In a series of revelations of Chinese involvement in Canada’s internal affairs, a Canadian security official revealed that in 2016 a Chinese businessman donated $1 million to the Trudeau Foundation in memory of the current Prime Minister’s father and that the Chinese government was behind it, and all members of the foundation’s board resigned, but the current Prime Minister Trudeau was However, the current Prime Minister Trudeau was not involved with the foundation. At the same time, a member of the Prime Minister’s staff testified before Parliament, saying that China’s involvement was constantly changing and its influence was pervasive.
加拿大老特鲁多基金会收受中国捐款 基金会高层集体辞职 RFA中文
In the spring of 2016, several wealthy Chinese businessmen hosted a fundraising party for Prime Minister Trudeau at a private mansion in Toronto. Attending this fundraising party was Zhang Bin, president of the Chinese Cultural Industries Association. A short time later, Zhang Bin and another businessman, Niu Nengsheng, immediately donated a total of C$1 million to the Trudeau Foundation and the University of Montreal Faculty of Law.
Former Prime Minister Trudeau is the father of current Prime Minister Trudeau, and the foundation’s main purpose is education and public service, which was already in dispute when it received the Chinese donation. Last month, a security official revealed to the media that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had eavesdropped on a conversation between Zhang Bin and the trade counsellor at the Chinese consulate in Canada in 2014, in which the counsellor instructed Zhang Bin to donate $1 million to the Trudeau Foundation, which Zhang Bin would pay and the Chinese government would then pay him in full. Zhang Bin would pay the money and the Chinese government would then pay him the full amount.
As the storm of scandal intensified, the Trudeau Foundation attempted to return the donation it had received, but was unable to locate the real donor; the name of the company was clear on the donation check, but not the person representing the company receiving the money to be returned. The mystery of the case deepened, the entire board of the foundation and its representative resigned, and the prime minister said he had never been involved with the foundation.
Zhao Jinrong, a former member of Parliament, said, “China’s involvement in Canada has many methods and is difficult to understand and foresee from the outside. These monies received from donors with a CPC background are now being returned, but they don’t know where to return them, and the donors have been changed to a Hong Kong company, but there is no record of them being registered in Hong Kong at all. This is a very big corruption case,” he said.
Trudeau’s chief aide, Katie Telford, attended a parliamentary hearing Friday on China’s involvement in the Canadian election and revealed that, based on historical documents provided by the National Security and Intelligence Unit, Prime Minister Trudeau had received at least six briefings on foreign involvement by the National Security Unit in the past five years However, Telford refused to provide the time and content of the details, citing confidentiality.
She stressed, however, that Canada treats the issue of Chinese electoral involvement seriously. She also said that the tyranny’s methods of involvement are constantly evolving and broad in scope, targeting all aspects of society, especially the overseas Chinese community, universities, research institutions, local governments, and all political parties, and that this is not a new threat, but a constantly evolving threat.
