Two Quebec community groups under investigation by the RCMP for allegedly hosting covert overseas Chinese police stations are recruiting volunteers for a Chinese-Canadian film festival, an annual event that has previously awarded films praising the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Chinese police, and the regime’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 8th China-Canada International Film Festival (CCIFF) is taking place at the Centre Cinéma Impérial in Montreal from July 14 to Aug. 19, with a series of events being held throughout that period.
The festival is organized by Montreal-based Canada China Art-Tech, a federally registered not-for-profit. Since its launch in 2016, the festival has given out awards to numerous Chinese-language films that praise the CCP and promote the communist regime’s global image and political agenda.
The Epoch Times contacted the CCIFF for comment but didn’t hear back.
The two Quebec groups backing the CCIFF that are allegedly operating Chinese police stations are the Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal (SFCGM) and the Centre Sino-Québec de la Rive-Sud (CSQRS).
The groups posted an article on their joint WeChat account on June 5 to recruit volunteers to help with setup for this year’s CCIFF. The Chinese-language post reads: “The opening ceremony of the annual CCIFF for 2023 will be held on Friday, July 14. SFCGM as a long-time partner will continue to organize volunteers to support and participate in this event this year. Currently we need to recruit 6 to 7 volunteers. Everyone is welcome to sign up!”
The two community groups, both overseen by Brossard city councillor Xixi Li, recently raised alarm bells after the RCMP publicly stated in March that they were the subjects of investigations for allegedly hosting secret Chinese overseas police stations.
The federal police force said at the time that it had so far received “15 serious tips“ related to the ”presumed Chinese police stations in Montreal and Brossard.” Brossard is a suburb of Montreal. These two alleged Chinese police station are among seven locations across Canada that have been suspected as such.
Propaganda Films
In 2022, the Best Biographical Film Award at 7th CCIFF was given to “A Man of the People.“ The film praises the late former CCP leader Deng Xiaoping, highlighting his time in Jiangxi Province, where he was exiled after losing in CCP political infighting in the late 1960s. The film was funded by the CCP’s top propaganda office, the Central Propaganda Department, according to a report published by Chinese tech company Sina.cn.The Best TV Series Award in 2022 went to “Faith Makes Great," a collection of stories to honour the 100 years of the founding of the CCP. The Best Audience Choice Award in 2022 went to “My Father Jiao Yulu,” which depicts the life of devoted CCP official Jiao Yulu. The film was created by the propaganda department of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee to commemorate the centenary of the CCP’s founding.
In 2020, at the 5th CCIFF, the Best TV Documentary Award went to “Hi! China,” a seven-episode television documentary produced by New TV, a subsidiary of Chinese regime mouthpiece CCTV. “Hi! China” depicts how seven foreigners in the country are helping to ”change the West’s perception of China." One of them is Jerry Kowal, an American influencer described by the Voice of America as a CCP propagandist.
That same year, the People’s Choice Award went to “The Frontline,” a documentary that praises the Chinese regime’s response to COVID-19 during the early days of the outbreak in Wuhan City.
In 2021, the Best Actor Award went to the male lead in “Break Through the Darkness.” The movie depicts the story of a special police force sent by the provincial government to a village that was undergoing demolition and reconstruction. The force was sent to investigate a serious crime and restore peace to the residents being threatened by gangsters.
‘Tell China’s Story Well’
The first CCIFF festival was held in September 2016. In April 2016, China’s largest state media, Xinhua News Agency, published an article praising the festival, saying in the headline that the CCIFF is “using technology to tell China’s story.”That headline aligns with the concept of “telling China’s story well,” a phrase coined by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2013 summarizing his approach to propaganda and international messaging, according to the China Media Project, a research initiative specializing in studying the Chinese media landscape.
Beijing has been working to cultivate relationships with overseas Chinese-language media via major global conferences as part of the effort to “tell China’s story well.” It does so with programs run by the United Front Work Department (UFWD), a CCP agency tasked with carrying out influence operations both domestically and in other countries, as documented by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and other organizations.
In 2017, the CCIFF held a second news conference in Beijing along with an “international film exchange event” with the theme of “Belt and Road Initiative.“ The theme is a reference to China’s controversial infrastructure development strategy in other countries. Critics say it presents dangers to participating states, such as debt traps and foreign influence. The honorary chair for that second annual CCIFF, Li Qiankuan, is the director of multiple movies that praised the CCP.
Similarly, the theme of the fourth CCIFF, held in 2019, was the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, according to a CCTV report. The report said the organizers “hoped to present many excellent Chinese films as a gift” of the so-called “New China.”
Partners, Sponsors
This year’s CCIFF, the eight annual festival, has four public partners, including the Quebec provincial government and the Chinese Consulate in Montreal. Diplomats from the consulate have attended CCIFF events on various occasions, including the film festivals’ award ceremonies.
The CCIFF website also lists some dozen Chinese organizations as silver sponsors, co-organizers, and strategic partners. Among the eight silver sponsors is the Montreal Chinese Community United Centre (MCCUC), an organization that recently hosted events aimed at opposing creation of a foreign agent registry in Canada.
In addition, the festival website lists various Chinese state media as media partners. They include China News Service (CNS) and News China, the latter an English version of the CNS-run periodical China Newsweek. Several Chinese media outlets that have historically taken a pro-Beijing stance are also on the list.
The CCIFF was described as an important China-Canada official cultural exchange event in 2015–16, according to an April 2016 article published by Chinese internet giant NetEase.
Reporting on the CCIFF’s first press conference held in Beijing, the article said the festival had garnered the support of various Chinese agencies, including the Central Propaganda Department and the National Radio and Television Administration. The latter is China’s broadcasting regulator, which is involved in censoring the country’s film industry as well as online films and shows.
Opposing Foreign Agent Registry
The CCIFF recently posted an article on its WeChat account voicing support for parliamentary petition e-4395, which aimed to oppose enacting foreign agent registry legislation in Canada.The petition was sponsored in the House of Commons by Liberal MP Chandra Arya. Sen. Yuen Pau Woo confirmed to The Epoch Times in May that he helped draft the petition.
In the WeChat article, the CCIFF urged Chinese Canadians to sign the petition and join a June 24 protest on Parliament Hill. The protest, led by Mr. Woo and Sen. Victor Oh, was advertised as an event to oppose racism against Chinese Canadians and to mark the 100th anniversary of Canada’s Chinese Exclusion Act. However, at several events ahead of the protest, the two senators voiced support for the petition and spoke about a broader effort to oppose creation of a foreign agent registry in Canada.
Montreal Chinese consul general Dai Yuming spoke at one of these events, on May 28, hosted by the MCCUC, which the two senators attended by teleconference. The MCCUC website lists 60 Chinese groups that “co-organized” the May 28 event in Montreal. The CCIFF is also on that list.
In a separate event, held in Montreal on June 12, Mr. Oh said he planned to rent 50 buses to transport protesters from Toronto to join the protest on Parliament Hill. The participants were promised a $15 lunch subsidy to attended the protest.
Shortly after The Epoch Times published that story, the organizers issued a statement asking the participants to say they didn’t receive any money to attend the protest and to not display Chinese flags or chant “red slogans.”
