In the midst of Diplomatic Spat with India RCMP Investigates China
As the conflict over the murder of a Canadian citizen intensifies, Ottawa is altering its diplomatic personnel presence in India and New Delhi is stopping visa services in Canada. Diplomats from both countries have been expelled. Given that certain workers have received threats on various social media platforms, the Canadian consulate in New Delhi has now ceased operations and Ottawa is adjusting its diplomatic presence in India, according to a statement released on Thursday by Global Affairs Canada.
If the diplomatic tensions with India was not enough, new development with RCMP investigating China involvement in targeting B.C. man will shock you. The RCMP is looking into the death of a man from British Columbia who was a target of Operation Fox Hunt, a campaign by the Chinese government to intimidate expats and silence critics.
READ MORE: Diplomatic Tensions Between Canada and India Continues
Wei Hu, a 57-year-old father of three, resided in a $2.8 million gated home on Harrison Lake in British Columbia. He allegedly fled China in 2000 after criticizing Beijing, according to a friend.
However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which issued a so-called Red Notice through Interpol demanding his arrest and extradition to China for alleged financial crimes, was unable to let him hide even in Canada. In July 2021, he apparently committed suicide. A witness said that Hu had reported that the CCP was harassing him, and the RCMP has since opened a national security investigation into the claim.
Under President Xi Jinping, a global anti-corruption drive called Operation Fox Hunt was started. Beijing uses it to force foreigners to return to China and hand themselves in to the authorities.
Operation Fox Hunt has a history of Chinese agents offering suicide advice. The FBI claims that a communication delivered to a target in the United States advised him to either “return to China promptly or commit suicide.”
Chinese embassy in Ottawa did not comment about recent accusations and RCMP investigation. Requests for a copy of the death report were also not met by the B.C. Coroner’s office. As if this investigation could shatter another relation with Canada.
Evidence of foreign agents operating in Canada to “influence…important leaders” and “neutralize” criticism of China was discovered, according to a joint assessment into Chinese interference in Canada produced by the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
It’s been 25 years since the report was written.
The report, which was completed in 1998 and is now partially declassified, was the outcome of a joint RCMP-CSIS investigation known as Project Sidewinder that looked at connections between Chinese government intelligence services and organized crime in China. The Security Intelligence Review Committee of Canada controversially discredited an earlier draft of the report that had been released before.
READ MORE: Canadian-Indian Diplomatic Chaos on the Rise?
The comprehensive report has 26 pages. Every single one has the designation “Secret” for “Canadian Eyes Only.” It is divided into three main sections: “Triads,” which examines the activities of Chinese organized crime rings, including those in Canada; “Intelligence Services of the People’s Republic of China,” which describes Beijing’s agents’ methods and their espionage operations in Canada; and “The PRCIS and the Triads,” which examines the relationship between the People’s Republic of China’s Intelligence Service and organized crime.
Diplomatic tensions can endanger trade
Why these diplomatic strains with India and China get intensified at the same time is very worrisome for many Canadians. Beside the housing crisis and extreme high cost of living in Canada, Canadians feel that these recent diplomatic clashes could worsen Canada’s position to provide a better economic prosperity for Canadians.
As China and India are one of the most important trade partners to Canada, worsening diplomacy could potentially endanger trade with those two countries, leaving Canadians with even higher bills to pay.
According to the Trade Commissioner Service, exports to India were $5.4 billion in products and $6.2 billion in services last year.India was the source of imports totaling $6.4 billion in commodities and $2.9 billion in services. According to Trading Economics/UN Comtrade data, Canada’s main export to India in 2022 was fossil fuels and allied goods worth almost $1 billion, followed by fertilizers worth almost $748 million and wood pulp and plant fibres worth almost $384 million.
The majority of Indian exports last year were pharmaceutical products, worth about $418 million, followed by iron and steel products, costing about $328 million, and machinery, nuclear reactors, and boilers, worth about $287 million.
According to data on international commerce from the United Nations’ COMTRADE database, Canada exported to China for US$22.05 billion in 2022. According to figures from Statistics Canada, trade between China and Canada reached new highs in 2022, with imports breaching the $100 billion barrier for the first time.
According to Statistics Canada, Canada purchased commodities from China at a record $100,027,968,000 last year, up 16% from $86 billion in 2021.
Consumer products accounted for $31 billion of all imports in 2022, followed by electronic and electrical equipment ($28 billion).
$100 billion of imports from China and $10 billion from India is not something Canada and Canadians should not take into consideration!
