Dear Editor,
Recently in the Richmond News online edition and in the digital edition there have been banner advertisements calling for support of the Beijing Olympics in 2022.
The digital ads were two full pages, one giving the rational to support the Games and the other page listing 90 Chinese Canadian groups supporting the position.
The ads appear to be sponsored by the Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations.
The ad attacks “certain organizations and Canadian political figures calling for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics and moving the games to another location.”
The ad claims the boycott and relocation is based on “reports of alleged but unproven human right violations in China’s Xinjiang region.”
The ad goes on to state “Such unfounded calls and allegations caused grave concerns among numerous Chinese Canadians.”
This position on the Uighurs of Xinjiang by the Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations is directly opposite to that taken by the Parliament of Canada in which the House of Commons voted in favour of a motion on Feb. 22, 2021 saying that China’s action in its western Xinjiang region met the definition of genocide.
The motion also called on the government to lobby the International Olympic Committee to move the games.
In addition, the ad claims that a boycott will further marginalize “Asian-Canadians living in Canada” and “such marginalization is contrary to Canadian values.”
I believe Canadian values teach us tolerance and to protect all marginalized peoples whose human rights are threatened. Our responsibility lies with the people of Tibet, the Uighurs of Xinjiang and the people of Hong Kong.
Depending upon the minority, these groups have suffered from genocide in Tibet and Xinjiang and loss of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong. These actions carried out by the Chinese government are all contrary to Canadian values.
Over the years, there have been reports in Canada of groups being funded by the Chinese government to intimidate Chinese-Canadians who speak out against injustices in China.
I do not know if the Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations is one of these groups, but their position on the Uighur situation in their ad and on their website could easily have been written by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.
If the Canadian Alliance supports Canadian values, they should join Parliament in speaking out against the abuse of human rights in China, not furthering CCP propaganda.
Greg Halsey-Brandt
RICHMOND
