VANCOUVER — Activists who launched a plan in Canada to elect an unofficial “Hong Kong parliament” say they are pushing ahead with the project, despite being put under investigation for subversion by authorities in the Chinese territory.
Vancouver journalist Victor Ho said the threat of arrest announced by the Hong Kong Security Bureau on Aug. 3 had not deterred him or fellow organizers who were working “full gear” to stage the symbolic online election in late 2023 or early 2024.
“Instead, I feel it is ridiculous that a government which never represents its own people now wants to bring me and other activists to justice,” said Ho in an interview conducted in Mandarin.
The parliament plan was launched in Toronto on July 23 by Ho, U.S.-based Hong Kong businessman Elmer Yuen and U.S.-based former Hong Kong legislator Baggio Leung.
It proposes online elections, with voting by Hong Kong residents and members of the Hong Kong diaspora around the world.
Ho said the goal was to establish a parliament that “can truly reflect the will of Hong Kongers.”
Hong Kong’s democratic movement has experienced major setbacks since large-scale protests in 2019, including the mass arrest of pro-democracy figures, the shutdown of media organizations and sweeping changes to the electoral system.
Only “patriots” are eligible for election in Hong Kong under a 2021 law passed by China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress.
Hong Kong’s Security Bureau said it “severely condemns” Ho, Yuen and Leung, and police would “spare no efforts in pursuing the cases in accordance with the law in order to bring the offenders to justice.”
The Security Bureau said in an online statement that people should “dissociate themselves from individuals contravening the Hong Kong National Security Law, and the illegal activities those individuals organized, so as to avoid bearing any unnecessary legal risks.”
It said Ho, Leung and Yuen were being investigated for subversion, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the security law.
The Security Bureau said in response to questions that it would not comment on individual cases, despite having named all three men in its online statement. But it said anyone who violated the security law, regardless of their background or where they are located, would be dealt with by the Hong Kong government in accordance with the law.
Leung, who left Hong Kong on 2020, said the threat of arrest had made him more determined to make the parliament plan a reality, providing Hong Kongers around the world with a platform to be heard.
With street protests effectively banned in Hong Kong under pandemic rules, the unofficial parliament would allow Hong Kongers “to discuss, debate or argue with each other even though they might not agree,” said Leung.
Yuen said the prospect of investigation and arrest was “not a big deal” for him although it had shocked some of his family members.
“We know we have to pay a price,” said Yuen, who was visiting Germany to ask representatives from the European Union to endorse the “Hong Kong parliament” plan.
Ho said voting would be open to anyone who had lived in Hong Kong for at least seven years, and was over 16.
“No matter where you are located, inside or outside of Hong Kong, you can participate in the voting process,” said Ho, a former editor-in-chief of Sing Tao Daily, a Chinese-language newspaper published in Canada.
The parliament would be founded on “the principle of universal suffrage and will truly represent the voices and interests of Hong Kongers around the world,” said Ho.
“If you bring democracy back to Hong Kongers, they know how to make the best out of it,” said Ho.
Hong Kongers had demonstrated their “democratic spirit” in official 2019 district elections, said Ho. Pro-democracy candidates won more than 80 per cent of seats, with a record turnout of 71 per cent, in what became the last polls staged in Hong Kong before the revamping of election laws.
Ho said Toronto was chosen to launch the project because of the city’s large number of Cantonese-speaking Hong Kongers, making it easier to hire staff and volunteers.
Yuen said Toronto was also selected for having a large group of “financially more stable” Hong Kongers.
Ho said he was visited by officers from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service last week in light of the Hong Kong Security Bureau’s remarks.
Although Ho brushed off threats to his safety, Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan and Edmonton-Strathcona MP Heather McPherson said the situation was “gravely concerning,” in a letter last week to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.
Bill Chu, a spokesperson for the Chinese-Canadian Concern Group on the Chinese Communist Party’s Human Rights Violations advocacy group, said Hong Kong was trying to exert “extraterritorial power” over Ho, and Canadian authorities should condemn it.
“Who will be the next to be added on the wanted list? It can be you or me since the NSL (National Security Law) lacks clarity and its application becomes so unpredictable now,” said Chu.
Public Safety Canada said there were support mechanisms in place for people facing state-backed harassment and intimidation.
Ho said that being on a “wanted list” meant he would never again visit relatives and friends in Hong Kong, or see the city where he grew up.
But he said he felt no regrets, and Canada was his home.
“Just like I chose to become a reporter when I was young, my goal and belief is to protect and always fight for the public’s interest,” he said.
“I have been staying true to myself from the beginning and my heart has no place for any regret or fear.”
There were more than 208,000 Hong Kong-born people living in Canada according to the 2016 census.
Canadian authorities have meanwhile estimated there are about 300,000 Canadian citizens living in Hong Kong, a figure cited by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in 2020.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2022.
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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
EDMONTON – Ontario country artist Jade Eagleson has won album of the year at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Association Awards in Edmonton.
The singer from Bailieboro, Ont., was up for six awards alongside Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter.
Eagleson took home album of the year for “Do It Anyway” and says he’s thankful to his wife and management team for helping him reach the level he’s at.
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., also won fans’ choice and group of the year at the award show, held in Edmonton.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Another Ontario crooner, Josh Ross, has taken home a trio of awards, receiving entertainer of the year, male artist of the year and single of the year.
He says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year makes the hard work worth it.
Porter took home female artist of the year, ending the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until tonight.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
The return of k.d. lang and the Reclines was expected to be a highlight of the show.
The appearance will mark the first time the Alberta songstress has teamed up with the band in 35 years and is tied to lang’s induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
The awards show is back in Alberta’s capital for the first time since 2014. It was held in Hamilton last year and in Calgary in 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
VANDERHOOF, B.C. – British Columbia Conservatives are promising changes they say will bring more stability to the province’s struggling forest industry.
Leader John Rustad announced his plan for the sector a week before the official launch of the provincial election campaign, saying a Conservative government would do away with stumpage fees paid when timber is harvested and instead put a tax on the final products that are produced.
Rustad said Saturday that under a provincial Conservative government, a small fee may be charged upfront, but the bulk would come at the end of the process, depending on what type of product is created.
He also promised to review how wildfires are managed, as well as streamline the permit process and review what he calls the province’s “uncompetitive cost structure.”
“British Columbia is by far the highest cost producers of any jurisdiction in North America. We need to be able to drive down those costs, so that our forest sector can actually be able to do the reinvestment, to be able to create the jobs and make sure that they’re still there to be able to support our communities,” he said.
The governing New Democrats meanwhile, say eliminating stumpage fees would inflame the softwood lumber dispute with the United States and hurt forestry workers.
In a statement issued by the NDP, Andrew Mercier, the party’s candidate in Langley-Willowbrook, said Rustad failed to support the industry when he was in government under the former BC Liberals.
“Not only will Rustad’s old thinking and recycled ideas fail to deliver, his proposal to eliminate stumpage would inflame the softwood lumber dispute — punishing forestry workers and communities,” Mercier said, accusing Rustad of ignoring the complexity of the challenges facing the industry.
The softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada stretches back decades. In August, the U.S. Department of Commerce nearly doubled duties on softwood lumber.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng has said Canada has taken steps to launch two legal challenges under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
Rustad said a provincial Conservative government would push hard to get a deal with the United States over the ongoing dispute “whether it’s with the rest of Canada or by itself.”
He said his party’s proposed changes are in the name of bringing “stability” and “hope” to the industry that has seen multiple closures of mills in rural communities over the last several years.
Most recently, Canfor Corp. decided to shutter two northern British Columbia sawmills earlier this month, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed by the end of the year.
According to the United Steelworkers union, Canfor has closed 10 mills in the province since November 2011, including nine in northern B.C.
Jeff Bromley, chair of the United Steelworkers wood council, said Saturday the idea of changes in favour of taxing the final product has been floated in the past.
He said the finer details of the Conservative plan will be important, but that the system needs to be improved and “new ideas are certainly something I’d be willing to entertain.”
“Something needs to happen, or the industry is just going to bleed and wither away and be a shadow of its former self,” Bromley said.
“Politics aside, if (Rustad) can come up with a policy that enables my members to work, then I would be supportive of that. But then I’m supportive of any government that would come up with policies and fibre for our mills to run. Period.”
When Canfor announced its latest closures, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the sector was a “foundational part” of the province and the current NDP government would work to support both local jobs and wood manufacturing operations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
