“Proxy agents” leveraged by Chinese officials worked to exclude election candidates who were critical of Beijing from Vancouver community events during the 2019 federal election, according to intelligence presented at the public inquiry into foreign interference.
“Intelligence reports indicate that these officials coordinated the exclusion of particular political candidates, perceived as ‘anti-China,’ from attending local community events related to the election,” said an intelligence document primarily created by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) showcased during the Foreign Interference Commission on April 3.
Candidates were excluded from events through the efforts of People’s Republic of China (PRC) “proxy agents, hiding the direct involvement of these PRC officials,” said the intelligence document.
The intelligence document was presented during the testimony of Vancouver East NDP MP Jenny Kwan.
The Hong Kong-born MP said some Chinese community organizations in her riding showed a “shift in attitude” toward her as she became more outspoken about China’s rights violations starting around 2019 as protests and police clampdown intensified in Hong Kong. Invitations to her office were sent less frequently and certain community leaders met with her less often, she said.
Ms. Kwan also spoke about being excluded from a Vancouver Lunar New Year event in late January 2022. The MP said her office did not receive an invitation from either of the two organizations hosting the event, despite elected officials from outside of the city being invited.
Ms. Kwan said her non-invitation despite being a Chinese-Canadian from the riding was “glaringly obvious” and a result of her criticism of Beijing’s human rights record.
Vancouver’s mayor at the time, Kennedy Stewart, also was not invited, she said.
“So that became quite obvious—at least from my perspective—that there’s a distinction on who have they chosen to be invited to this event.”
Letter to CSIS
Ms. Kwan testified that she agreed with a February 2022 assessment by the Chinese Canadian Concern Group on CCP’s Human Rights Violations, which stated her exclusion from the 2022 Lunar New Year celebration event was due to her voting in favour of a government motion naming China’s persecution of the Uyghurs as a genocide and for her support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.A letter by Ms. Kwan written to the CSIS about the event was presented at the inquiry. The partly redacted letter doesn’t include a visible date of issue.
Citing media reports, the letter said that the event was organized by the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver (CBA) and the Canada Guangdong Community Federation.
“I hope CSIS could look into this to determine whether or not, or to what extent, foreign influence or agent/s of a foreign government is/are affecting how community events are organized and reports its findings to various authorities including the federal government,” the letter said.
Ms. Kwan told the inquiry that she wrote the letter because in her briefings with CSIS, she had been told to keep the agency informed about anything that may be “suspicious” or that she is wondering about.
“I thought it was important for CSIS to know that this has occurred,” she said.
This issue was also discussed at the inquiry.
Targets of Beijing
The intelligence document said PRC officials favoured certain political candidates and parties during the 2019 federal election and leveraged their proxies to support them.“Intelligence reporting indicates PRC political preferences were party agnostic and opportunistic; they vacillated based on the electoral platforms and the ongoing PRC-related positions of the different political parties during the political campaign,” the summary document said.
“Both are current parliamentarians who are reported to be the subjects of foreign interference activities. Both indicate that this information was revealed to them, albeit belatedly, by CSIS,” Ms. Hogue said in her decision.
On April 3, the public inquiry also heard from former Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole and former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu, both of whom were targeted by the CCP for their opposition to the regime.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to testify at the inquiry in the coming days.
Following a future round of hearings examining government mechanisms to counter foreign interference, the public inquiry will file an initial report on its findings by May 3.
