Recent experiences of Canadians in China have Ottawa professing its intention to finally stand up to Beijing. But Canada’s internal Chinese threat demonstrates greater vulnerability to Middle Kingdom machinations. China complements its military and economic power with three Western-bestowed weapons: immigration policies, political correctness, and corporate greed.
Sino-Canadian relations came to prominence on August 10, when a Chinese court imposed the death sentence on a Canadian convicted of drug smuggling. The following day China sentenced another Canadian to 11 years on highly doubtful espionage charges in a largely secret trial. A second alleged Canadian spy awaits trial on equally dubious charges. China arrested those two in apparent retaliation shortly after Canada detained Beijing insider Meng Wanzhou, CFO of tech giant Huawei Technologies, on an American extradition request. While the Canadians languish in solitary confinement, Meng resides in one of her two Vancouver mansions.
Vague talk of trade sanctions and a boycott of Beijing’s 2022 Winter Olympics emphasizes Canada’s helplessness. But China’s depredations inside Canada have long been obvious, especially in Vancouver. The city’s pitiable state might induce scorn, but “Hongkouver” presents a warning to the entire West. With nearly 50 million Chinese living overseas, 80% of them citizens of 180 countries, the rest of the world might wonder whose interests this enormous migration serves. Two recent books have, however cautiously, examined its impact on Canada.
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