Businessman under investigation in CCP election interference probe, photographed with numerous Canadian politicians: a gallery
Wei's organization is established under the guidance of the CCP's United Front Work Department, says its offical website.
Wei Chengyi 魏成义, a Toronto businessman and Chinese community leader, is the subject of investigations involving China’s political interference in Canada’s elections and is suspected of being the proxy for the Chinese Consulate to transfer funds to 11 federal candidates in Canada, according to the latest report by Canadian journalist, Sam Cooper.
An Ontarian property under the name of Wei’s organization, is also alleged to have ties to China’s “overseas police stations”.
Public information on the internet shows that Wei holds a variety of titles including:
Founder and owner of Foody Mart Group, a grocery chain in Ontario and B.C.
Developer of China City, a real estate project in Ontario.
Permanent Honorary Chairman of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations (CTCCO)
Permanent Hournary Chairman of the Canada Toronto Fuqing Business Association (CTFQBA)
President of the Min Business Association of Canada
President of the Canada Confederation of Fujian Associations
Overseas member of the 12th National People's Congress of China in 2014
Director of China Overseas Exchange Association
But what else should we know about Wei Chengyi? We searched the Chinese language media, and here are some of his public activities with photos alongside Canadian politicians, not necessarily in chronological order.
The relationship with the politicians is unknown and often many people show up at events, so it isn’t clear if those in the photos actually knew who Wei was when the photos were taken. But the photos do show Wei, who has not been charged with any crime, moved among powerful members of the community.
Wei Chengyi (3rd left) celebrated the Chinese New Year in February 2017 at Parliament Hill in Ottawa with Liberal MP Geng Tan 谭耕 (4th left), Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen (5th left), Liberal MP John McCallum 麦家廉 (2nd right) and others. China’s national flag (the Five-star Red Flag) was displayed in the background.
Geng Tan, the MP for the riding of Don Valley North from 2015 to 2019, is said to be the first Chinese Canadian born in mainland China and elected to the House of Commons (HoC). Before that, Tan was vice chairman of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations (CTCCO) . Wei is the Permanent Honorary Chairman of CTCCO.
Tan’s accomplishments as an MP include Motion 38 in 2016, which stipulates the Canadian government should on an annual basis proclaim the first day of the Lunar Year as the beginning of the 15-day “Spring Festival”.
In January 2018, Tan was found to have hand-delivered a letter to a top official at the Canadian embassy in Beijing and personally spoke to Chinese authorities on behalf of Edward Gong 龚小华, a Chinese-Canadian businessman and Liberal Party donor who has been charged with money laundering and the fraudulent sale of hundreds of millions of dollars in securities, according to a report by the Globe and Mail.
Also in the photo is John McCallum.
McCallum was a Liberal MP who served as the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. McCallum was fired by PM Trudeau in 2019 after he was reported to have publicly suggested it would be great if the U.S. dropped its extradition request against Meng Wanzhou.
McCallum has met Wei on other occasions. For example, in Oct. 2015 McCallum (3rd from right in the front row) attended the premier ceremony of “Fujianese in Toronto”, a TV series filmed by Min Business Association of Canada where Wei (4th from left in the front row) serves as president. Michael Chan 陈国治 (1st from left in the front row), Liberal MP Arnold Chan 陈家诺 (now deceased) (2nd from left in the front row) and Richmond Hill city councillor Godwin Chan 陈志辉 (2nd right in the front row) attended to show support.
At the event, McCallum jokingly claimed himself to be a “son-in-law of Fujianese” because his wife’s ancestors were born somewhere in Fujian Province, China.
Back to the 2017 Chinese New Year celebration in Feb. 2017, Conservative Senator Victor Oh 胡子修 (1st left) also mingled with Wei (2nd left). In 2020, a Senate’s ethics officer found Senator Oh had breached the upper house's ethics code four times when he accepted an all-expenses paid trip to China in 2017.
Canadian PM Trudeau also went to the 2017 Chinese New Year party and had a blast with Tan, but it seems Wei didn’t have a group photo with Trudeau.
Wei (2nd left in the back row) is familiar with Han Dong 董晗鹏 (1st front), the MP for the riding of Don Valley North since 2019 after Tan’s departure.
On June 27, a few days after Tan's decision not to run again, Dong held a press conference declaring his seeking nomination as a Liberal candidate in Tan’s riding. The conference was held in the headquarters office of Foody Mart Group, a supermarket chain that Wei founded and still owns.
Other attendees at the press conference included Reza Moridi (3rd left in the back row) and Michael Chan (4th left in the back row). Moridi was a Liberal MPP of Ontario from 2007 to 2018 and a provincial cabinet minister.
Michael Chan was a former Ontario Minister and MPP from 2007 to 2018 and the current deputy Mayor of Markham and Regional Councillor-Elect. In June 2015, the Global and Mail published a report that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) told the Ontario government that Chan was possibly under the influence of the Chinese government. After that, Chan threatened Global and Mail with a libel lawsuit and claimed damages of 4.5 million dollars.
A few months later, on Oct.1, 2015, Michael Chan (5th from right in the front row) and Wei (4th from right in the front row) attended a party at the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto to celebrate the 66th anniversary of the CCP’s ruling in mainland China. Senator Victor Oh (8th right in the front row), and Han Dong (head half covered by Michael Chan) also attended the event. Right in the centre of the group photo, was China’s Consul-General in Toronto, Xue Bing 薛冰 (7th right in the front row).
In the same month, Wei (4th from right in the second row) celebrated the PRC’s 66th anniversary by flying a Chinese national flag in front of the Ontario Provincial Parliament building. Ontario cabinet minister Michael Chan and Chinese Consul General in Toronto Xue Bing were also there, as well as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.
On February 9, 2019, Wei (3rd right) posed for a group pic with Liberal MP Mary Ng 伍凤仪 (6th right), at the inauguration of the 16th Board of Directors of the CTCCO. Other attendees included Geng Tan, Han Dong, etc. Han Tao 韩涛 (8th right), China’s Consul-General in Toronto since 2018, was at the centre of the front row.
In April 2019, Wei (7th from left in the front row) attended the inauguration ceremony of the Tibetan Association of Canada with Vincent Ke 柯文彬 (11th from left in the front row), a Conservative MPP in Ontario.
Tibetan Association of Canada is said to be a front for the Communist Party of China (CCP) as it publicly supports Beijing's control of Tibet, according to a report by the National Post. The event also attracted great media attention because a congratulatory letter the organization claimed to be issued by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, was later found to be fake.
In May 2019, MP Han Dong (2nd left) attended the groundbreaking ceremony of China City 华景天地, a 140,000-square-feet real estate project. Wei (middle), the developer of this project, and Toronto councillor Jim Karygiannis (2nd right) were also present, according to a detailed report by China News Service (CNS).
On July 1, 2019, Wei (6th from right) attended a gala at a fancy Chinese restaurant celebrating the 152nd anniversary of Canada. Also present were Han Dong, Michael Chan, Liberal MP Jean Yip 叶嘉丽 (5th from left), Ontario Liberal MPP Sue Wong 黄素梅 (6th from left), and Markham regional councillor Joe Li 李国贤.
Liberal MP Shaun Chen 陈圣源 (8th from right) was also there.
Wei (2nd left) gave instructions during the lion dance procedure.
In August 2019, Wei (2nd from left) and Michael Chan (9th from left) held a rally to support the denunciation of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and expressed their support for the Hong Kong police.
In the same summer, 200+ organizations in the Chinese Canadian community published a joint statement denouncing the protest and in support of the CCP. Wei’s three organizations (CTCCO, Min Business Association of Canada and Canada Confederation of Fujian Associations) were all on the list.
In Sept. 2019, Wei (2nd right) attended a meeting to support the re-election of Toronto mayor John Tory (4th left). Michael Chan (1st right) and MP Han Dong (2nd left) were also present.
CTFQBA was founded “under the guidance of several organizations including All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (ACFROC), Fujian Provincial branch of ACFROC, Fuzhou city branch of ACFROC, CCP Fuqing Municipal Committee, Fuqing Municipal Government, United Front Work Department of Fuqing Municipal Committee, Fuqing Overseas Chinese Association”, according to CTFBA’s official website.
Wei is the permanent Honourary Chairman of CTFBA. The address of CTFQBA, 220 Royal Crest, Markham, Ontario, is the same as that of one of China's overseas police stations in the Greater Toronto Area, according to a report by Safeguard Defenders, a human rights NGO in Spain.
Senator Victor Oh (7th from left in the front row) also attended the CTFBA’s inauguration ceremony of the First Board of Directors in Oct. 2019. Wei (4th left in the front row) and MP Geng Tan (1st right in the front row) both joined the party.
Ontario MPP Vincent Ke (somewhere in the back row) was also there.
In February 2020, Wei (1st from left) posed for a photo with Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti (3rd from left), Markham City Councillor Alan Ho 何胡景 (1st from right), and the current president of CTCCO Weng Guoning 翁国宁 (2nd right).
In Feb. 2013 during the Chinese New Year, Wei (6th right) and Senator Victor Oh (4th right) met Fang Li 房利 (2nd from left), China’s Consul-General in Toronto; and Qiu Yuanping 裘援平 (5th from right), director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO 侨办) of China. OCAO , according to a Canadian federal court ruling in Feb 2022, is involved in espionage that harms Canada's interests.
Great info. Many of us are working with partners from PRC. It would be extremely helpful if some kind of rogues gallery searchable database was available for us to check before signing deals. It's tough to know who's who, and who's working for the CCP....and there's no way I want to work with the rogues.