TORONTO Activists, experts and policy makers are speaking out on what they describe as an ever-growing “influence” of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Canadian business, academic and political circles. There has been mounting scrutiny on the CCP’s increased flexing of its intelligence muscles since the ascension of President Xi Jinping in 2013. Canada’s intelligence agencies have taken the rare step of naming China as a significant threat to the country’s sovereignty, with CSIS director David Vigneault publicly saying in a February 2021 speech that Canadians are being “aggressively” targeted by foreign interests – and Beijing was engaged in “activities that are a direct threat to our national security and sovereignty.”
TORONTO “We know where you are. We’re coming to get you.” The person on the other line of Cherie Wong’s Vancouver hotel room phone repeated that threat multiple times, until she hung up, stunned. It was January 2020, and Wong – who’s executive director of Alliance Canada Hong Kong had travelled from Toronto to Vancouver to host a series of events surrounding the imminent launch of the pro-democracy group. Out of an abundance of caution, Wong’s room was booked under another name by a member of the group – but they found her anyway. They being suspected agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to Wong and her group.