A Strong Demand for an Apology from Global News to the Chinese Community in Canada
On 30 April, a report titled “United Front Groups in Canada Helped Beijing Stockpile Coronavirus Safety Supplies” written by a Mr. Sam Cooper was published in Global News. The report alleged that the procurement of masks in large quantity by many Canadian Chinese to be shipped back to China in support of its combat against the Coronavirus that was raging the country was a governmental action initiated by Chinese consulates all over the world. He also alleged that “Every Overseas Chinese is a Warrior!” under the leadership of the United Front Work Department of China. He even went further in an alarmist tone that China, by stockpiling and controlling the global PPE, aims at compromising the political decision making and democracy of Canada.
What a palpable lie it is! The voluntary donations by the Canadian Chinese to support the combat against the Coronavirus in their motherland was vilified as an act dictated by the Chinese government to stockpile PPE for Beijing. Every Canadian Chinese has family members, close relatives and friends living in China. Each Canadian Chinese was so gravely concerned, and heartbroken upon sad news of infections, hospitalization and deaths of relatives or friends during such a catastrophe. What could be wrong when they purchased and shipped medical supplies to save their fellow countrymen under such circumstances? Did they need to be organized by the Chinese consulates？ Such act on the part of the Canadian Chinese is nothing but humanitarian, benevolent and charitable deeds! Should similar calamities occur in England and France, wouldn’t our Anglophones and Franco-phones done the same thing? It takes such a heartless soul to give such a bad name to such good deeds!
In his report Sam Cooper named specifically CACA as a subordinate organization under United Front Work Department of China. This again is an out-and-out slander! CACA is a non-profit, non-political and non-religious society registered in BC. Since its inception in 2008, CACA’s major functions focus on social charities in addition to services to its members. Charitable campaigns and huge amount of fund raising have been conducted over the last decade for hurricane in South Asia, earthquakes in Nepal, China and Japan, cyclones in Taiwan and Vancouver, Forest fires in Alberta, flood in BC, refugees of Syria, orphans in Richmond, as well as for Burnaby General Hospital and Richmond General Hospital. Among them, $270,000 for Fire in Alberta in 2016, $140,00 for Fire in BC in 2017. During this combat against Covid-19, CACA initiated donations both in cash and in kind, to China early on, and then, when the epidemic began to raze Canada, CACA took the lead to donate funds as well as supplies to local communities. Mr. Yongtao Chen, the Chairman of CACA, contacted his friends and relatives in China to procure medical supplies and, despite the extremely difficult transportation conditions, air-freighted such procurement back to Vancouver, and donated these supplies(30,000 clinical masks, 1000 protective gowns plus cheque) to Vancouver General Hospital, Richmond General Hospital and Richmond General Hospital respectively( Attached are Letters of Appreciation and donation photos).
And there were more: those societies and association affiliated to CACA- Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations, such as: Vancouver FuQing Friendship Society and FuQing Chamber of Commerce, Canada Shandong Chinese Business Association, Hebei Business Society of Canada, Canada, United Global Chinese Women’s Association of Canada, Canada Jiangsu Overseas Federation Society, Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Alliance of Business Association of Canada, Guangzhou Fellow-Students Association of Canada, Chinese Culture Trade Association of Canada & Shanghai, Haihe Fellowship Association of Canada, Lingnan Association of Canada, Guizhou Chamber of Commerce of North America, Guizhou Canadian Fellowship Association, Sichuanese Friendship Association, United Jiangxi Business Council of Canada, Vancouver Jiangxi Fellowship Association, Canada Fujian Industry & Commerce Association, Shenzhen United Association of Vancouver, The Chinese Cultural Harmony And Unity Society of Canada, North America Zhejiang (TaiZhou) Chamber of Commerce, VCCPS-Vancouver Chinese Culture Promotion Society, Canada Wenzhou Friendship Society, etc. They all donated respectively to hospitals, senior homes and charity agencies with funds and supplies to combat Covid-19 (Attached are details of those donations).
Not bothering themselves with further investigation, totally ignoring the tremendous contributions to Canada and local communities by CACA over the decade in general and its recent donations to Greater Vancouver during the pandemic in particular, Global news and its reporter singled out our donation to China in support of its counter Covid-19 efforts, and labeled CACA as one of the subsidiary organization of United Front Work Department of China to hoard and stockpile PPE for China. One could not help asking: what are their proofs for such allegations? Even more malicious was the deliberate editing of one quotation from a Chinese document, namely, “Every overseas Chinese is a warrior against the epidemic”, into “Every overseas Chinese is a warrior”. The intentional omission of the key phrase “against the epidemic” was intended for sensationalism by altering its connotation.
The stigmatization of the humanitarian acts of the Canadian Chinese harbors an ulterior motive. It was echoing the “Conspiracy Theory” trumpeted by US President Donald Trump to finger-point China as the culprit by picturing the Canadian Chinese as a group totally manipulated by the Chinese government so as to incite discrimination and hatred sentiments against the Chinese community. Such racial discrimination phenomenon, though condemned and boycotted by the Canadian government and the mainstream public, still scrabbles for an upsurge whenever there is any chance. As a reporter of a major Canadian media, Mr. Sam Cooper forsook his objectivity, buried himself in hearsay, spiced it with his own subjective speculations and came up with a fake news report. He has thus made himself an instigator of racial discrimination against the Canadian Chinese. We challenge his objectivity, fairness, credibility and authenticity in his news reporting! We also have serious concerns about the motive of Mr. Cooper and, Global News for that matter, of writing and publishing such an article.
Though immigrating from China, we have become Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Many have received higher education in Canada. We love Canada and her democracy and equality, peace and freedom, and have deep faith in her social values. We refuse to be manipulated by any political forces. We are making our due contributions to the Canadian society in general, and to social charities. Therefore, this type of stigmatization of CACA and racist propaganda against the Canadian Chinese by an influential news media such as Global News are unacceptable. In view of the extremely negative social repercussion caused by this report，we hereby strongly demand that Global News and Mr. Cooper make a public apology. We also strongly appeal to the Canadian government to condemn unequivocally such racist fake news.
CACA
