United Front Groups in Canada Help Beijing Store Security Supplies for Coronaviruses – National

In late January, sources in manufacturing and the military warned Western governments that China appeared to be secretly seizing the global supply of PPE, said OToole and Guajardo.

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But Canada’s leaders have failed to act, according to OToole.

A source told me in January that it had become well known to the military and emergency services that China was stocking masks and buying essentially as many quantities as it could, he said in an interview with Global News. And we know,… that senior officials, in late January and early February, are also aware at Public Works Canada regarding the PPE race. “

A survey by Global News examines the disturbing methods and the clandestine actors used by Beijing to quietly calm the world supply of PPE in a state-level operation.

China used diplomatic channels, state-owned enterprises and community associations of the Chinese diaspora thought to be more and more under the affecting of powerful Chinese President Xi Jinpings United Front Work Department (UFWD).

And through underground networks of the United Front, short of Chinese consulates in cities from Vancouver to Toronto to New York to Melbourne to Tokyo, the Communist Party has urged millions of overseas Chinese to buy bulk N95 masks to return lots of rare supplies to the motherland.

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As disturbing as the Chinese methods are, the operation seems even worse under a magnifying glass because some organizations apparently involved in United Fronts efforts in Canada include members who have has already been the subject of surveillance or an investigation by the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), RCMP and CSIS sources.

Under the radar

China’s PPE import operation has been described by its state media as a belligerent effort. And it was a spectacular success.

China increased mask production and imposed export restrictions on foreign companies based in China, such as the Canadian mask maker Medicom and the United States, according to a report from the US Congress published in April from January 24 to February 29. American manufacturer of 3M masks.

At the same time, China imported 2.02 billion safety masks, according to the March 2020 customs records in Beijing.

To ensure sufficient national supplies to counter COVID-19 (Beijing-led) regional offices in China and abroad to work with industry associations in the PRC to prioritize securing supplies from global sources , indicates the report.

The global call for masks was posted on the UFWD websites and sent to the Chinese consulates where United Front officials are integrated.

The requests took place around January 14 and 15, when Chinese authorities received confidential instructions from Xi, and all regions were warned to prepare for and respond to a pandemic, according to a leak. cited documents in an Associated Press investigation. Hospital staff were ordered to wear protective equipment.

Guajardo, a former Mexican ambassador to Beijing, told Global News that on January 23, when China locked Wuhan, he admitted that Beijing was involved in significant imports of PPE.

Guajardo, who now works in a consulting firm in Washington, D.C., said that in mid-January he was contacted by a source in the Mexican supply chain logistics.

They said, you know something funny, I’m overwhelmed with orders to send all the N95 I can find in China.

He said he had done some checking in the U.S. and found that PPE inventory was disappearing from retail stores via radar methods.

I thought to myself, “Oh my God, they’re buying all the N95 supplies in the world,” Guajardo told Global News.

He was so convinced that he sent a bad omen Tweeter January 27, anticipating an imminent shortage of PPE in North America.

As sure as the day follows the night, a shortage of something in China will soon be reflected closer to home. No surgical masks in Washington, DC. I guess people buy them in bulk to send / sell in China. pic.twitter.com/ctUGfj3Sh4

– Jorge Guajardo (@jorge_guajardo) January 28, 2020

In March, the masks sold to China in January and February were sold in Mexico at 20 to 30 times the price, according to Guajardo.

And the Washington Post and CNN reported in April that PPE sometimes costs more than 1,000% of the prices observed in early January.

This pandemic was complicated by the concealment of China at the start, said Guajardo. And now it’s even more complicated when China leaves the world naked without PPE supply.

“They started the pandemic and now they are benefiting from it.

Guajardo added that, from his experience with China, the masks sold today will not only be at exorbitant prices and with potential quality defects, but with longer-term political demands.

US Congress report released in April concludes similarly: Chinese government could selectively release certain medical supplies for delivery abroad, the designated countries being selected according to political calculations.

In an interview, OToole, the Conservative MP, said that in Canada, he heard the same warnings from PPE from his sources in January that Guajardo received from sources in Mexico and the United States.

OToole said it knew full well that Canadian officials in January had been warned that China was building PPE. But instead of responding to the threat, the Government of Canada has shipped 16 tonnes of PPE to China.

OToole says it believes that the methods used by Beijing to secure PPE and Canada’s response should be studied in a large national survey when the health risks of coronaviruses finally decline.

The Chinese Communist Party has voluntarily withheld information about an epidemic for at least weeks, if not months, said OToole. Not only has it given the world less time to respond, but it has minimized the potential severity of the threat. Countries have not made decisions regarding theft bans and (protection) of PPE stores.

Asked by Global News in response to OTooles’ assertion, a Public Health Canada spokesperson said that in January officials began monitoring the coronavirus in China and began working with Public Services and Procurement Canada to obtain the necessary supplies to respond to a possible outbreak in Canada. .

Public Health Canada internal emails indicate that on January 31, Minister Patty Hajdu approved a donation of PPE to China from Canada’s emergency stock, including “things that will expire (in February and March)” . The department believed the donation would not jeopardize Canada’s PPE supply, the emails say.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged last week that two Canadian planes sent to buy PPE in China have now returned empty.

Trudeau cited congestion at Chinese airports and restrictions that only allow airplanes to wait for cargo for short periods. But China has called Trudeau’s statement false.

After the story was published, Global News asked Trudeau if he knew in January that China was engaged in a global operation to obtain PPE, and if his government was aware, why no action had been taken to protect Canada’s supply.

On January 2, our chief public health officer assembled a group of provincial public health officials to report the presence of a new virus in China, “said Trudeau on Thursday. “Our intelligence services were monitoring and aware of the problems and we received regular updates throughout the month of January. Further, I have nothing to add.

The Chinese consulates and community associations cited in this story have not yet answered questions from Global News.

Every overseas Chinese is a warrior

Examination of official state media reports such as Xinhua, as well as UFWD web pages in China and reports from Chinese-Canadian community groups associated, record massive PPE shipments of at least 100 tonnes from Canada to China in January and February.

The efforts were organized through consulates in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. In Vancouver and Toronto, professional associations officially linked to the UFWD appear to have led the global campaign for N95 masks, also securing and shipping PPE from other countries to China.

February 2 report Xinhua documents one facet of the global operation involving millions of migrants from the southern region of China’s Fujian. The subtitled report “Every Overseas Chinese is a Warrior” is full of militaristic descriptions that sound like propaganda.

The threatening epidemic came suddenly. But the majestic force comes from front-line medical personnel, party members and executives, the people, Chinese from Fujian and overseas Chinese, according to the Xinhua report. Fujians from dozens of countries on five continents joined this invisible battle that they fought day and night and ran against the clock to send back lots of rare supplies for the homeland.

The report focuses on the Toronto Fuqing Chamber of Commerce. It is one of the groups that participated in an anti-Hong Kong democracy-related rally linked to the United Front in Markham, Ontario, in the summer of 2019.

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According to the Xinhua report, the president of the Fuqing Chamber visited China in January before China’s Spring Festival.

But after finding supplies were scarce, he boarded a flight to Toronto to help with the purchase (of masks), the report said.

The report makes no mention of the potential risks of COVID-19 presented by the president of the Fuqing Chamber of China flying in Toronto at the time of the Spring Festival, when the government of China would have issued internal warnings this danger of pandemic spread was high. However, there is nothing to indicate that the President of the Fuqing Chamber knew of the risks of a travel pandemic at the time, since Canada and the World Health Organization did not advise against travel from China to Canada.

According to the Xinhua report that Global News could not independently verify after the president of the chamber landed in Toronto in -25 ° C, he immediately got into a vehicle and went to the headquarters of the chamber in Fuqing and ordered: Purchase (PPE) in the scores. Act now!

Nearly a hundred overseas Chinese immediately went to the chamber of commerce, according to the Xinhua report.

The following days, 200 Fuqing chamber members traveled across Ontario to purchase medical supplies, the report said, while in China, an official worked with the United Front Work Department of Fujian and customs officials. Fujian and various Chinese airlines to receive medical supplies from Canada.

The president of the Fuqing Chamber could not be reached for comment.

Reports of significant PPE shipments from Toronto are supported by reports from the Toronto office of Hainan Airlines (HNA).

Reports indicate that on January 25, the HNA responded to the state’s appeal and transferred PPE charges to China which were donated by foreign ministries, charities, social organizations and Chinese d ‘overseas. By mid-February, HNA had delivered 56 tonnes of PPE from Toronto to China, reports say.

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Meanwhile, on January 26, the Chinese Consulate General in Montreal put together an emergency team in the event of an epidemic to obtain PPE for China and contacted more than 10 Canadian government officials at three levels. .

Through companies and groups of students and Chinese overseas, the Montreal consulate has helped dozens of groups transport more than 30 tonnes of masks and protective clothing to various cities in China, according to Chinese state reports.

And on January 23 in Vancouver, Yongtao Chen, a real estate developer and president of the Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations (CACA), was alerted by the Chinese consulate to the desperate need for PPE in Wuhan, according to Chinese state reports. .

CACA is a United Front level control group in Canada, according to Chen Yonglin, a former Chinese diplomat who defected to Australia.

And he’s a member of the UFWD’s Office of Chinese Foreign Affairs, a body used by Beijing to influence the Chinese diaspora, according to the 2018 Chinese-American Economic and Security Review Commission.

CACA leaders worked with the Vancouver consulate as part of a WeChat outbreak response group to raise funds and organize the purchase of PPE in Canada and elsewhere, a Jan. 31 report from a CACA-related website said.

Through various channels, the joint meeting has recovered protective clothing, disinfectants, masks and other protective materials and is intensifying the arrangements for shipping to Wuhan, says the report.

CSIS and RCMP investigations

At least one of the groups led by Vancouver which appears to participate with CACA in Beijing PPE campaign, Chinese Federation of Guangdong Abroad, includes members who have drawn attention to Canadian national security and law enforcement investigations, said sources familiar with RCMP and CSIS files. The leaders of the federation could not be reached for comment.

A March 23 report from the Pan-Chinese Federation of Chinese People Returning Abroad described efforts to ship PPE from the Guangdong Federation, which has members in 131 countries. The report quotes the head of the Guangdong federation, Ruji Feng, president of the Canada Chao Shan Association in Vancouver, saying that local communities actively cooperate with embassies and consulates to promote and contact all Chinese overseas groups. from the community to prepare various medical supplies.

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The Fengs group also helped CACA airlift 60 boxes of PPE from Manila, the Philippines, to China, the report said.

A man who responded to the Canada Chao Shans issue in Vancouver told Global News that he was not related to the association and had not found directors to comment on this story.

A review by Global News of the Panama Papers and British Columbia offshore banking records. criminal and civil court records show that some Canada Chao Shan members which are mainly located in Vancouver, but also in southern China are connected to alleged underground financial activities.

In 2003, one of the Vancouver members, Xun Chuang, was sentenced to an 18-month conditional sentence for drug charges and a 10-year firearms ban in British Columbia. criminal record show. And according to B.C. court Supreme civil affairs filings and sources, Xun Chuang and his Canada Chao Shan officer These addresses are linked to targeted suspects in the RCMP E-Pirate investigation, the largest investigation ever into Canada into casino money laundering and underground banking.

Xun Chuang could not be located to comment on the law firm that dealt with one of his home loan cases. He was not named a suspect or charged in the E-Pirate investigation.

The suspects linked to Xun Chuang allegedly involved in mortgage and casino lending in connection with illicit drug trafficking and underground banking in Richmond, British Columbia and mainland China.

However, the money laundering and tax evasion charges in the E-Pirate investigation were stayed before the suspects were tried due to errors in the disclosure of evidence by federal prosecutors. The allegations have not been proven.

The group, Canada Chao Shan, and some associates of the group are known to CSIS officers, a source which could not be identified confirmed.

United Front ties between Australia, Canada and southern China

Similar obscure United Front networks were investigated in Australia, where the Australian government implemented export bans on PPE on March 29 after several Chinese real estate developers sent more than 82 tonnes PPE in China, according to a report from the United States Congress.

One of the United Front groups based in southern China involved was linked to organized crime allegations and suspicious casino junket activity, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

And the Guangdong and Chao Shan United Front groups active in Australia are also linked to Canadian group leaders, reports from UFWD’s Chinese meetings show. Leading Guangdong Federation United Front leader named Xiangmo Huang, who is a billionaire real estate developer and a big casino player, was kicked out of Australia in 2018 for national security reasons.

Alex Joske, a United Front expert and researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that the Pan-Chinese Federation of Chinese People Returning Abroad, of which the Guangdong Federations in Canada and Australia are members, is more and more important is part of Chinese President Xi’s United Front diaspora control strategy.

World Federation of Guangdong Communities meeting in Vancouver, hosted by the Guangdong Office of Chinese Affairs Abroad, embarrassed by 200 (10%) of participants who did not obtain a visa. Are visa refusals used to postpone UF work? h / t @OGCDN https://t.co/y2zgareQJw

– Alex Joske (@alexjoske) May 24, 2018

Joske told Global News that the Chinese Communist Party is using organized crime and United Front groups for strategic purposes abroad.

In Australia, we have seen an overlap between operations of political influence, intelligence agencies and organized crime, said Joske. For example, a gambling operator and an alleged criminal who also leads groups that report to the United Front Work Department and collect information about politicians.

Jonathan Manthorpe, a Canadian author and United Front expert, reported that Ottawa would have blocked visas for 200 officials from the Guangdong Federation seeking to visit Vancouver in 2018, for reasons of national security. However, CSIS would not confirm to Global News if it advised Ottawa to block visas.

In an interview, Manthorpe told Global News that Xi has significantly increased the resources of the United Front, which Xi calls a “magic weapon.”

“The United Works Works Department is, to put it very simply, a political warfare operation,” said Manthorpe. “It’s in all Canadian embassies and consulates.”

And United Front agents, located in Chinese consulates around the world, create and support “seemingly harmless groups, most of which are integrated into Chinese ethnic communities not only in Canada but in all the countries where they live today.” now the Chinese diaspora of around 50 million people, Manthorpe said.

Manthorpe says that a particularly troubling aspect of the massive mobilization of Chinese immigrants by the United Front for PPE collection is the “ability of the Chinese Communist Party to exercise discipline and demand patriotic loyalty.”

“It is completely unacceptable to me for Canadians to be intimidated and pressured into their own country by foreign agents,” said Manthorpe. “These are attacks on our sovereignty and attacks on our national interest. And these are attacks on our fellow citizens. We must not allow this. “

However, Chinese authorities have countered criticism that the country is monopolizing the global supply of PPE, saying that after China has overcome its internal threat of coronavirus, United Front groups, including members of the Federation of Guangdong, were now distributing PPE to other countries and abroad.

It is understood that at present, the Chinese Federation of Guangdong Abroad is also actively coordinating a group of masks and other epidemic prevention materials that will be donated to overseas Chinese groups in regions with severe epidemics in Italy, Spain, the United States, Peru and The United Kingdom hopes to alleviate the current shortage of anti-epidemic material for overseas Chinese, according to a March 23 report of the UFWD.

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While United Front actors have been on CSIS radar since 1998, Manthorpe says, networks are growing rapidly in Canada under the Xi regime.

And the current threat level has been encapsulated in aCSI 2018Reports that said: The activities of the United Front of the CCP integrate the co-opting elites, information management, persuasion, as well as access to information and strategic resources. It is also often a way to facilitate espionage.

China does not recognize that its United Front is used for espionage and the Chinese consulates in Canada did not answer questions regarding this story.

John Townsend, CSIS media chief, would not respond directly if the national security agency could investigate PEP export operations involving United Front groups in Canada, such as Canada Chao Shan.

Under our law, CSIS has a clear mandate to investigate espionage and sabotage, terrorism, foreign interference and subversion, and we will continue to use our legal powers to ensure that the Government of Canada receives information on these crucial issues, he said.