Chinese students in Canada say they've been targeted by Beijing's campaign of fear

Some Chinese students in Canada accuse Beijing of targeting them and their families back in Chinawithonline threats and harassment part of a campaign to crack down on anti-government dissentabroad.

Ruohui Yang is one of those students. He said he came to Canada in 2015 when he was 15 years old because his parents wanted him to study abroad.

In Canada, he said,he began learning things about his home country such as details of the 1989TiananmenSquare massacre thatchallenged the Chinese government's version of events.

"In mainland China, we have our very own way of describing this event, this massacre. We just claimed that this is not a massacre, not so much people died," Yang told CBC's The House.

"I start to realize this [protest] movement got the support of pretty much the entire nation, even officers, police, some from the army, some from the government. And everyone was talking about freedom, democracy, a new start.

"I was really shocked that for someone like me, who's raised under the dictatorship of Communist Party for pretty much my whole life, it's really hard to imagine that there was a time that was so different and so hopeful."

That hope, coupled with the example of the2019 demonstrations in Hong Kongagainst a proposed extradition bill, inspired Yang to take partin pro-Chinese democracy protests in Toronto. He also founded the Assembly of Citizens,a Canada-based pro-Chinese democracy organization.

The House24:11Chinese students share stories of intimidation from Beijing

As the public inquiry investigating foreign election interference continues its hearings, several Chinese dissidents in Canada share stories of intimidation and harassment allegedly at the behest of Beijing with CBCs Craig Desson. Then, Canadas former ambassador to China, Guy Saint-Jacques, discusses what measures Canada can take to protect the free speech and freedom of assembly rights for everyone on Canadian campuses.

'They call me a slave'

Yang said that,at first, he hid his identity when demonstrating because he fearedreprisals from China.

"I was wearing wigs, a mask, even padding my jacket just to make me look really different," he said.

He eventuallyshed the disguise and started showing his facein demonstrations. That's when the death threats began.

"I do already receive lots of threatening [messages], lots of swearing words, insults on my different social media accounts," he said.

The persecution didn't end there. He said his activism in Canada alsocaused his parents who work for the Communist Party in China to turnagainst him.

"They [were]really, really furious about my activities," he said. "They call me a traitor. They call me a slave."

Yang is one of a handful of dissidents who testified this summer before a U.S. congressional committee hearing onChina's violations of human rights,including the right to free speech and peaceful assembly.

"The national border cannot stop the Communist Party from spreading fear overseas,"Yang told American lawmakers.

A half-dozen other current and former Chinese students who studied in Canada sharedsimilar stories with CBC News.

'Fred'is another member of the Assembly of Citizens. CBC is keeping his real nameconfidential because he fears retaliation against his family in China.

"I have been bullied, I have been spam-bombed by those people who try to threaten my friends," he said.

"They say I should go to die, I'm a traitor of the Chinese nation, I'm the traitor of the Han people."

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Both pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and those in China who want the protests to stop have been deploying advanced technological methods to spread their messages.

'Zion', a recent Concordia University graduate whose real name is also being withheld by CBC News also told The House that he believes his social media chat group was infiltrated by the Chinese police.

"There was this one timethat I was contacted by one new member who asked about where I live, what I think about the independence movement of Ganzhou, which is my hometown," Zion said.

He said he traced the number back to a police officer in Ganzhou. After he confrontedthe mystery user, hesaid, they deleted their account.

China wants overseas students to 'remain silent': report

In May, Amnesty International released a report on the experiences of Chinese dissidents abroad. The report saidmany Chinese international students attending foreign universitiesare living in a climate of fear.

"They feel compelled to self-censor and curtail their social and academic activities and relationships or else risk repercussions from the Chinese state," the report says.

"This atmosphere is the result of the Chinese government's efforts to ensure that the country's overseas students remain silent and disengaged on political issues that are perceived by the government as sensitive."

An organization called theChinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) is activeon university campuses across the country.

A 2019 report by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) quotes the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) describingtheCSSAas "an important support mechanism for international students studying abroad [that provides] a social and professional network for students."

But the NSICOP report also reported growing public alarm over the relationship between the CSSA and the Chinese government's embassies and consulates.

"CSSA behaviour may also pose a threat to freedom of speech and assembly," the NSICOP report said, citingprevious reports of individualsdisruptingon-campus events.

One incident involveda student council election at University of Toronto's Scarborough campus being disrupted. In another case, a speech by an activist critical of the Chinese government's treatment of Uyghurs was disrupted at McMaster University.

McMaster's student union later stripped the CCSA of its official club status over alleged links to the Chinese consulate.

In both cases, the Chinese embassy denied any involvement.

Embassy calls allegations a 'smear'

In a statement issued to CBC News, the Chinese embassy dismissed the claims of CSSA groupsbeing used to advance the government's political objectives, and ofBeijing harassingoverseas students' families back home, as "sheer smear and vilification."

The embassy said Chinese students studying in Canada established the CSSA to help each other.

"The Chinese Embassy and Consulates in Canada are obliged to provide appropriate consular protection services to overseas Chinese citizens, including students and scholars, in accordance with law, and urge the Canadian governments, universities, colleges and schools to protect their personal safety, legitimate rights and interests during their stay in Canada," an embassy spokesperson said.

"What the Embassy did was above board and beyond reproach."

Parliament fast-trackedlegislationthis summer aimed at combating foreign interference throughcriminal sanctions on deceptive or surreptitious acts anda new foreign influence transparency registry.

'It's our duty'

One former national security analyst says current Canadian law can't do much to protect Chinese students from these acts of harassment.

"If it's some type of pressuring of students, Canada doesn't have a lot of laws in terms of foreign interference that are able to deal with these things," said Dennis Molinaro, who now teaches intelligence history at Ontario Tech University.

"How do you stop China from doing things like pressuring people's families or taking it out on someone's family because of what they do here? That's something that clearly Canada has very little ability to change or influence, at least on its own."

Despite the threats and the anxiety they feel for their families back in China,Fred and the other members of the Assembly of Citizens said they're determined to keep fighting for political reform.

"It's our duty. Many people [of] our age in China have suffered, have sacrificed," he said.

"Even if we cannot see this, we cannot see democracy flourishing on the land of China, we hope that at least we can plant the seed."