Submission to The Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference Commission by Wenzhou Friendship Society Canada

28 July, 2024

 

The Wenzhou Friendship Society Canada (the “Society”) appreciates the opportunity that the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference (PIFI) Commission is accepting the submission from the public to address their concerns.

The Society supports the FIFI Commission’s mandate to examine and assess the various aspects of interference by China, Russia and other foreign states or non-state actors in Canada, particularly during the election periods that led up to the 43rd and 44th general elections.

This submission offers our perspectives and perturbations from a Chinese community organization and its members, who are immersing in the intensive waves of discussion on foreign interference (FI) in our country. We hope our submission will be helpful to the Commission in the second phase of PIFI.

 

1. About the Society

Incorporated in December 2001 and headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., the Wenzhou Friendship Society Canada is a big family for all people originated from Wenzhou, China, and their family members or relatives in Canada.

Our main purposes include:

  • Strengthening friendships with fellow members and promoting solidarity and mutual assistance;
  • Gathering the strength of fellow members and sharing business opportunities;
  • Working together to benefit fellow members and participating in social charitable activities.

The Society is a non-profit and non-political group. The Society was established to provide support and assistance to newcomers to Canada and to provide a platform for members to give back to the community and express their gratitude for their new lives in Canada.

 

2.How have you been affected by foreign interference?

We have been affected by foreign interference in a different angle but in the same severity.  In November 2022, a Spanish human-rights organization, Safeguard Defenders, issued a Report claiming that there are 110 Chinese “police stations” around the globe, including several ones in Canada.[1] Even there have been no Canadian official department or national security agency to publicly confirm this Spanish list, the Report generated extensive media and rights groups’ interest in Canada, and ultimately it brought attention of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Despite the fact that the Society was not on this Spanish list fortunately, we were unfortunately caught in the center of the spotlight of Chinese police interference in Canada. One of the claims from the Report is that the Wenzhou Public Security Bureau set up online service platforms for overseas Chinese in 2018, including Vancouver, BC. We, the Wenzhou Friendship Society Canada, is based in Richmond BC, and matches some key labels describing in the above Spanish Report. Since then, the Society has become one of the suspects under imaginary and baseless allegations from local rights groups and media, and finally it led to an investigation by RCMP. Here are some examples of media coverage:

Even though many media reports have smeared our members and damaged the Society’s reputation, we have been very collaborative with RCMP’s investigation, believing that RCMP was doing the right thing to protect Canadians from intimidating or harming from foreign states, and hoping to get a fair and justice conclusion one day to make the facts and truths clear to the public. In doing so, we have made it clear repeatedly to RCMP and the public that:

  • Since the new board of directors took office in March 2020, the Society has not had any relationship with Wenzhou Police Overseas Chinese Online, nor has it engaged in or assisted in any other matters relating to security matters of the People’s Republic of China. The previous President also confirmed that during his tenure (2017-2020), the Society did not have any relationship with Wenzhou Police Overseas Chinese Online or any other police agencies of foreign countries.
  • Further, the Society encourages all members to strictly abide by Canadian laws, including not participating in the work of other countries’ public security departments in Canada. We will continue to work hard to create a safe and healthy networking platform. Any member who commits an illegal act will be immediately expelled from Society.

Unfortunately, it has been nearly 20 months since RCMP launched the investigation on December 11, 2022, there has been no yes-or-no answer from RCMP. We understand that it is a complicated process and takes time to clear it out. Nevertheless, such an unbearable lengthy process has further put the Society and its members in jeopardy. We cannot operate lawfully and freely as a normal civil society and our members cannot travel across the board lawfully and freely.

For example, On December 28, 2022, one of our directors was stopped at YVR for extensive questioning when he returned from a trip to the USA. On February 11, 2023, the Society’s President was making a flight transit at a USA airport, where he was stopped and questioned by FBI for over 5 hours. On June 3rd, 2023, he was questioned again at YRV when returning from a family trip to China. The same questioning happened again and again on October 9, 2023, and December 19, 2023. He was even rejected boarding a flight to Hawaii on January 5, 2024. All these incidents were the results of RCMP’s investigation into the Society’s role as some media reports alleged.

We feel strongly that our rights and freedom as Canadian citizens and residents are being undermined. As a grassroot civil community society, we have no capacity to verify if the foreign rights group’s Report is misinformation or not misinformation. As a group has deep roots in Chinese heritage, what we can say is that the description and interpretation of many phenomena and perceptions in the report are misinterpreted. However, this is not the subject of this submission.

What we also want to say is that some of our media following reports based on imagination and exaggeration of foreign interference are worse than misinformation. They not only damaged reputation of our Society and its members, but also undermined our fundamental rights and freedom in Canada.

 

3.What else would you like the Commission to know or consider?

Foreign interference is not acceptable in Canada. Using the notion of “foreign interference” as a tool to stigmatizing and smearing an ethnic group in Canada is not acceptable too.

We hope the Commission define “foreign interference” clearly to the public and therefore no confusion, nor abuse could happen again.

We also hope RCMP will reach its investigation conclusion sooner. Even if RCMP is finally determined to lay out a charge against the Society, we need to understand which evidence the charge is based on. We need to hold our law enforcement forces accountable to the public and will defend our rights and freedom in every possible means lawfully in Canada.

Finally, we thank the PIFI Commission again for reading and considering our submission.

 

[1] 110 Overseas (v5).pdf (safeguarddefenders.com)