Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Canadian Tribunal Rules to Deport Woman Over Ties to Chinese Foreign Interference Body

 

Canadian Tribunal Rules to Deport Woman Over Ties to Chinese Foreign Interference BodyOn NYC

 January 29, 2024

Canadian authorities have issued a deportation order against a Chinese woman on the grounds she was part of Beijing’s foreign interference program.

The Immigration and Refugee Board ruled that Jing Zhang had worked for the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO), which it said conducts espionage in Canada.

While immigration officials did not argue that Zhang committed espionage, the Refugee Board found that as an 11-year OCAO employee, she had contributed to its efforts to pressure the Chinese diaspora.

According to the 32-page decision, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) uses the OCAO to silence dissent overseas.

The organization “was and remains involved in espionage against the PRC‘s targeted individuals and groups in Canada,” the IRB added.

“The OCAO conducting espionage, surveillance or covert monitoring of Chinese and ethnic Chinese dissidents or minorities in Canada is against Canada, and contrary to its security interests.”

The decision to deport Zhang for security reasons was handed down on Aug. 28 but only recently released publicly.

The Vancouver lawyer who represented Zhang could not be reached for comment.

Asked whether Zhang had been deported since the ruling was issued six months ago, the Canada Border Services Agency said it did not comment on cases.

Click to play video: 'Foreign interference inquiry begins with question of what information to make public'
Foreign interference inquiry begins with question of what information to make public

An inquiry was scheduled to begin in Ottawa on Monday into foreign interference in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

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The commission was sparked by allegations of widespread meddling by China, but also has a mandate to examine the actions of Russia and “other foreign states or non-state actors.”

But elections are only part of a broader national security threat: the bullying of Canadians by overseas governments, particularly China.

Activists targeted by Beijing have faced harassment, intimidation and extortion, and their extended families in China have been threatened.

The OCAO is one of several groups the Communist Party has tasked to eliminate “potential threats and rival discourses” that challenge the Chinese Communist Party’s hold on power.

“The evidence establishes that a key role of the OCAO has been intelligence gathering on dissidents and ethnic minorities external to China,” the IRB wrote.

During Zhang’s hearing, the CBSA argued the OCAO had infiltrated Chinese communities in Canada to suppress opponents, among them Taiwanese, ethnic Uyghurs, Falun Gong practitioners and Canadian citizens of Chinese descent.

Click to play video: 'Chinese Canadians targeted by Chinese Communist Party'
Chinese Canadians targeted by Chinese Communist Party

The OCAO has “engaged in covert action and intelligence against them, manipulating them,” the immigration enforcement agency alleged.

Its aim is “managing the overseas Chinese community’s behaviour” through incentives, disincentives and surveillance, which amounts to espionage, according to the CBSA.

From 2008 to 2019, Zhang was employed by the OCAO in Yangzhou, first as director of public relations, and later as director of overseas liaison, the IRB said.

She travelled abroad on business up to four times a year, and engaged with “target groups” both inside China and in the diaspora, the ruling said.

“Her target populations included students, prominent individuals, government personnel and groups, and business persons,” it added.

“Her activities and target populations demonstrate that she was fulfilling the objectives of the OCAO and its implementation of qiaouw.”

Qiaouw means programming pride for the "Moherland" influencing overseas Chinese, and makes use of Marxist-Leninist tactics that exploit person-to-person relationships to expose and neutralize critics of the Communist Party, according to the IRB.

Click to play video: 'Taiwan defies China, elects ‘troublemaker’ president'
Taiwan defies China, elects ‘troublemaker’ president

Zhang, who has a law degree, downplayed her role in the OCAO, blamed translation errors and argued Canada had given her multiple visas in the past with no problems.

She denied being a member of OCAO but the IRB ruled she was, and had knowingly participated in its activities and supported its goals.

The hearings were held virtually from Vancouver.

Another former OCAO employee, Yong Zhang, was deemed inadmissible to Canada in 2022 based on a similar finding.

In 2018, OCAO became part of China’s United Front Work Department, which federal officials say has been operating in Canada.

The Communist Party uses the UFWD to “to stifle criticism and manipulate Canadian communities,” according to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

The RCMP has also been investigating so-called police stations that Chinese authorities set up in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal to conduct their operations.

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Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Hong Kong diaspora group pulls out of foreign interference inquiry citing 'grave concerns'

Hong Kong diaspora group pulls out of foreign interference inquiry citing 'grave concerns'

Feb 21 2024

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OTTAWA — The Canadian Friends of Hong Kong, a non-partisan diaspora group, announced on Tuesday that its members will not take part in the public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada’s elections, citing “grave concerns regarding the objectivity and the security integrity” of the inquiry.


“Specifically, we denounce the granting of full standing to MPs Han Dong and Michael Chan, and intervener standing to Senator Yuen Pau Woo, by Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue,” the group’s press release stated.

The group said it is worried about the type of documents these individuals may have access to with a full or intervening status and what they may do with that information.

“Even if documents are heavily redacted, just the titles of the documents, if seen by our adversaries, will give them a target as they will know what to look for,” the press release stated.

Ivy Li, a member of the CFHK, said the group doesn’t want to give up the “map” on how they defend themselves, how they conduct their research and who their contacts are for fear of repercussions, not only for the group but for national security.

“Every single word is a piece of information and there are people who are good at analyzing this information, so it can pose a threat to those involved and their families and business partners back in China,” she said.

She says the group fears the inquiry itself might be targeted as a tool for foreign interference which could prove “detrimental” for Canada.

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Access to these sensitive documents offered through full or intervening standing puts diaspora group members and their families in danger, said Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a board member for the China Strategic Risks Institute and senior fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.

Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue and her senior policy advisory team don’t “have China experience” nor do they “have a deep understanding of what the Chinese diaspora groups are going through,” she said.

McCuaig-Johnston said the commission will offer support to Dong, Chan, and Woo but “it is not very reassuring that there is no similar support for the diaspora that are being intimidated.”

“Withdrawing standing from these three individuals would go a long way to satisfy the concerns of these diaspora groups,” said McCuaig-Johnston. “In this case, this organization didn’t go in asking for standing because they had so many reservations at the outset so now there are just giving reasons for not participating in the process.”

McCuaig-Johnston also notes that a year is a tight deadline to cover such a “complex issue” and hear from all diaspora groups.

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The inquiry is looking into possible foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. The first part of the inquiry will focus on alleged interference by China, Russia and other foreign actors and the impact it may have had on the last two federal elections. The second part of the inquiry will look at the federal departments and agencies’ ability “to permit the Government of Canada to detect, deter and counter such interference,” according to the commission’s website.

Court hearings started on Jan. 29, with an interim report expected for May 3. The final report is due on Dec. 31.

The CFHK is the second group to withdraw from the independent inquiry after the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) withdrew on Jan. 31. It also stated disappointment in the commissioner for giving full standing to Dong, Chan and Woo.

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Canadian Tribunal Rules to Deport Woman Over Ties to Chinese Foreign Interference Body

Canadian Tribunal Rules to Deport Woman Over Ties to Chinese Foreign Interference Body

1/29/2024




A Canadian immigration tribunal has decided to deport a Chinese woman due to her work for a Beijing foreign interference agency. The ruling follows a 2022 federal court finding that exposed the agency’s involvement in espionage against Canada.

The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) ruled that Jing Zhang had worked for the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO). The OCAO is the external office of the United Front Work Department, an agency known for its involvement in foreign interference activities for the Chinese regime.

As first reported by Global News, the IRB did not accuse Ms. Zhang of committing espionage, but found that she had, during her 11-year employment at the OCAO, contributed to the communist regime’s efforts in transnational repression of overseas Chinese diaspora.

Ms. Zhang was employed by the OCAO in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, from 2008 to 2019. Initially, she served as the director of public relations and later took on the role of director of overseas liaison, as stated by the IRB.

Ms. Zhang, who holds a law degree, denied being a member of OCAO, despite the IRB’s ruling that she was and that she had knowingly participated in its activities and supported its goals, as reported by Global News. She attributed allegations of her involvement with OCAO to errors in translation, and argued that Canadian authorities had issued her multiple visas without any issues.

Ms. Zhang could not be contacted for comment. The Epoch Times reached out to IRB for comment, but didn’t hear back by publication time.

Infiltrating Canadian Communities

During Ms. Zhang’s hearing, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said that the OCAO had infiltrated Chinese-Canadian communities with the aim of suppressing various ethnic and religious groups, including Falun Gong practitioners, Taiwanese, Uyghurs, and Canadian citizens of Chinese descent. Af
ter Decades of Shrugging Off Warnings, Canada’s Foreign Interference Inquiry Is About to Start
, after pressure from the Conservative Party of Canada.

The OCAO has “engaged in covert action and intelligence against them, manipulating them,” the CBSA stated.

Ms. Zhang travelled abroad for business purposes up to four times a year, engaging with “target groups” both within China and in the diaspora, according to the ruling.

“Her target populations included students, prominent individuals, government personnel and groups, and business persons,” it stated.

The IRB noted that Ms. Zhang’s actions and choice of target groups indicate that she was advancing the objectives of the OCAO, employing a tactic referred to as “qiaowu.” According to the IRB’s definition, qiaowu is a Marxist-Leninist strategy that exploits interpersonal relationships to counteract critics of the Communist Party.

The IRB’s decision on Ms. Zhang’s deportation was issued in August 2023, but was only recently made public. Her hearing was held virtually from Vancouver.

The CBSA declined to provide details of Ms. Zhang’s deportation status, citing the need to protect individual privacy.

“The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) does not provide comments or details on specific individual cases as an individual’s border and immigration information is considered private and protected by the Privacy Act,” CBSA spokesperson Karine Martel said in an email statement to The Epoch Times.

OCAO

In a decision made in January 2022, a federal court concluded that the OCAO was engaged in espionage activities contrary to Canada’s interests. The IRB further affirmed this, stating in its ruling that the OCAO “was and remains involved in espionage against the PRC’s targeted individuals and groups in Canada.”

Another former OCAO employee, Yong Zhang, was deemed inadmissible to Canada in 2022.

In August 2015, the OCAO spearheaded the establishment of “overseas Chinese service centres,” which have the stated focus of providing community services to the Chinese diaspora. In 2016, two Quebec-based overseas Chinese community service centres entered into agreement with the OCAO.

These organizations, the Centre Sino-Québec de la Rive-Sud (CSQRS) and its sister organization in Montreal, the Service à la famille chinoise du Grand Montréal (SFCGM), became the focus of an RCMP investigation last year. Shortly after the police announced its probe, the RCMP said they’ve received over a dozen “serious tips” in relation to these organizations’ connection to alleged Chinese secret police stations in Canada.

A public inquiry, officially launched on Jan. 29, is set to investigate foreign interference in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 federal elections, primarily attributed to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In the past year, the CCP and its affiliated individuals and entities have been accused of intimidating and targeting Canadian politicians and citizens.