Canadian politicians busy hanging out with Beijing-linked elites, ignoring pro-democracy events nearby and worldwide
Trend of politicians mixing with CCP-supporting locals continues
Four politicians in Richmond, B.C. attended the grand opening ceremony of a restaurant owned by a Chinese government media employee on Oct. 1, 2022, the 73rd anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s taking over mainland China, according to a WeChat post by Keqin Zu, the Director of Phoenix Television’s Vancouver branch. Phoenix TV is a Hong Kong news station partially owned by China’s government.
Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie, along with Richmond city councilors Chak Au, Alexa Loo and Bill McNulty were seen in photos celebrating the formal opening of Marina One, a Chinese dim sum restaurant that Zu claimed to be his.
Zu passionately said in his post, “Today is a big day. On October 1st, the entire country (of P. R. China) is celebrating National Day. In addition to the great news that the Chinese women's basketball team won second place after 28 years, our small restaurant is also joining the joyous celebration. The Marina One Chinese Restaurant in Richmond is formally opening today. Reservation phone number: 604 xxx xxxx, address: xxxx No.3 Road, Richmond.”
After the text, Zu posted nine photos, and two of them show four elected Canadian politicians at the events.
On the same day, Alexa Loo and Chak Au attended another event in Vancouver that featured at least three Chinese diplomats, and some familiar “leaders” from the Chinese Canadian community.
According to multiple Chinese language media outlets, the event took place at the north plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery. China’s Consul-General in Vancouver Yang Shu, vice Consul-General Wang Chengjun, and Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO) Chen Qingjie, attended the festival. Phoenix TV was one of the media outlets at the event.
Although the event was titled “The 4th Chinese Culture and Art Festival”, China’s top diplomat Yang Shu gave a speech applauding P.R. China’s 73rd birthday, and Phoenix TV’s report also mentioned the Chinese Canadians “expressed their genuine birthday wishes to their motherland.”
Phoenix TV is a partially state-owned television network that offers Mandarin and Cantonese-language programs in China and abroad. One of its offices is in Vancouver. Alexa Loo and Chak Au have been interviewed by Phoenix TV on various occasions.
The event was co-organized by the Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations (CACA), the United Global Chinese Women's Association of Canada and Canada Sichuanese Friendship Association. Wang Dianqi, honorary chairman of CACA and Maria Xu, president of United Global Chinese Women's Association of Canada attended the event.
CACA is a “controlling level” United Front group in Canada, according to Canadian journalist Sam Cooper’s report, quoting a Chinese defector who had sought political asylum in Australia.
Maria Xu is the person that promotes the CCP’s “Overseas Chinese Bookstations” library program in Vancouver. Xu also attended the “Overseas Chinese Community Leader” training program in 2021, hosted by the Federation Of Jiangsu Returned Overseas Chinese, the Jiangsu provincial branch of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (ACFROC). ACFROC is one of the peak United Front orgs for ethnic Chinese with overseas links, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)’s report “The party speaks for you”.
Wang Dianqi, honorary chair of CACA and the president of the Canada Chinese Peaceful and Unification Association, is a big fan of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of P.R. China. A recent newspaper report shows he has been sending gifts and donations to the Tiantai Country branch of the PLA for 34 years in a row, from 1989 to 2022.
Also on Oct.1, 2022, just a few feet away from the Vancouver Art Gallery, there was a massive protest against the Iranian government. A human chain of thousands of people from and outside the Iranian Canadian community along the road from the Vancouver Art Gallery all the way to the Stanley Park condemning the Iranian police for the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, and calling for revolutionary change for the people of Iran. As the second weekend in the protest series, this rally is echoed in many cities around the world.
Again on the same day, protests against the CCP’s totalitarian regime were also taking place worldwide on China’s National Day, including San Francisco, London, Taipei, Hong Kong, Vienna, Tokyo, Paris, Amsterdam, Istanbul, and Vancouver. A group of people waved flags supporting Hong Kong, Tibet, and Taiwan outside the Chinese Consulate General in Vancouver, which is about 10 minutes drive from the Vancouver Art Gallery.
No reports show that Malcolm Brodie, Chak Au, Alexa Loo, and Bill McNulty were present at these pro-democracy events.
References:
Phoenix TV report on the P.R.China National Day event
http://share.fengshows.com/article.html?id=3a380145-25c3-44a2-8381-c2fd6f09a3f1&channelID=r04&time=1664711008.048749
ASPI: The party speaks for you
https://www.aspi.org.au/report/party-speaks-you
2022“情系江苏”多元文化国际春晚圆满举行
https://lahoo.ca/2022/01/31/241885
台州籍侨领王典奇的34年拥军路
https://www.toutiao.com/article/7126892398529790464/
'We want freedom': Demonstrators in Vancouver gathered for 2nd weekend in a row to protest Iran regime
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-protest-against-iranian-regime-1.6603207
Protests against Beijing’s policies on Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang staged worldwide on China’s National Day
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/10/03/protests-against-beijings-policies-on-hong-kong-tibet-and-xinjiang-staged-worldwide-on-chinas-national-day/?fbclid=IwAR3qHEUfXYgV9nxCcsogZa4WBqJ25zTOmUemqHVe9RnaXzvFi5ULM-xOu9c
Global protests mark China's National Day
https://www.aninews.in/news/world/europe/global-protests-mark-chinas-national-day20221002133003/
Candidates for Richmond civic election:
https://www.richmond.ca/electionservices/candidates.htm
What a disgrace. Thanks for unearthing this!!