Chinese Students Studying in Canadian Universities
"We are asking for an investigation into the role of the Chinese government in these two incidents to ensure that we can freely exercise our constitutional rights."
Uyghur-Canadian Rukiye Turdush/Students for a Free Tibet
"[Beijing opposes anyone who] provides support and convenience of any kind to the Xinjiang separatists forces and Tibet-independent activities."
"We strongly support the just and patriotic actions of Chinese students."
Embassy of China, Ottawa
"It does seem to be quite problematic if the Chinese embassy feels it can direct the activities of Chinese students in Canada in ways not consistent with the norms of academic freedoms."
Charles Burton, professor, Brock University, former Canadian diplomat in Beijing
"This appears to be another case where Ottawa should step forward and make clear it will not allow [Chinese Communist Party] agents to mastermind acts of intimidation in Canada."
Jonathan Manthorpe, author, Claws of the Panda
Students from China studying in Canadian universities have become involved in controversial acts of harassment of Canadian students of Muslim Uyghur, and Tibetan backgrounds. Chinese student groups stand accused of interacting with Chinese diplomats stationed in Canada, alerting them to the presence of Canadian student activists of Uyghur and Tibetan descent who have been speaking publicly on the issues of Chinese intimidation and oppression of their ethnic groups in China.
There has been a call for the federal government to investigate the situation where Tibetan and Uyghur activists at two Ontario universities -- McMaster in Hamilton, Ontario and University of Toronto, have been threatened. Spokeswoman for the federal minister responsible for universities failed to respond to a call for Ottawa to look into whether Chinese diplomats use Chinese students to interfere in post-secondary institutions in Canada.
The concerns are there and they are real, backed up by actions directly attributable to Chinese government interference in Canadian affairs. In one instance a petition was launched by Chinese students, complete with 11,000 digital 'signatures' of Chinese students studying in Canada calling for a Tibetan-Canadian woman elected as a student union president at University of Toronto be reversed. The student involved, Chemi Lhamo, has been the recipient of a barrage of abusive messages online.
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Five Chinese student groups who admit they have been in close contact with the Chinese consulate were hugely critical of Hamilton's McMaster University for inviting a discussion by a Uyghur-Canadian woman highlighting abuses against China's Uyghur minority in Xinjiang province. A situation that has been well documented and brought up as a human rights crime within the United Nations, in China's virtual imprisonment in 're-education camps' of a million people whom China accuses of 'splitism'.
"It is important to note that any malicious interference in domestic affairs by foreign representatives to Canada would be inappropriate", stated Universities Ministry Daniele Medlej, adding that any place of learning should be free of abuse, discrimination, harassment and hate. Political and academic experts on human rights have called on the federal government to be involved in this issue of China's soft-power strategy going awry.
Pointing out that if Beijing is indeed using Chinese students to monitor activities of other university students it would represent a violation of Chinese diplomatic status and present as possible grounds for a declaration of persona non grata, which would result in their being expelled from Canada, pointed out former diplomat Charles Burton.
Labels: Academia, Canada, China, Controversy, Students, Tibetans, Uyghurs
posted by Pieface @ Friday, February 22, 2019
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