Foreign interference: he must lead a double life to protect himself from the Chinese government

There has been a lot of talk about foreign interference in recent years, while rarely seeing the faces. Many people fear talking about the reprisals they suffer from foreign countries here, on Canadian soil. Over the past few months, our Bureau of Investigation has met with nationals who agreed to tell us about their reality, which is that of living in fear in Quebec in 2024.

Liu (fictitious name) is not even 30 years old. This Montrealer must, however, lead a double life, because he is considered a potential enemy by China.

Sitting at a table with our Investigation Office, Liu shows his two phones.

The first, full of Chinese applications, is the image of the perfect young man from a good family, smooth and respectful. In his conversations on WeChat with family members or friends back in China, the tone is playful and we never talk about politics.

In his second secret phone, we are dealing with a completely different Liu, who organizes pro-democracy demonstrations in front of the Chinese consulate and who discreetly exchanges with members of the Citizens’ Assembly, an organization created by Chinese students from Toronto to fight against the “tyranny” of the Chinese government.

“I know that I take risks by campaigning (against Chinese power). But I’m ready for anything. I want to be one of those Chinese of whom history will say that they resisted, that they tried to save their country from tyranny,” confides Liu, with a somber expression.

The comely young man, dressed to the nines, refused to give us his full name. We have been speaking to him for several months via encrypted messaging and the interview was conducted privately, at our offices.

This is because Liu is risking a lot by talking to us. He fears reprisals against his family, or himself, if he is identified by Chinese government agents on Canadian soil.

The young man, who lives alone in an apartment in Montreal, will probably never return to his country of origin. His family there was warned that he was in the sights of Chinese authorities.

“If I go to China, I will probably be arrested and questioned.”

So that Canadians are no longer afraid

Born in Beijing in the late 1990s, Liu moved from China’s northeastern province of Juilin to Ontario in 2009.

His parents, who were imprisoned in China after participating in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, believed Canada would be a safer place for their family.

However, 15 years later, Liu notes that Canada does not always succeed in adequately protecting its fellow citizens of Chinese origin.

“I want to raise public awareness of China’s interference on Canadian soil. If members of the Chinese diaspora don’t feel safe from the threat of the Chinese government here in Canada, that’s a major problem for all of us,” says Liu, recalling Canada’s reputation as a country. security” on a global scale.

“There are clandestine Chinese police stations here in Canada. It’s true that these organizations exist. They can infiltrate and threaten activists. We don’t hear much about cases in Canada, but we know that these police stations threaten people in other countries. It will happen here too if we let things go,” says Liu, citing the example of an activist he knows in Italy who had to move four times due to pressure from the local Chinese police station.

The Commission on Foreign Interference, whose hearings began in March in Ottawa, lifted the veil on the harassment and fear experienced by several Canadians of Chinese origin or minorities living in China, such as the Uighurs, in different cities Canadians.