Advocacy groups called for urgent measures to protect Canadian democracy and vulnerable communities from Beijing’s interference as the foreign interference inquiry wrapped up public hearings on Oct. 24.
“I will suggest that today, more than ever before in this country, people of Chinese descent face unprecedented challenges arising from foreign interference,” said Neil Chantler, counsel for the grassroots organization Chinese Canadian Concern Group.
Chantler noted that members of the Chinese diaspora face death threats, harassment, coercion, cyber attacks, and pervasive misinformation and disinformation campaigns aimed at silencing opinions and dissuading democratic participation. He also said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses rhetoric to “blur distinctions among people of Chinese descent” and frames as racism any attempts to counter its influence….