The retired editor-in-chief of Sing Tao Daily is urging the federal government to pass laws to stop the spread of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda within Richmond and across Canada’s local Chinese communities.
Victor Ho, who lives in Richmond, spoke to the Commons Special Committee on Canada-China relations last week to express his concern regarding how certain local Chinese-language media are being used to promote Chinese government propaganda.
Ho referred to China’s Consul General Tong Xiaoling’s 30-minute speech on Vancouver radio station CHMB-AM1320 on July 23, in which Tong asked Chinese Canadians to support the National Security Law (NSL) being imposed on Hong Kong and said there are “people in Canada trying to slander the NSL, attempting to cause trouble overseas.”
However, the radio station said it is committed to ensuring all their reports are provided in a fair, balanced and accurate manner.
The national security law would allow lawmakers to imprison and expel supporters of the independence of Hong Kong and its more autonomous governance.
“This national security law is totally contrary to Canadian core values,” said Ho.
“Ms. Tong treats Chinese Canadians as Chinese nationals. She exploits the free air wave of our broadcasters to convey political propaganda message(s) from the Chinese government,” said Victor, noting that Tong should have at least made it a clearly demarcated paid advertisement.
“I would like the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications (CRTC) to investigate such cases for the sake of protecting the public interest in Canada. Also, we need to safeguard the Chinese community from infiltration by political directives from a foreign government.”
Ho put forward several recommendations, including reforming the CRTC system to be more responsive to the infiltration of foreign governments and their agents.
“The ultimate goal of the CRTC is to uphold Canadian values in the ethnic journalism industry,” said Ho.
According to a statement provided by CHMB AM1320, Tong’s talk on the radio was an “exclusive interview” not a “speech.” And they invited her to join their show as part of their balanced coverage of the tensions between the PRC and Hong Kong.
“As everyone is well aware, news relating to the PRC and Hong Kong became a hot topic...CHMB AM1320 has interviewed many individuals, who are anti-PRC policies including anti-NSL.
CHMB AM1320 said they had made many requests to Tong to arrange an interview, and they were very excited that finally they were given this exclusive interview opportunity and “believe it was important to share the interview in its entirety with our hundreds of thousands of listeners.”
Meanwhile, last Wednesday, four opposition members of Hong Kong’s legislature were fired and accused of endangering national security for refusing to accept the new national security law. The firings prompted the rest of the pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong to resign en masse.
Ho said the departure of these lawmakers would reshape Hong Kong’s political landscape, turning it into another typical city in China.
“We are going to see tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents who have lost faith and hope for Hong Kong to consider fleeing to Canada,” said Ho.
Richmond city Coun. Chak Au agrees with Ho that we may see another wave of immigrants from Hong Kong returning or coming to Canada for the first time. Two of the four lawmakers who were dismissed, for example, have Canadian citizenship.
Au is also worried about Canadians’ safety who have participated in demonstrations in Hong Kong since the national security law has passed.
“Some people said you are a Richmond city councillor, ‘why are you caring about this and why does it matter to us?’ I am concerned because two disqualified politicians (Dennis Kwok Wing-hang and Alvin Yeung) are Canadians, but they have been disqualified as legislators.
“The national security law is attacking Hong Kong’s parliamentary system and Canadians,” said Au, adding that he hopes the federal government could step in to do something.
In response to Chinese crackdown on some Hongkongers, the federal government recently announced new measures to help more students and young people living in Hong Kong come to Canada, including a work permit designed to speed up the process toward applying for permanent residency.
