Canadian ads blasted Hong Kong ‘radicals’, invoking blood loyalty to China. Was Beijing’s United Front involved?
- There were 208 signatories to the newspaper ads placed in Vancouver, reflecting a recent explosion in mainland-linked groups in Canada
- A director of the long-time Chinatown group that placed the ads said all in Canada should be heard – even those accused of ties to Beijing’s influence campaign
They include dozens of Chinese fraternal organisations, business groups and even clubs devoted to stamp collecting, robotics and ice wine appreciation.
But the 208 Canadian Chinese groups that were signatories to recent newspaper advertisements in Vancouver denouncing “radical” Hong Kong protesters may also have included groups linked to the Chinese government’s “United Front” work – its overseas campaign of influence and outreach into the Chinese diaspora.
That is according to Jun Ing, a director and vice-president of the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver, the Chinatown umbrella organisation that placed the ads in local editions of the Chinese-language newspapers Ming Pao and Sing Tao.
Even so, he said, such groups had a right to be heard.
“I do not dispute there may be the so-called front organisations in [the] list of names but CBA did not solicit their participation,” he said by email, later clarifying that he was referring to United Front groups.
The ads condemned violence at the protests in Hong Kong on June 12, blaming “a small number of radicals”.