Beijing is harassing diasporas in Canada – and victims need better protection

2025/01/07 Leave a comment

Not new but better documentated:

…But for many diaspora communities in Canada, threats from Beijing are not new. Canadians of Chinese, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Tibetan and Uyghur heritage have long raised alarms about foreign interference – and our responses should take their needs into account.

To better understand the experiences of diaspora communities targeted by the Chinese government, Digital Public Square, in collaboration with the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy’s China Governance Lab and Abacus Data, fielded a national survey last June. In particular, we wanted to better understand the scale of transnational repression targeting these communities. Transnational repression is when governments reach across borders to silence diasporas and exiles, including through threats, abductions and – at the most extreme level – assassinations.

The survey found that 14 per cent of people in Canada who identify as having Chinese, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Tibetan or Uyghur heritage – one in seven – have experienced threats from a foreign government or know someone who has. Respondents who personally experienced such threats cited online harassment, physical threats, threatening phone calls and harassment of family members as the most common forms.

Understandably, those who have experienced transnational repression feel less safe in Canada. Seventy-nine per cent of respondents agreed that “Canada is a safe and secure place for people like me,” but only 43 per cent of those who personally experienced threats agreed. This suggests that victims are not getting the support they need.

Investigating and raising awareness about the problem are necessary first steps but are not sufficient to make affected communities feel more secure. Our survey found that 68 per cent of ethnically Chinese respondents were worried that reports on foreign interference would lead to more anti-Asian racism. Without measures offering tangible support to affected communities, raising the alarm of Chinese government interference risks heightening feelings of insecurity among those at the greatest risk….

Alexander Chipman Koty is a project lead at Digital Public Square.

Source: Beijing is harassing diasporas in Canada – and victims need better protection

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Chinese Communist Party-affiliated institute compiled profiles of Canadian MPs of Chinese descent

2024/04/23 Leave a comment

Not unexpected but different than normal engagement of diaspora communties that Canada also practices with respect to its expatriates:

A research institute in China that is affiliated with the ruling Communist Party’s foreign-influence operations compiled extensive profiles of members of Parliament with Chinese ethnicity, two sources say.

The sources say this Chinese institute used large-scale data analytics and artificial intelligence to create detailed profiles in 2022. There are fewer than 10 MPs of Chinese descent in Canada’s House of Commons.

The profiles were drawn up by a research institute that supports the work of China’s United Front Work Department, a body that answers to the party’s central committee. UFWD oversees Beijing’s influence, propaganda and intelligence operations inside and outside China. The Globe and Mail has been unable to confirm the name of the institute.

The sources say China’s cyber and digital operation to gather information on these MPs was first detected by the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada’s secret signals intelligence agency, and shared with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). The Globe is not revealing the identity of the two sources, who risk prosecution under the Security of Information Act for discussing these matters….

Source: Chinese Communist Party-affiliated institute compiled profiles of Canadian MPs of Chinese descent

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Politician’s cancelled visit causes tension in Indo-Canadian communities

2016/05/05 Leave a comment

I think the existing policy, implemented under the Conservatives, is preferred rather than reinforcing political attachment to countries of origin:

The planned visit of an Indian politician to Canada to campaign to non-resident Indians and its ensuing cancellation has caused tension in Indo-Canadian communities.

Amarinder Singh of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee had planned to visit Canada to hold rallies and events in the GTA and Vancouver, according to news reports out of India, but cancelled the visit after a complaint was made by a human rights group called Sikhs for Justice to Global Affairs Canada and the Indian High Commission in Canada.

Mr. Singh instead interacted with Indo-Canadians and non-resident Indians—known as ‘NRIs’—via Skype.

When asked about the Canadian government’s involvement in the re-routing of Mr. Singh’s North American political tour, foreign ministry spokesperson Francois Lasalle pointed to a government policy banning political campaigning by foreigners, and wrote in an email that “Global Affairs Canada has made this policy very clear to all foreign missions in Canada (including bringing it to the attention of the Indian High Commission in Ottawa) and will continue to do so.”

Canada’s government enacted a policy in September 2011 that reads “the Government of Canada will continue to refuse requests by foreign States to include Canada in their respective extraterritorial electoral constituencies. Also, the Department will not allow foreign governments to conduct election campaigns in Canada or establish foreign political parties and movements in Canada.”

Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains (Mississauga-Malton, Ont.) appeared to disagree with the government’s policy, saying that his constituents are engaged in international politics and that allowing politicians to visit communities is a matter of Charter rights.

“I think we have a very vibrant diaspora here in Canada that’s very engaged in domestic and international politics. I think we’re a country that supports a Charter. Freedom of expression, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly. These are all Canadian attributes and we welcome any opportunity that politicians have when they want to come and engage with the diaspora, and I think that’s the message I heard from my constituents and that’s the message I relayed on to them,” he told The Hill Times.

Mr. Singh himself characterized the ban on his political action in much the same way, writing a letter to Mr. Trudeau on the matter. “It feels like a gag order that has left a very bad taste,” he wrote, according to a report from India Today.

Source: Politician’s cancelled visit causes tension in Indo-Canadian communities |

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Canadian Science Policy Conference 2015: Diaspora Scientists: Canada’s untapped resource of knowledge networks

2015/10/15 Leave a comment

Another example of multiculturalism in action: building diaspora scientific links this coming November:

A first of its kind in Canada, this inaugural symposium aims to discuss the topic of diaspora scientists and their potential to strengthen international science and technology collaboration.

The symposium seeks to mobilize the untapped resources of diaspora communities to strengthen Canada’s global connections in science, innovation and trade.

The objectives of this symposium include:

· Mobilizing and connecting existing diaspora scientific communities in Canada

· Providing networking opportunities among diaspora scientists to share experiences,
lessons, and best practices

· Exploring the full potential of diaspora scientists

· Forming a Canadian Network of Diaspora Scientists that includes a database of organizations and individuals who are active in this field

Source: Canadian Science Policy Conference 2015: Diaspora Scientists: Canada’s untapped resource of global knowledge networks

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Vietnamese government fears Black April Day bill would open up old wounds

2014/07/31 Leave a comment

Vietnamese diaspora politics on how to commemorate the events following the fall of Saigon. Not surprisingly, the Conservatives favour an approach that links it to their general approach to events related to Communism; others favour an approach that focuses more on the Canadian story of welcoming Vietnamese refugees:

Conservative Senator Thanh Ngo sponsored the Black April Day Act, currently at second reading in the Senate.

“It has the general aim of bringing the attention of all Canadians to the events and suffering that followed the fall of Saigon after the Vietnam War in 1975. It would also shed light on the fundamental role that Canadians played in rescuing and welcoming thousands of Vietnamese refugees,” says a page on Mr. Ngo’s website that promotes the bill.

“Too little is known about the struggles and the atrocities that followed the devastating Vietnamese war,” Mr. Ngo told the Senate on April 30 of this year.

Too few Canadians are aware of Canada’s diplomatic work serving on international truce commissions during the Vietnam War, he said.

The war ended on April 30, 1975 with the fall of the then-southern capital, Saigon, to Northern forces. Mr. Ngo arrived in Canada as a refugee from Vietnam in 1975 after working as a diplomat for the government of South Vietnam prior to the fall of its capital. He was unavailable for an interview, spokesperson Tanya Wood wrote in an email.

Mr. Ngo’s experience contrasts with that of Mr. Vu, whose father and brother fought for the Communist forces that would prevail in the war.

Vietnamese loyal to the prevailing North suffered during the war as well, said Mr. Vu. He said an explosion killed his grandmother while she sat in an improvised bomb shelter during the Christmas bombing campaign in 1972.

“Everything was leveled, only a bomb crater was seen,” he said

If passed, the Black April Day Act would bring up bad blood remaining from the war among Vietnamese at home and abroad, he said.

“The war [gave] a lot of wounds to us, to Vietnam, and we have been trying to make every effort to heal the war wounds. So we think that opening up these wounds, that [does] not help, and it only causes continuing hatred and division from inside the country and outside,” he said.

Canada’s government has been supportive of Vietnamese reconciliation efforts in the years since the war, he said, something for which the government of Vietnam is grateful.

Vietnamese government fears Black April Day bill would open up old wounds | Embassy – Canada’s Foreign Policy Newspaper.

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For Somalia, “Team Canada” means more money, fewer jobs

2014/07/30 Leave a comment

Interesting profile in the Star about returning members of the Canadian Somali diaspora:

A study released last month by the Mogadishu think-tank Heritage Institute notes that “the relationship between returnees and locals in Somalia is complex.”

Security measures often keep the diaspora segregated since they are seen as influential, and therefore targeted by the Shabab. Also, as the report points out, “returnees often find it easier — and more advantageous from a professional networking point of view — to socialize disproportionately with other diaspora returnees.”

Of course the returning diaspora are not a cohesive group. “Generally, non-diaspora Somali communities grasp the diversity among the diaspora returnees,” writes report author Maimuna Mohamud. “They distinguish, for example, between the ‘good diaspora’ who have been successful in their host countries, and the ‘bad’ ones who failed to take advantage of the opportunities available to them.”

Al-Jazeera journalist Hamza Mohamed poked fun at the stereotypes of the returning diaspora by their country of citizenship, dubbing those from Canada who are not part of Mogadishu’s who’s who as “Team Canada YOLO you only live once.”

“They are everyone’s friends. This group treats life as a party and Somalia as a dance floor,” Mohamed wrote in a column that went viral. “They usually arrive with few things — like a minor criminal record and a Mongolian scripture tattoo they got while under the influence on a night out in Toronto. It’s hard to find them talking about serious issues. Don’t mention school — they have usually dropped out of school and are sensitive discussing this subject. If you want them to unfriend you on Facebook, tag them in photos from your graduation ceremony.”

For Somalia, “Team Canada” means more money, fewer jobs | Toronto Star.

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Shopping for Votes Can Undermine Canada’s Fine Balance – Diaspora Politics – My Op-Ed

2014/03/21 Leave a comment

From New Canadian Media, my op-ed on diaspora politics, assessing the factors and politics behind why governments and political parties adopt some causes and some not:

Ironically, as the government aims to strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship, suggesting a more exclusive attachment to Canada, its active engagement in diaspora politics reinforces a more fluid concept of identity and citizenship, one more in tune with the complex identities many Canadians have.

Diaspora politics are a legitimate part of the Canadian landscape. While some may perceive it as “pandering,” diaspora politics reflect a valid response to the concerns of citizens. The challenge for all political parties is to balance the interests of individual communities – both with other groups and Canada’s broader interests and values.

Too strong a focus on “shopping for votes” risks undermining this balance.

Shopping for Votes Can Undermine Canada’s Fine Balance – New Canadian Media – NCM.

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Diasporas and Canada

2014/03/12 Leave a comment

Mowat Centre report “Diaspora Nation” on the impact and potential of the various diaspora communities:

http://mowatcentre.ca/diaspora-nation/

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