Community centers suspected of serving as overseas police stations for the Chinese government are calling on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to stop making allegations against them without providing evidence and blaming someone.
• Also read: Chinese “Police Stations”: Illegal acts were actually committed
• Also read: China blasts Canadian ‘slander’ over alleged ‘meddling’
• Also read: Foreign interference: why an independent investigation?
At a press conference in Montreal’s Chinatown, several leaders of Sino-Quebec associations and a British Columbia Senator, Yuen Pau Woo, denounced the disastrous effects they said a public appearance by the RCMP in March had.
“If there’s evidence, show it, stop fooling around,” urged Walter Tom of the progressive Chinese organization in Quebec on Friday.
In a report released by our Bureau of Investigations, the RCMP said it was specifically investigating two suspected community center police stations in Brossard and Montreal.
The federal police said they were aware of the pressure that members of the Chinese community were under. It was about operations aimed at persuading nationals to return to China to face justice.
heavy effect
Funding problems, disruption to the offering of franking courses, fear of some people going to the centers, the consequences of the RCMP’s pronouncements would be numerous and would primarily affect the most vulnerable members of the community, officials said at a press conference.
Walter Tom of Progressive Chinese of Quebec insisted that the centers studied were open to all members of the Chinese community, including those with pro-Taiwanese views.
“We want this investigation to end [de la GRC]’ urged May Chiu, coordinator of the Montreal Chinatown Round Table and former candidate for the Bloc Québécois and Québec Solidaire.
Our Bureau of Investigations reported on Friday testimonies from a source in the office of Federal Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino that unlawful acts were indeed taking place in the alleged “Chinese police stations” and that these had required police intervention by the RCMP. Illegal activities have since ceased, the source said.
A version disputed by May Chiu, who said the RCMP had only questioned officials at the center since March, nothing more.
Do you have any information about this story that you would like to share with us?
Do you have a scoop that might be of interest to our readers?
Write to us or call us directly at 1-800-63SCOOP.