Another Chinese Group Faces Member Backlash After Taking Pro-Beijing Position

Another Chinese Canadian organization in Toronto is facing internal backlash after it publicly took a stance favourable to Beijing. Some members of the Chinese Professionals Association of Canada (CPAC) have publicly criticized the group’s leadership for penning a commentary that criticized the Foreign Interference Commission’s May 3 interim report that documented Beijing’s interference in Canada’s federal elections.  This follows an incident in 2020 where the executive chair of the Council of Newcomer Organizations (CONCO), another organization in the Chinese community, drew criticism from the group’s member associations for pro-Beijing remarks he made on behalf of the group. CPAC’s May 10 Chinese-language commentary, titled “Chinese Canadians Are Capable of Making Their Own Decisions,” referred to the public discussions after the publication of the commission’s report, and rejected the interpretation that interference by Beijing cost former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu his B.C. riding seat in the 2021 election. The riding was one of those noted by the commission as having experienced irregularities during the election. The commission’s report said Mr. Chiu, along with then-Tory Leader Erin O’Toole—both of whom are outspoken critics of the Beijing regime—were targets of a misinformation campaign....