Statement: Concerns Over SITE’s Recent Foreign Interference Allegations
We urge the Canadian government to approach investigations into foreign interference with caution, ensuring that they are free from inherent biases and stereotypes.
WeChat, as a globally recognized social media platform, is widely used by individuals from diverse backgrounds, including both Chinese and non-Chinese communities in Canada. It serves as an essential tool for communication and information exchange. Many organizations— including media outlets, businesses, universities, non-profit entities, government agencies, and elected officials—use WeChat to disseminate information in Chinese. For example, the British Columbia provincial government maintains an official account under the name “卑诗省府” (BC Government).
It is crucial to assess information on WeChat objectively. Viewing it through a prejudiced lens risks fostering systemic discrimination, causing unnecessary harm to the Chinese Canadian community, and undermining the principles of justice and fairness in Canada.
On February 7, 2025, Global Affairs Canada released a statement titled:
“Rapid Response Mechanism Canada detects information operation targeting a candidate for the leadership campaign of the Liberal Party of Canada.”
According to the statement, the Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections Task Force (SITE) identified an alleged information manipulation campaign targeting Chrystia Freeland.
The statement attributes this campaign to the PRC government, based on the claim that the source of the information was traced to a widely followed WeChat news account. This account was reportedly identified by “experts from China Digital Times” as having links to the PRC government.
Following this announcement, major Canadian media outlets— including Global News, CBC, and National Post—widely reported on the issue, sparking significant concern across Canadian society, political circles, and the Chinese Canadian community. The statement also heightened public vigilance regarding foreign interference.
However, SITE’s failure to disclose the name of the specific WeChat account in question or the actual content of the alleged manipulated information has led to broad and unjustified negative implications for Chinese-language media in Canada. In the interest of transparency and effective governance, we call on SITE to publicly release the specific WeChat account it has classified as being controlled by the PRC government, along with the relevant content in question.
Moreover, a non-authoritative entity rather than an official government agency determined that this account is linked to the PRC government. This raises concerns about Canada’s foreign interference investigations’ integrity, thoroughness, and rigor. It also presents potential challenges to the rule of law and the fundamental protections enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Foreign interference is a serious concern that requires the collective vigilance of all Canadians. As a community organization committed to protecting Canada’s national interests and advocating against discrimination toward Chinese Canadians, we strongly support Canada’s efforts to counter foreign interference from any country. However, we believe that such serious determinations should be made by authoritative Canadian institutions such as the RCMP, rather than relying on assessments from private websites and their so-called “experts.”
Furthermore, we urge Canadian regulatory agencies to recognize that misinformation and disinformation exist across all digital platforms, including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), WeChat, and Instagram. Given that all social media networks and online platforms can be exploited for foreign interference, it is imperative that Canada adopts a comprehensive regulatory approach to monitoring and mitigating the spread of misleading information, regardless of its source.
Signed,
Ivan Pak, Dr. Ally Wang
Co-founders,
Stop Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Advocacy Group
Vancouver, B.C.
February 13, 2025