My Take | How anti-China witch-hunts in Canada and the UK ruin lives
Security services such as London’s MI5 and Ottawa’s RCMP appear to be going after individuals and organisations out of pure antagonism and distrust against Beijing rather than having actual evidence
The sudden collapse of a British Crown case against two alleged spies for China sounds like a story straight out of the current dark comedy series Slow Horses, about incompetent spooks from MI5, the country’s domestic intelligence service.
Meanwhile, a senator of Chinese heritage is demanding an apology from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Canadian equivalent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and restitution for two community groups in Montreal that were absurdly accused of operating “Chinese police stations”, those mythical entities that Chinese security agents and their moles supposedly operate across Canada.
Both cases in the UK and Canada have many similarities. The security services in both countries pushed for them with flimsy evidence and went public with their allegations, effectively imputing guilt in the mind of the public. And anti-China politicians in both countries jumped on the bandwagon, thereby helping to build up momentum before anyone could or dare to challenge the basis of their charges or allegations.
Last month, Canadian news media reported that the RCMP had shut down a probe into the Service à la Famille Chinoise du Grand Montréal, and the Centre Sino-Québec de la Rive-Sud. No charges would be laid.
In an official statement to the news station CTV, the RCMP confirmed: “We have closed the foreign interference investigation into alleged illicit activities reported in connection with Chinese diaspora service centres in the Montreal area. Due to ongoing legal proceedings, we are unable to comment in greater detail.”
The “ongoing proceedings” refer to a lawsuit filed by the two ethnic community groups and Brossard city councillor Xixi Li, who is associated with both groups, against the RCMP and the mayor of Brossard for defamation and seeking more than C$4.9 million (HK$27.3 million) in damages.