June 10, 2022 • 4 hours ago • 6 minutes reading • 173 Comments Federal Conservative candidate Patrick Brown says he wants a balanced policy toward China along the lines of former Prime Minister Steven Harper when he was in power. “You can raise human rights concerns and emphasize Canadian values at the same time as you expand trade.” Photo by Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press / File
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After their party lost another federal election last year, the Chinese Canadian Conservative Union (CCCA) made some striking comments about the Tories platform – and Canada’s relationship with Beijing.
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Spokesman Joe Li said Conservative pressure for a tougher stance on China had alienated Chinese voters and cost the party three walks. Li espoused a more contemptuous approach, saying that Ottawa had started the “war” that led to the arbitrary detention of two Canadians, that China should unite “peacefully” with Taiwan, and that criticism of Beijing’s human rights record was counterproductive. The union demanded the resignation of then-leader Erin O’Toole. Eight months later, O’Toole left and the CCCA selected the candidate of his choice to succeed him, backing Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown at a recent press conference. Brown says he is willing to welcome more Chinese Canadians to the party and that he “naturally” disagreed with Li’s views on China last fall and has never discussed such issues with him. But the union is not the only supporter of its leadership in the community, which echoes the Chinese government’s stance or has close ties to Beijing.
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The mayor gave a lengthy speech last month at an event organized in part by the Confederation of Chinese-Canadian Organizations in Toronto (CTCCO), a trusted Beijing ally for years on issues ranging from Tibet to widely condemned. Hong Kong. The same forum was co-sponsored by Conservative Senator Victor Oh, who has repeatedly appeared at Chinese embassies and consulates and was punished for one of the many paid trips to China. Brown recently called Oh “a statue of resilience and determination” and “like family to me.” I wanted to make sure that we would make a party that reflects the mosaic of the country The mayor says everyone came to him because of his strong stance against anti-Asian hatred and his desire to better integrate the Chinese-Canadians into the party, not because he shares their views on Canada-China relations.
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“I have made a decisive effort to reach out to every cultural community in the country,” he said in an interview. “It does not matter where you are born, the color of your skin, the God you worship, I wanted to make sure we had a party that reflects the mosaic of the country.” Neither Lee nor Oh could be reached for comment. However, some Chinese critics have expressed frustration with the fact that a leading candidate for the party leadership has allied, albeit unknowingly, with Beijing-leaning figures. The Joint Front of the Chinese Communist Party – which has been tasked with expanding China’s influence abroad and expanding significantly in recent years – is collaborating, and in some cases creating, diaspora groups that are sympathetic to its purpose. said Charles Burton, a former diplomat in Beijing.
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And one of its stated goals is to encourage politicians in countries like Canada that support China. “I’m worried,” said Burton, a fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute. “To what extent is he aware of China’s strategy within Canada?” His concerns are shared by Kenny Chiu, one of three established Conservatives who were defeated last year by riding large Chinese-Canadian populations. Chiu, who has backed Pierre Poilievre in the leadership race, blamed their defeat on the misinformation spread through ethnic and social media, arguing that the Tories platform would lead to the persecution of people of Chinese descent. The attacks focused on a bill by a private member of Chiu that aimed to create a register of foreign government agents dealing with senior bureaucrats or elected politicians, similar to a law that has been in place in the United States for decades. Inaccurately described in some Chinese-speaking media target anyone with links to China.
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O’Toole himself said the Conservatives lost “eight or nine” seats because of Beijing’s intervention. A report by McGill University’s Media Ecosystem Observatory said Chinese officials and state media had made comments that seemed designed to persuade Chinese Canadians to vote against the Tories, while misleading information about some candidates was circulated on Chinese social media. But those actions did not have a significant impact on the “overall” election, he said. A recent post found by Burton in fluent Mandarin on WeChat, China’s most popular social networking site, seemed to link all of these issues to the leadership election.
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The post urged people to vote for Brown and said Poiliev, the contest leader, was an anti-Chinese racist who would make Chiu his foreign minister if he became prime minister. “Brown’s work with people and groups who like Beijing” shows at best that it ignores the intrusion and control of the Chinese Communists’ thoughts and speech in Canada, “Chiu said in an interview. The mayor was ratified by the CCCA and Lee on May 8. Last October, Li denounced what he called the Tories’ platform of attack in China at a national media event. The adviser to the York District north of Toronto said Canada should not interfere in China’s internal affairs, promoted the peaceful “reunification” of mainland China with Democratic Taiwan – something most Taiwanese oppose – and argued that started the war “which led to the detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. Many observers described their imprisonment as “hostage diplomacy” following the Canadian arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.
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Two weeks later, Oh and his colleague Sen. Salma Ataullahjan, along with the CTCCO, spoke with Brown at an event near Toronto, with Oh stating that some anonymous leadership candidates were promoting “extreme white supremacy.” The president of the Confederation, Weng Guoning, stood next to the mayor and applauded as Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu says that “at best” Patrick Brown “ignores the intrusion and control of the Chinese Communists’ thoughts and speech in Canada”. Photo by Jason Payne / Postmedia / File the gathering sang Happy Birthday to Brown, who had just turned 44. Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu says that “at best” Patrick Brown “ignores the intrusion and control of the Chinese Communists’ thoughts and speech in Canada”. Photo by Jason Payne / Postmedia / File The CTCCO has long been friendly with the Chinese government, most recently defending Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. He also worked with the local consulate to promote Beijing’s stand on Tibet, to try to bring the Confucius Institute to Toronto schools, and to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic. The Beijing-based China Overseas Affairs Bureau – now part of the United Front Labor Department – praised the team on its website. Honorary President Wei Chengyi shook hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a 2019 event in Beijing.
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Oh has appeared frequently at events hosted by Chinese diplomats. That includes being the “honorary guest” at a virtual embassy reception shortly after the Michael’s case was settled last fall, where Ambassador Cong Peiwu urged Canada to “think about its mistakes.” In his remarks there, Oh said China had provided a valuable model for handling COVID-19, according to the Communist Party-led Global Times. The senator has reported nine funded trips to China since 2013, including three where at least some of his expenses were borne by Chinese provincial governments. Brown told the CCCA that he had traveled to China with Oh and “the contacts he had, the relationships he had were beautiful.” But in an interview, the mayor said he had shared a flight there only with the senator before taking separate routes, stressing that he had borne his own expenses.
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Brown declined to comment on whether he supported the creation of a register of foreign agents as Chiu and the party backed the previous election, but said in an interview that he had “zero tolerance” for foreign interference. He called for a balanced policy towards China along the lines of former Prime Minister Steven …
