TORONTO -- 鈥淲e know where you are. We鈥檙e coming to get you.鈥
The person on the other line of Cherie Wong鈥檚 Vancouver hotel room phone repeated that threat multiple times, until she hung up, stunned.
It was January 2020, and Wong 鈥 who鈥檚 executive director of Alliance Canada Hong Kong -- had travelled from Toronto to Vancouver to host a series of events surrounding the imminent launch of the pro-democracy group.
Out of an abundance of caution, Wong鈥檚 room was booked under another name by a member of the group 鈥 but they found her anyway.
"They" being suspected agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to Wong and her group.
鈥淭wo days after the launch, very early in the morning, I received a phone call on my hotel landline to say 鈥榳e know you鈥檙e there, this is your room number, we鈥檙e coming to get you,鈥欌 Wong said in an interview with CTVNews.ca. 鈥淚 hung up the phone after a little bit when they kept repeating the same words, and鈥 shook. I shook sitting there and there were no tears, there was no screaming, it was just a calm, silent panic that went through my body.鈥
鈥淚 can still feel just how horrified I was. They knew where I was鈥t was just fear in that moment.鈥
Wong is one of many Hong-Kongers and other East Asian diaspora who say they have felt directly threatened and harassed by what they believe are CCP agents operating domestically in Canada.
The abuse has been ramping up since the major Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019 and the subsequent implementation of the mainland鈥檚 National Security Law.
Officials have taken the rare step in recent years to directly label China as a 鈥渟ignificant concern鈥 for Canada 鈥 with intelligence agency reports painting a grim picture of how the CCP operates within the country.
But for Wong and other activists, their day-to-day lives are significantly affected by foreign influence, with their safety - and the safety of their family and friends overseas 鈥 directly on the line.
鈥楪REY ZONE鈥
Wong said that in the past year, Hong Kong activists have experienced 鈥渃ountless harassment incidents, online attacks and physical altercations鈥 with agents and individuals that they believe are acting on behalf of the Chinese government.
鈥淎 lot of the times when we do try and seek help from law enforcement, we are getting bounced between departments,鈥 Wong said. 鈥淲e're told to call 911. We get connected to the local police who then say this is a foreign policy issue, [and] send us to RCMP, who say there's nothing we can do for you, and they send us to CSIS, and CSIS sends us [back] to the local department.鈥
Wong said the experience of being 鈥渂ounced around鈥 between departments and agencies feels like there is no one listening to them.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that any of these agencies are equipped to deal with foreign harassment operations鈥ften these cases are not criminal offences, but they border on this grey zone where its somewhere between criminal harassment and a civil dispute,鈥 she said. 鈥淲ithout that nuanced lens to understand that this harassment is actually targeting human rights activists 鈥 the activists suffer.鈥
CANADA鈥橲 'FOREIGN INFLUENCE' PROBLEM
Stephanie Carvin, an ex-Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) analyst and associate professor of international relations at Carleton University, said that Canadians have long been a target of foreign interference.
鈥淐anada has long had a foreign influence problem. It's happened for decades, it's not just China, and I think we don't really have an infrastructure for dealing with it because we've always seen it as a foreign problem,鈥 Carvin said in a telephone interview with CTVNews.ca
鈥淲e're seeing this a lot,鈥 Carvin continued. 鈥淲e've seen this against Tibetans. We've seen it against Uyghurs in Canada, and now we're seeing it against Hong Kong activists as well.鈥
Mimi Lee, a member of the Toronto Hong Kongers Action Group, said she was followed after a protest in 2019 in front of City Hall.
鈥淎ll the police officers had already left, I was alone because I was going back to my car,鈥 Lee said in an interview with CTVNews.ca. 鈥淚 felt that person following me鈥o I had to run around and try to get away from them.鈥
Lee said she did not file a police report for that instance, as she 鈥渉ad no evidence鈥 and that it was 鈥渢oo scary鈥 to turn around to take a picture.
Two members of the pro-democracy group Halifax- Hong Kong Link, who 麻豆影视 has agreed not to name due to their fear of reprisals, also spoke of the fear they live with on Canadian soil.
One member said they had tried to reach out for help to Halifax police and a local MP, but that it was 鈥渉ard to describe why you're being followed and why you've been put on propaganda.鈥
Describing a 2019 Halifax pro-democracy rally, the member said their small group of about eight protesters were 鈥渟urrounded鈥 by 鈥50 to 60鈥 pro-mainland counter-protesters.
鈥淔or at least eight hours, [they were] chanting the Chinese national anthem, booing at us and taking our pictures,鈥 the member described, adding that in messages and articles circulated online afterwards in places like WeChat, the pro-democracy group were called 鈥渟eparatists,鈥 and that the mainland group had 鈥渃orrected鈥 them 鈥渙n their thoughts鈥 and showed 鈥渨hat loving China is.鈥
The member specified they did not suspect all of the pro-mainland rally goers of being CCP agents, but said there is an expectation for Chinese-Canadians to attend on behalf of the mainland鈥檚 interests.
Carvin said situations like that are hard for law enforcement to investigate as intimidation because 鈥渉ow do you prove that someone is motivated by clandestine foreign influence purposes?鈥
However, Carvin agreed that China鈥檚 鈥渇oreign interference鈥 is often implemented in 鈥渆xactly the kinds of activities [the activists] are describing.鈥
Another member of the Halifax-Hong Kong Link who travelled to Hong Kong to participate in the 2019 pro-democracy protests, says they鈥檙e 鈥渨ary of being watched,鈥 and never show their face in public when protesting as they鈥檙e 鈥渁fraid of being found out.鈥
Both Wong, Lee and the other activists interviewed by CTVNews.ca mentioned 鈥渂ystanders鈥 coming to pro-democracy protests and filming or taking close-up photographs of the activists 鈥 something they say is used by the CCP to put pressure on relatives overseas.
鈥淪ince the National Security Law was put in place in Hong Kong, we can see a lot of people censoring themselves,鈥 Lee said. 鈥淭hey are afraid their friends and family would be affected.鈥
Lee said its 鈥渧ery likely鈥 the people taking pictures 鈥渨ork for the Chinese state and they want to create some terror.鈥
Hong Kongers are all living a double life in Canada Lee, said. 鈥淲e have our life as a normal citizen鈥ut then we are living a second life, concerning what's happening from where we came from.鈥
Carvin said one of the most successful tactics foreign governments use when it comes to intimidation is the fact 鈥減eople feel very alone.鈥
鈥淭hey feel like they have no one to turn to鈥hat feeling of isolation makes them more vulnerable,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he best you can do is contact the police, but often those threats come from overseas, so there's very little enforcement that can be done.鈥
鈥淚 do not feel safe here,鈥 Wong said. 鈥淓very decision I make surrounds my own safety鈥'm worried when I send a text message to my family back home that that message would contain something that would endanger my family's safety.鈥
Wong said she knows of activist colleagues who have been violently beaten on the streets overseas because they 鈥渨ere walking home alone.鈥
鈥淚'm afraid that would happen to me and I don't think the police or the government could protect me from that kind of violent attack,鈥 she said.
Despite living in Canada, Wong said that activists like her are afraid to go outside and to protests, as once their photographs are taken, someone 鈥減ays a visit鈥 to their families overseas.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l say 鈥榶our cousin or your daughter just came to this protest, you should tell them to stop,鈥 she said.
OPERATION FOX HUNT
The intimidation tactics the activists describe are part and parcel of the playbook used by CCP agents in service of missions like 鈥淥peration Fox Hunt,鈥 which has been running since at least 2015 and is operated by Beijing鈥檚 Ministry of Public Security.
Operation Fox Hunt originally was part of China鈥檚 anti-corruption crackdown to hunt down party officials labelled as 鈥渃orrupt鈥 who fled the mainland in droves.
But that the core mission had changed to include a 鈥渟weeping bid by General Secretary Xi and the CCP to target Chinese nationals鈥 globally 鈥渨ho are viewed as threats to the regime.鈥
The comments came as the FBI announced charges against eight people, including three Chinese nationals, accused of 鈥渁cting at the direction and under control of the People鈥檚 Republic of China (PRC) government鈥o harass, stalk, and coerce residents of the U.S. to return to the PRC as part of a global, concerted, and extralegal repatriation effort known as 鈥淥peration Fox Hunt,鈥 .
The release details the tactics used against the U.S. victim, named only as John Doe.
Agents coerced John Doe鈥檚 elderly father to travel from China to New York to use his surprise presence 鈥渢o threaten and attempt to coerce John Doe鈥檚 return to the mainland.鈥 Other agents harassed John Doe鈥檚 daughter over social media and attempted to hire a private investigator to find out her location in order to photograph her to exert pressure on her father, according to the release.
In the released by CSIS, the agency confirms that a 鈥渟ignificant concern are activities by threat actors affiliated with the People鈥檚 Republic of China鈥 that seek to 鈥渓everage and exploit critical freedoms鈥 from communities who often 鈥渇ear state-backed or state-linked retribution targeting both themselves and possibly their loved ones in Canada and abroad.鈥
In a statement to CTVNews.ca, CSIS said that that fear 鈥渃an force individuals to submit to foreign interference.鈥
The organization reiterated that such actions by China and other state actors are illegal and are an attempt to 鈥渦ndermine Canada鈥檚 sovereignty.鈥
In a public speech to the Centre for International Governance Innovation in February, the danger posed by China, telling Canadians they are being 鈥渁ggressively鈥 targeted by 鈥渁ctivities that are a direct threat to our national security and sovereignty.鈥
Vigneault acknowledged Operation Fox Hunt鈥檚 presence in Canada, 鈥渨hich claims to target corruption but is also believed to have been used to target and quiet dissidents to the regime,鈥 he said.
Carvin said the fact that Vigneault publicaly named China marks a big shift in the intelligence community, calling it 鈥渁 huge change.鈥
鈥淭his is done carefully,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hen an agency actually names the actor engaged in malicious activity, they have to coordinate across government and get high levels of approval - it's effectively making foreign policy if you're accusing another country of hurting you.鈥
Carvin said the way Canada鈥檚 intelligence agencies have talked about security for the past two decades is changing to recognize 鈥渢he long game鈥 is the 鈥渢hreat to our economy and intellectual property from foreign interference.鈥
鈥淭he goal is to not just amplify Beijing's views, but to suppress anyone who speaks out against those views,鈥 she said.
Vigneault also said in his speech that those who feel threatened by China鈥檚 attempts to silence dissension can report instances to law enforcement agencies 鈥 but Wong said the resources are simply not there.
鈥淲e have been screaming and yelling about how we are being bounced between departments with not one single person taking us seriously - that feeling is exactly why our community has given up on reporting these types of incidents,鈥 Wong said.
The RCMP has touted their National Security Information Network hotline as a direct way Hong Kongers can report harassment, but Wong pointed out that the community can鈥檛 access the resource as 鈥渢he information is not available in our languages.鈥
In Wong鈥檚 case 鈥 she 鈥渄id what she was supposed to do鈥 and called Vancouver police and filed a police report, but she said the response was, 鈥渢here was nothing they could do.鈥
鈥淚 never even met the responding officers who came to the hotel鈥 I was feeling unsafe in that hotel room for hours before my own community members were able to come and sit with me,鈥 she said, adding that she has never received an update or follow-up on the incident.
In an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca, the RCMP declined to answer specific questions about the activists鈥 allegations, writing that the agency is 鈥渁ware of foreign actor interference activity in Canada, from China and other foreign states.鈥
The RCMP would not go into specifics, but said 鈥渧arious methods and techniques are in place to combat foreign actor interference.鈥
In an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) said while they were bound by the Privacy Act and could not give specific details on whether someone had been removed from or denied entry to Canada because of intimidating or threatening someone on behalf of a foreign political party 鈥 they could disclose they had removed 鈥183 individuals to China who were deemed inadmissible on serious criminality grounds鈥 over the past 10 years.
The CBSA said people removed from Canada on the grounds of 鈥渃riminality鈥 have either 鈥渂een convicted in Canada of a criminal offence, or they have either been convicted of, or have committed, an act in another country that would constitute a criminal offence in Canada.鈥
鈥楬IJACKING PATRIOTISM鈥
Lee says part of the pressure that Canadian Hong-Kongers face is messaging from the CCP that regardless of their passport of nationality, they are 鈥淐hinese first.鈥
鈥淲hen the Chinese government is in our faces saying that we are first and foremost a Chinese, whether or not you hold a Canadian passport, it's really stepping on our rights being a Canadian,鈥 Lee said. 鈥淚f the Canadian government is not doing anything to protect us from that message, you see how the Chinese government is effectively 鈥榬uling鈥 over the globe, even though we are not on Chinese land.鈥
Executive Director of Community Family Services Ontario Anna V. Wong (no relation to Cherie Wong) says that the CCP messaging of being 鈥淐hinese first鈥 is part of a wider discourse the party uses to justify its actions in Hong Kong and in Canada.
鈥淏y imposing an identity onto someone, it鈥檚 meant to show them that this [country] is not secure, they want everybody to believe they belong to them,鈥 Anna Wong said, adding that she identifies as a Canadian who was born in Hong Kong.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 identify myself as a CCP Chinese and I would say this is a hijacking process of the concept of patriotism,鈥 she said.
Among the CCP messaging being dispersed globally is the reality of the crackdown on dual nationality within Hong Kong鈥檚 new political and social landscape.
In February, a dual citizen of Canada and China who has been held prisoner in Hong Kong was recently forced to choose between their two nationalities, Global Affairs Canada said, an escalation of tactics used by the CCP for some time.
After the U.K. announced a special pathway to citizenship for Hong Kongers who hold a British National (Overseas) passport, China retaliated by promptly derecognizing the specially-issued passports as valid travel documents.
Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam that dual nationality was not recognised in Hong Kong, in line with Chinese nationality regulations 鈥 meaning Hong Kongers with dual nationality were no longer entitled to foreign consular assistance.
Global Affairs Canada recommends that any dual nationals looking for help from the government in Hong Kong never identify themselves as Chinese, and instead should 鈥減resent themselves as Canadian to authorities at all times.鈥
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa did not answer queries on specific allegations levelled by the activists, responding with a one-line response to CTVNews.ca that 鈥渟uch allegation has no factual basis at all, it is nothing but self-hype and malicious slanders, attempting to sabotage prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Xizang [sic].鈥
鈥榊OU CAN NEVER GO HOME鈥
While Hong Kongers have been scrambling to to Canada, many here are struggling with their own complex feelings of saying goodbye to Hong Kong 鈥 a place they say they no longer recognize under CCP rule.
鈥淚 can for sure tell you I won't go back to this place鈥t's not the place that I know - Hong Kong is a DNA that comes with the package of values, including freedom, human rights, freedom of press, freedom of speech,鈥 Anna Wong said.
Cherie Wong said the day the national security law was implemented was the day that she accepted she will 鈥渘ever go home again.鈥
鈥淚 want to say I鈥檓 sad, but really I'm angry,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 am more angry than I've ever felt before. The regime took away my family's home, my grandparent鈥檚 home, and now they have taken away my home. It's a motivator for me to keep on doing the work I do, but knowing that I can never go home again, it's soul crushing.鈥
Wong said the threats facing Hong Kongers in Canada are from the same source, just in different forms.
鈥淚n Hong Kong, they live in fear that the door knock that they are hearing is the police coming to come and arrest them,鈥 she said. 鈥淗ere the fear is a slow-burning kind.鈥
鈥淚 don't want to discourage any Hong Konger from coming here鈥 but don鈥檛 think that once you're here, you're free - there's nothing stopping the regime from coming after you here, just the conditions are different.鈥
Others pro-democracy activists have echoed the same grim warnings.
鈥淲hen you come over to Canada, don't think that you're going to have a good life in terms of getting away from the Chinese government's arm, because we have so much infiltration and interference from the Chinese government - our fight is even more important,鈥 Lee said.
A member of the Halifax Hong Kong Link said they do not want Hong Kongers to 鈥渞egret鈥 their decision to leave, but said it will come at a cost.
鈥淚f you have decided to come to Canada, you have to know you cannot go back.鈥
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Individuals who feel under immediate threat should contact the police of local jurisdiction. They may also report foreign interference activities to CSIS by telephone (613-993-7620 or 1-800-267-7685) or on CSIS鈥 web page under
Individuals may also contact the RCMP鈥檚 by phone (1-800-420-5805) or email.
Edited by Philip Hahn
Correction:
This story has been updated to include a statement from the Canadian Border Services Agency.
