GTA man allegedly hosts China’s unofficial police station met with U.S.-sanctioned CCP official in Xinjiang
Weng Guoning (翁国宁) promised to tell Xinjiang’s story well and strengthen business ties with Xinjiang.
Weng Guoning (翁国宁), a Toronto businessman and Chinese Canadian community leader, is reported to have met with Erkin Tuniyaz (ئەركىن تۇنىياز, 艾尔肯·吐尼亚孜), a senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official in Xinjiang who was sanctioned by U.S. government over human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.
At the same event, Weng also met with the leader of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC, 新疆生产建设兵团), a paramilitary organization sanctioned by the U.S. for allegedly operating concentration camps in Xinjiang.
Weng Guoning promised to tell Xinjiang’s story well
As reported by the Chinese state media CCTV, Weng met Tuniyaz at a formal conference on May 11, 2023 in Urumqi (乌鲁木齐), the capital city of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in the far northwest of China.
The conference was hosted by the Xinjiang government and the Xinjiang regional committee of the CCP, to meet and greet a delegation of overseas Chinese from various countries.
During the meeting, CCP officials lectured the attendees on the CCP’s Xinjiang policies and urged overseas guests to “show the world, especially in their residing countries, a true and objective Xinjiang.”
After that, as per the CCTV report, Weng Guoning (1:16), along with three other overseas Chinese representatives, said they had “personally witnessed a peaceful and thriving Xinjiang, which is completely different from some of the international rumors and smears”. They pledged to share their firsthand experience with people in their residing countries and “tell Xinjiang’s story well”. In addition, they promised to “vigorously promote Xinjiang and actively create cooperation projects to help Xinjiang’s economic and social development” so as to achieve mutual benefit and win-win situation between their residing counties and Xinjiang.
Before the meeting in Xinjiang, Weng and other members of the delegation just met with CCP supreme leader Xi Jinping in Beijing for the 10th Conference for Friendship of Overseas Chinese Association (第十届世界华侨华人社团联谊大会), where the CCP told the diaspora Chinese representatives they are “fresh troops” in China's effort to develop a “shared future for mankind” as part of the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
Erkin Tuniyaz: the Xinjiang governor who was sanctioned by the U.S. for human rights abuses
CCP leaders at the Xinjiang meeting included XUAR Chairman Erkin Tuniyaz (ئەركىن تۇنىياز, 艾尔肯·吐尼亚孜); CCP Xinjiang secretary Ma Xingrui (马兴瑞); United Front Work Department (UFWD) Xinjiang director Ilzat Exmetjan (ئىلزات ئەخمەتجان, 伊力扎提·艾合买提江), etc.
Tuniyaz, the XUAR chairman and vice secretary of the XUAR CCP party committee, commonly known as the “Xinjiang governor”, was sanctioned by the U.S. government in December 2021 under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. His name was added to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list because of his role in the extensive human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region.
Individuals on the SDN list will have their assets frozen, and U.S. persons are generally barred from engaging in transactions or dealings with them.
Tuniyaz plays a central role in the mass detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. According to Adrian Zenz, a Senior Fellow in China Studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial, Tuniyaz has been closely involved in the concentration camps system as early as its inception. Tuniyaz was not only responsible for drafting the De-Extremification Regulation that set up the basics for the concentration camps system, but also oversees organizations to enforce it.
In February 2023, Tuniyaz sparked international outrage when his Europe trip plan was revealed. Described as a charm offensive by China experts, Tuniyaz was set to meet with European Union and British “stakeholders‘ in Brussels, Paris, and London to “discuss the situation in Xinjiang“. After human rights groups and some UK MPs raised the issue in parliament and the media, Tuniyaz canceled his trip.
Tuniyaz is of Uyghur ethnicity, but he is widely considered a traitor by Uyghur human rights groups.
Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC, 新疆生产建设兵团): another entity sanctioned by the U.S.
Ma Xingrui (马兴瑞), the CCP Xinjiang secretary at the event with Weng, is also the First Political Commissar at the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC,新疆生产建设兵团).
XPCC is also the subject of a Magnitsky Act sanction. In July 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on the XPCC and two of its then-leaders, for their connections to “serious human rights abuse against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, which reportedly include mass arbitrary detention and severe physical abuse”.
The sanction of XPCC is significant because XPCC, as a paramilitary organization under the CCP, controls almost every aspect of Xinjiang including its economy. XPCC not only plays a pivotal role in enforcing forced labor across major industries in Xinjiang but has also invested substantial amounts of money in key sectors such as solar panels, cotton products, tomatoes, minerals, etc. A sanction in place means a lot of companies in Xinjiang will potentially lose all business dealings with the U.S.
Weng Guoning has strong ties to Beijing
Weng Guoning, the GTA businessman in question, is a high-profile figure in the Chinese Canadian community. Found in Translation has published multiple posts about him, but here is a brief rundown:
1) Weng has strong ties to the Chinese government and the Canadian government.
2) Weng leads two well-known pro-Beijing groups, the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations (CTCCO, 多伦多华人团体联合总会) and the Canada-Toronto Fuqing Business Association (CTFQBA, 加拿大多伦多福清商会). Both organizations are allegedly involved in China’s interference in Canada.
CTCCO is the largest United Front organization in Toronto, which the Globe and Mail calls an unofficial lobby group for the Chinese Consulate-General in Toronto. CTFQBA is under RCMP investigation for allegedly hosting China’s underground police station in Canada.
3) Weng has openly praised China's overseas police stations on the Chinese state media and has met with local police in China to promote the overseas police station program.
4) Weng has repeatedly defended China’s policies regarding Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Beijing Olympics 2022 and Covid 19.
5) Weng is close to the Canadian government, having abundant photos with politicians at all levels.
6) Weng participated in the Parliament Hill rally on June 24, where 3000 Chinese Canadians gathered to voice their opposition to a foreign agent registry, according to the event marketing material.
Weng's CTFQBA was one of the organizations that financially supported this huge event.
U.S. person met with sanctioned official in Xinjiang.
Besides Weng, there were dozens of other diaspora Chinese meeting with the U.S.-sanctioned entities at the Xinjiang conference including Chinese American businessman Shi Qianping (施乾平).
Shi Qianping (施乾平), President of the U.S. Federation of Chinese-American Entrepreneurs (美国华人企业家联合会) promised the Xinjiang officials at the conference he’d enhance business ties between Xinjiang and his residing country, as per the CCTV report.
Shi leads several companies across the globe, including the Demai International Industry (DMI Group, 德迈国际产业集团) in mainland China, Jhf International Holding Limited (香港金恒丰国际控股有限公司) in Hong Kong, and JHF Industry Printer Inc. in New York, U.S.A.
All U.S. persons (including citizens, permanent residents and businesses) are required to comply with OFAC regulations and are prohibited from doing business with those on the sanction list.
Thanks for sharing such important information. Hope you will participate in the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions.