A former MP, who wants to run federally as the Conservative candidate in Steveston-Richmond East, is blaming her competitor for causing a “giant community rift” in the 2021 election among voters of Chinese descent.
Wai Young, former MP for Vancouver South, put out a news release on Thursday, following the release of the Foreign Interference Report, calling former Steveston-Richmond East MP Kenny Chiu's complaints about foreign interference “divisive,” claiming he blamed voters of Chinese descent for losing the 2021 election.
Young is now calling for “healing and unity."
Chiu called Young’s press release both “very personal” and “very hurtful.”
Furthermore, he said Young’s message itself seems to pick up the "tone" used by the Chinese Communist Party of equating any criticism of the Chinese government with racism.
This is a tactic used by the Chinese government of “weaponizing” criticism, he added.
“I don’t blame anyone — to me, (Chinese Canadians) are the victims,” Chiu said, adding the democratic rights of those voters who received disinformation were “hijacked.”
The Foreign Interference Report, written by Marie-Josée Hogue, focuses on the impact of foreign interference on the “integrity” of the 2019 and 2021 elections.
It delves into how information flowed in government, how it was acted on as well as the government’s capacity to “detect, deter and counter” foreign interference in democratic institutions and elections.
Overall, Hogue concluded there were a “small number of isolated cases” whereby a nomination contest or an election in a riding may have been impacted by foreign interference.
However, she adds there is “no evidence to suggest that our institutions have been seriously affected by such interference or that parliamentarians owe their successful election to foreign entities.”
“While any attempted interference is troubling, I am reassured by the minimal impact such efforts have had to date,” Hogue writes in her report.
Sections of Hogue’s report focus on Chiu and Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan.
Chiu lost the 2021 election in Steveston-Richmond East after being elected in 2019.
A panel of five senior government officials were made aware of Chiu’s complaints during the 2021 election.
However, the panel decided not to inform Canadians of possible interference due to “the difficulty of attributing this activity to foreign actors."
The panel was also not "inclined" to intervene since it was difficult to distinguish disinformation circulating from "ordinary political debate."
"Even falsehoods can be a legitimate exercise of freedom of expression during an election, as long as they are not state sponsored or amplified,” the Hogue report states.
The threshold to inform Canadians is met when there is a threat to the integrity of an election, according to the report.
'False narratives' spread during 2021 election
Hogue acknowledges “false narratives” were spread in the media during the 2021 election about Chiu’s proposal for a foreign influence registry and these false narratives had “close links to the PRC government or PRC state media.”
“Mr. Chiu attempted to respond to this narrative in the media, but his messaging was not picked up or circulated by Chinese language outlets,” the report states.
The report notes that, while there was information that “led to suspicions that attempts to influence the Chinese Canadian community existed,” the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections didn’t have “sufficient evidence” that would have supported “any of the elements of undue foreign influence or other contraventions of the (Canada Elections) Act.”
“Investigators did, however, find indications that PRC officials gave impetus and direction to an anti-Conservative Party campaign, which was then carried out and amplified by an array of associations and individuals using various communication channels,” the report continues.
The five-person senior government panel said, because Chiu was making comments in the media to combat the misinformation, it was “self-cleansing.”
(This "Panel of Five" includes the Clerk of the Privy Council, National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister, Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General, Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.)
“I am not convinced by the idea of a self-cleansing media ecosystem,” Hogues states in her report. “By the time disinformation fades away, it may often be too late. The damage to the democratic process or to those targeted may already be done.”
Hogue said she agreed with the panel’s decision at the time, however, “this situation highlights a serious gap in the mechanisms available to address misinformation or suspected disinformation during the election period.”
“It does not help that there are no clear guidelines for when government will act short of a public announcement by the Panel,” she said in the report. “These issues need to be addressed.”
Hogue report 'vindicates' Richmondites of Chinese descent: Young
Young claims Richmondites of Chinese descent “have been living under a cloud of suspicion,” and have “lived in anguish,” laying the blame with Chiu who “divided the community” by speaking out about possible foreign influence.
“This has led to citizens becoming targets of increased Asian hate and racism. As a community, I call upon each of us to stand against racism and hate, as we come together to heal," Young said in a media statement.
They have now been “vindicated” by the Hogue report, she added.
However, Chiu said Young’s press release goes against the Conservative Party of Canada’s stance on the issue of foreign interference.
The Conservative Party released a statement praising the work of Hogue, saying her evidence “amounts to proof that the Liberal government failed to protect our democracy from foreign meddling in the 2019 and 2021 general elections.”
The report also leaves Canadians “with concerns the government failed to inform the public or take appropriate action to stop this interference…” the Conservative statement adds.
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