The uproar over possible Chinese interference in recent Canadian elections is a reminder of what researchers and intelligence agencies have warned regarding Beijing’s attempts to politically influence other nations.
The allegations of direct meddling and of money flowing from Beijing operatives into the hands of some Canadian federal candidates is indicative of China’s ramped up strategy in recent years to attempt to interfere in the political processes of countries, some observers say.
In a 2017 report, Anne-Marie Brady, a professor of political science at the University of Canterbury and specialist of Chinese politics, wrote that China’s foreign influence activities have accelerated under Chinese President Xi Jinping and have the potential to undermine the sovereignty and integrity of the political system of targeted states.
In terms of foreign interference by China, “we’re not used to seeing this on such a global scale,” she said in a telephone interview with CBC News. “We haven’t seen anything like this from any country for a very long time.”
Indeed, this is the first time since Mao’s era that China is assertively trying to meddle in the internal politics and societies of countries on nearly every continent, according to Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Experts explain how China interferes in foreign politics, methods used and where such methods have been deployed:
How does China interfere in foreign politics?
China uses a wide range of direct and indirect resources in attempts to influence the political process of countries and “spent years developing strategies to influence politics and elections throughout the Pacific Rim,” Kurlantzick wrote in an article for the Council on Foreign Relations.
“China often uses its state media and control of Chinese language media in other countries. Its toolbox also includes economic coercion, disinformation on social media platforms, its growing power on university campuses, and its wielding of influence directly over politicians,” Kurlantzick wrote.
China’s foreign election interference has included “sizeable Communist Party-linked donations to political parties, financial support for friendly research institutions, harassment of the overseas diaspora, monopoly of Chinese-language media … and other avenues,” China foreign policy experts Rush Doshi and Robert D. Williams wrote in a 2018 Lawfare article.
Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election candidate, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, right, and her running mate William Lai celebrate their victory with supporters in Taipei on Jan. 11, 2020. (The Associated Press)
Jacob Wallis, an expert on election interference at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said China will use financial inducement and at times coercion to “shift the playing field” by exploiting corrupt and malleable political elites.
“Here in Australia, we’ve had a number of scandals where politicians [were] being handed shopping bags full of cash. So if that’s what works, then that’s the kind of action that we’ll see, just pure political corruption,” he said.
Wallis said they have also observed how Chinese information operations are shifting in their use of Mandarin, Cantonese and English language.
“[They are] getting increasingly confident of working in other languages. And that tells us that they are trying to target beyond diaspora groups. They’re trying to target kind of international political discourse.”
What’s the role of the United Front Work Department?
The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is an official arm of the Chinese Communist Party that seeks to influence political activities domestically and abroad. But its importance was noted during a Sept. 2014 speech by Xi Jinping, who referred to it as one of CCP’s “magic weapons.”
“It’s basically the propaganda arm; they interface with overseas advocacy groups, work with the diaspora worldwide,” said Anna Puglisi, director of Biotechnology Programs and Senior Fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
“And I think it’s really hard for westerners to understand because we don’t have that. Their main goal is for the world to see China in a good light, that China controls the message.”
But beyond propaganda UFWD is also believed to be linked, either directly or through affiliated groups, to political interference ventures, say some experts.
“United front work encompasses a broad spectrum of activity, from espionage to foreign interference, influence and engagement,” wrote CCP researcher Alex Joske in a 2020 report for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
“United front work generally involves covert activity and is a form of interference that aids the CCP’s rise and reduces resistance to its encroachment on sovereignty,” he wrote.
But Joske, in an interview last year, said that while United Front networks are involved in a whole range of activities, China’s professional intelligence agencies are “behind the scenes and actually directing some of these political influence operations and other covert activities.”
What are some recent examples of China’s alleged election meddling on other countries?
China’s alleged election meddling has made headlines across the globe. Most recently, the U.S. midterms were said to have been a target of Beijing through a social media disinformation campaign. But as Kurlantzick recently noted, reports filed to the U.S. Justice Department claim that China has spent more money in the past six years to influence U.S. politics than any other foreign country.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, centre, is shown Tuesday arriving at the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya, Malaysia. He was defeated in 2018 elections despite backing from China. (The Associated Press)
“With members of Congress wary of Chinese influence, Beijing has increasingly targeted local politicians, mayors, governors, and state legislators, according to a report by the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center,” wrote Kurlantzick.
Australia has also been a main target for political interference, experts say. Last year, Australia media reported attempts by Chinese spies to fund candidates for Australia’s centre-left Labor opposition party in its upcoming federal election but that the plot was foiled by the national security agency.
In New Zealand, there are reports that the Chinese government has “built multiple links to some of the country’s top politicians and business leaders in part by orchestrating cushy post-retirement sinecures for some of them at Chinese state firms,” according to Kurlantzick in his new book Beijing’s Global Media Offensive: China’s Uneven Campaign to Influence Asia and the World.
“In addition, at least before Covid, Beijing stepped up people-to-people links between Chinese enterprises, many of them state-owned or with state connections, and New Zealand companies,” he wrote.
Taiwan as well has reportedly been a target of election interference in both the 2018 local elections and 2020 presidential elections through media and disinformation tools, as China sought to promote the Beijing-friendly candidates, said Kurlantzick.
“They tried to use a whole wide range of their control over some Taiwanese media outlets, as well as a range of disinformation,” he said.
‘What did you know?’ PM faces more questions about election interference
On his way into a caucus meeting, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explained the creation of the special rapporteur looking into election interference when reporters pressed him for more answers on his knowledge of the situation.
In the 2018 Malaysian presidential elections, Beijing attempted to influence the election “through soft power and through covert and possibly corrupt means, also known as sharp power. Beijing cultivated Chinese Malaysians,” Kurlantzick wrote in the Washington Monthly.
However, while China scored some success in the 2018 Taiwan elections, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen won re-election in 2020 against China’s preferred candidate Han Kuo-yu, which was seen as a major rebuke to Beijing.
Meanwhile, the coalition of then Malaysian prime minister Najib tun Razak, which was backed by China, also suffered defeat.
Indeed, Kurlantzick notes that China has “failed in its efforts more often than not,” and its efforts have often been caught, leading to a backlash.
But those setbacks, Kurlantzick told CBC News, aren’t likely to deter China’s election meddling efforts. China could potentially improve its efforts when it comes to disinformation campaigns, better conceal money that’s funnelled to politicians or conceal pressure placed on politicians by Beijing-linked businesses, he said.
“China has been able to adapt in the past to challenges and problems. So as a result, I expect that they’re going to come up with a shifted, more sophisticated influence strategy on a whole wide range of areas, including possibly election influence.”
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
