'I will not bend': MP Jenny Kwan says she won't allow China to erase history
The briefing with Canada's spy agency, warning Jenny Kwan that she is a target of foreign interference by China, took roughly an hour.
It took less than a second, she says, for her to decide that she wouldn't let Beijing weaken her resolve.
The Hong Kong-born member of Parliament has been outspoken against human-rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party and often advocates for the country's Uyghur Muslim minority.
Kwan said in an interview with The Canadian Press that that's what made her an "evergreen" target of the Chinese government, which has had its eye on her since before the 2019 federal election.
She said she received a briefing from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service last week. She was not able to divulge the details of the intelligence they shared due to security laws.
But she did not notice the interference when it was happening, she said.
"My takeaway from that briefing is this: No matter what foreign interference is being done to me, I will not relent on the work that I'm doing," said Kwan, who is a New Democrat.
She said she was left with a sense that the fight for human rights is more important than ever, especially as the 34th anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown approaches on Monday.
"It's not something that I had when I was in Hong Kong. My parents did not enjoy it. My grandparents did not enjoy it," said Kwan, adding that she is adamant she won't be silenced or intimidated.
The 1989 crackdown in Beijing saw tanks roll into the city and hundreds, if not thousands, of pro-democracy student protesters killed.
Mabel Tung, chairwoman of the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement, said many people in Hong Kong will be marking the day in private.
That's because the city's freedoms have shrunk since Beijing imposed a tough national security law following massive pro-democracy protests in 2019. Since then, Tiananmen-related statues have been removed from universities and books about the event have been pulled off shelves.
"There is an active approach to erase this history," said Kwan, who emigrated from Hong Kong when she was nine.
She participated in a pro-democracy march with Tung last weekend in Vancouver to remember the protestors killed in the massacre. Many Hong Kong diaspora members wore masks so their family members back home were not punished.
"We encourage people to wear masks, wear sunglasses and wear a hat so that their faces will not be identified. They're really scared that they can be recognized," Tung said.
"People don't want to be put in jail for anything that is not a crime."
Kwan said she marched for the parents who cannot light a candle outside their homes to publicly honour their dead children because it would be deemed a violation.
"I hope those of us outside of Hong Kong and China would find the courage to speak up and let the people of Hong Kong we stand with them and that our voice is an extension of their voice," Kwan said.
She acknowledged that there's a risk to continuing to speak out while she is being targeted by Beijing.
"People might distance themselves from me or they're worried what implications this has and how it could affect them," Kwan said.
"Those are definitely real concerns, but I cannot allow for anything to deter me from doing this work. If I'm afraid to speak up, what does that mean for everyday people?"
Tung said the many ethnic Chinese people in Vancouver are happy that Kwan is defending their freedoms.
"We know we're not alone.This person is with us to walk this road together," Tung said. Still, she admitted that she worries about Kwan's safety.
But the MP is unshakeable in her belief: "I will not bend. Too much is at stake."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2023.
IN DEPTH
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney dies at 84
Former Canadian prime minister and Conservative stalwart Brian Mulroney has died at age 84. Over his impressive career, the passionate and ambitious politician, businessman, husband, father, and grandfather left an unmistakable mark on the country.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
The first public hearings on foreign interference in Canada have begun. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions got underway this week. Heading into this process, here's what you need to know.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
opinion Don Martin: Pierre Poilievre's road to apparent victory will soon start to get rougher
Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives appear to be on cruise control to a rendezvous with the leader's prime ministerial ambition, but in his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin questions whether the Conservative leader may be peaking too soon.
opinion Don Martin: The Trudeau lessons from Brian Mulroney's legacy start with walking away
Justin Trudeau should pay very close attention to the legacy treatment afforded former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who died on Thursday at age 84, writes columnist Don Martin.
opinion Don Martin: ArriveCan debacle may be even worse than we know from auditor's report
It's been 22 years since a former auditor general blasted the Chretien government after it 'broke just about every rule in the book' in handing out private sector contracts in the sponsorship scandal. In his column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says the book has been broken anew with everything that went on behind the scenes of the 'dreaded' ArriveCan app.
opinion Don Martin: Despite his horrible year, Trudeau's determined to roll the dice again
In his column for CTVNews.ca, political commentator Don Martin says you can't help but admire Justin Trudeau's defiance and audacity of hope despite his 'horrible' 2023, as it appears Trudeau is insisting on leading the Liberals into the next federal election.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
WATCH LIVE As former prime minister Mulroney lies in state, public tributes in Ottawa begin
Members of the public who wish to pay tribute to Brian Mulroney can visit his casket in Ottawa starting this afternoon.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Images taken deep inside melted Fukushima reactor show damage, but leave many questions unanswered
Images taken by miniature drones from deep inside a badly damaged reactor at the Fukushima nuclear plant show displaced control equipment and misshapen materials but leave many questions unanswered, underscoring the daunting task of decommissioning the plant.
DEVELOPING Canada's annual inflation rate ticked down to 2.8 per cent in February, defying expectations
Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate edged down to 2.8 per cent in February.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.