OPINION
Canada needs to take Chinese threat seriously
Canadians must understand Chinese actions threaten our democratic institutions, economic independence, national security and, yes, our way of life.
By Jaime WattContributing Columnist
Sun., Feb. 26, 2023timer 3 min. read
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This past week, disturbing revelations were made painstakingly clear to Canadians: the People’s Republic of China and its intelligence apparatus threaten our nation’s security and our democracy.
On the evidence, the authoritarian dictatorship in Beijing has interfered in our elections to the benefit of Trudeau’s Liberals and the detriment of Canada’s democratic foundations. While their tactics demonstrate a blatant disrespect for our way of life, they also show our inability to respond effectively.
Having engaged in diplomatic gaslighting, they are now laughing at us from behind the protected walls of the Politburo in Beijing.
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It should not take a front-page exposé for Canadians to understand that the actions of the Chinese government threaten our democratic institutions, economic independence, national security and, yes, our way of life.
It is time that we understand our politicians have proven incapable of addressing Chinese state influence. Chinese aren’t just at our gates, they own them. And they’re standing idly by flipping us the bird.
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Currently led by an aggressive, ambitious, and paranoid government, China exhibits all the characteristics of a hostile state. The détente that followed Chairman Mao’s rule lulled many Westerners into a false sense of security but under Xi, China is once again under the thumb of an ideological despot with, given the situation with Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, even more capacity to throw his weight around on the world stage.
Just this past week, the Globe and Mail reported news from CSIS that Canadian politicians, government officials, business executives and Chinese Canadians all have been prime targets of Chinese government espionage.
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This espionage has deployed blackmail, bribery, and sexual seduction. The range and nature of the tactics used are usually reserved for spy novels, but national security experts now deem China’s espionage infrastructure to go far deeper than even the Soviet’s efforts at the height of the Cold War.