Stories of Chinese Government Harassment in Canada

REGINA, SK: Canadian think tank SecondStreet.org released a new policy brief today that examines the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) harassment of Chinese-Canadians, Canadians from Hong Kong, and other targeted groups on Canadian soil. The report includes survey responses from 26 participants about harassment they have faced in Canada. 

 This is a phenomenon that Canadian media has reported in the past – from a Uyghur activist who claims to have been spat on by CCP activists, to politicians who have faced election interference from Chinese authorities. SecondStreet.org wanted to investigate the lived experiences of Chinese-Canadians in greater detail.

 “Chinese-Canadians shouldn’t have to worry about their homeland’s tyrannical regime while in Canada,” said report author Dom Lucyk. “From harassing phone calls and punctured tires to threatening Canadians’ relatives back in China, it’s clear that Canada has a serious problem on our hands.”

 Highlights from the research include:

• Almost all respondents said they believe – based on their experiences and those of friends and family – that harassment and targeting from the CCP is ‘common,’ especially if you publicly hold views that contradict CCP doctrine.
• Types of harassment ranged from threatening or unexplained phone calls (some in the middle of the night), interference with digital communications and social media, to family members in China or Hong Kong receiving threatening visits from officials. One respondent discovered a knife lying next to a houseplant mysteriously damaged – and believes it was a subtle threat related to their criticism of the CCP.
• Most respondents believed they were targeted for their beliefs – whether support for Hong Kong, religious faith in Christianity or the Falun Gong spiritual practice, or simply speaking out in favour of democracy.
• Respondents were also asked their thoughts on solutions to protect Canadians targeted by the CCP. Many ideas were put forward, including a registry of CCP agents, controls on the CCP-owned ‘WeChat’ app, and expulsion or criminal prosecution of any CCP agents found guilty of harassment.

To read the full policy brief, Investigating the Chinese Government’s Harassment of Chinese-Canadians – click here.