Our Friend China

Dr. Bethune, CDN. Surgeon, working with the Chinese troops before 1949

 

Ever since my father gave me a book about Chinese culture [pre communism] entitled “My Country and My People” by Lin Yutang I have been an admirer of that culture as there is so much to learn from it. However, its historical view that it is the “Middle Kingdom”, surrounded by barbarians that it has nothing to learn from, has created a lot of trauma and suffering for its people. Sadly, it seems that the Communist party is reacting to historical injustices by becoming aggressive and even, in a modern fashion, recreating the policy of “client states” that was common in the past.

From a Canadian perspective the sad reality that China is no longer our friend is a real shock. Why? First, the most famous Westerner to work with the Communists before they were in power was Dr.Bethune. He is a hero in China and there are many statues there in his honour there. Second, Canada was the first major Western country to establish diplomatic relations with the Communists in 1970. Third, Canada had no involvement in the colonial aggression’s of the British, French, etc. which began the Chinese “Century of Humiliation”.

Because of our historic attempts to be bridge builders with the Communist regime Canadians see issues of Chinese aggression [which they see as self-defense] in the South China Sea, Tibet, etc. as an “Asian problem”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Australia, where I have lived and have family, is having serious “disagreements” with China, including the manipulation of politicians so that they vote for “pro-China” policies. Well, sadly, the same thing seems to be happening in Canada. This goes far beyond our current “Two Michaels”. An example is quoted below. Of course, there is no “hard evidence” for any manipulation because the Chinese approach, in the past and today, is clever: they sow the seeds to change opinions and wait patiently. Personally, I find this impressive. It displays a quality that I, as a teacher, consider essential to success: delayed gratification, a quality, which Western culture sorely lacks.

Of course, as always, I end by asking: “What are you doing about this?” Simply, support Canadian policies that recognize the real threat that China is, without being over reactive, as this will only makes things worse. Also, it would help if you try to buy goods not Made in China, which is difficult. Good luck!

So, enjoy this read and if you want to read the complete article go to https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/election-2021/defeated-tory-mp-fears-attacks-by-pro-beijing-forces-swung-votes-against-him

Defeated Conservative MP fears attacks by pro-Beijing forces swung votes against him

There was evidence that China’s focus turned during the election to the Conservatives, whose platform outlined a multi-pronged approach to confronting Beijing

Author of the article: Tom Blackwell Sep 22, 2021

Due to a private members bill critical of China that Conservative Kenny Chiu introduced last April, he was hounded by supporters of the Chinese Communist Party during the federal election.

When Kenny Chiu introduced a private member’s bill that would set up a registry for agents of foreign governments, he may well have painted a target on his back. The bill was inspired largely by China’s suspected interference in Canada and the B.C. Conservative says he was attacked over it in Chinese-language media throughout the election.

Some of the bashing bled into mainstream social media, with one poster on Twitter this week saying “I’ve never seen a more self-hating Chinese person in my life.” Much of the criticism, Chiu says, misrepresented what that legislation really stated, but it had its effect. Constituents in his Steveston-Richmond East riding who had previously voted for Chiu suddenly gave him the cold shoulder. “When I go door knocking … there have been supporters of mine who just shut the door in my face,” said the politician. “There is so much hatred that I sense.”

And then on Monday, Chiu lost to Liberal Parm Bains by almost 3,000 votes, just two years after he was first elected, even as the Liberals more or less duplicated their 2019 performance. His defeat — and that of other Conservative MPs in ridings dominated by Chinese Canadians, – has raised the question of whether proxies for the People’s Republic government managed to influence the election – just as security agencies and other watchdogs have warned could happen. Chiu stresses that his issue is with China’s regime, but said online critics implied that meant he was opposed to the country itself and even the race, despite his own Chinese heritage. He said Chinese-Canadians — even if they ended up disliking him – are victims themselves of such disinformation.

Charles Burton, a former diplomat in Beijing who’s fluent in Mandarin, said he tried to help Chiu by seeking out and warning him about disinformation on WeChat, the popular Chinese social media site, and elsewhere online. Burton said Canadian authorities should investigate the online campaigns to determine if the Chinese government itself was behind the attacks.

He is not the first to raise the issue. David Vigneault, head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said in a speech in February that attempts by foreign states to influence Canadian politics and politicians were among the agency’s “most paramount concerns.” Bains could not be reached for comment Tuesday, and there is no suggestion he had anything to do with the online sniping Chiu faced.

There was evidence that China’s focus turned during the election to the Conservatives, whose platform outlined a multi-pronged approach to confronting Beijing.  In what appeared to be a comment on the Conservative blueprint, Chinese ambassador Cong Peiwu told the Hill Times newspaper in August that China opposes politicians who “hype” or “smear” the country. Then barely a week before election day, the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times ran a story blasting the Tories’ policies, predicting that if the party were elected China would launch a “strong counterstrike” against Canada.

Michael Chan, a former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister who has spoken in defence of Beijing, wrote in a recent Chinese-language column that implementing the Conservative policies could trigger hatred and discrimination against Chinese people.

It’s impossible at this point to determine what factors caused results in individual ridings, but Chiu was not the only Conservative incumbent to be defeated in seats with large Chinese-Canadian populations, people exposed to such ethnic-Chinese media.

Though not all the votes had been counted Tuesday, Alice Wong appeared headed for defeat in Richmond Centre, next to Chiu’s riding, despite having held the seat through four previous elections.

Bob Saroya lost the Toronto-area riding of Markham-Unionville — where almost two thirds of residents are ethnic Chinese — to Liberal Paul Chiang after taking the previous two elections.

They have chat rooms and chat groups dedicated to unseating Kenny Chiu

Chiu, a Hong Kong native, says he has never been shy about his dislike of the Communist government in Beijing. But last April he introduced a private member’s bill that would require any agents of a foreign government to register with Ottawa and report on their activities. It was modelled after similar legislation in Australia and a law that has been in force in the United States for several decades.

Local Chinese-language media ignored the bill when it was introduced but as the election campaign turned into a dead heat between the Liberals and Conservatives, “attacks rained down on me,” the former MP said.

An article posted anonymously on WeChat, and that later showed up on various other online platforms, suggested it was designed to “suppress” the Chinese community and that anyone connected to China would have to register. A similar story on a Chinese-language site called Today Commercial News said it would curb the freedom of speech of the Chinese community and have a “profound impact” on Chinese Canadians. In fact, the legislation would require registration only for those acting on behalf of foreign governments or political groups who lobby a senior civil servant or an elected politician. It has actually been criticized for being too narrowly focused.

Other WeChat posts suggested erroneously the Conservatives had proposed to ban the widely used social media site itself. “It’s very much organized,” said Chiu. “They have chat rooms and chat groups dedicated to unseating Kenny Chiu.” Meanwhile, the president of the Chinese Benevolent Association, a group that has repeatedly run advertisements backing up Beijing on contentious issues like Hong Kong’s National Security Law, hosted a free lunch on behalf of the Liberal candidate in Vancouver East riding.

Statue of Dr. Bethune in China