A sign for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service building in Ottawa.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Canadian politicians, officials and businessmen are the main targets of Chinese government espionage, which uses extortion, bribery and sexual seduction, with the country even involving the Bank of China in its foreign influence activities.
Secret and top-secret Canadian security intelligence documents seen by The Globe and Mail describe how China instructed its consulates and visa services to alert Beijing to prominent and influential Canadians planning a visit to China.
In addition, the Bank of China has been ordered to inform consulates about travel plans of Canadian businessmen attending conferences sponsored by the state financial institution, according to an intelligence report dated February 2, 2022, classified as top secret.
Other top-secret documents seen by The Globe paint a picture of an overall Chinese strategy to interfere in Canada’s democracy and gain influence with politicians, business leaders, academics and vulnerable Chinese Canadians.
The overall goal is to obtain political, economic, scientific and military intelligence and to neutralize or co-opt Canadian critics of Chinese policies, including the repression of Uyghurs and Tibetans, the suppression of freedom of expression and democracy in Hong Kong and its plans for Taiwan . Beijing has said it reserves the right to forcibly annex Taiwan, a self-governing island it considers a breakaway province.
“This is a realistic threat that all of our partners face. It’s not just about election interference. It’s multifaceted,” said national security expert Akshay Singh, a member of the Council on International Policy. “It’s about different levels of government. It’s about the science. It’s about civil society and it’s about private enterprise.”
In a December 2021 report, CSIS explained how Beijing’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is employing three color-coded “political interference tactics” to gain influence over Canadians here and those traveling to China. Blue refers to sophisticated cyber attacks on the target’s computers, smartphones, and hotel rooms for possible extortion. Gold refers to bribes, while yellow is what CSIS called “honey pots” — how the CCP uses sexual seduction to compromise a target.
The Globe reported on Friday that China has employed an elaborate strategy to seek the return of a minority liberal government and defeat conservative politicians seen as unfriendly to Beijing in the 2021 federal election, according to CSIS documents. The plan included disinformation campaigns, cash donations to fellow candidates and setting up business owners to hire Chinese international students studying in Canada as campaign volunteers to support favored Liberal candidates.
Secret CSIS documents have also revealed that in early 2022 Chinese diplomats quietly issued warnings to “friends” influential Canadians, advising them to reduce their contacts with federal politicians to avoid being drawn into foreign interference investigations by Canada’s spy service.
The February 2, 2022 CSIS report explained how the Chinese consulate in Montreal pursues visa applications of influential and prominent Canadians traveling to China. It said the Bank of China visa center was also recruited to provide details about Canadians planning to participate in major exhibitions such as the China International Import Expo [CIIE] Industrial fair.
In December 2021, Zhang Heng, who was China’s Acting Consul-General in Montreal for some time, instructed the consulate’s visa section to share the names of government officials, members of parliament and businessmen applying for visas. In particular, China wanted the names of the presidents and vice presidents of large Canadian companies and the presidents of small and medium-sized companies.
Some of these Canadians are considered “work targets,” according to the intelligence report, the head of the Chinese visa office at the consulate in Montreal told the Bank of China in early December 2021.
Mr. Zhang complained to fellow consulates that he only learned about WeChat, the Chinese social media application, from “certain unspecified Canadians” who attended the November 2021 CIIE expo.
The huge annual trade fair covers technology, automobiles, medical instruments and medical supplies to food and agriculture. In 2021, around 3,000 companies from 127 countries and regions attended the event, which was held at the Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center from November 5th to 10th. The Canada-China Business Council encouraged its members to attend this event and the CIIE exhibition in November 2022.
The February 2, 2022 intelligence report was released to senior officials through government departments such as Global Affairs, Public Safety and the Privy Council Office, which reports directly to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Former CSIS agent Alan Treddenick said the tactics outlined in the February 2 CSIS report are widely used by hostile foreign intelligence agencies.
“It’s the default playbook. It’s in the playbook for a reason, because it works,” he said.
Mr Treddenick, president of ATNOH Group, a security consultancy, said he advises businessmen traveling to China to leave their personal cellphones and computers at home. He said they should not leave documents in their hotel rooms and avoid being lured into a compromising situation while drinking in a bar or restaurant.
In response to The Globe’s article on election interference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Friday that he expects the CSIS to go after whistleblowers. He stuck to his longstanding view that Chinese interference operations did not affect the overall results of the 2019 and 2021 elections.
As first reported by Global News, China favored at least 11 candidates in the 2019 Greater Toronto Election. A national security source said nine were liberals and two were conservatives. The Globe is not releasing the source’s identity as it risks prosecution under the Security of Information Act.
On Friday, Mr Trudeau downplayed reports of Chinese state interference. The CSIS report spoke of how China’s former Consul General in Vancouver, Tong Xiaoling, boasted in 2021 about how she helped defeat two Conservative lawmakers.
CSIS documents show China has warned “Canadian friends” about investigations into foreign interference
“The fact that a Chinese diplomat would try to acknowledge the things that happened is not unknown in diplomatic circles around the world,” Mr Trudeau said.
Kenny Chiu, one of the Conservative Vancouver-area MPs targeted by China and defeated by a Liberal, told The Globe that a disinformation campaign against him during the 2021 election was effective. Chinese social media accused Mr Chiu of being “anti-China” and said his private member’s bill establishing a foreign agent registry would target all people of Chinese descent in Canada.
“If you’re ordinary Canadians, you’re going to find that at the very least ridiculous, and you might be able to fact-check that information,” he said. “But some of my constituents rely solely on the source of information that is shared on social media like WeChat.”
Victor Ho, the former editor-in-chief of one of Canada’s largest Chinese-language newspapers, said he had observed China’s interference in Canadian politics for years, but in the 2021 election campaign the practice was even more pervasive.
He said he was surprised by the defeats of both Mr Chiu and Conservative MP Alice Wong.
Mr Ho said CSIS was slow to recognize the issue and should have warned Canadians about that conclusion before the election. “The damage has been done and our democratic system has been damaged,” he said, adding that the results of the 2021 election did not reflect voters’ free will.
Unless Ottawa takes concrete action, Mr Ho said, the same will happen in future elections.
The United States and Australia have foreign influence registries that require individuals working on behalf of foreign governments or corporations to file a notice if they attempt to influence public policy, treaties or laws in Canada. The Trudeau government has been investigating the issue since 2021.
With a report by Xiao Xu in Vancouver
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