With a reward on his head, China’s critic is invalidated in the Canadian elections

Joe Tae, a actor and journalist who works in the federal elections on Monday in Canada, has not vented to strike the doors of the voters. He had no voters at the local experiment center. He had never seen high gatherings.

For fear of his safety, Mr. Tae – A critic of the Chinese government, who put a reward for Mr. Tae and offered $ 130,000 to obtain information that leads to his arrest, which works in a major electoral area in Toronto – has launched a calm campaign for any candidate competing in the elections.

Days before the vote, Mr. Tae’s ability to the campaign shrunk further, and Canadian government officials revealed that it was the subject of coordinated attacks online on Chinese language sites linked to the Chinese government. Over the past four years, Mr. Tae denied China’s grip on Hong Kong and the disappearance there with democratic freedoms.

Canadian officials said at a press conference last week that the attacks sought to discredit Mr. Tae, the governor, depict him as a criminal, and to suppress information about his candidacy.

“There is an amplification of the government of the People’s Republic of China,” said Vanessa Lloyd, head of the Canada Intelligence Agency, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

The attacks on Mr. Tae sought to influence the results of the race in Don Valley North, a region with a large Chinese diaspora in Toronto, in a richest vote. region In Canada.

The province was also the focus of the Chinese government intervention in Previous electionsThe disclosure of this raised questions about The durability of the political system in Canada And its main preparedness Political parties To combat foreign intervention.

A year’s federal investigation in foreign interference in the Canadian political system found that a handful of countries – led by China and India – tried to strengthen its interests in Canada by supporting or opposing candidates in the previous general elections, in 2021 and 2019.

Candidates in population rich areas in Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia, where foreign governments had used influence through societal societies, business leaders and other agents.

Most of the reforms have not yet been placed in the past year to combat foreign interference in the current elections, although some changes, including weekly intelligence, such as the person who clarifies efforts against Mr. Tae, has caused voters’ awareness of the attempts of foreign countries to change public opinion.

Critics say that the main political parties, liberals and conservatives, have not shown a full commitment to stopping foreign interference at the expense of strengthening political interests.

In the past two jackets, the Chinese government Seek to undermine Candidates who criticize the human rights record and policies in Hong Kong, including the imposition of the National Security Law in 2020. Most of China’s goals were members of the Conservative Party, which adopted a difficult line towards Beijing.

At the same time, the Chinese government or its candidates – most of them liberals – supported those who took a more soft position towards Beijing.

In Don Valley North, the Chinese government in 2019 “supported by a favorite candidate”, He’s DongIn the liberal party nomination race, while the Canadian government determined as a major example of the suspected foreign intervention, according to the final report of the Federal Investigation.

According to another a reportBy a special parliamentary committee, the Canadian intelligence said that the Chinese government “had a great impact on obtaining” Mr. Han.

Buses It was transferred from 175 to 200 foreign students from China to vote, and the Chinese consulate ordered the vote for Mr. Dong “if they want to maintain their student visas,” according to the report. Mr. Dong went to serve two periods in Parliament.

Mr. Dong, who left the liberal party, recently announced that he would not run for his re -election as an independent.

Despite the results, Ted Logco, who ran the campaigns of Mr. Dong in the previous elections, said that there was no foreign intervention “completely”.

Mr. Lojko is now running the liberal candidate campaign in the hope of behind Mr. Han: MaggieWho worked for the city’s advisers in Toronto and ran in vain to hold positions at the municipal level and provinces in the past.

“Maggie is a Canadian as the apple pie,” said Mr. Logco. “It is not really interested in what is happening on an international basis in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.”

Mr. Logico, who refused to make Ms. Chi available to conduct an interview, said that he “did not gain much” from the government’s disclosure that Ms. Qi’s competitor, Mr. Tae, was a target of online attacks by the Chinese government.

A Canadian government election control authority described the attacks on Mr. Tae.The process of oppression through patriotism“I was carried out by China in Canada. The Censorship Authority said that“ a series of deliberate and continuous activity through multiple platforms, ”including WeChat, Tiktok and Facebook, drew attention to the reward for Mr. Tae and pointed to his efficiency.

“It is agreed with CCP Tradecraft, similar to other threats that were presented against me throughout this campaign,” Mr. Tae said in a statement in reference to the Communist Party. Mr. Tae refused to request the interview.

Mr. Tae, who worked as an actor in Hong Kong, in 2021 was established HongconganizationYouTube channel focuses on the repression of the Chinese government in Hong Kong. Although the Conservative Party ultimately appointed Mr. Tae to run in Don Valley North, he made a campaign in 2023 to become the party’s candidate in an area in Marcham, north of Toronto.

In December, Hong Kong police issued arrest orders for Mr. Tae and five other activists abroad, accusing them of violating the Hong Kong National Security Law.

“This may be one of the most public and explicit ways that China is trying to interfere in Western democracies such as Canada,” said Marcus Colga, founder of the founder of “Founder”. DisinfowatchCanadian organization that follows foreign intervention. “I think this reward was put on him to try to get his campaign.”

At least one of Mr. Tae Politicians has tried to use the reward against him. In a comment on the correspondents, Paul Qiang – the current liberal current in the area where Mr. Tae was a campaign before his appointment as a candidate in Don Valley North – suggested that anyone could take Mr. Tae to the Chinese consulate in Toronto and collect the reward for his arrest.

Prime Minister Mark Carney defended Mr. Qiang even when he described his comment as “very offensive.” But Mr. Qiang was finally forced to step down after the police said they were investigating whether his suspension had broken the law.

Opinion polls The next Conservative Party in Don Valley North showed early this year, before most Canadians started resorting to Mr. Carne as the most able to deal with President Trump and his threats against Canada. Now, as in most of the rest of the country, the liberals are advancing in Don Valley North.

Happy naillaWho runs in Don Valley North as a candidate for the new Democratic Party, said that foreign interference in other elections in the province will undermine the elections of the voters.

“It is a very serious concern and a threat to our democracy,” she said.

Mrs. Saeed and others said that the liberals nor the conservatives wanted to draw attention to foreign intervention during this campaign.

While interference in the Chinese government in Canada has sought to support liberal candidates, the Indian government has supported conservative candidates in an attempt to marginalize supporters in the independence of Sikhs in India.

“Do not see evil,” Cheyuk Kuan, Chair Toronto Democracy Association in ChinaHe said about the two main parties. “They are not absolutely serious about foreign intervention.”