Canada orders deportation of Chinese woman over foreign interference

Authorities in Canada have ordered the deportation of Chinese woman Jing Zhang on the grounds that she was part of China’s foreign interference program.

The Immigration and Refugee Board ruled that she had worked with the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO), which Canadian authorities said conducts espionage in Canada.

Immigration officials have noted that Zhang herself has not committed espionage. However, the Immigration and Refugee Board said it found that Zhang had contributed to OCAO’s efforts to pressurise the Chinese diaspora. 

The decision regarding Zhang, which was 32-page-long, was made public recently.

According to the document, the People's Republic of China (PRC) is accused of using OCAO to curb any dissent abroad.

IRB has said that OCAO “was and remains involved in espionage against PRC’s targeted individuals and groups in Canada.”

Further clamping down, the Refugee Board alleged that “OCAO conducting espionage, surveillance or covert monitoring of Chinese and ethnic Chinese dissidents or minorities in Canada is against Canada, and contrary to its security interests.”

The latest move came into public’s eye as an inquiry is scheduled to begin on Jan. 29 into China’s alleged interference in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 federal elections.The commission is mainly triggered by allegations against China. But, the mandate of the commission also includes inquiry into the actions of Russia and “other foreign states or non-state actors.”

Targeting OCAO, IRB has also said, “the evidence establishes that a key role of the OCAO has been intelligence gathering on dissidents and ethnic minorities external to China.”

Zhang’s deportation was handed down on Aug.28 but as per media reports, it is unclear if she had been deported since then or not. Reportedly, during Zhang’s hearing, the border security agents argued that OCAO was infiltrating the Chinese community in Canada to suppress criticism. 

Last year, when Canada began ramping up its infiltration narrative against China, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warned of a large-scale email campaign trying to attract Canadian government officials and academics into a Chinese overseas talent program.

At the time, Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that Canada’s move are a signal that the Western world has further expanded its restrictions on China's high-tech sector.

As per Global Times report, the expert had also said that in several cases, Canada has played the role of “vanguard” or “spacegoat” of implementation of United States’ strategies that Washington will not convey directly. 

Wang had also said that anti-China sentiments in Canada, driven by US, has become a “political symbol” especially in the current scenario of US-China ties.