On February 17, 2023, the Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper, released an investigative report claiming that China attempted to influence Canada’s 2021 Federal election results in favour of the Liberal Party.
The report stated that Chinese diplomats and their supporters used an advanced method to interrupt Canada’s democracy during the election campaign to guarantee a minority government for Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and defeat Conservative politicians who were seen as unfavourable to Beijing.
According to the report, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service released documents stating that China employed disinformation campaigns and used Chinese-Canadian organisations in Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area to oppose the Conservatives and support the Liberals. The intelligence reports also indicated that China was eager to prevent a Conservative victory.
An unidentified Chinese consulate official allegedly said that the Liberal Party was becoming the only political party the PRC could support.
There have been reports and allegations of Chinese interference in elections in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, the United States, and several African nations. Some experts also suggest that China’s efforts to influence global opinion and promote its own interests extend beyond formal election interference and involve activities such as media manipulation, cyber espionage, and disinformation campaigns.
According to several news reports in March 2020, US intelligence agencies came to the point that the Chinese hackers meddled in both the 2016 and 2018 elections.
As per media reports in Australia, the Chinese Government has attempted to influence Australia’s political parties. One intelligence source, reported by the local media, told there had been infiltration at every layer of the Australian Government, right down to local councils.
Furthermore, several reports suggested China was also involved in meddling in the Nepal elections and increased its funding to anti-India political parties there so that it could install a proxy government in Kathmandu to sabotage the major projects of both countries and fulfil its strategic objectives.
Not only meddling in the elections, but China is also involved in opening illegal police stations to deal with its adversaries. In October 2022, Several Republican House lawmakers sent a letter to US Cabinet Secretaries Antony Blinken and Merrick Garland in which they demanded answers on a reported Chinese police presence in New York City.
The Chinese Government has opened numerous illegal police stations worldwide, including in developed countries like Canada and Ireland, triggering concerns among human rights campaigners. Such informal police service stations affiliated with the Public Security Bureau (PSB) across Canada have been set up to antagonise China’s adversaries, Investigative Journalism recently reported Reportika.
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