Bill Yee, co-chair of the Chinese Community Advisory Council of British Columbia, was interviewed by a local radio station and called the Canadian Parliament’s claim of genocide in Xinjiang a lie. Some representatives of the Chinese and Uighur communities in Canada called on the BC government to remove the name of this person who does not share Canadian values. The BC government, on the other hand, stressed that it supports the federal government’s position on China.
In 2018, the BC government established the Chinese Community Advisory Council and hired him as its co-chair.
In a recent interview with a Canadian Chinese radio station, Yu mentioned the issue of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang. He said the Canadian parliament’s accusation that the Chinese government is committing genocide in Xinjiang has no legal basis and is a fabrication and a lie: “Many politicians here basically don’t even know where Xinjiang is, and the so-called genocide is simply not true. . China is taking care of them and doing a good job.”
On Feb. 22 of this year, the Canadian House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill that China was committing genocide against the Uighurs by 266 votes. It included a number of ruling Liberal MPs who also voted in favor, with no one voting against it. However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his cabinet were absent from the vote.
Yu Hongrong claimed that the MPs’ decision was not based on facts, but was motivated by ulterior motives.
Yu Hongrong’s statement caused a big backlash from the Chinese and Uyghur communities in Canada. Turnisa Matsedik-Qira, a representative of the Uighur community in Vancouver, tweeted that BC Premier John Horgan must remove this person from the advisory council. She said she is a survivor of the Xinjiang genocide, and to be called a “liar” by a provincial advisor is simply another form of abuse.
A group of Chinese Canadians sent an open letter to the Premier asking him to remove Yu from his position, saying how can someone with such unjust and human rights values be one of the Premier’s advisors? Other ethnic groups will mistakenly believe that this is the majority consensus of the Chinese community and damage the reputation of the Chinese community.
One of the initiators of the joint letter is the president of the B.C. Historic Preservation Society, Leslie Kok Yuen. She said, Yu Hong Rong is a judge, but even the rule of law procedures do not understand, Parliament found that Xinjiang Uyghur genocide is after a rigorous process, after many public hearings, invited dozens of experts, witnesses, analysis of international studies, and finally written into a detailed report and then voted on. How can you call it a fabrication? “Not a single person in Congress voted against the bill. Wouldn’t that be a disgrace to all members of Congress? It also insults the intelligence of us Canadians who elect our MPs!”
In 1993, he claimed that the June 4 massacre at Tiananmen Square was “just one of the views” and questioned the “ulterior motives” of pro-democracy activists in Vancouver for mourning the June 4 massacre; he also wrote a letter to the University of British Columbia opposing the installation of a statue of the Goddess of Democracy on campus. He also wrote a letter to the University of British Columbia, opposing the installation of the Goddess of Democracy statue on campus.
Yu Hong Rong did not respond to press inquiries. The BC government’s statement said that Yu “only expressed his personal views in the radio interview. The advisory committee’s role is to advise the province on community issues, not foreign affairs. …… Mr. Yu has been asked not to use his status as a member of the advisory council when expressing his personal views.” The statement also emphasized that the province supports Ottawa’s position on the Xinjiang issue.
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