GD's Political Animal: communism

Showing posts with label communism. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

CCP harassing Chinese diaspora in Canada

A new report from Second Street outlines how the Chinese Communist Party is harassing Chinese-Canadians with unacceptable political views and their families.

CCP harassing Chinese diaspora in Canada, report finds | True North | Noah Jarvis:

September 1, 2024 - "The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is systematically targeting Chinese-Canadians and their families who are opposed to the Chinese government. The finding comes from a study conducted by the think tank Second Street, interviewing 26 Chinese-Canadians who say that they have been targeted by the CCP through a variety of means.

"Respondents reported that Chinese-Canadians are liable to face harassment if they hold religious convictions not accepted by the CCP like being a Christian [or] Falun Gong, or for holding pro-democracy and pro-Hong Kong views. The CCP has been persecuting religious minorities for holding views that may subvert the CCP’s authority, especially the Falun Gong – a ... group that is ardently anti-communist and supportive of conservative causes in the West.

"One respondent claims that because they are a practitioner of Falun Gong, they received anonymous calls in which automated message machines played hate propaganda or songs praising the CCP.... [D]uring a 2002 trip to Geneva to raise awareness of the persecution of the Falun Gong to the United Nations, they received a call from a man speaking Mandarin saying he knew about the trip to Geneva and threatened to sexually harass them.

"Several of the people interviewed complained that they had their vehicles scratched and their tires slashed due to their practice of Falun Gong. One Falun Gong practitioner said that around the year 2002, they had come home to find a large branch severed from a house plant placed on their kitchen counter with a knife laid right beside it. Chinese-Canadians also face harassment on the Chinese social media app WeChat when attempting to promote pro-democracy, pro-Hong Kong causes, as well as candidates in Canadian elections that hold anti-CCP views.

"Family members of Chinese-Canadians still living in China also faced risk of having their property expropriated, having their pensions taken away, along with threats of violence. Eight of the 26 respondents indicated that their families back in China had been threatened.

"Dom Lucyk, the report’s author, recommends the federal government introduce a foreign agent registry similar to the registries in the United States and in Australia. Before Parliament’s summer recess, the House of Commons and Senate passed the Countering Foreign Interference Act that would introduce a voluntary foreign agent registry. Lucyk argues that foreign agents with ties to the CCP seeking to harass Canadians may not be enthusiastic about placing themselves on such a registry, possibly making the measure ineffective....

"Lucyk also calls on CSIS and other law enforcement agencies to be more transparent when foreign interference and transnational repression do not rise to the level of criminal prosecution to serve as a deterrent for agents of the CCP and help those being targeted know who are responsible for their harassment."

Read report: https://secondstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Policy-Brief-CCP-Govt-Harassment-Final.pdf

Friday, August 23, 2024

Remembering Black Ribbon Day

Black Ribbon Day, August 23, commemorates the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia which led to their joint attack on Poland and the start of the Second World War a week later.

DAY OF INFAMY: Alberta govt marks 85th anniversary of Nazi-Soviet Pact | Western Standard | Shaun Polczer:

Black Ribbon Day logo. Courtesy RFE/RL.

August 21, 2024 - "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. That’s why the Alberta government is marking one of the darkest days in 20th Century history by commemorating ‘Black Ribbon Day’ — the 85th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.... [O]n August 23, 1939 the foreign ministers of Germany and Russia signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact that set the groundwork for the invasion of Poland and the start of the Second World War a week later on September 1.

"In a statement, the UCP government said it plans to mark the ignominious event with a special event in the rotunda of the Legislature on Friday. 'On the 85th anniversary of Black Ribbon Day we pause to look upon the horrific events of the past and renew our resolve to forever honour the victims of tyranny,' said Legislative Assembly Speaker Nathan Cooper. 'People from around the world observe Black Ribbon Day and we stand with them to uphold the importance of freedom from oppression now and for the generations to come.'

"On August 22 [1939], Joachim von Ribbentrop flew to Moscow to finalize the treaty.... The so-called Hitler-Stalin pact, signed the next day, guaranteed peace between the parties and was a commitment neither government would aid or ally itself with an enemy of the other.... [T]he treaty included the Secret Protocol, which defined the borders of Soviet and German spheres of influence across Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland which would later make up the Iron Curtain....

"‘Black Ribbon Day’ originated in the protests held against the Soviet Union in western capitals, including Ottawa, in the 1980s that led up to the Baltic Revolutions in the countries directly affected by the deal and its aftermath starting in 1989.... In 2009 the European Parliament formally recognized August 23 as the European day of Remembrance for the Victims of Stalinism and Nazism which was briefly even acknowledged by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

"[Putin] backtracked in 2014 and called the treaty as 'necessary for Russia's survival.' Then in February 2021, the State Duma voted in favor of a law to punish the dissemination of 'fake news' regarding the Soviet Union's role in the Second World War, including claiming that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union held equal responsibility due to the pact."
Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/alberta/day-of-infamy-alberta-govt-marks-85th-anniversary-of-nazi-soviet-pact/57170

Black Ribbon Day: An International Day of Remembrance | Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty:

Black Ribbon Day poster, 1989. Courtesy Western Standard.

August 23, 2013 - "Black Ribbon Day, also called the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, originated in the 1980s. Central and Eastern European refugees then living in Canada organized a series of peaceful protests on both sides of the Iron Curtain to draw attention to the rampant human rights abuses perpetrated by authorities across the Soviet bloc. They chose August 23, the anniversary of the infamous 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany to hold the annual rallies.

"On August 23, 1989, about 2 million people formed a human chain spanning more than 600 kilometers across the Baltic republics. Known as the Baltic Way, this protest is seen as a defining moment in the Baltic states' battle for independence from the Soviet Union. As the Soviet bloc crumbled in 1991, Black Ribbon Day demonstrations were held in as many as 56 cities around the world.

"Today, Black Ribbon Day commemorates both victims of Stalinism and Nazism and, more generally, all those who died, suffered, or perished under authoritarian regimes. In 2008, the European Parliament became the first entity to formally designate August 23 as a day of remembrance for victims of Stalinism and Nazism. Canada followed suit in 2009 and Georgia, in the Caucasus, one year later."
Read more: https://www.rferl.org/a/black-ribbon-day/25083982.html

Thursday, April 4, 2024

MPs allege CCP interference in 2021 election

Conservative MPs Kenny Chiu and Michael Chong, and NDP MP Jenny Kwan, testified Wednesday at Canada's public inquiry about alleged Chinese Communist Party interference in the 2021 general election.

Former Conservative MP says he was 'drowning' in Chinese election misinformation | National Post | Catherine Lévesque:

Apr 03, 2024 - "Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu said he did not feel protected by the federal government when he was 'drowning' under alleged Chinese foreign interference that cost him his seat in the 2021 election. At the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference Wednesday, Chiu spoke at length about the growing concerns during the election campaign that he was 'anti-Chinese' and how Chinese-Canadian voters in his riding turned against him out of fear in the lead-up to voting day....

“'I thought I would be protected by my country,' he said. 'And I was deeply troubled and disappointed that I was exposed, and the government didn’t seem to care. And now that, through the commission, I’ve learned that they’ve known all about it'....

"Chiu said his team began noticing weeks before the election that Chinese language social media labelled him as a 'race traitor' and a white supremacist, and that articles circulating were saying discrimination against Chinese-Canadians would increase if he were re-elected in Steveston—Richmond East in B.C. Voters who had supported him in the 2019 election and put signs on their lawns would not speak to him anymore or were shutting the doors in his face, he recounted.

"Chiu was criticized for having tabled a bill to create a foreign agent registry to ensure more transparency on involvement by state actors, which prompted the narrative that he was anti-China or anti-Chinese. And when he attempted to correct misinformation, either with videos on YouTube or with press conferences, he was repeatedly ignored by Chinese-language media outlets. One radio station owner had allegedly instructed staff not to invite Chiu onto their programs. Chiu ultimately lost his riding.... Chiu said his share of the vote decreased by eight percentage points, which was contrary to trends across the country that showed increases in total votes for the Conservatives....

"Other elected officials have been targeted for speaking out against China or being critical of the regime. NDP MP Jenny Kwan told the inquiry she started noticing more fear and apprehension from her constituents over the last five years, starting in 2019. She said senior citizens were afraid of supporting her and feared repercussions for themselves and their families if they did so. Kwan also said she started being excluded from events in her own riding or was simply not acknowledged if she was present....

"Conservative MP Michael Chong revealed at the inquiry that he received a 'veiled threat' in an email purporting to be from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs ahead of the 2019 election warning him he was barred from entering Chinese territory. And during a virtual all-candidates’ debate in the 2021 campaign in a tight-knit rural community in his riding of Wellington—Halton Hills, an individual with what Chong described as a Mandarin accent spoke up to accuse Chong of contributing to the rise of anti-Chinese racism and discrimination in Canada. 'After the debate, we asked around if anybody had ever seen or heard of this individual. And to this date, no one has a clue who this individual or person is,' said Chong.

"Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole also testified Wednesday, arguing that Chinese foreign interference could have influenced up to nine ridings in the 2021 election and ultimately contributed to his ouster as leader of the party a few months later."

Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu scrums at foreign interference inquiry | cpac | April 3, 2024:

Friday, December 29, 2023

An inside report on UN's COP28

"You can be sure that corporate media reports on climate change will be slanted," says John Birch Society CEO Bill Hahn; which is why the Society sent its own accredited journalists to COP28. This is from their reports.

What Really Happened at COP28 | The New American | William S. Hahn:

December 22, 2023 "So we’re told that a monumental deal was struck at the latest Climate Change conference that will phase out fossil fuels. But is it true? You can be sure that corporate media reports on climate change will be slanted.... This is why it’s important for us to attend these conferences and get a first person look at what goes on..... The New American, a media outlet of The John Birch Society, sent a team of three investigative journalists to COP28, the United Nations climate change conference that was held in Dubai, an Arab police state that does not allow dissent within its country. The New American had covered many of these UN conferences in the past and was once again granted official access to the event....

"A senior editor of The New American, Alex Newman, who has attended these conferences since 2009, reported online that 'Governments at the United Nations COP28 "climate" summit agreed to "transition" away from "fossil fuels" today. But don’t believe the hype from the media about a "phaseout" or "phase down’ of hydrocarbon energy at the UN summit. What is really happening is a planned phaseout of the Western world — what used to be known as Christendom or the 'Free World' — as the UN and Western leaders work to usher in a new "multipolar" world order'....

"Advocates of the globalist agenda have been quite open about this since at least the early 1970s regarding building a New World Order or NWO. Over the last few years, the Council on Foreign Relations [CFR] has offered a new course of direction for the NWO. It focuses on moving away from the leadership of the U.S. and other Western countries to also include other countries like [the] autocracies of China, Russia, and other participants of BRICS. Richard Haass, the longtime President of the [CFR] wrote in the March 23, 2021 Foreign Affairs magazine, 'The international system is at a historical inflection point.… the Western-led liberal order that emerged after World War II cannot anchor global stability in the twenty-first century.… The best vehicle for promoting stability in the twenty-first century is a global concert of major powers'....

"What he is describing is also known as a multipolar New World Order.... [T]he U.S. was used as the main leader for the post-WWII era. It unconstitutionally used its vast resources to help build up Communist countries, as well as those that would belong to the European Union, while at the same time building up world government bodies like the United Nations and its many affiliates. In a multipolar world order, the U.S. and its Western allies would continue to utilize its resources by transferring large amounts of wealth to poorer countries. Doing so will bring down the standard of living for the average American while raising up those in developing countries as well as countries like China and Russia who give lip service to the agenda of the United Nations, but work to build themselves into the leading superpowers.

"Mr. Newman reported, 'Throughout the COP28 ‘climate’ summit, the Biden administration and Western governments pledged ever-more suicidal energy policies and draconian wealth redistribution from the middle class under the guise of saving the planet. According to an analysis by the Heritage Foundation’s Stephen Moore, just the U.S. government’s latest methane promises — a de facto ban on natural-gas power plants — will take out upwards of 60 percent of American electric power generation. But that pain will not be shared around the world. In fact, officials from the United Arab Emirates and Communist China, among others, were exposed planning to make oil and gas deals at the summit.... The news was spun by the establishment press to portray the UAE government hosting the climate talks in a negative light. But the real significance of the scandal was lost: It highlights the fact that the anti-energy hysteria and silly "solutions" such as solar panels and windmills being peddled to Western populations by the UN and the media are primarily undermining the economies of Western nations, including Europe and the United States — not China or other autocracies, whose emissions are all soaring with no end in sight.'

"Leave it up to the suckers in the U.S. and the EU to follow the 'rules,' but Communist countries are in no way participating in their own economic destruction by dismantling their industries or turning off a major flow of revenue through resource or product sales. The value they place on human life disqualifies them from actually carrying out this agenda based on a democratic or just way of living. Ironically, the Kremlin posted this statement when Xi Jinping visited Russia earlier in 2023: 'We jointly work to create a more just and democratic multipolar world order, which should be based on the central role of the UN, its Security Council, international law, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.' If that’s what they are working toward, then the free world should want nothing to do with it given the Communist’s idea of justice and democracy....

As Mr. Newman ... wrote, 'The president of the COP28 conference, ADNOC [Abu Dhabi National Oil Company] chief Sultan Al Jaber, outraged climate alarmists worldwide when he ridiculed their pseudo-scientific pronouncements. [see video]. "I’m not in any way signing up to any discussion that is alarmist," he told former Irish President Mary Robinson.... Other oil-producing Arab governments also injected a major dose of reality into the summit while undermining the UN-backed Western media narrative. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman ridiculed the idea that the world would "phase out” hydrocarbon energy. “And I assure you not a single person — I’m talking about governments — believes in that,” he was quoted as saying in the press.'

"This is the heart of the matter: Climate action is nothing more than a front to usher in totalitarian world government — a New World Order that proponents in globalist and communist circles have been discussing for more than 100 years. Those elected officials and other so-called dignitaries in the climate change movement do not honestly believe in their cause, or their actions would have reflected their convictions.... [B]ills to get the U.S. out of the UN have been recently introduced in the House and the Senate, the first time in a long time. Let’s generate some pressure in Congress to get these voted on."

COP28: Criticism mounts against president over fossil fuel comments | Global News | December 3, 2023:

Thursday, August 3, 2023

Operation Fox Hunt agents convicted in USA

Three Americans, including a retired NY police officer, have been convicted of interstate stalking on behalf of Operation Fox Hunt, the Chinese government operation to repatriate fugitives and asylum-seekers for punishment.

Three convicted in US plot to force people to go to China | Al Jazeera:

June 20, 2023 - "A retired New York Police Department (NYPD) sergeant and two other men have been convicted for their roles in a scheme to forcibly repatriate US residents to China, according to authorities. Retired sergeant Michael McMahon, 55, and Queens resident Zhu Yong, 66, were convicted on Tuesday by a Brooklyn jury of acting as illegal agents of the Chinese government, conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking.

"The men, along with Zheng Congying, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit interstate stalking and interstate stalking, were part of 'Operation Fox Hunt', what US authorities have called China’s 'global and extralegal repatriation effort' that targets dissidents and opponents of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

"Beijing has said the effort is part of an anti-corruption campaign and has maintained its law enforcement agencies follow international laws. According to a report by Spanish-based rights group Safeguard Defenders, nearly 10,000 Chinese nationals worldwide have been forcibly returned since 2014.

"Prosecutors said McMahon and Zhu waged a campaign to 'harass, stalk, and coerce' residents of the US to return to China. In a statement, Breon Peace, United States attorney for the eastern district of New York, said McMahon and Zhu 'knowingly acted at the direction of a hostile foreign state'. ''It is particularly troubling that defendant Michael McMahon, a former sergeant in the New York City Police Department, engaged in surveillance, harassment, and stalking on behalf of a foreign power for money,' Peace said....

"Prosecutors said that Zhu had hired McMahon, who was working as a private detective, to surveil a New Jersey resident wanted by Beijing from 2016 to 2019. McMahon provided information on the wanted man, his wife and daughter, incuding his previously unknown US address to Chinese operatives. The operation was supervised by several Chinese officials, including two who transported the wanted man’s elderly father from China to the US in an attempt to convince him to return to China in 2017....

"Zheng, in September 2018, drove to the New Jersey residence of the man and his wife. After pounding on the front door and attempting to force it open, prosecutors said Zheng and a co-conspirator left a note that said, 'If you are willing to go back to the mainland and spend 10 years in prison, your wife and children will be all right. That’s the end of this matter!'

"McMahon, who faces up to 20 years in prison, had argued during the trial that he did not know he was working for China. Three other defendants had previously pleaded guilty in the case....

"Separately in April, US authorities arrested two men they accused of operating a 'secret police station' in New York City on behalf of the Chinese government. They were accused of using the post to locate Chinese dissidents living in the US."

Operation Fox Hunt: China’s Transnational Repression | Epoch News | China Insider | February 16, 2021:

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Accused ex-Mountie part of Operation Fox Hunt?

Security experts say that William Majcher, the ex-Mountie charged last week under Canada's Security of Information Act, likely worked for Operation Fox Hunt, a Chinese government operation targeting the Chinese diaspora which the Trudeau regime originally supported.

How an ex-Mountie accused of conspiracy became China's 'hired gun' in a campaign Canada once tacitly supported | CTV National News | Judy Trinh:

July 25, 2023 - "As an RCMP officer, William Majcher, 60, used fake identities to infiltrate organized crime groups to investigate money laundering.... After leaving the national police force in 2007, Majcher moved to Hong Kong, where he helped create a firm called Evaluate Monitor Investigate Deter Recover (EMIDR) ... to help China and its corporations recover assets it alleged were stolen, Majcher said in previous interviews.... Three security experts told CTV National News it’s likely Majcher was part of China’s notorious Operation Fox Hunt, an anti-corruption campaign under the regime of President Xi Jinping....

"Created in 2014, Fox Hunt and its later iteration, Sky Net, targeted Chinese nationals living abroad. Under the program, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would recruit police officers, private investigators and lawyers in foreign countries to help track down fugitives suspected of financial crimes and bring them back to China to face prosecution. The CCP’s latest statistics from October 2022 show that more than 12,000 Chinese Nationals have been 'involuntarily returned' to China under Operation Fox Hunt and Sky Net.

"According to Safeguard Defenders, a Spanish non-government organization, alleged fugitives were repatriated using extradition as well as covert methods such as threats and kidnapping. Safeguard says targets can also be lured to another country with an extradition treaty with China and arrested there. And not all of those forced to return home are suspected criminals. Human rights groups say fighting corruption was also a guise used by the CCP to find and silence its critics....

"The RCMP, Majcher’s former employer, has charged him under the rarely used Security of Information Act with preparatory acts for the benefit of a foreign entity and conspiracy. Majcher is accused of foreign interference-related activities for using his knowledge and extensive network of contacts to allegedly help the Chinese government 'identify and intimidate' an individual in Canada. Scott McGregor, a former military intelligence officer who has researched Operation Fox Hunt, says the charges likely stem from Majcher’s work tracking down alleged criminals for the Chinese government.... But McGregor points out that prosecuting Majcher under these charges will be complicated because Canada once tacitly supported China’s international efforts to fight corruption.

"In September 2016, nearly a year after he became prime minister, Justin Trudeau welcomed former premier Li Keqiang to Canada. During that visit, Li, China’s second-in-command, sealed a historic agreement to work together to recover and share in the return of stolen assets. According to Chinese state media, Canada was the first country to enter into such a treaty with China since it launched its anti-corruption campaign in 2014. The CCP estimated that as many as 25 per cent of its most wanted financial fugitives had fled to Canada. Under the agreement, Canada and China would co-operate in investigations and split the proceeds of crime once they were recovered.... During Li's visit, where removing trade barriers was also discussed, Trudeau expressed in a speech his excitement about developing 'a real partnership that will benefit all our people for generations to come.'

"But five years later, the government began striking a different tone. In February 2021, Public Safety Canada issued a warning about Operation Fox Hunt stating that China’s anti-corruption efforts weren’t just used to bring criminals to justice, but its tactics could also be used to 'silence dissent, pressure political opponents and instill a general fear of state power on Canadian soil.' Later that year in the autumn of 2021, the RCMP would begin investigating Majcher.

"Police have not released the name of the victim that Majcher is alleged to have targeted, but other Canadian cases related to Operation Fox Hunt have been made public. Safeguard Defenders claimed in a March 2022 report that Zhang Yan from Canada was warned by Chinese police to return because they had placed his father under arrest. The human rights organization also revealed the presence of a global network of illegal Chinese police stations, including at least five in Canada. Earlier this year, CTV National News reported on the case of Edward Gong, a Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur and former Toronto mayoral candidate who is suing the Ontario Securities Commission. Gong alleges the OSC endangered his life by co-operating with Chinese police in a fraud investigation.

"Katherine Leung, a policy advisor for advocacy group Hong Kong Watch, says the arrest of Majcher could also erode the diaspora’s trust in law enforcement. 'They’re told to go to the police when things like this happen,' says Leung. 'Knowing that there's someone who could be in the RCMP today and be on China's side tomorrow tells us that there needs to be a better way for these diaspora groups to report foreign interference and intimidation.' Leung wants to see a dedicated phone line to report foreign interference, staffed with workers who can communicate in Cantonese and Mandarin. Leung says Majcher’s case also illustrates the need to create a foreign agent registry. If the registry existed, Majcher would be legally required to identify himself as someone who worked for the Chinese government instead of allegedly operating in the shadows....

"Leung is watching the case to see who else could be implicated. The Mounties say they’re looking into more than 100 cases of foreign interference."

All you need to know about China's espionage programme 'Operation Fox Hunt' | WION | July 9, 2020:

Thursday, June 15, 2023

'Devastating' starvation reported in North Korea

Interviews with residents suggest that a 'devastating tragedy' of starvation is unfolding in North Korea.

North Korea: Residents tell BBC of neighbours starving to death | BBC News | Jean Mackenzie:

June 14, 2023 - "People in North Korea have told the BBC food is so scarce their neighbours have starved to death. Exclusive interviews gathered inside the world's most isolated state suggest the situation is the worst it has been since the 1990s.... The government sealed its borders in 2020, cutting off vital supplies. It has also tightened control over people's lives, our interviewees say. Pyongyang told the BBC it has always prioritised its citizens' interests.

"The BBC has secretly interviewed three ordinary people in North Korea, with the help of the organisation Daily NK which operates a network of sources in the country. They told us that since the border closure, they are afraid they will either starve to death or be executed for flouting the rules. It is extremely rare to hear from people living in North Korea. The interviews reveal a 'devastating tragedy is unfolding' in the country, said Sokeel Park from Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), which supports North Korean escapees.

"One woman living in the capital Pyongyang told us she knew a family of three who had starved to death at home. 'We knocked on their door to give them water, but nobody answered,' Ji Yeon said. When the authorities went inside, they found them dead, she said. Ji Yeon's name has been changed to protect her, along with those of the others we interviewed.

"A construction worker who lives near the Chinese border ... told us food supplies were so low that five people in his village had already died from starvation. 'At first, I was afraid of dying from Covid, but then I began to worry about starving to death,' he said.

"North Korea has never been able to produce enough food for its 26 million people. When it shut its border in January 2020, authorities stopped importing grain from China, as well as the fertilisers and machinery needed to grow food. Meanwhile, they have fortified the border with fences, while reportedly ordering guards to shoot anyone trying to cross. This has made it nearly impossible for people to smuggle in food to sell at the unofficial markets, where most North Koreans shop.

"A market trader from the north of the country ... told us that almost three quarters of the products in her local market used to come from China, but that it was 'empty now'. She, like others who make their living selling goods smuggled across the border, has seen most of her income disappear. She told us her family has never had so little to eat, and that recently people had been knocking on her door asking for food because they were so hungry.

"From Pyongyang, Ji Yeon told us she had heard of people who had killed themselves at home or disappeared into the mountains to die, because they could no longer make a living. She was struggling to feed her children, she said. Once, she went two days without eating and thought she was going to die in her sleep.

"In the late 1990s, North Korea experienced a devastating famine which killed as many as three million people. Recent rumours of starvation, which these interviews corroborate, have prompted fears the country could be on the brink of another catastrophe."

North Koreans tell BBC of neighbours starving to death | BBC News | June 14, 2023:

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Alleged Chinese agent arrested in Boston

Boston resident Litang Liang was arrested last week for acting as an agent of the Communist Chinese government without registering with the U.S. government.

Man arrested in Boston for allegedly acting as foreign agent for CCP, suppressing political dissenters | Post Millennial - Hannah Nightingale:

May 12, 2023 - "Boston, Massachusetts resident Litang Liang was indicted on Tuesday and charged with plans to act as an agent of a foreign government, according to Fox Business. Liang is accused of acting as an agent of the CCP beginning in or around 2018.

"'Litang Liang knowingly acted and caused others to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign government, namely, the People's Republic of China, without providing prior notification to the United States Attorney General, as required by law,' the US District Court stated in its indictment. The US District Court alleges that Liang monitored and reported on individuals and organizations for the CCP ... as well as providing information on potential recruits.

"'Liang communicated with the PRC government officials – knowing them to be PRC government officials – in several ways,' the indictment states. 'These included telephone calls and messages using the social media application WeChat [...] All WeChat communications are stored on servers outside the United States.'

"Liang is the co-founder of the New England Alliance for the Peaceful Unification of China, created in January of 2019, [and served in] the anti-Taiwan independence organization through at least 2021....

"Liang pleaded not guilty on the charges of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and acting as an agent of a foreign government without notice to the attorney general. He was given a $25,000 cash bond. Liang is prohibited from leaving Massachusetts and will be electronically monitored. He has also been ordered not to have any contact with the Chinese government or members of the New England Alliance for the Peaceful Unification of China."
Read more: https://thepostmillennial.com/man-arrested-in-boston-for-allegedly-acting-as-foreign-agent-for-ccp-suppressing-political-dissenters?utm_campaign=64466

Boston man charged with spying on Chinese dissidents in U.S. | Washington Times - Matt Delaney:

May 15, 2023 - "The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that 63-year-old Litang Liang, of Brighton,... is accused of surveilling Chinese dissidents in the Boston area and relaying information back to the Chinese government between 2018 through 2022. He is also accused of organizing counter-protests against pro-democracy dissidents and identifying prospects for the PRC’s law enforcement arm, the Ministry of Public Security....

"Mr. Liang spied on Chinese family associations and community organizations that had pro-Taiwan leanings, according to prosecutors. He is also accused of taking photos of a person who “sabotaged” PRC flags in Boston‘s Chinatown neighborhood in October 2018. Further, he recorded a dissident at a 'Boston Stands with Hong Kong' march in August 2019 and took photos of anti-PRC dissidents who were demonstrating outside of the Boston Public Library in September 2019.

"All of the documentation Mr. Liang is accused of compiling was sent to either the PRC, the Ministry of Public Safety or the United Front Work Department, which reports directly to the Chinese Communist Party.... He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted."
Read more: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/may/15/litang-liang-boston-area-man-charged-spying-chines/

China Sentences 78-Year-Old US Citizen to Life in Prison on Espionage Charges | Statecraft | May 16, 2023:

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Canada and China expel each others' diplomats

Liberals vote against expelling Chinese Communist agents, foreign agent registry | Western Standard - Christopher Oldcorn:

May 9, 2023 - "MPs went against the Trudeau government and voted 170 to 150 in favour of rounding up Chinese spies and requiring foreign agents to register in Canada.... A Conservative motion endorsed by New Democrat, Bloc Québécois and Green MPs demanded that the government 'expel China diplomats responsible for and involved in affronts to Canadian democracy' and 'immediately create a foreign agent registry similar to Australia and the United States.' Liberal MPs rejected the motion as too hasty even as the government finalized its first expulsion of a Chinese envoy, Zhao Wei.."
Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/liberals-vote-against-expelling-chinese-communist-agents-foreign-agent-registry/article_a9e922a8-ee64-11ed-8c5d-873ac3112ea9.html

China expels Canadian diplomat in tit-for-tat move | BBC News - Chloe Kim & Kelly Ng:

May 10, 2023 - "China has expelled Canada's consul in Shanghai in retaliation for Ottawa sending home a Chinese diplomat accused of trying to intimidate a Canadian MP. On Monday, Canada declared China's diplomat Zhao Wei 'persona non grata' and ordered her to leave the country. In response, China on Tuesday ordered the removal of Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, Canada's diplomat in its Shanghai Consulate.... Both diplomats have five days to exit the countries. The censures mark a significant deterioration in relations between Ottawa and Beijing following reports of alleged Chinese political interference in Canada.

"Canada had accused China of targeting ... opposition lawmaker Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong after Mr Chong accused China of human rights abuses. Last Thursday, Canada summoned China's ambassador to reiterate that Canada would not tolerate interference in its affairs.... Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly on Monday declared Mr Zhao a 'persona non grata', a Latin phrase for an 'unwelcome person'. China called the move 'unscrupulous' and declared the same of Ms Lalonde - saying it was a 'reciprocal countermeasure'....

"The move by Ottawa follows a Canadian intelligence report, which emerged in the Globe and Mail newspaper, that accused Mr Zhao of being involved in gathering information about Mr Chong, 51, following his vocal criticism China's treatment of its Uyghur minority population.... Canada's spy agency [CSIS] believes China sought details about Mr Chong's relatives in Hong Kong in an effort to deter 'anti-China positions'. The politician put forward a motion in parliament in 2021 that declared China's treatment of Uyghurs a genocide. China has denied the accusations and sanctioned Mr Chong shortly after....

"'China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this and has lodged serious démarches and strong protest to Canada,' China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday. China last week accused Canada of 'slander and defamation' over the claims Beijing targeted Mr Chong and his family....

"The allegations come amid other intelligence reports, leaked to Canadian media outlets, that have accused China of attempting to interfere in Canadian elections. In March, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an independent special rapporteur to investigate the interference claims."
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65529185

China expels Canadian consul in retaliation for Ottawa expelling Chinese diplomat | CBC News, May 9. 2023:

Friday, May 5, 2023

Canada must stop 'China interference' farce, Chinese government says

China's ambassador to Canada dismisses reports of "so-called 'China Interference'" as rumors hyped up by some Canadian politicians and media for political gain and attention, and "urges the Canadian side to immediately stop this self-directed political farce."

China hits out at Canada over claim it targeted MP's family | BBC News - Nadine Youssef:

May 5, 2023 - "China has accused Canada of 'slander and defamation after it said Beijing targeted a member of its parliament and his family.... China said the allegation that it attempted to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong over his anti-China stance was 'nonsense'. Mr Chong, 51, previously accused China of human rights abuses.

"Canada is considering expelling Chinese diplomats over the issue and summoned its ambassador on Thursday.... Canada's foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly said that she asked her deputy minister to tell China's ambassador, Cong Peiwu, that Canada will not tolerate interference in its affairs.... Typically, summoning an ambassador is a diplomatic tool used by one country to publicly express anger or discontent against the other.

"On Friday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China was 'strongly dissatisfied with Canada's groundless slander and defamation of the normal performance of duties by the Chinese embassy and consulates in Canada'. It has 'lodged a strong protest' with Canada's ambassador to China, she added.

"The allegations come amid other intelligence reports that have accused China of attempting to interfere in Canadian elections."

Remarks of the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Canada | Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada:

May 4, 2023 - "On May 4, Chinese Ambassador to Canada, H.E. CONG Peiwu met with the senior official of the Global Affairs Canada. Ambassador CONG set forth China's stern position and protested strongly on the Canadian side's threat to expel the relevant Chinese diplomatic and consular personnel based on rumors of the so-called 'China Interference' hyped up by some Canadian politicians and media.

"Ambassador CONG pointed out that China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs. The Chinese diplomatic and consular officials always fulfill their duties in accordance with the relevant international conventions and the Consular Agreement Between the Government of Canada and the Government of the People's Republic of China. In an attempt to make political gains and draw attention, driven by ideological bias, some Canadian politicians and media have been manipulating China-related issues, attacking and discrediting China. China strongly deplores and firmly rejects this.

"Ambassador CONG stressed that China's diplomatic and consular officials' normal performance must not be smeared, and China's sovereignty, security and development interests must not be violated. Once again, China strongly urges the Canadian side to immediately stop this self-directed political farce, not go further down the wrong and dangerous path. Should the Canadian side continue to make provocations, China will play along every step of the way until the very end."

Thursday, May 4, 2023

Cdn. Conservative MP not told of threats to family

Conservative MP Michael Chong wants to know why the Liberal government never told him that China's intelligence agency had planned to 'sanction' his family in Hong Kong, and why the Chinese diplomat behind the alleged plan is still in Canada enjoying diplomatic immunity.

Canadian lawmaker says China targeted his family for harassment | The Guardian - Leyland Cecco:

May 3, 2023 - "A Canadian lawmaker has accused government officials of turning a blind eye to Chinese harassment of his family as pressure mounts on Justin Trudeau to launch a public inquiry into Beijing’s attempts to meddle in the country’s domestic politics. The Globe and Mail reported that China’s intelligence agency had sought information about Michael Chong’s family in Hong Kong 'for further potential sanctions' over the Conservative MP’s criticism of Beijing’s human rights abuses. The paper also reported that Zhao Wei, a Chinese diplomat in Toronto, was part of the harassment campaign.

"'The government did nothing about a person in Canada that was targeting me and my family and targeting other members of parliament,' Chong told reporters on Wednesday afternoon. 'The government knew about this two years ago and did nothing.' 'They didn’t expel [Zhao]. In fact, they continued to accredit this individual as a diplomat, giving this individual special rights and immunities not afforded to Canadians, allowing this individual to continue the correction and intimidation campaign,' he said, adding he believed there were 'political calculations' in the decision not to notify him....

"Chong has been an outspoken critic of Beijing and led a 2021 effort to hold a parliamentary vote to recognize China’s treatment of the Uyghur population as genocide. He said that he had made the decision years ago to cut off contact with family in Hong Kong out of an 'abundance of caution' for their safety and is unaware of what threats or harassment they may have faced....

"Trudeau said he was previously unaware of the allegations and only learned of them through the Globe’s reporting. The prime minister said he was later told by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that it 'wasn’t a significant enough concern' to notify him.

"Earlier in the day, the Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, said he found it 'very hard to believe'” that CSIS wouldn’t tell the prime minister or his top public safety minister about the threats. 'This is insane. You know, if any one of you were to threaten the family of an MP because of a vote in the House of Commons, you would be in jail. This guy’s not only not in jail, he’s in Canada with diplomatic immunity'....

"Both Poilievre and New Democratic party leader, Jagmeet Singh, have repeatedly called on the prime minister to call a public inquiry into China’s election interference efforts. A recently appointed special rapporteur, David Johnston, is expected to make a decision on whether to call an inquiry later this month."

"Conservative MP Michael Chong on Chinese govt targeting his family," CPAC, May 3, 2023:

Friday, April 7, 2023

Chinese junket: WEF & CCP hold 'summer Davos'

Post-pandemic, the World Economic Forum has resumed its "summer Davos" series of conferences held in communist China.

Bring the World Economic Forum to China | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People's Republic of China:

August 29, 2022 - "In the summer of 2007, the World Economic Forum (WEF) came all the way from Davos, Switzerland, where its winter annual meetings are held, to Dalian, a coastal city in China. This renowned gathering of world business leaders had its first summer session in the East ... from September 6 to 8.

"In 1978, Klaus Schwab, founder and Executive Chairman of the WEF, ... predicted that huge changes would take place in China. He ... was sure that China would play a vital role on the world stage when he read about Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening-up policy in 1978.... In the following decades, Dr. Schwab has worked actively for closer cooperation between the WEF and China and witnessed China's journey of reform and opening-up. Over the past four decades, the WEF has maintained good cooperation with China....

"In 2005, Dr. Schwab proposed the idea of a Summer Davos in China, in addition to the regular annual meeting in the small Swiss town of Davos. After the decision was made, he went through many cities in China and finally picked Dalian and Tianjin as the host cities.... With the joint efforts of China and the WEF, the first Annual Meeting of the New Champions was held in Dalian in 2007. Since then, Tianjin and Dalian would take turns to host the meeting. As Dr. Schwab said, the WEF would have two pillars: the Winter Davos and the Summer Davos. The WEF planned to make the Summer Davos a major international conference as big and influential as the Winter Davos, with a focus on internationalization."

"Summer Davos 2017 and interview with Klaus Schwab," CGTN, June 28, 2017:

WEF tilts more pro-China with ‘Summer Davos’ set for Tianjin | Washington Times - Cheryl K. Chumley:

April 7, 2023 - "The World Economic Forum has announced a June meeting — a 'Summer Davos' — of global elites to be held in Tianjin in China, showing once again its willingness to work with communists.... If only Joe Biden weren’t president, perhaps this gathering wouldn’t be so worrisome. As it stands, Biden is fully committed to the WEF’s Great Reset vision of total top-down control of the world’s populations. He just calls it something different; he just terms it Build Back Better. But it’s one and the same.

"It’s all about bringing about a more Marxist model of government that completely redefines capitalism and free markets; reconfigures priorities of businesses; redirects profits and redistributes revenues in line with political elitists’ agendas — and does this all by feigning 'for-the-good-of-all' approaches to the environment, health, education and justice....

"And by honoring the dignity of all, the WEF, of course, means dishonoring the dignities of those who simply wish to work, raise their families and be left alone to live out their God-given ambitions, by exercising their God-given liberties and rights. The WEF seeks to steal away individualism and press forth collectivism. That makes the WEF and communist China natural partners.

"'The global economy is at a pivotal moment of transformation,' WEF writes. 'Established business and industry models have not only been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, but are now being tested by a more competitive geopolitical and geoeconomic environment. How to navigate these developments and simultaneously accelerate progress on critical common goals, from energy transition to safeguarding nature and climate, is top of mind for decision-makers worldwide.' So the WEF’s got an 'Entrepreneurship: The Driving Force of the Global Economy' gathering planned as part of its New Champions 2023 campaign.

"In China.... In the land of communist, human-rights-abusing, communist, religious-freedom-busting, communist China. In the last place in the world where free markets, free entrepreneurship, anything free would actually be found. But that’s where the WEF will go, singing a song about new capitalism and shared capitalism and reset capitalism all the while."

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Chinese government shrugs off Covid catastrophe

The government of China has shrugged off and moved on from the failures of its Covid policies, but those may have left permanent scars on its ability to govern.

China’s Hidden COVID Catastrophe | Foreign Affairs - Yanzhong Huang:

February 16, 2023 - "In late November, after years of large-scale lockdowns, closures, quarantines, and almost constant mass testing, Chinese citizens took to the streets and, for the first time, called into question the leadership of President Xi Jinping. Soon after, in response to the simmering discontent and other pressures, the government ended, virtually overnight, the 'zero COVID' measures it had staked its public reputation on for nearly three years.... [W]hat followed was a public health emergency in which the virus spread across some 80 percent of China’s highly vulnerable population. Hospitals and morgues overflowed, and more than one million people may have died. On top of all this, by the end of 2022, economic growth ... had fallen to its lowest level in years.

"Yet instead of going into crisis mode, Beijing has largely shrugged off these setbacks. It offered no official explanation for its abrupt reversal of zero COVID, and it weathered the high death rates that followed mainly by suppressing official data and not talking about COVID fatalities.... And ... state censors even launched a campaign aimed at 'preventing the exaggeration of gloomy emotions.' To the outside world, meanwhile, China announced that it is open for business and that its economy is back.

"For now, the strategy appears to have worked. Unlike the zero-COVID measures, the chaos and death that followed reopening produced little domestic backlash against the government. Many ordinary Chinese seem to have concluded that the health crisis was not a big deal; in rural areas, where the health system is weak and the virus ran rampant, many people who experienced symptoms or even died were unaware that they had been infected. In the go-go atmosphere of Beijing’s reopening, COVID-19 seemed to be quickly forgotten....

"In fact, Beijing’s response to the pandemic — both before and after zero COVID — could have significant implications for the one-party state over the long term. For one thing, as the years wore on, the zero-COVID strategy, sustained at enormous social and economic cost, seemed to have more to do with tightening the government’s grip on society than with effective pandemic mitigation, as the protests in November made clear. And the strategy was ultimately unable to prevent a devastating viral wave.... Moreover, the high death toll that followed the sudden reopening — and the lack of active government engagement — raised new doubts about the ability of the regime to keep the population healthy.... [T]he government’s handling of the virus has also made clear that it is willing to sacrifice effective governance and even science in the interest of extending its power and control. In the long run, by breaking down the trust between Chinese society and the state, this power grab will create new challenges for Xi when the next crisis comes....

"The combined human toll of Beijing’s prolonged zero-COVID measures and its abrupt policy U-turn is by no means small. A growing body of evidence shows that during the three years that China maintained zero COVID, the very low rates of infection and mortality from the virus were achieved at significant cost to public health in other areas. For example, according to data from the National Health Commission, in 2020–21, deaths caused by cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases in urban areas increased by 700,000 over 2019 levels.... This very likely was the result of anti-COVID measures preventing timely access to health care....

"The rampant spread of infection and death that followed the abandonment of zero COVID on December 7 was in some ways even more traumatic.... According to Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), by January 21, more than 80 percent of the population, or 1.13 billion people, had been infected with COVID-19. If we use his own case fatality ratio for the winter, which he put at between 0.09 percent and 0.16 percent, the reopening would have been associated with at least one million COVID deaths. Wu’s data is supported by other models, including the Economist’s projection of 1.0 to 1.5 million deaths, based on assumptions about the unencumbered spread of COVID-19 after the reopening; the British-based Airfinity’s estimate of 1.3 million COVID deaths between December 1 and February 6; and a New York Times analysis, published on February 15, also estimating between 1.0 and 1.5 million deaths since the reopening..... Of course, the viral wave was playing out over a far larger population, but it is very likely that there were more COVID-19 deaths in China in two months than there were in the United States over the span of three years....

"[T]he estimated deaths the Chinese government claims to have avoided — 950,000 during 2020–21, according to Wu himself — have very likely been canceled out by the deaths associated with the messy and chaotic policy reopening. In other words, China spent billions of dollars maintaining an economically disruptive and ultimately socially damaging zero-COVID program for years only to suffer the same, if not worse, health consequences in the end....

"Despite the multiple ways they have undermined the government’s credibility, Xi’s COVID blunders do not pose an existential threat to his regime. The government has continued to show it can cope with even deep challenges to its rule.... Still, Xi’s extreme COVID strategies have left lasting scars on the Chinese state and its ability to govern....[I]t will be difficult for the hundreds of millions of Chinese who were affected by Beijing’s power overreach over the past three years to forgive and forget. In addition to eroding public trust in the government, the COVID crisis has made clear that a political system that has been tailored to a single superordinate figure is highly susceptible to disruption, shocks, and arbitrary decision-making. For now, like their government, ordinary Chinese may be glad to return to business as usual. But barring fundamental changes in the highly centralized and personalized rule under Xi, there is no guarantee that similar catastrophes will not be repeated with even greater consequences in the future."

"Through the Storm: A look back into China's 3-year battle against COVID-19," China Global Television Network [state-run media], February 2023:

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Trudeau minister endorsed Communist front group

International trade minister Mary Ng won't comment on her public endorsement of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations, considered a Chinese Communist Party front.

Trudeau's trade minister connected to Chinese Communist Party front organization | Westerm Standard - Christopher Oldcorn

March 13, 2023 - "According to the Blacklock's Reporter, Federal Trade Minister Mary Ng refuses to comment on her public endorsement of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations (CTCCO), which is considered a Communist Party of China (CCP) front. Ng has attended CTCCO events and records show three other Toronto-area Liberal MPs publicly endorsed the Confederation’s work - Shaun Chen (Scarborough North, ON), Han Dong (Don Valley North, ON) and Majid Jowhari (Richmond Hill, ON).

"'This is but the tip of the iceberg,' said witness Cheuk Kwan at the Commons Ethics committee. 'China’s interference in Canada has been soft, intangible, and gradual. As a result, this build-up over the years remains invisible to many Canadians.' Kwan is a co-chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China and a filmmaker based in Toronto.

“'Urged on and supported by Chinese consulates, organizations were set up by individuals sympathetic to the regime,' said Kwan. 'Chief among them are the National Congress of Chinese Canadians, NCCC, and its successor, the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations'....

"These and many other proxy organizations practice the art of astroturfing, echoing the party line to defend China’s foreign and domestic policies,' said Kwan. 'In addition to engaging friendly academics and business people to advocate on its behalf, China also spreads its tentacles to cultivate elected officials and infiltrate political institutions at all levels of Canadian society.'

"Kwan testified that innocuous-sounding community groups manipulated by CCP agents 'harass and intimidate Canadians who are critical of China' including activists, dissidents, and human rights advocates. 'You get a phone call in the middle day asking, "So, how are your parents doing back in Sichuan, China?"'... 'Then you get the message,' said Kwan. 'If you don’t behave, your parent's phone numbers, address, or even their physical well-being is under threat. It’s a very subtle threat. They have used this on many, many Chinese Canadians.'

"'How commonly known was this?' asked Conservative MP Damien Kurek (Battle River-Crowfoot, AB). 'Very commonly known,' replied Kwan. 'We’ve seen a lot of this on the ground. Many of these have not been reported, or if they were reported to local police or the RCMP, they would not be handled.'

"Kwan urged Parliament to enact a Foreign Agents Registration Act mandating disclosure of paid China agents. 'The Chinese-Canadian community and other people welcome this registry,' said Kwan. \This line that setting up a registry is an attack on the Chinese-Canadian community I will not buy. This is a standard line given by the Chinese Communist Party'....

"On Friday, Ng said the cabinet should use caution in enacting a registry of foreign agents. 'We have a great responsibility to ensure that we are not unfairly or unintentionally creating a cloud that hovers over an entire community that is feeling incredibly uncertain and who have felt the discomfort of unconscious bias,' Ng told the media."

Cheuk Kwan interviewed, Powe3r & Politics, CBC News, March 14, 2023:

Saturday, March 11, 2023

"China-worship" runs in the Trudeau family

Admiration for totalitarian Communist regimes including China is a Trudeau family affair.

The Trudeau family's love of tyrants | Maclean's - Mark Milke:

February 28, 2018 - "Back in the summer of 2006, Pierre Trudeau’s youngest son, Alexandre (Sacha) Trudeau wrote a fawning happy 80th birthday column in the Toronto Star in praise of then Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.... Castro, Trudeau claimed, was 'an expert on genetics, on automobile combustion engines, on stock markets, on everything'. Alexandre pressed upon his readers ... to think of Cubans as children and Castro their father. Trudeau then fondly recalled his late brother, Michel, who when they were young kids complained to their mother that he had fewer friends than his brothers. Margaret Trudeau replied that unlike his brothers, Michel 'had the greatest friend of all: he had Fidel.'

"I thought of Alexandre Trudeau’s fawning 2006 tribute recently given it was 10 years ago this month that Fidel Castro resigned.... But the anniversary also brings to mind Alexandre Trudeau’s brother — the prime minister, and his weird, fantasy belief that another autocracy, China, is somehow efficient on economic and environmental matters.... Having a soft spot for tyrants prompts multiple blind spots, whether on democracy, the economy or, more recently, on the environment. All have been on display in the Trudeau family’s ongoing infatuation with tyrannies and autocracies.... [I]n the comments from Alexandre, Margaret and Justin Trudeau ... [w]e see evidence of the Trudeau family’s long love affair with the world’s autocrats and tyrants. But the problem started with Pierre.

"Bob Plamondon, author of a 2013 biography of Pierre Trudeau recounts how Trudeau the Elder visited the Soviet Union in 1952 to discuss economics, this accompanied by four Canadian communists. 'It was there that he remarked to the wife of U.S. chargé d’affaires that he was a communist and a Catholic and was in Moscow to criticize the U.S. and praise the Soviet Union,” Plamondon writes....

Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau meets Mao Zedong
in Beijing, 1973. Credit: Government of Canada.

"Similarly, in 1960, Trudeau accepted an invitation from the Chinese government to visit along with Jacques Hébert, a friend whom Trudeau would appoint to the Senate. They travelled around China for six weeks on a state-sponsored tour.

"And they did so smack dab in the middle of a wrenching state-imposed famine courtesy of Chairman Mao’s Great Leap Forward 'reforms', which began in 1958 and would last until 1962 ... [and] would take the lives of 'somewhere between 20 million and 42 million people' as French authors Jean-Louis Margolin and Pierre Rigoulot recounted in the Black Book of Communism.....

"[T]he father and son Trudeau approach to China then and now is revealing.... Canadians, then as now, are treated to an over-eager approach which mirrors Justin’s father’s mindset and reveal his enduring influence on his son.... As an example, from economics and the environment, recall Justin Trudeau’s unguarded comments made in 2013, where he expressed 'a level of admiration I actually have for China' with his reasoning that 'their basic dictatorship is allowing them to actually turn their economy around on a dime and say "we need to go green fastest, we need to start investing in solar"'....

"These comments reveal a modern Trudeau fascination with autocracies; in particular, the notion that China’s severely polluted environment can be helped by central, top-down planning from Beijing. Beijing can announce all the windmills and solar panels it wants. But recall the politically-centralized model in existence since Mao which forestalls the political consequences of issues (pollution in China today as a severe example), which would explode in a liberal democracy.

"The very Chinese model of governance, which represses dissent, was not only unsuited to economic growth before the 1979 reforms by Deng Xiaoping, it has been deadly to Chinese health. That’s because public pressure cannot swap sub-par politicians out for accountable ones. In an economy of state-owned companies, no one is responsible for pollution, or to enforce pollution laws in the private sector.... In China, public pressure at the ballot box and even by consumers is either nonexistent or feeble. And Chinese government statistics are unreliable, a fact which additionally complicates environmental reform. Anyone, including the prime minister, who thinks China has an effective or enlightened policy on the environment is unaware or blithely ignoring just how corrupt, ineffective and inefficient autocracies are....

"The father-son reunion on China is not mysterious. Nor are their basic flawed assumptions about how political power can solve all problems if only the rulers somehow have enough control. The Trudeau family’s dewy-eyed approach to tyrants has always been unfortunate. Their family-tyrant friends were economically illiterate and, just as often, deadly to their own populations. Central planning was of no use and was of much harm to Russians, Chinese and Cubans.

"The elder Trudeau’s acolytes always thought of him as a 'philosopher king' — that he knew better than markets and ordinary mortals and business owners how to manage the economy efficiently from the top down. His son has imbibed the same conceit. Justin has continued in that tradition in his own political life, with his fawning Castro comments and his weird China-worship on environmental matters."

Friday, February 24, 2023

Estimated 1-1.5 million Covid deaths in China

Communist China claims to have less than 85,000 Covid deaths, the lowest per capita rate of any country during the pandemic. But researchers estimate the actual death toll at between one and 1.5 million.

Your Thursday Briefing: 1.5 Million Covid Deaths in China? | New York Times - Amelia Nierenberg:

Feb. 15, 2023 - "After China relaxed the world’s most stringent Covid-19 restrictions in December, the virus exploded there. Four separate academic teams have come up with broadly similar estimates suggesting that one million to 1.5 million people died during the surge, far more than China’s official count.

"Researchers believe that the country’s official figure, as of Feb. 9, of 83,150 deaths during the entire pandemic is a vast undercount. That number would give China the lowest death rate per capita of any major country over the whole of the pandemic. But at the researchers’ estimated levels of mortality, China would already have surpassed the toll in many Asian countries that never clamped down as long or as aggressively.

"The estimates also align more closely with the evidence of overwhelmed hospitals and crematories than the official figures do.

"Two of the estimates were in papers published in academic journals or posted for peer review. Two others were shared by epidemiologists in response to queries from The Times. All of the researchers consulted by The Times cautioned that without reliable data from China, the estimates should be understood as informed guesses....

"Some used past outbreaks in Hong Kong and Shanghai to estimate how quickly the virus might have spread in mainland China. Others used travel data and demographics to model spread and mortality. Scientists also used sampling data from China’s testing to infer that 90 percent of the population had been infected in little more than a month....

"One researcher started with a simple assumption, that the fatality rate for people infected in China was roughly the same as it was in the U.S. That means that if between 40 and 65 percent of China’s population was infected — a conservative estimate — then between 900,000 and 1.4 million Chinese people might have died, he said."

Friday, January 20, 2023

China reports 60K Covid deaths since reopening

China reports nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 died since early December | CBC News - Joe McDonald, Associated Press:

January 14, 2023 -"China on Saturday reported nearly 60,000 deaths in people who had COVID-19 since early December, offering hard numbers for an unprecedented surge that was apparent in overcrowded hospitals and packed crematoriums.... Those numbers may still underestimate the toll, though the government said the 'emergency peak' of its latest surge appears to have passed.

"The toll included 5,503 deaths due to respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 fatalities from other ailments combined with COVID-19 since Dec. 8, the National Health Commission announced. It said those 'deaths related to COVID' occurred in hospitals, which means anyone who died at home would not be included in the numbers.

"The report would more than double China's official COVID-19 death toll to 10,775 since the disease was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019. China has counted only deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official COVID-19 death toll, a narrow definition that excludes many deaths that would be attributed to COVID-19 in other places.... [As of January 20, the Worldometers website still reports 5,202 Covid deaths in China since the start of the pandemic. - gd]

"Hospitals across the country have been overwhelmed with patients, and funeral homes and crematoriums have struggled to handle the dead.

"Infection numbers now appear to be falling based on a decline in the number of patients visiting fever clinics, said a National Health Commission official, Jiao Yahui. The daily number of people going to those clinics peaked at 2.9 million on Dec. 23 and had fallen by 83 per cent to 477,000 on Thursday, according to Jiao....

"Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease physician and professor of public health at the Yale School of Public Health, said the number of COVID-19 deaths China is reporting may be a "significant underestimation'.... 'In order to be counted as a case, you have to be at a place where they can say you fulfilled all the requirements, and that's at a hospital.' Hospitals in China, he said, are located mostly in large cities where COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported, not in isolated rural areas. 'This is the Lunar New Year, people are travelling, going to the countryside where the population is vulnerable,' Ko said. 'We're really worried about what's going to happen in China as this outbreak moves to the countryside'....

"The health commission said the average age of people who died since Dec. 8 is 80.3 years, and 90.1 per cent are 65 and older. It said more than 90 per cent of people who died had cancer, heart or lung diseases or kidney problems....

"The U.S., South Korea, Canada and other governments have imposed virus-testing and other controls on people arriving from China. Beijing retaliated on Wednesday by suspending the issuance of new visas to travellers from South Korea and Japan."

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Young Chinese self-infecting with Covid

China Covid: Young people self-infect as fears for elderly grow | BBC News:

January 6, 2023 - "When Mr Chen's 85-year-old father fell ill with Covid in December, it was impossible to get an ambulance or see a doctor. They went to Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing, where they were told to either try other hospitals or sit in the corridor with an IV drip.... The elder Mr Chen has now recovered, but his son worries that a second infection in the future could kill him....

"The final step in China's swift reversal of its contentious zero-Covid policy [came] on Sunday when it reopen[ed] borders for international travel. With mass testing, stringent quarantines and sudden, sweeping lockdowns gone, families like Mr Chen's are wary of what lies ahead. But younger Chinese, all of whom did not wish to be named, feel differently - and some told the BBC they were voluntarily exposing themselves to infection.

"A 27-year-old coder in Shanghai, who did not receive any of the Chinese vaccines, says he voluntarily exposed himself to the virus. 'Because I don't want to change my holiday plan,' he explains, 'and I could make sure I recovered and won't be infected again during the holiday if I intentionally control the time I get infected.' He admits he did not expect the muscle aches that came with the infection, but says the symptoms have been largely as expected.

"Another Shanghai resident, a 26-year-old woman, tells the BBC she visited her friend who had tested positive 'so I could get Covid as well'. But she says her recovery has been hard: 'I thought it would be like getting a cold but it was much more painful.'

"A 29-year-old who works for a state-run business based in Jiaxing, in the northern Zhejiang province, says she was thrilled when she heard the country's borders were reopening.... 'Life was ridiculous when I had to ask my manager's permission to travel. I just want life to get back to normal,' she says.... She herself has not tested positive for the virus yet, but concedes that - when her husband did - she wore a mask 24/7 at home, even when she was sleeping. 'I did not want us to be sick at the same time,' she says. 'But I'm not scared of the virus, as the severe symptoms are rare'....

"At least in the big cities, people have been returning to malls, restaurants and parks, and even queuing up for visas and tourist permits. The state-run Global Times newspaper declared 'normal times are back', attributing the line to interviews with Chinese.... But beyond the major cities, it is difficult to know how people - particularly in China's rural regions - are responding to an about-face in government messaging.

"For three years, state-run media presented the virus as a dangerous menace to society, vowing that it would achieve "dynamic zero-Covid" to keep the population safe. But that rhetoric has been turned on its head in recent weeks, with doctors regularly trotted out to call for calm over confusion.

"Mrs Li, a 52-year-old in Beijing, argues the government 'did the right thing' for the first two years but should have ended its zero-Covid policy in early 2022.... 'Also winter is the worst season to do it. Why not wait until next spring? And why didn't the government prepare enough resources before opening up?' she asks. '2022 was the worst year for us. I can only pray 2023 won't be any worse.'"

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

China to reopen borders to international travel

China to scrap quarantine for inbound travellers as COVID-19 rules ease further | CBC News _ Thomson Reuters:

December 27, 2022 - "People in China who have been cut off from the rest of the world for three years by COVID-19 restrictions flocked to travel sites on Tuesday ahead of borders reopening, even as rising infections strained the health system and roiled the economy. Zero-tolerance measures — from shuttered borders to frequent lockdowns — have battered China's economy since early 2020, fuelling last month the mainland's biggest show of public discontent since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012. His policy U-turn this month means the virus is now spreading largely unchecked across the country of 1.4 billion people.

"Official statistics, however, showed only one COVID-19 death in the seven days up to Monday, fuelling doubts among health experts and residents about the government's data. The numbers are inconsistent with the experience of much less populous countries after they reopened....

"Doctors say hospitals are overwhelmed with five to six times more patients than usual, most of them elderly. International health experts estimate millions of daily infections and predict at least one million COVID-19 deaths in China next year. Nevertheless, authorities are determined to dismantle the last vestiges of their zero-COVID-19 policies.

"In a major step toward easing border curbs cheered by global stock markets on Tuesday, China will stop requiring inbound travellers to go into quarantine from Jan. 8, the National Health Commission (NHC) said late on Monday.... There are no official restrictions on Chinese people going abroad but the new rule will make it much easier for them to return home.

"Data from travel platform Ctrip showed that within half an hour of the news, searches for popular cross-border destinations on had increased tenfold. Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, South Korea were the most sought-after, Ctrip said. Data from Trip.com showed outbound flight bookings were up 254 per cent early on Tuesday from the day before.

"China's classification of COVID-19 will also be downgraded to the less strict Category B from the current top-level Category A from Jan. 8, the health authority said, meaning authorities will no longer be compelled to quarantine patients and close contacts and impose lockdowns....

"But for all the excitement of a gradual return to a pre-pandemic way of life, there was mounting pressure on the health-care system, with doctors saying many hospitals are overwhelmed while funeral parlors report a surge in demand for their services.... Nurses and doctors have been asked to work while sick and retired medical workers in rural communities were being rehired to help, state media reported. Some cities have been struggling to secure supplies of anti-fever drugs....

"While the world's second-largest economy is expected to see a sharp rebound later next year, it is in for a rough ride in the coming weeks and months as workers increasingly fall ill. Many shops in Shanghai, Beijing and elsewhere have closed in recent days with staff unable to come to work, while some factories have already sent many of their workers on leave for the late January Lunar New Year holidays....

"Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his country would require a negative COVID-19 test for travellers from mainland China. The government would also limit airlines increasing flights to China, he said.

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Coronavirus surges in China

Two weeks after the government of China abandoned Zero Covid, the coronavirus is surging there, with an estimated 800 million people – more than the population of North America – already infected.

COVID spreading faster than ever in China. 800 million could be infected this winter | PBS - Michaeleen Doucleff & A. Martínez, Goats and Soda:

December 15, 2022 - "China is now facing what is likely the world's largest COVID surge of the pandemic. China's public health officials say that possibly 800 million people could be infected with the coronavirus over the next few months. And several models predict that a half million people could die, possibly more.

""Recently, the deputy director of China CDC, Xiaofeng Liang, who' s a good friend of mine, was announcing through the public media that the first COVID wave may, in fact, infect around 60% of the population,' says Xi Chen, who's a global health researcher at Yale University and an expert on China's health-care system. That means about 10% of the planet's population may become infected over the course of the next 90 days.

"Epidemiologist Ben Cowling agrees with this prediction. 'This surge is going to come very fast, unfortunately. That's the worst thing,' says Cowling, who's at the University of Hong Kong. 'If it was slower, China would have time to prepare'.... Cowling says the virus is spreading faster in China than it's spread ever before anywhere during the pandemic. It also looks to be especially contagious in the Chinese population.

"To estimate a virus's transmissibility, scientists often use a parameter called the reproductive number, or R number. Basically, the R number tells you on average how many people one sick person infects. So for instance, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, in early 2020, the R number was about 2 or 3, Cowling says. At that time, each person spread the virus to 2 to 3 people on average. During the omicron surge here in the U.S. last winter, the R number had jumped up to about 10 or 11, studies have found. Scientists at the China National Health Commission estimate the R number is currently a whopping 16 in China durng this surge....

"Last winter, cases doubled in the U.S. every three days or so. 'Now in China, the doubling time is like hours,' Cowling says. 'Even if you manage to slow it down a bit, it's still going to be doubling very, very quickly. And so the hospitals are going to come under pressure possibly by the end of this month.'

"So why is the virus spreading so explosively there? The reason is that the population has very little immunity to the virus because the vast majority of people have never been infected. Until recently, China has focused on massive quarantines, testing and travel restrictions to keep the virus mostly out of the country. So China prevented most people from getting infected with variants that came before omicron. But that means now nearly all 1.4 billion people are susceptible to an infection....

"About 90% of the population over age 18 have been vaccinated with two shots of a Chinese vaccine. This course offers good protection against severe disease, Cowling says, but it doesn't protect against an infection. Furthermore, adults over age 60 need three shots of the vaccine to protect against severe disease, Cowling's research has found. Only about 50% of older people have received that third shot, NPR has reported. And that leaves about 11 million people still at high risk for hospitalization and death."

"Several models have predicted a large death toll for this initial surge, with at least a half million deaths, perhaps up to a million. But that number, Chen says, depends a lot on two factors.First off, people's behavior. If people at high risk continue to quarantine voluntarily, the death toll could be lower. Second, how well the health-care system holds up under this pressure. 'This is going to be a major test – and it's unprecedented,' he says. 'In my memory, I have never seen such a challenge to the Chinese health-care system.'"

Crematoriums in China struggle as COVID spreads | Al Jazeera, Dec. 20, 2022:

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