In August this year Agnes Chow crossed into mainland China filled with fear. The young activist was in the company of five national security police, taking her from her home in Hong Kong, on what she says was a “propaganda tour” organised by authorities in return for her being allowed to study overseas. Police had told her the tour was mandatory if she wanted them to return her passport, which they’d confiscated years earlier as part of her bail conditions. Chow is a key figure in Hong Kong’s most significant…
Tag: Canada
U.S. Moves to Crack Down on Money Behind Fentanyl Trade
The Biden administration said on Monday that it was creating a “counter-fentanyl strike force” within the Treasury Department to combat trafficking of the drug into the United States by more aggressively scrutinizing the finances of suspected narcotics dealers. The Treasury’s office of terrorism and financial intelligence and the criminal investigation unit of the Internal Revenue Service will lead the new team. It will attempt to find and disrupt money laundering associated with fentanyl trafficking and to more effectively crack down on sanctions violations. Officials from Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network…
Canada-China detention feud reopened after claims of ‘unwitting’ espionage
A simmering diplomatic feud prompted by China’s detention of two Canadian citizens has been reopened after one of the men claimed he was arrested for unknowingly passing on intelligence to Canada and its allies. The Globe and Mail reported Michael Spavor is seeking a multi-million dollar settlement from Canada’s federal government, alleging he “unwittingly” provided intelligence on North Korea to fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig, who then shared that information with Canada and Five Eyes allies. The two men were arrested in 2018 shortly after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was detained…
Canada tells of China-linked ‘spamouflage’ blitz on MPs’ social media
The Canadian government has said it has detected a China-linked campaign that involved bots posting disinformation and propaganda as comments on the social media feeds of members of parliament, including the prime minister, Justin Trudeau. The “spamouflage” campaign, using networks of new and hijacked social media accounts to post bulk messages, took place in August and September, and targeted dozens of lawmakers from across the political spectrum, Canada’s foreign ministry announced. The messages included accusations against the lawmakers of criminal and ethical violations, a claim that the Hawaii wildfires were…
Canada accuses China fighter jets of ‘reckless’ interception of military plane
Canada’s defence minister has accused China fighter jets of carrying out a “dangerous and reckless” interception of a Canadian military plane over international waters. Bill Blair spoke after Canada’s Global News said a Chinese jet had come within five meters (16ft) of a Canadian surveillance plane taking part in a UN operation to enforce sanctions against North Korea. The incident took place in international waters off the coast of China, said Global, which had a crew on the plane. Blair said that while the Chinese air force regularly interacted with…
China Tiananmen critic stuck in Taiwan transit lounge granted asylum in Canada
A Chinese dissident who was stuck inside a Taiwanese airport transit area after he refused to fly on to China says he has arrived in Canada after being granted asylum. Chen Siming arrived in Taipei on 22 September, after travelling through Thailand and Laos. When he landed at Taipei’s international airport he refused to reboard, requesting assistance to resettle in a third country. He spent almost two weeks living in the transit area and immigration office of the airport, where he said he was looked after by authorities. There was…
US announces actions against 14 foreign companies for importing fentanyl
The US has announced sanctions and indictments against 14 Chinese and Canadian firms for importing fentanyl, one of the most sweeping actions yet to target trafficking of the powerful synthetic opiate. Officials from the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies announced the actions on Tuesday. The indictments and sanctions target what officials described as a “major China-based syndicate” that sold fentanyl to drug dealers and international cartels, the Associated Press reported. The majority of those indicted are based in China but some are based…
China Is Suffering a Brain Drain. The U.S. Isn’t Exploiting It.
They went to the best universities in China and in the West. They lived middle-class lives in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen and worked for technology companies at the center of China’s tech rivalry with the United States. Now they are living and working in North America, Europe, Japan, Australia — and just about any developed country. Chinese — from young people to entrepreneurs — are voting with their feet to escape political oppression, bleak economic prospects and often grueling work cultures. Increasingly, the exodus includes tech professionals and other well-educated…
Biden Is Caught Between Allies as Canada Accuses India of Assassination
A day after promising to “defend democracy,” President Biden brought up India and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday during a round of meetings at the United Nations — not to raise concerns about repression by either, but to hail them for helping establish a new economic corridor. “I think it’s a big deal,” he said. Perhaps no two countries reflect the difficult and delicate trade-offs in Mr. Biden’s foreign policy at the moment more than India and Saudi Arabia. He has made it a priority to court both nations as part…
US behind more than a third of global oil and gas expansion plans, report finds
The US accounts for more than a third of the expansion of global oil and gas production planned by mid-century, despite its claims of climate leadership, research has found. Canada and Russia have the next biggest expansion plans, calculated based on how much carbon dioxide is likely to be produced from new developments, followed by Iran, China and Brazil. The United Arab Emirates, which is to host the annual UN climate summit this year, Cop28 in Dubai in November, is seventh on the list. The data, in a report from…