Statement of the Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Advocacy Group: Stop spreading misinformation and do not undermine the democratic participation rights of the Chinese Canadians
For Immediate Release
[August 11, 2024, Richmond, BC] In July 2024, the Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Advocacy Group (SAAHCAG) submitted a feedback report to the Foreign Interference Commission established by the federal government on the first phase of its public hearings, calling on the Commission and relevant agencies to screen out misinformation and disinformation, and undertake fact-based investigations into foreign interference to ensure that Canada can effectively identify the real foreign interference in our elections that undermines our democratic system, so as to take effective preventive and response measures.
As victims of misinformation and disinformation, the SAAHCAG and its members, Dr. Wang Li and Mr. Ivan Park also submitted reports respectively based on their real experiences to the Foreign Interference Committee, responding to rumors that accused them of being controlled by the CCP, clarifying the facts, and emphasizing that “we, Canadians, must be alert to the dangers and harms of misinformation and disinformation, which can distort public perception and undermine trust in our democratic processes.” The anti-immigration riots in the U.K. this week are the latest living example.
However, it is shocking and regrettable that after we have done our duty as citizens to report the truths to the federal government, the “Chinese Canadian Concern Group on the Chinese Communist Party’s Human Rights Violations” ignores the facts and continues to spread misinformation. It also made slanderous remarks about community volunteer activities of Dr. Wang Li and Mr. Ivan Park and tried to suppress the enthusiasm of the Chinese community to pay attention to and participate in the upcoming provincial election by influencing the provincial and municipal governments and parties.
We hereby ask this “Concern Group” to stop fabricating and spreading these lies. These baseless and senseless lies may not only mis-lead the federal government’s investigation into foreign interference in elections and democratic systems, but will also create and exacerbate divisions in Canadian society and undermine the Chinese-Canadian community (especially immigrants from the Mainland China) to participate in Canadian democracy.
The Concerned Group’s alleged “pro-communism” is even more puzzling. As we raised in our submissions to the Commission, “Several of them (Jenny Kwan, Gabriel Yiu, and Thekla Lit etc.) have frequently accused individuals who have no contact with the government of the People’s Republic of China or have less contacts than theirs – what is the basis for judging or suspecting foreign interference?”
In view of the Concerned Group’s obsession of witch hunt, we once again reiterate: We support the federal government and relevant agencies to seriously investigate foreign interference in Canada’s elections and democratic system; we call on people from all walks of life to provide feedback of true information on this; we hope that the Foreign Interference Committee can screen out those based on translation errors, imaginations, speculations, subjective assumptions, rumors, stereotypes and other untrue and misinformation without factual basis.
The BC provincial election is coming soon. We call on Chinese Canadians to pay attention to the election, actively vote, fulfill their obligations and responsibilities as Canadian citizens, promote the harmony of Canadian society and reduce racial discrimination by participating in Canada’s democratic process.
We firmly believe that Canada’s Charter of Rights should not be shaken. Just like Mr. Liu Xiaobo’s expectations for China, we hope that Canada “is a land of free expression, where every citizen’s speech will be treated equally and respectfully; where different people, different values, different thoughts, different beliefs, different political opinions… both compete with each other and coexist peacefully; here, the opinions of the majority and the opinions of the minority will be equally protected, especially those political opinions that are different from those in power will be fully respected and protected; here, all political opinions will be exposed to the public’s choice, and every citizen can express political opinions without fear, and will never suffer political persecution for expressing different political opinions.”
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Contacts:
Mr. Ivan Park and Dr. Ally Wang
(Chinese version follows)
反对仇恨亚裔犯罪关注组声明:
停止散布不实信息,不要阻碍加拿大华裔社区民主参与权
立即发布
【2024年8月11日,列治文】2024年7月,反对仇恨亚裔犯罪关注组(SAAHCAG)向加拿大联邦政府成立的外国干涉委员会(Foreign Interference Commission)提交了针对第一轮公听会的反馈报告,呼吁委员会及相关机构甄别不实信息和虚假信息,从事实出发对外国干涉行为进行调查,以保证加拿大能够发现真正的外国干涉选举和破坏民主制度的行为,从而采取行之有效的防范和应对措施。
作为不实信息和虚假信息的受害者,SAAHCAG成员王立博士及白巍先生也向外国干涉委员会提交了基于个人真实经历的报告,回应那些指控他们受中共操控等谣言,澄清事实,并呼吁“我们必须警惕错误信息和虚假信息的危险和危害,因为它们会扭曲公众认知,破坏对我们民主过程的信任。”本周发生在英国反移民暴动,就是一个最新的、活生生的例证。
然而,令人震惊和遗憾的是,在我们尽公民义务向联邦政府反映真实情况之后,“加拿大华人关注中共违反人权小组”罔顾事实,仍然在继续散布虚假信息,对反对仇恨亚裔犯罪关注组及王立博士和白巍先生的社区公益活动发表污蔑言论,并试图通过影政府及政党来打压华裔社区关注、参与省选的热情。
在此,我们希望该组织停止这些谎言编造和散布。这些幼稚、疯狂的谎言不仅可能会将联邦政府调查外国干涉选举和民主制度的调查引入歧途,更会制造和加剧加拿大社会分裂、破坏加拿大华裔社区(特别是来自中国大陆的华裔移民)参与加拿大民主制度的安全感和积极性。
关于该组织所指控的“亲共”,则更令人费解。正如我们在报告中所提出的疑问,“他们(关慧贞、姚永安、列国远等)中的几位,频繁地对一些与中华人民共和国政府没有接触,或接触远不及他们自己频繁的人士进行‘外国干涉’的指控。这更加令人困惑——判断或怀疑外国干涉的依据是什么?”
鉴于该组织对“猎巫”的执迷不悟,我们再次重申:我们支持联邦政府及相关机构认真调查外国干涉加拿大选举及民主制度;呼吁社会各界民众就此反馈真实信息;希望外国干涉委员会在调查中能甄别那些基于翻译错误、想象、猜测、主观臆断、谣言、刻板印象等毫无事实根据的不实信息和虚假信息。
BC省的省选在即。我们呼吁华裔加拿大人关注选举,积极投票,履行作为加拿大公民的义务和责任,通过参与加拿大的民主建设而推动加拿大社会的和谐,减少种族歧视行为。
我们坚信加拿大的人权宪章不应被撼动,如同刘晓波先生对中国的期许,我们希望加拿大“是一片可以自由表达的土地,在这里,每一位国民的发言都会得到同等的善待;在这里,不同的价值、思想、信仰、政见……既相互竞争又和平共处;在这里,多数的意见和少数的意见都会得到平等的保障,特别是那些不同于当权者的政见将得到充分的尊重和保护;在这里,所有的政见都将摊在阳光下接受民众的选择,每个国民都能毫无恐惧地发表政见,决不会因发表不同政见而遭受政治迫害。”
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联系人:
白巍、王立博士