Chinese in Canada step back from politics

Former MP Kenny Chiu is cautioning local politicians to “keep their eyes wide open and be very realistic” about possible influence from the Chinese government

Meanwhile, other Richmond community members say the focus on possible Chinese interference on Canadian elections is making local Chinese citizens step back from political participation

James Hsieh, a long-time Richmond resident and media commentator, warns the current accusations are hurting Chinese Canadians’ passion for political involvement

“Foreign interference needs to be taken seriously and be stopped in any way without question,” said Hsieh, who was born in China, grew up in Taiwan and immigrated to Canada 50 years ago

“However, I believe there is confusion between foreign government intervention and new immigrant political participation in Canada ”

Hsieh has dedicated a lot of his time in the past decades to encouraging immigrants to participate in local politics by voting, supporting politicians or seeking election

He told the Richmond News he is frustrated to see many people in the Chinese Canadian community now discouraged and stepping back from political participation

“They are now confused with the media coverage (saying) ‘people are accusing us and saying this is intervention when we participate in political events,’” said Hsieh

“And if anyone has spoken to someone from the Chinese embassy or has a picture with them, there is the risk of being seen as a spy It’s gone too far ” While Chiu doesn’t think there’s any- thing wrong with politicians going to Chinese cultural events, he thinks local politicians need to be aware that China is playing the “long game ” in trying to influence Canadian politics and politicians

Chinese culture has a tradition of “guanxi,” a system of building social relationships, which Chiu said can possibly used later as leverage

Targeting politicians at the local level might have the goal of getting close to people who might move up in politics, for example, running for provincial or federal office

Jimmy Yan, a lawyer at the Access Pro Bono Society of BC and commentator for Richmondbased Fairchild Radio, however, warns that people need to be careful to not “racialize” the foreign interference issue

Yan noted that the politicians who have been highlighted in recent media coverage all have a Chinese ethnicity, including Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim

“Many people have confused Chinese and China and think anything Chinese-related is suspicious, which is a wrong assumption

Many non-Chinese people also have ties with China, such as owning businesses in China,” said Yan Yan said it is also unfair to identify anything China-related as a close connection with the CCP, which in his opinion is “the new xenophobia” and has put the Chinese Canadian community to the test.

Hsieh said when politicians are having conversations about foreign interference, they need to keep in mind Canada is a country of immigrants and their citizens come from very diverse backgrounds

“Some are against China and some might be in favour of a better ChinaCanada relationship, so they create opportunities for more dialogue or partnerships to happen they should be allowed to have different stances but that doesn’t mean they are spies or work for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” said Hsieh

Prior to the Huawei issue and China arresting and detaining the “two Michaels,” federal and provincial governments actively pursued greater economic ties with China

“But now, I feel that if you show friendliness to China, you will be questioned as showing a lack of loyalty to Canada It is very scary, confusing and discouraging ” Election misinformation

During the last federal election, Chiu was targeted with misinformation about a foreign agent registry he had introduced in Parliament

Some were saying on Chineselanguage social media he was antiChinese and wanted to control and monitor people from Mainland China

This kind of misinformation pits one group against another, sowing seeds of division, Chiu said

“They see there’s a wedge they can drive into the ethnic community,” he added

When the 2019 election was called, Chiu’s bill to have a foreign agency registry died on the order papers.

It has since been revived by the Senate

Yan hopes the registry will not be limited to certain countries to avoid problems arising among communities in Richmond

In fact, Chiu noted, the wording of the bill was carefully crafted not to point fingers at any country, Chiu said