Canadian lawmaker testifies China students taken by bus to vote for him in party polls
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Mr Han Dong said that he had met and sought the support of the students from a private high school in 2019.
PHOTO: HANDONGONTARIO/INSTAGRAM
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MONTREAL – A member of Canada’s Parliament testified on April 2 that high school students from China were transported by bus to vote for him in a party election that is at the centre of a federal inquiry into interference in Canadian elections by China and other countries.
Testifying during a public hearing, Mr Han Dong, a Chinese Canadian politician formerly from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party, said that he had met and sought the support of the students from a private high school in 2019, but did not know who had chartered or paid for the bus on the day of the election.
A Canadian intelligence report disclosed during the hearing said there were indications that a “known proxy agent” of the Chinese consulate had provided the students “with falsified documents to allow them to vote” even though they did not reside in Mr Dong’s electoral district.
Non-citizens over the age of 14 can register and vote in party elections as long as they show proof they live in an electoral district.
According to the report, there were also indications that the Chinese consulate had coerced the students to back Mr Dong by issuing “veiled threats” related to their visas and their families back in China.
The Chinese embassy has consistently denied interfering in Canadian politics.
Mr Dong’s testimony is part of an ongoing federal inquiry into foreign meddling in Canada’s political system, especially the general elections of 2019 and 2021.
The inquiry was called after a series of intelligence leaks to the Canadian news media indicated that the Chinese government had interfered in both elections by supporting candidates favourable to its policies and by undermining its critics.
Mr Dong denied receiving help from the Chinese government during his campaign for Parliament in Canada’s 2019 general election. Asked whether he believed that the Chinese government has interfered in Canadian politics, Mr Dong said: “I’ve never seen any evidence of it.” When pressed, he added: “It’s possible.’’
Under President Xi Jinping’s aggressive foreign policy, China has tapped its diasporas worldwide to try to influence local politics, according to intelligence officials, academics and diaspora members. NYTIMES
