The National Security Team of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is actively investigating two Chinese “police stations” led by a Brossard municipal councillor.
The police force confirmed this to our intelligence office about these two centers which have worried many visitors (See other text below)
This is the first time such organizations have been identified in Quebec.
The Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal in Montreal and the South Shore’s Sino-Quebec Center in Brochard are under the magnifying glass of investigators from the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Team (INSET).
Well established in the Chinese diaspora, both the service and the reception centers for immigrants are managed by Xixi Li, Municipal Councilor of Brossard City.
Photo by Pierre-Paul Poulin
The second “position” under investigation is located in a small shopping center in Brossard.
RCMP are asking for the public’s assistance in furthering their investigation.
“The Chinese community in Quebec needs to work with us. We must break the wall of silence,” said spokesman Charles Poirier.
Appeal to the public
Cixi Li
Municipal elected official
“We know very well that some people are under pressure and fear for themselves or their families. We want to reach out to them. Detect and only [poser des actes de] Disruptive, but if we can take repressive measures, we will do that,” Sergeant Poirier said.
The issue of Chinese “police stations” has been in the headlines in the country for months. The Spanish civil rights organization Safeguard Defenders revealed last fall that the phenomenon exists on a global scale, including five posts in Canada.
RCMP later launched an investigation into three stations allegedly in the Toronto area and one in Vancouver.
Counsel denies everything
These companies are suspected of conducting “law enforcement activities” on Canadian soil.
Yesterday afternoon contacted Mr.me Li said the two centers have no ties to China’s ruling Communist Party.
“We have never been a police station. Who invented this story? […] We work for the benefit of the Chinese community and to help people in adverse situations,” he said.
“Very close connection” with the Communist Party
Sarah Maude Lefebvre, Investigation Office
Chinese “police stations” in Quebec have been a cause for concern for some time.
The Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal and the Sino-Québec Center of South Shore are both listed as service centers for overseas Chinese.
In a report published in December, the Spanish NGO Safeguard Defenders already feared that this type of service center had been converted or turned into a Chinese “police station”.
“All the evidence shows that they are very closely associated with the United Front Labor Department [du Parti communiste chinois] Spokeswoman Laura Harth wrote to us via email.
Partner with China
These concerns are shared in Quebec, especially as the Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal shows on its website that it has a “partner” with the Chinese government.
“This raises concerns: Is the organization focused on the well-being of Canadians or is it sending information abroad?” asks Benjamin Fung, co-spokesperson for Action Free Hong Kong Montreal and a professor at McGill University.
“Is it OK to have a foreign government as a partner in a very well-known and well-established organization that collects data in Quebec? Does it cause concern for the government?” he asks.
“In general, whenever a center, non-profit organization or friendly group has contact with the Communist Party or the People’s Republic of China, they are actors in the pay of the Communist Party. They do not act independently. It’s not,” insists Kayum Masimov of the Uyghur Right Advocacy Project Group.
Concerns
A number of experts also raised concerns on the issue of foreign interference contacted by our intelligence bureau.
“In Canada there’s no such risk as accessing foreign government services. But with the Chinese government, it’s something that could be used for nefarious reasons to get data. […] Or it becomes a pressure point [sur des citoyens] “explains Arthur Wilczynski, a former senior official in national security, particularly at the Communications Security Center.
► The RCMP has set up a hotline dedicated to this investigation to gather as much information as possible from the public: (514) 939-8301.
► Do you have information on topics affecting national security? Contact our journalist confidentially [email protected].
