This Toronto mayor hopeful says he’s running to ‘tell China’s stories well’ - which is just what Beijing has asked
Mayor of Canada's largest city aims to "Tell China's stories well"?
Within seven weeks, 2.7 million Torontonians will head to poll stations to pick the next mayor. The reason why a Canadian wants to run for office differs for different people. But for Tony Luk, candidate for mayor in the 2022 race, the answer is to “tell China's stories well.”
According to a report by The Legend Media, a Chinese language website in Canada, Luk has been honored as the “Overseas Representatives of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference" five times since 2013, at different levels of the Chinese government.
He claims to be the leader of 50 different organizations around China.
Luk is also one of 31 candidates for mayor of Toronto in the 2022 municipal election. Although Luk just launched his campaign office on Sept. 4, his ambition for the mayorship was announced four months ago on May 3.
Image source: CCMedia News
That day, Luk held a grand press conference to announce his decision before dozens of media outlets.
“(0:36) Time flies. It was less than a year ago that I ran for city council in the by-election. This year I’m running again for an even higher position: mayor. Mayor of Toronto. ” said Luk in Mandarin Chinese. “Some people asked me curiously, why are you running for mayor (of Toronto)? My answer is, to tell China’s stories well, and exert the influence of the Chinese people. ”
Why does it matter? Here’s the story behind the slogan “Tell China’s stories well”
“Tell China’s stories well (讲好中国故事)”, is an important slogan and key strategy in China’s global influence operations, including but is not limited to, its Grand External Propaganda campaign and public diplomacy. Introduced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping in 2013, the command “Tell China’s stories well” requires relevant organizations to coordinate to enhance China’s “global discourse power,” boost China’s soft power and reshape international narratives about China.
Why is “Tell China’s stories well” the goal of a Canadian citizen who is running to be the mayor of the largest city in Canada?
Is it a slip of the tongue? A quick review of the media coverage of Luk might give you an idea:
May 2020, Tony Luk, along with three other Chinese community leaders, expressed their strong support for China’s draconian National Security Law over Hong Kong, according to a report on TCNNews.
The other three leaders included Ping Tan, chairman of Chinese Canadians for China’s Reunification; Weng Guoning, Chairman of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations (CTCCO); and Zhu Jiang, executive president of the Council of Newcomer Organizations.July 3, 2020, Tony Luk, on behalf of the Confederation of Canada-Hong Kong Community Association, published an ad on the website of China News Service (CNS), a news agency directly owned by CCP’s United Front Work Department (UFWD).
Luk’s advertising is headlined, “Warm celebration of the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and firm support to the enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law”.
Jan.20, 2022, six weeks after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau announced Canada’s diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics 2022, Luk hosted an event “Beijing 2022: Together For a Shared Future” celebrating the 20 days countdown to the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics and alleging their support to promote the Beijing Olympics.
Han Tao, China’s Consul-General in Toronto delivered a congratulatory speech. Canadian senator Victor Oh and MP Han Dong also attended the event.
Feb. 20, 2022, the day when the Beijing Winter Olympics closed, Luk held a Zoom meeting with 130+ organizations to celebrate the successful completion of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Luk, as the chairman of the event organization committee, said he’s very proud.
Sept. 1, 2021, Tony Luk attended the 6th Belt and Road Summit organized via Zoom. The event was co-organized by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and a person seen as the chief henchwomen of the CCP in Hong Kong, gave a speech at the meeting. Luk was awarded a certificate for his generous contributions.
May 7, 2020, Luk suggested Canada immediately release Meng Wanzhou because it would greatly deepen Canada-China relations, according to an interview on Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong-based Chinese language newspaper.
Sept. 26, 2021: Luk said he felt greatly relieved when Meng Wanzhou finally went back to China, according to a report by Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong-based Chinese language newspaper. Luk claimed that overseas Chinese in Canada were very excited to learn about Meng’s release and “feel the strong support of their motherland”.
July 1, 2021, Luk watched the entire event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to a report on Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong-based Chinese language newspaper.
The event was held at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, and CCP leader Xi Jinping spoke at the event to 70, 000 attendees.
Luk said it was with immense excitement and joy he watched the grand event. Although he was physically in Canada, but as an Overseas Representative of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), his heart went out to his motherland. He also felt honored to have been invited to attend the 50th, 60th, and 70th anniversaries of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
A Community leader who holds important positions in 100+ organizations in Canada and China
Tony Luk ran in Ward 22 Scarborough-Agincourt byelection in 2021, finishing fifth out of 27 candidates. On the homepage of tonyluk.ca, a website when he was campaigning for the by-election, there is Tony Luk’s bio in English and Chinese.
The third paragraph of the Chinese version reads, “Tony Luk is currently the President of the Canhome Group, President of the Canada-China Overseas Exchange Association, and an Overseas Delegate to the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He is also the Executive President, Director and member of more than 50 organizations in Canada, and holds important positions in more than 50 different organizations in various provinces of China.”
But in the English version of Luk’s bio, there isn’t a paragraph like this, nor of any content that mentions his 100+ positions in Canada and China.
When he was interviewed by the Toronto Star in May 2022, Tony Luck’s title was quite brief, “a Scarborough immigration consultant”.
Weeks ago, Luk held a grand fund-raising banquet in the restaurant “Casa Deluz Banquet Hall” in Scarborough, Ontario.
Image source: CCMedia News
More than 600 guests attended the party, including some Canadian politicians such as Aris Babikian, Ontario MPP; Joe DiPaola, Vice Mayor of City of Richmond Hill; and Joe Li, York Regional Councillor.
Leaders of many organizations also showed up to provide their endorsement, including John Zhu, chairman of the Chinese Canadian Conservative Association, and Xing Jiyuan, co-chair of the Council of Newcomer Organizations.
The Chinese Canadian Conservative Association held a press conference during the 2021 federal election, urging Erin O'Toole to resign as the Tory leader because O'Toole’s policies were too harsh on China. Joe Li was the spokesperson at that news conference, and he also attended Luk’s fundraising party as an elected Canadian politician.
The Council of Newcomer Organizations released a statement in March 2021, shortly after Canada's parliament voted overwhelmingly to pass a motion declaring China's treatment of its Uighur minority population a genocide. The Council of Newcomer Organizations condemned Canada’s motion and claimed it to be “baseless” and “would severely damage the China-Canada relation”.
References:
Luk Held event to supporting the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022
http://www.takungpao.com/life/238149/2022/0120/679238.html
Luk celebrated the successful closing of Beijing Winter Olympics with 100+ organizations
Luk 加美旅游总裁陆炳雄先生参加 线上2021香港一带一路高峰论坛会议
http://www.chinanews.org/zx/guoji/15280.html
多伦多市市长候选人陆炳雄先生筹款晚宴隆重举办 (多图)
加华人陆炳雄竞选多伦多市长 获近百社团和个人支持
http://www.takungpao.com/news/232111/2022/0627/735411.html
https://www.thelegendsmedia.com/27805-2/
一路向前，不忘初心：荣膺“五个政协海外代表”的陆炳雄
庆祝中国共产党成立100周年大会
http://www.takungpao.com/news/232111/2021/0701/604235.html
针对新疆问题 加拿大华人同乡会联合总会声明
https://easyca.ca/archives/253202
加拿大侨界人士挺中央的决定非常及时
https://info.51.ca/articles/892589#specific-article-comment
Toronto Star:‘We need a council that looks like the city’: Toronto’s civic election kicks off with new candidates registering to run — despite the odds
The city of Toronto website shows Tony Luk registered to run for mayor of Toronto on 02-May-2022, one of the first persons.
https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/elections/candidate-list/
Chinese-Canadian Tories urge O'Toole to resign, saying tough-on-China platform alienated voters
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/chinese-canadian-tories-urge-otoole-to-resign-saying-tough-on-china-platform-alienated-voters