelled against Beijing's line finally received attention by investigative reporters who revealed the role that Beijing played in the last federal elections, spreading false information and attempting to influence the outcome of elections, which in fact resulted in two anti-Beijing Members of Parliament losing their seats, and led to a proposal for a foreign agent registry.

Canada has an ugly past with respect to its white European heritage that wanted to keep its citizens of European derivation and white. In 1923, the Chinese Immigration Act barred Chinese from migrating to Canada and installed a head tax of $500, an unheard-of-sum. At the same time Jewish Canadians faced discrimination as did Indigenous Canadians. Today, Canada welcomes Chinese immigrants that represent one of two top sources of new Canadians. But this Liberal government denied any knowledge of Beijing's interference despite being informed years ago by its own intelligence services.

Now, in the face of real and proven interference on many levels from industrial espionage to cybersecurity, and proven political interference, controversy has arisen over the pending legislation for a foreign agent registry. Senator Yuen Pau Woo of British Columbia conflated the installation of a registry with the former immigration act, that a registry could become "a modern form of Chinese exclusion". Both he and Senator Victor Oh often speak in the senate in support of Beijing.

Cheuk Kwan and lawyer Dora Nipp argue a registry would be welcomed by Chinese-Canadians since it would "prevent an entire community from being singularly labelled as a threat" as well as its function acting as a reminder to other nations to refrain from intimidating diaspora members. Activist Bill Chiu of Vancouver dismissed any link between legislation for a foreign agent registry and the former Chinese head tax: "If they are so gung-ho about modern forms of Chines exclusion, shouldn't they be jumping up and down when the PRC's draconian policies exclude equal participation of countless [people] in China?"

The bill, if passed would require anyone acting for a foreign government or related entity to register if planning to communicate with a member of Parliament or a senior official on government business. To prevent "malign" influence as Public Safety Canada calls it, where someone acts for a foreign power without disclosing their connection. Senator Woo opposed a Senate motion calling China's treatment of its Uyghur minority genocide; he advised government to release Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and co-authored a report that Chinese-Canadians were largely impervious to foreign interference, while recommending closer ties with China.

Debate on a bill that would identify foreign agents lobbying those in public office was opened in the Senate. Photo by iStock /GETTY IMAGES

Senator Pau Woo

Yuen Pau Woo

@yuenpauwoo

100 years ago, as part of the #ChineseExclusionAct, Canada forced all Chinese people in the country to register or face deportation. How can we prevent this registry from becoming a modern form of Chinese exclusion? S-237 & the former C-282 are not the answer. Time to speak out