Woman ordered deported over Chinese foreign interference
foreign interference program.The Immigration and Refugee Board ruled that Jing Zhang had worked for the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO), which it said conducts espionage in Canada.While immigration officials did not argue that Zhang committed espionage, the Refugee Board found that as an 11-year OCAO employee, she had contributed to its efforts to pressure the Chinese diaspora.According to the 32-page decision, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) uses the OCAO to silence dissent overseas.The organization “was and remains involved in espionage against the PRC‘s targeted individuals and groups in Canada,” the IRB added.“The OCAO conducting espionage, surveillance or covert monitoring of Chinese and ethnic Chinese dissidents or minorities in Canada is against Canada, and contrary to its security interests.”The decision to deport Zhang for security reasons was handed down on Aug.
28 but only recently released publicly.The Vancouver lawyer who represented Zhang could not be reached for comment.The Canada Border Services Agency did not respond by deadline when asked whether Zhang had been deported since the ruling was issued six months ago.An inquiry was scheduled to begin in Ottawa on Monday into foreign interference in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 federal elections.The commission was sparked by allegations of widespread meddling by China, but also has a mandate to examine the actions of Russia and “other foreign states or non-state actors.”But elections are only part of a broader national security threat: the bullying of Canadians by overseas governments, particularly China.Activists targeted by Beijing have faced harassment, intimidation and extortion, and their extended families in China have been threatened.The OCAO is
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