Friday, August 28, 2015

Let's not be naive, China spies

Premier Kathleen Wynne and Michael Chan are pictured during an announcement of a China trade mission in this October 2014 file photo. (ANTONELLA ARTUSO/Toronto Sun)
Premier Kathleen Wynne and Michael Chan are pictured during an announcement of a China trade mission in this October 2014 file photo. (ANTONELLA ARTUSO/Toronto Sun)



Let's not be naive, China spies 


Candice Malcolm
BY 

Is Canada equipped to deal with foreign agents active within our borders?
Earlier this week, a Globe and Mail story revealed concerns held by the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) about an Ontario cabinet minister.
The report alleged Canada’s intelligence agency considered Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Michael Chan to be a potential threat to Canada, and under the influence of Communist China.
Chan, who has called the allegations “ludicrous”, has not been charged with any crime.
Ontario’s ethics commissioner reportedly investigated his dealings with China and found he did not violate Ontario’s laws.
There is no public evidence Chan’s regular communication with the Chinese consul-general was dubious in nature.
While Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne responded the issue was dealt with and resolved in 2010, and that Chan has her full confidence, Federal Justice Minister Peter MacKay said there is an “ongoing investigation” but would provide no details.
It is unfortunate that Chan has been placed in a position where he must defend himself against reports he is a potential security threat without having been charged, let alone convicted, of anything.
His case aside, however, there is reason to be concerned about Communist China’s influence in Canada.
The fact China tries to influence Canadian institutions and decision-makers is well documented.
Four years ago, Conservative MP Bob Dechert was caught exchanging flirtatious emails with an employee of Xinhua News Agency, an organization controlled by the Chinese government.
Xinhua is a product of the Chinese Communist Party, created in the 1930s to handle revolutionary propaganda.
Many Western intelligence agencies suspect Xinhua works with China’s spy agencies to collect information for Beijing.
Yet a Canadian MP — the parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, no less — was not wise enough to keep a professional distance from one of its eager employees.
Following the incident, a former Chinese spy spoke out and warned Ottawa to be more cautious when it comes to senior officials and journalists from China.
Beijing is targeting Canada, he said, and Canadian politicians should be vigilant.
Aside from trying to influence politicians, Chinese agents are also engaged in cyber espionage.
Chinese state-sponsored actors breached the computer infrastructure of the National Research Council, in what was described by CSIS as a highly sophisticated intrusion.
The Globe and Sun reported last year how the infamous “Unit 61398” of China’s People’s Liberation Army was the suspected culprit of hacks to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board in 2011.
According to Chinese defectors back in 2005, Beijing had a network of over 1,000 spies and informants in Canada, ordered to intimidate Chinese refugees and steal economic and scientific secrets.
We know China spies. We also know it steals information.
Earlier this month the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the government’s human resources agency, reported its computer system had been hacked and millions of private files on government employees had been stolen.
It is feared China was behind the hack and could use the information to blackmail government employees and recruit new agents.
China may soon overtake the United States as the largest economic and military power in the world.
It’s anyone’s guess whether China’s ascent will be peaceful, or if it will digress into tension, distrust and conflict.
Canada has an interest in building a constructive relationship with China.
Canada’s leaders, however, should not be naive.
We can play nice with our second-largest trading partner, but we should also be wary of the intentions of China’s diplomacy.
  •  the key, underlying problem is the millions upon millions of Chinese arriving in Canada, slowly taking over some of our cities, such as Vancouver and Markham, and our major universities, coupled with a multicultural ideology that encourages non-Europeans to pursue their ethnic interests while prohibiting European Canadians from doing the same. Minorities are encouraged to enhance their particular ethno-cultural interests, while European Canadians are expected to celebrate the cultures of others rather than their own.



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    btw, the alerts on Mr. Chan came some years ago from a Chinese-Canadian business association. And see how many foreign governments get contracts from the Liberals-!!
    Who is bribing who?


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    I am curious as to why Harper has been fawning over the Chinese for so long. And what about his appointment of Victor Oh to the Senate a couple of years ago? I was unable to find much concrete information about Oh at the time. It has been suggested that Jean Chretien was provided with a cushy job with a Chinese-owned bank while in the political wilderness, and it is known that Paul Martin’s Canada Steamship Lines is/was closely tied in with China, even having ships built in Chinese dockyards. 

    And don’t forget “Operation Sidewinder” from almost 20 years ago: http://www.primetimecrimeDOTcom

    /Articles/RobertRead/Sidewinder%20page%201.htm 

    and http://www.primetimecrimeDOTcom/Articles/RobertRead/Sidewinder%20page%202.htm - well worth the read.





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    China as a nation, cannot continue to grow within it's own borders. Canada and others should be well aware of how China is pushing this envelope. With the extension of territorial water's, encompassing foreign held island chains. And as I have said before, why are there so many Chinese camped out around the ring of fire.


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