Chinese students in Canada say they are targeted by Beijing’s fear campaign

Some Chinese students in Canada accuse Beijing of threatening and harassing them and their families back in China online as part of a campaign to suppress anti-government dissent abroad.

Ruohui Yang is one of these students. He said he came to Canada in 2015, when he was 15, because his parents wanted him to study abroad.

In Canada, he began to learn things about his home country, such as details of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, which called into question the Chinese government’s version of events.

In mainland China, we have our own way of describing this event, this massacre. We simply affirm that it is not a massacre, that there are not that many deathsMr. Yang said on the show The House of CBC.

I’m starting to realize that this movement [de protestation] received the support of almost the entire nation, even officers, policemen, some members of the army and some members of the government. Everyone was talking about freedom, democracy, a new beginning.

For someone like me, who grew up under the Communist Party dictatorship for most of my life, it’s really hard to imagine that there was a time that was so different and so full of hope.

That hope, along with 2019 protests in Hong Kong against a proposed extradition law, prompted Mr. Yang to participate in pro-Chinese democracy demonstrations in Toronto. He also founded the Citizens’ Assembly, a Chinese pro-democracy organization based in Canada.

They treat me like a slave

Mr. Yang said that at first he hid his identity when protesting because he feared retaliation from China.

I wore wigs, a mask and even stuffed my jacket to look really differenthe explained.

He eventually shed his disguise and began showing his face at protests. It was from this moment that the death threats began.

I already receive a lot of [messages] threatening, swearing and insults on my various social media accountshe confided.

The persecution did not stop there. Mr. Yang said his activism in Canada also caused his parents, who work for the Chinese Communist Party, to turn against him.

They were really, really mad at my activitieshe declared. They call me a traitor. They treat me as a slave.

The activist is one of several dissidents who testified this summer before a US Congressional committee on China’s human rights violations, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

National border cannot stop the Communist Party from spreading fear abroadMr. Yang told US lawmakers.

Another half-dozen Chinese students who are studying or who have studied in Canada told similar stories to CBC News.

Fred is another member of the Citizens’ Assembly. CBC does not reveal his real name because he fears reprisals against his family in China.

I’ve been bullied, I’ve been bombarded with spam by these people trying to threaten my friendshe declared.

They say I should die, that I am a traitor to the Chinese nation, that I am a traitor to the Han people.

Ziona recent graduate of Concordia University, whose real name is also kept secret by CBC News, also told The House that he believed Chinese police had infiltrated his social media chat group.

There was once when I was contacted by a new member who asked me where I lived, what I thought about the independence movement in Ganzhou, which is my hometownZion explained.

He said he was able to conclude that the phone number associated with the account belonged to a Ganzhou police officer. After standing up to the mysterious user, he deleted his account.

Report says China wants foreign students remain silent

Last May, Amnesty International released a report documenting the experiences of Chinese dissidents abroad. This report reveals that many Chinese students enrolled in foreign universities live in a climate of fear.

They feel obliged to self-censor and reduce their social and academic activities and relationships, or face repercussions from the Chinese state.says the report.

This atmosphere is the result of efforts by the Chinese government to ensure that the country’s international students remain silent and do not engage on political issues perceived as sensitive by the government.

An organization called the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) is active on many Canadian university campuses.

A 2019 report from the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Intelligence (NSICOP) cites the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (SCRS) which describes the CSSA as an important support mechanism for international students studying abroad [qui fournit] a social and professional network for students.

However, the report of NSICOP also mentions a growing concern of public opinion concerning the relations between the CSSA and Chinese government embassies and consulates.

The behavior of the CSSA may also pose a threat to freedom of expression and assemblythe NSICOP report said, citing previous reports of individuals disrupting activities on campus.

One such incident occurred during a student council election at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus. In another case, a speech by an activist criticizing the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs was disrupted at McMaster University.

The McMaster student association then withdrew CSSA its status as an official club due to alleged links with the Chinese consulate. In both cases, the Chinese embassy denied any involvement.

The embassy characterizes the allegations as defamation

In a statement provided to CBC News, the Chinese embassy rejected allegations that Chinese groups CSSA would be used to promote the government’s political goals and that Beijing would harass the families of foreign students in their home countries, calling them pure defamation.

The embassy said Chinese students studying in Canada created the CSSA to help each other.

The Chinese embassy and consulates in Canada are required to provide appropriate consular protection services to overseas Chinese citizens, including students and scholars, in accordance with law, and to urge governments, universities , colleges and schools in Canada to protect their personal safety, lawful rights and interests during their stay in Canadasaid an embassy spokesperson. What the embassy did is impeccable.

This summer, the Canadian Parliament accelerated the adoption of legislation aimed at combating foreign interference through criminal sanctions for deceptive or clandestine acts and a new transparency registry on foreign influence.

It’s our duty

Current Canadian laws can do little to protect Chinese students from harassment, a former national security analyst says.

If it’s about pressure on students, Canada doesn’t have many laws regarding foreign interference that allow you to deal with this type of situation.said Dennis Molinaro, who now teaches the history of intelligence at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (Ontario Tech University).

How do we stop China from putting pressure on people’s families or going after someone’s family because of what they’re doing here? This is something that Canada clearly has very little ability to change or influence, at least on its own.

Despite the threats and the concern they feel for their families remaining in China, Fred and the other members of the Citizens’ Assembly say they are determined to continue their fight for political reform.

It is our duty. Many people our age in China have suffered and sacrificedhe declared.

Even if we cannot see democracy flourishing on the land of China, we hope that we can at least lay the foundation.

Translation of a reporting by Craig Desson and Nick Murray from CBC News (New window)