Chinese interference: Latest News

The federal NDP has tabled a motion calling for David Johnston to step aside as special rapporteur investigating foreign interference in Canadian affairs, leader Jagmeet Singh said Monday.

Justin Trudeau to look into allegations of foreign interference in Canada, is resigning his position, Global News has confirmed via a senior government source and a copy of Johnston’s resignation letter.The former governor general has faced weeks of scrutiny over what the opposition parties called a conflict of interest due to his ties to Trudeau’s family and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.The House of Commons last week passed a non-binding resolution calling for Johnston to step down over the “appearance of bias.”“When I undertook the task of Independent Special Rapporteur on Foreign Interference, my objective was to help build trust in our democratic institutions,” Johnston wrote in his resignation letter to Trudeau.“I have concluded that, given the highly partisan atmosphere around my appointment and work, my leadership has had the opposite effect.”Johnston said he will leave the role no later than the end of the month, but hopes to deliver a “brief” final report before that time.The resignation marks a sudden turn from Johnston’s commitment to stay on as special rapporteur in the wake of the House motion, which was brought by the NDP. At that time, Johnston said he would only take instructions on his work and his future from the Trudeau government, not Parliament.Trudeau has continued to stand by Johnston despite the opposition’s accusations of bias.

Former Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) found an “active campaign of voter suppression” by China against him and his party in the 2021 election.

Chinese state-sponsored cyber threat actor is performing discrete espionage operations within critical U.S. infrastructure and may target other nations, Western cybersecurity agencies and Microsoft warned Wednesday.Those operations may be aimed at developing ways to disrupt critical communications between the U.S.

foreign interference in Canadian elections and society is not needed, special rapporteur David Johnston says.The 81-year-old former governor general made the recommendation Tuesday after being given two months to do so by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau back in March. Johnston had until May 23 to decide whether an inquiry or another form of independent review was warranted.However, public hearings should be conducted on the allegations, Johnston said.

Canada “will not be intimidated” after China expelled a Canadian diplomat Tuesday in retaliation for Ottawa removing a Beijing delegate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.

On a Sunday morning in Taipei, a few dozen Taiwanese civilians carrying travel coffee mugs and notebooks settled into their seats in a classroom for a day-long crash course on surviving a Chinese military invasion.

Taiwan’s foreign affairs minister says the island is actively trying to prepare for a military attack by China in the coming months or years, and believes it’s only a matter of time before Beijing will move in on the self-governing island.In an interview with Global News in Taipei, Joseph Wu said Taiwan is shoring up international support and focusing on military reforms to be “as ready as possible” for such an attack, which could come at any time as China displays increasingly “provocative and expansionist” behaviour.“(An attack) might be in 2025, 2027 or 2035,” he said. “There’s some merit to those analyses.“But from our perspective, we should not wait for those years to come.

Han Dong announced Wednesday night he is leaving the Liberal caucus and will sit as an Independent member of Parliament.His remarks in the House of Commons came hours after Global News reported that Dong privately advised a senior Chinese diplomat in February 2021 that Beijing should hold off freeing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, according to two separate national security sources.“I have informed the prime minister and the leadership of the Liberal Party caucus that I will be sitting as an Independent at the conclusion of these remarks,” he said.“Mr. Speaker, I am in your hands as to what happens next.” Read more: Liberal MP Han Dong secretly advised Chinese diplomat in 2021 to delay freeing Two Michaels: sources Dong emphatically denied the allegations against him in remarks directed both to the House and the families of Kovrig and Spavor, who were detained in China for over three years on allegations of espionage.“The allegations made against me are as false as the ones made against you,” he said, referring to Kovrig and Spavor.“Let me assure you, as a parliamentarian and as a person, I have never and would never advocate or support the violation of the basic human rights of any Canadian — of anyone, anywhere, period.”He broke down in tears as he concluded his remarks by thanking his family.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff has agreed to testify on foreign election interference at a parliamentary committee investigating the matter, his office says.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating allegations of two so-called “police stations” in Quebec that are suspected to be operated by Chinese government officials.The RCMP confirmed by email Thursday morning an open investigation by the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team in the province into the two alleged outposts: one in Montreal and another in Brossard, a suburb on the city’s south shore.The police force added it’s possible that Chinese Canadians “have been victims of the possible activities conducted by these centres” and that any form of “intimidation, harassment and harmful of diaspora communities or individuals in Canada will not be tolerated.” Read more: At least one Chinese ‘secret police station’ based in Vancouver, civil rights group says “We are carrying out police actions aimed at detecting and disrupting these foreign state-backed criminal activities, which may threaten the safety of persons living in Canada,” the RCMP said in a statement.The Mounties have also created a phone line to report any threats in Quebec.The RCMP said it could not comment further on the alleged police stations, citing the ongoing probe. The investigation was first reported Thursday by the Journal de Montréal.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau briefly addressed the allegations in a scrum early Thursday, saying “we’re making sure the RCMP is following up on this and that our intelligence systems are taking this seriously.”“This is an issue that concerns us enormously,” he added.