Canada‘s visa office in Beijing is 86% staffed by a company affiliated with the Beijing Public Security Bureau, and Canadian MPs question its security.
The Canadian federal government recently disclosed that the Canada Visa Application Center in Beijing is operated and run by Beijing Shuangxiong Foreign Service Co., a company affiliated with the Beijing Public Security Bureau, and that 86% of the staff at the Visa Center is directly employed by the company. Opposition MPs questioned the Prime Minister on this issue and expressed concern.
Federal NDP MP Huizhen Guan asked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a regular parliamentary video session on March 10: “I have a document that shows that the Chinese Communist Party is at the heart of Canada’s visa application center in China. The subcontractor doing the work is a company owned by the Beijing Public Security Bureau, and according to Chinese (CCP) regulations, the company’s chairman is the same person as the party secretary, and the general manager is the deputy secretary. They must carry out the will of the party in the performance of their duties and take an oath never to defect from the party.
“If the Prime Minister believes that a Chinese state-run company should not provide X-ray scanning equipment for embassies, then why should we trust the Chinese Communist Party to run and manage Canada’s visa application centers in China?”
Trudeau replied, “What I can confirm is that all 3rd party contractors have complied with the agreement, and officials have regularly reviewed and monitored in accordance with Canadian standards for protecting privacy, most recently last December. Some countries are also using local subcontractors, including the Five Eyes Alliance, and we will continue to work to ensure the security and inclusion of the Visa Centre.”
Canadian federal New Democratic Party Member of Parliament, Michelle Kwan, in a March 10 question-and-answer session with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on “Questioning Canada’s Visa Application Centre in Beijing” during a regular parliamentary video session. (This video was provided by Michelle Kwan’s office)
Guan Huizhen’s reference to “if the Prime Minister believes that a Chinese state-owned company should not provide X-ray scanning equipment to embassies” refers to the fact that the Chinese Communist government-owned company, Tongfang Nuctech, won five major contracts on July 15, 2020, for the procurement of Canada’s Global Affairs X-ray scanning equipment and software, including delivery, installation, operator training and software for 170 Canadian embassies worldwide. and software to provide security equipment to 170 Canadian embassies, consulates and senior employment agencies worldwide, for a total estimated contract value of $6.8 million.
China’s Tsinghua Tongfang Nuctech Corporation, which is owned by the Chinese Communist government and was chaired by Hu Haifeng, son of former Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao, has been awarded contracts for facilities at airports and key border security agencies in many countries around the world.
After the National Post reported in mid-July that Tongfang Nuctech had won a Canadian government tender for security equipment and the concerns expressed by connoisseurs, Canadian Global Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said his office was investigating the matter.
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