Pro-Beijing group held rally to support Xixi Li, the focus of RCMP probe into two alleged Chinese ‘police stations’ in Montréal
The group also openly defends Yuesheng Wang, the Hydro-Quebec ex-employee charged with espionage for China.
A Chinese Canadian community group held a rally in Montréal on Sunday (March 19, 2023) to support Xixi Li (李西西), the subject in RCMP’s investigation of two alleged Chinese unofficial police stations in Quebec, according to Chinese and English-language reports.
The Canada-China Friendship Promotion Association (CCFPA, 加中友谊促进会), an organization that eagerly spoke to the media at the rally, is in fact a long-time supporter of the Chinese government. CCFPA’s founder and president, Tina Jiuru Zhu (朱九如), went to court in Nov. 2022 to support Yuesheng Wang (王跃生), a Hydro-Québec ex-employee who was charged with spying for China last November. Moreover, Zhu and her CCFPA are also reported to have rooted for Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, Beijing winter Olympics 2022 and so on.
In addition, a few other organizations present at the rally also have a record of supporting Beijing or the Kremlin.
The event cries racism over RCMP’s investigation, claiming Chinese ‘overseas police stations’ to be a conspiracy theory
The rally was held on Sunday morning at the Place Sun-Yat-Sen (中山广场) in Montréal. About 30 people from different organizations attended the gathering, including non-Asian members. Slogans on the banners and posters citing racism and the “Chinese Exclusion Act” were written in Chinese, English and French.
The theme of the rally, according to a post at the Chinese-language website Symbiosis International Media (共生传媒), was “Stand with Xixi Li against inequality, inequity, and discrimination”. Xixi Li, a city councilor of Brossard, Quebec, is the subject of RCMP’s recent investigations of two Chinese “police stations” in the Montreal area. Two community service organizations Li supervises, are suspected of hosting China's underground police stations.
Tina Zhu (朱九如), the founder and president of the Canada-China Friendship Promotion Association (CCFPA) acted as the host of the rally. Leaders from different groups gave speeches on the stage one by one.
According to Symbiosis Media, their speech covered a range of topics.
“They questioned why the RCMP singled out two Chinese organizations in Montreal among thousands of "investigations" each year for media speculation; they condemned the media for publishing false and negative news that caused irreparable harm to the Chinese community and to Ms. Xixi Li; they reflect on the injustice and struggle that Chinese Canadians have experienced over the past 100 years since the Chinese Exclusion Act; they complained about the racial discrimination and persecution that Asians have suffered since the pandemic. Some of them told their own stories about why they came here today, and some Western groups said they wanted to stand with the Chinese Canadians and declare war on racial discrimination and social injustice!”
When a City News Montreal reporter came for an interview, Zhu told City News reporter Diona Macalinga (0:01), “I think it’s not fair for us. I feel it is racist.”
William Ging Wee Dere (谢景炜), a member of the Progressive Chinese Quebec (魁北克华人进步党), said in front of the camera that the RCMP’s investigation could place all Chinese Canadians under a generalized suspicion.
Trudeau-appointed Canadian Senator Yuen Pau Woo (胡元豹) didn’t show up at the event but he sent a message to the event organizer beforehand. A young Chinese Canadian read the message out loud on the stage at the gathering.
Besides Tina Zhu’s CCFPA, the event was also joined by other community groups including the Chinatown Round Table (唐人街圆桌会议) , the Progressive Chinese of Quebec and Quebec Peace Movement (Mouvement Québécois pour la Paix, MQP, 魁北克和平运动).
Members behind the rally have complex records of siding with Beijing or Moscow.
Tina Zhu, the host and key organizer of the rally, is a well-known pro-Beijing community leader in Montreal.
Found in Translation has published a detailed report about Zhu and her Canada-China Friendship Promotion Association (CCFPA). Click here to read the report: Pro-Beijing group goes to bat for Hydro-Québec employee charged with spying for China (substack.com)
For readers who are less patient with long posts, here is a list of Zhu’s activities:
Zhu went to court to express support for Yuesheng Wang (王跃生), the ex-researcher at Hydro Quebec who was charged in Nov. 2022 for spying for China. Zhu talked to CBC and a few other English media, claiming the Wang case to be racist.
Zhu’s CCFPA was formerly called "FREE Meng Wanzhou in Action WeChat group", which frequently called for the release of Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Chinese Tech giant Huawei.
The CCFPA’s official website is full of pro-Beijing content, which promotes Beijing-friendly people and organizations including CCP darling Dr. Norman Bethune (白求恩医生), Canadian comedian Dashan (大山), U.S. scholar Jeffrey Sachs, etc.
Zhu frequently attends events featuring Chinese consulate officials.
Zhu wrote campaign materials for Xixi Li in the 2021 civic election in Quebec.
Zhu participated in a rally initiated by the Quebec Peace Movement condemning U.S. imperialism, claiming the U.S. had overstepped the red line when U.S. House Speaker Pelosi visited Taiwan.
Besides Zhu, there are a few other figures at the rally who are linked to, soft on, or aligned with Beijing or Russia.
William Ging Wee Dere (谢景炜), the Chinese Canadian man who also spoke to English media at the rally, is a filmmaker, writer and activist for racial equality. In the meantime, he has written many pieces against U.S. imperialism and western colonialism. His writings include but are not limited to:
Being Chinese in Canada: The Struggle for Identity, Redress and Belonging
The New Internationalism of China’s Belt and Road Initiative & Canadian regional interference
Conservative elites join up for campaign to force Canada to violate the “One-China” principle
Canada's mainstream and establishment left media wage the same Cold War against China
Dere is one of the Canadians who called for the release Meng Wanzhou claiming the Canadian government’s treatment of Meng to be sinophobia, a cold war mindset and could lead to anti-Asian hate.
Dere is also a columnist and board advisor to The Canada Files, an online publication that claims to produce anti-imperialist journalism challenging the Canadian empire. One of the latest posts on The Canada Files’ Twitter account is calling to end “NATO's proxy war on Russia”.
Quebec Peace Movement (Mouvement Québécois pour la Paix, MQP, 魁北克和平运动) is an organization that claims to hold an anti-NATO, anti-imperialism and anti-U.S. stance. Meanwhile, MQP has also been seen joining forces with the enemies of NATO and the U.S. including authoritarian China and Russia.
The MQP held a protest in Montreal in September 2022, a few weeks after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. The protest claimed the American politician’s action had overstepped China’s red line. Tina Zhu also delivered a speech at the rally, calling on peace-loving Canadians to oppose U.S. imperialism and strengthen Canada’s friendship with China.
CGTN, China’s state-run foreign-language news network, has run positive coverage about Quebec Peace Movement praising its campaign calling for Canada to withdraw from NATO.
The Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War, an Ontario organization, in early 2021, started an online petition, “Allow Huawei Canada to participate in Canada's 5G rollout”. Tina Zhu’s Canada-China Friendship Promotion Association and Quebec Peace Movement both signed to support the petition.
Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War’s founder, Ken Stone, was invited by CCTV, China’s top propaganda TV station, in the spring of 2022 for an expert comment regarding Canada’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. CCTV’s Stone interview was headlined, “Canadian anti-war activist criticizes the Canadian government for adding oil to the fire”.
On the website of the Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War, the latest event was an interview with pro-Russia activists who participated in the “Rage Against the War Machine” rally in Washington DC in February 2023.
Dear non-CCP aligned protestors in Montreal, you lose all sympathy when you pretend this hard to not know why the entire country is coming to your support right now.
More outstanding work from the FiT team, thank you! Unfortunate name choice for CCFPA, with the seeming Paul King Jin connection, surfaced by googling: "加中友谊促进" "贾世宝".