China Election Interference in This Year’s Federal Election 中國對今次聯邦大選的干預

China has once again stepped up on activities to interfere in the upcoming Canadian federal election.

Liberal candidate Paul Chiang, seeking re-election at Markham-Unionville, recently spoke openly about the HK$1 million bounty placed by Hong Kong Police on Joe Tay, a Conservative candidate at Don Valley North.

“To everyone here, you can claim the one-million-dollar bounty if you bring him to Toronto’s Chinese Consulate,” Chiang reportedly told Ming Pao, a Chinese-language media, during an ethnic media conference in January.

“This is shocking. Mr. Chiang openly encouraged people to assist in China interference and transnational repression,” said Cheuk Kwan, co-chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China (TADC). “Rather than protecting Canadians, he betrayed them and jeopardized their safety.”

Last December when Hong Kong Police announced a bounty on Tay and other members of the Hong Kong diaspora around the world, Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanié Joly warned that “attempt by Hong Kong authorities to conduct transnational repression abroad, including by issuing threats, intimidation or coercion against Canadians or those in Canada, will not be tolerated.”

China has been mobilizing voters, especially those in ridings with a high concentration of Chinese Canadians, to vote for China-friendly candidates. It purportedly assisted in the campaign of Chiang to defeat a highly popular Conservative incumbent in the 2021 election.

As well, incumbent MP Kenny Chiu (Stevenson-Richmond East) was defeated in the same election by an orchestrated disinformation campaign on WeChat, a Chinese social media. Chiu, originally from Hong Kong, has angered China by speaking out against that country’s treatment of Uyghurs, and introducing a private member’s bill to establish the Foreign Influence Registry. Another Conservative candidate has been appointed by the party to run in this election.

“This is another example of China exerting undue influence in our election,” said Gabriel Yiu, a current affairs commentator. “Our political parties are being held hostage in the sense they are afraid to run candidates not favoured by China.”