Justin Trudeau’s brother Alexandre Trudeau’s testimony to the Ottawa committee reveals a naïve view of the Chinese state, according to Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China.
• Also read: The arrogance of Alexandre Trudeau
• Also read: Alexandre Trudeau denies any Chinese government interference with a donation to the Trudeau Foundation
In his testimony on Wednesday, Alexandre Trudeau denied any attempt at Chinese interference with an announced $200,000 donation to the Trudeau Foundation by two businessmen, Niu Gensheng and Zhang Bin.
“It’s a case of naivety. […] It is quite clear that there was an attempt at influence orchestrated by the Chinese consulate [avec le don]’ the ex-ambassador said in an interview with Le Journal yesterday.
According to him, the prime minister’s brother’s testimony before the Foreign Interference and Threats Committee shows that he has missed the most important issue of this whole affair, namely a much broader Chinese attempt to exert influence in Canada.
Politicians, but also business people and scientists are affected, he says.
influence
“He hasn’t spoken much about the meeting Justin Trudeau had with Zhang Bin at Benson Wong’s house. [à Toronto en 2016]. Those present had paid $1,500 each, and Zhang Bin was there. It is clear that this is an opportunity for influence,” he explained.
“Knowing him, it is certain that he [Zhang Bin] brought this up to say look I just gave a million bucks [à l’Université de Montréal et à la Fondation Trudeau]”, he noticed.
The ex-ambassador also found Alexandre Trudeau’s claim that diplomatic staff only accompanied donors for translation to be naïve.
“It’s not unusual. […] It shows China’s interest in all of this to guide discussions related to its influence work,” he said.
While Guy St-Jacques concedes to Alexandre Trudeau that one needn’t worry too much about the terms of the donation, for example that the donation was made on paper by a Dorval company, he believes that in the whole matter there are still gray areas.
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