Police officers prevent journalists from filming video outside the courthouse in Pudong, Shanghai.
The government of British Columbia (BC) on Canada‘s west coast and the provincial Department of Adult Education recently announced a review of a China-trained police program that has been offered for seven years at the Justice Institue of British Columbia (JIBC).
The Canadian Press recently released a lengthy investigative report by journalist Graeme Wood detailing the origins of the program, questioning how it violates Canadian values and raises national security concerns.
Wood said, “I honestly don’t know why this program exists. What benefit does it bring to Canada? Especially since we know what the Chinese judiciary and police are doing.”
Just last week, David Vigneault, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), publicly stated that “the Chinese government is a strategic threat.” He warned that China is looking for ways to steal valuable Canadian technology and is trying to silence criticism of Beijing.
I was very shocked to hear about this project,” said Rob Gordon, a professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in B.C., in an interview with the Voice of America. I think the most alarming thing is that many government civil servants don’t see the potential for possible threats against national security.”
Canada Helps China Train Police
The BC Judicial College offers training programs for various types of police officers and officers, as well as programs for firefighting, ambulance, the justice system, and community health.
In a separate story, Canadian Glacier Media reporter Grim Wood noted the rapid growth in revenue from BC Justice’s international programs – from $600,000 in annual revenue in 2013 to $2.3 million in 2018 – while the number of International Students in that period has increased nearly sixfold.
He then began to investigate further and discovered that a key partner in BCJ’s international programs was the Chinese Communist Party‘s Ministry of Public Security. They had tailored the program to train cadets from the Chinese police academy.
It was during the 2013-2014 academic year that the academy hosted over 300 “Chinese officials” for short-term training. So far, nearly 2,000 Chinese police cadets have been trained.
In 2017, the BC Judicial Academy opened a campus in Chilliwack, about 100 kilometers west of Vancouver, specifically for Chinese trainees, according to Wood’s report that the program has been a success, with “tremendous interest” from the Chinese. And the program is set up for a total of 15 credits over four months.
In 2020, the program was suspended due to the outbreak of the New Crown (Chinese Communist virus).
Against Canadian Values
Canada has always promoted its own human rights and democratic ideals and has often taken a stand to criticize the CCP for its anti-democratic and human rights violations. Moreover, Canada has “two Michaels” who have been arbitrarily imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party.
Michel Tarko, director of the BC Judicial Institute, explained that the program is designed to give Chinese participants “exposure to the Canadian criminal justice system to broaden their perspective on different law enforcement systems. He also said that all the training and education around the program is designed to “promote a more just society, not just in Canada, but in the world.
When asked if he was aware of the Chinese Communist Party’s judicial system, which has a conviction rate of more than 99 percent, and its human rights violations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, Tucker said he was “not in a position to comment” because he was not.
In response, Michel Juneau-Katsuya, the former Asia-Pacific director of Canada’s Department of Intelligence and Security, told VOA that Tucker’s statement was somewhere between naive and foolish, but that the public is not stupid. The Chinese Communist Party’s judicial and police systems will not change as a result of such a program; rather, it is very likely that Canada is assisting in reforming and upgrading the Chinese police force.
Professor Gordon even says that we have no way of knowing what these trained police officers will do back in China, and what about the possibility of being sent to watch over two Macs? This is simply a humiliation for Canada.
Expert: Threat to Canadian National Security
Juno Kazua analyzed that, first of all, the trainees were handpicked by the Chinese government, meaning they passed a loyalty test. They will do what the government wants, consciously or unconsciously, and “behave well” in Canada and get more opportunities.
Wood received information that Chinese police cadets trained in Canada include those from police academies in Henan, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Chongqing and Guangxi.
The most immediate concern from the intelligence agency’s perspective, Juno-Kazuya said, is that these trainees may collect intelligence information and report on every instructor and other person they have contacted during their studies, as well as the attitudes of those people toward the CCP. During the study process, they have the opportunity to go to Vancouver and other police stations to observe and practice in the field and learn about Canadian police operations, all of which may also become weapons against Canadian justice in the future.
Secondly, they may become spies as well as infiltrate into the police force. He mentioned that no one knows how these students, who graduated from the BC Justice Academy, will use their credentials in the future. If they return to Canada by other means, do they have access to security agencies in the public or private sphere?
Experts say it’s worrisome that in the seven years the program has been in operation, no one has been alerted to the security concerns it could pose for Canada.
According to Gordon, a professor of criminology, Canadians need to change their mindset that the Chinese Communist Party is not our ally after all the human rights abuses it has committed.
I see the Chinese government as a threat, and they may come at you with a smile on their face, but be wary of what they’re doing behind the scenes,” Gordon said. Don’t think the Chinese Communist Party is your friend, they have their own agenda and their agenda is far from making Canada richer and safer.”
Government needs to be on guard
As a Pacific Coast province, B.C. trades frequently with China, and in 2016, then-B.C. Premier Christy Clark led a lavish business delegation to Guangdong province to discuss increased economic cooperation. The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding and a “One Belt, One Road” initiative for cooperation between B.C. and Guangdong Province.
According to Juno Kazua, Canada’s education system is under the jurisdiction of the provinces, and the federal government does not have clear rules on which university programs are related to national security and need to pass security vetting. It is up to the provincial governments to set up their own regulations, including procedures to protect national security in disciplines and use of equipment.
BC Judicial College President Tucker argued that the international program has not received any national security alerts or warnings from the intelligence community or the RCMP since its inception.
After the B.C. government issued a statement that it would review the program, some security experts pointed out that a mere review is not enough and that the right thing to do is to immediately cancel the program and make further investigations.
Juneau-Kazua said that if the project is really building bridges, as the president of the BC Judicial College claims, why would he keep such a low profile and remain unknown?
He said, “I would not be surprised if the investigation continues and it turns out that someone on the Canadian side was persuaded to keep this project away from public attention and scrutiny during its establishment – and that would only benefit China of that.”
Investigative journalist Grimm Wood says the program may generate millions in revenue for the school as well as the government, but is it worth it compared to Canada’s national security? Perhaps we should consider that with increased government funding for this public institution, we wouldn’t have to rely on centralized government funding.
Other collaborative projects with China that have raised national security concerns have also broken out in the Canadian media over the past period. For example, last December, the Canadian Department of National Defence announced the cancellation of a winter training program with Communist Chinese military personnel. The federal government is also currently re-examining a $6 million contract with China’s Tongfang Nuctech Technology Co. The contract is to provide X-ray scanning and security surveillance equipment to more than 170 Canadian embassies, consulates and senior offices around the world. One of the founders of the company is the son of former Chinese Communist Party President Hu Jintao.
Gordon, a professor at Simon Fraser University, described how his university has also received monetary inducements and pressure from China to fund partnerships to get Chinese students into programs involving counterterrorism, cybercrime and intelligence, but has been rebuffed by them.
As a veteran former security intelligence officer, Juno Kazua expressed anxiety about such incidents occurring.
The Canadian government needs to be held accountable for this,” he said. If you’re not willing to look, you’re not willing to listen, and you’re not willing to talk about the devil, you’re not willing to talk about the dangers that are already there, then no one, including government officials, is aware of that danger.”
Recently, Canada’s federal intelligence agencies have begun to make clear warnings that the Chinese Communist Party is using universities, research institutes and other institutions to steal information and intelligence.
Professor Gordon believes that Canadian universities and institutions need to understand that some things are more important than money. Also, there are so many courses and exchanges that universities can open up, such as art, history, sociology, etc., but there are sensitive courses that cannot be shared, such as cyber or various areas of public safety, military, biochemical technology, etc., and Canada needs to establish that concept.
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