Toronto Star – In the wake of the United Kingdom’s move to ban Huawei from the country’s 5G infrastructure, pressure is mounting on Canada to take a decision that observers say will either distance it …
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Canada’s Huawei-5G decision risks putting it at odds with Five Eyes allies
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China’s foreign interference likely ‘widespread’ in Canada, says author of new report
Toronto Star – A comprehensive new report has mapped out the structures, methods and effects of what it calls China’s global foreign interference system. And the report’s author tells the Star he believes such activities …
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Concerns about China’s influence don’t end at the WHO, experts say. They’re calling for sweeping reviews
Vancouver (Toronto Star) – As the world gasps at U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to temporarily pull funding from the World Health Organization, public policy experts say Ottawa should support a review of the organization’s …
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‘Furious and scared’: Long before COVID-19, these families knew Canada’s long-term-care system was broken
Courtenay, B.C. (Toronto Star) – Earlier this year, Delores Broten and others wrote letter after letter complaining about the treatment of their loved ones in a chain of B.C. retirement homes. But they didn’t bother …
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‘I took a business trip to China. Then I got shackled to a chair.’ The heartbreaking stories of Uyghurs in exile
Istanbul, Turkey (Toronto Star) – They brought her to a small, windowless room. Jalilova Gulkbahar says there were dozens of other women hunched over, their wrists shackled to their feet. She recalls screaming. A camp worker …
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Exclusive: Why this B.C. mayor is talking about the harassment of Chinese Canadians in Metro Vancouver
Photo: Jesse Winter/Star Vancouver (Toronto Star) – Port Coquitlam is an increasingly popular choice for Vancouverites and new immigrants wanting to raise families in relatively affordable homes. The suburb is a 40-minute drive east of …
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As Huawei decision looms, Canadians turning ‘very cold’ on China
Vancouver (Toronto Star) – Anxiety about Beijing’s influence in Canada is on the rise nationwide, as pressure ramps up for the federal government to decide whether to ban Huawei Technologies from the country’s development of …
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House-hunting as an Asian immigrant in Vancouver means navigating racism
Vancouver (Toronto Star) – When my mother graduated from high school in Hong Kong in the 1970s, she and her friends did not have the luxury of going straight to college or spending a “gap …
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Exclusive: Inside Huawei’s shifting public relations strategy
Vancouver (Toronto Star) — Black velvet stilettos. Sparkling cocktail dresses, designer handbags and purple skirts — all paired with a black ankle monitor. Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou’s outfits during recent public appearances are a far cry …
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Why China’s NBA dust-up offers a glimpse of its power — and of a basketball love affair
Vancouver (Toronto Star) – I distinctly remember the first time I felt a twinge of Chinese pride. Not of pride in being from Hong Kong — which I already felt — but pride in the …
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Toronto’s mayor boycotted a Chinese flag-raising ceremony. Vancouver stopped a while ago. Here’s why some say the whole country should follow suit
Vancouver (Toronto Star) – On Tuesday, a Hong Kong police officer shot a protester. Last December, China arrested Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, both of whom remain behind bars. Meanwhile, the Chinese government continues …
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Exclusive: Canada’s new ambassador to China was already facing questions for his business ties. His marriage is raising more
Vancouver (Toronto Star) – Canada’s new ambassador to China recently married the head of Asia Pacific operations for BlackRock, the world’s largest asset-management firm, raising concerns among former ambassadors and a democracy watchdog that Dominic …
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Canada’s new man in China lauded and scrutinized over past business with Beijing
Vancouver (Toronto Star) – Ottawa will have chosen wisely if veteran business leader Dominic Barton can be as strong an advocate for Canada as he has been for China. After 220 days without a Canadian …
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Deals over dogma: Why China’s Costco frenzy shows the limits of Chinese nationalism
Vancouver (Toronto Star) – The chaotic opening of the first Costco in China sure got people talking. Swarms of customers filled the aisles, and traffic around the store in the Shanghai suburb was backed up …
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Exclusive: How Canadians are part of an underground network helping Hong Kong protesters in their struggle against Chinese control
Hong Kong (Toronto Star) – Dark circles ring Abraham Wong’s eyes. The Vancouver realtor’s phone has been on 24 hours a day since early June, when a series of protests against Hong Kong’s controversial extradition …
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This cartoonist has been skewering China for years from behind a mask. Now he’s ready to face Beijing
Vancouver and Melbourne (Toronto Star) — The rogue cartoonist known only as Badiucao didn’t learn about the Tiananmen Massacre in school, from family or even on the internet. It was a pirated romance movie that …
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Meng Wanzhou’s dad says his daughter will study hard and get a PhD in prison
Vancouver (Toronto Star)—Meng Wanzhou’s father, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, told Chinese state media he expects his daughter will go to prison but predicts she will emerge with a doctorate. “I don’t worry, because my daughter …
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Exclusive: Tibetan-Canadian coalition ‘appalled’ by fake letter from Trudeau promoting pro-China group
Vancouver (The Star) – The Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed that a letter from Justin Trudeau circulating on social media, showing his support for a new and controversial non-profit promoting Tibetan reunification with China, is …
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‘You’re with China or you’re with us’: Global relations hinge on outcome of trade talks, U.S. analysts say
WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Star) – Tech giant Huawei has become a proxy for U.S. struggles with Beijing over the Chinese government’s aggressive backing of its private companies, and American experts warn global diplomatic conflict could …
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Ottawa allows case against Huawei executive to proceed.
Joanna Chiu, Managing Editor at Star Vancouver joins CBC’s Michael Serapio to talk about the latest in Meng Wanzhou’s case. Watch here: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1451101763997/?fbclid=IwAR14b-Hb82PaLyhEKmojAEm5jwil-ERjhS6lS3bPIQz5LUZC_PeSvW5oHZo
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Burnaby South Liberal candidate under fire for presence at Chinese-state-owned media launch
Vancouver (The Star)—Burnaby South’s federal Liberal candidate insists that his participation in a 2014 ribbon-cutting for the launch of a Chinese-state-owned media publication was simply part of his role as a politician. Richard Lee sent …
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Exclusive: Ambassador John McCallum says it would be ‘great for Canada’ if U.S. drops extradition request for Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou
Vancouver (The Star)—After his earlier comments on Meng Wanzhou drew calls for his firing, Canada’s ambassador to China is now arguing it would be “great” if the United States relinquishes its attempt to extradite Huawei’s …
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Exclusive: Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou has an extra passport that wasn’t listed in court records — and it’s only available to China’s elite
Vancouver (The Star)—The U.S. government’s hunch that Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou had passports beyond the seven it listed to oppose her release on bail appears to be true. What it actually means is unclear, as …
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CANADALAND Podcast: “Oh Great, Now China Hates Us”
Canada’s in a bad way with China. Has the media prepared us to deal with the growing superpower? Listen here: https://www.canadalandshow.com/podcast/oh-great-now-china-hates-us/ On December 1st, Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wangzhou at the behest of the United …
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Liberal candidate’s WeChat post draws criticism for singling out race of byelection opponent Jagmeet Singh
Vancouver (The Star) – From the vantage point of Metro Vancouver’s SkyTrain, which runs through the heart of the federal riding of Burnaby South, the blocks whiz by, filled with condos, three-storey walk-ups, small businesses, …
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Global anxiety reflected in Australian outcry over Canadians detained in China
Vancouver (Toronto Star) – Australia’s statement of concern issued Sunday over the detention of two Canadians in China points to growing global anxiety over Beijing’s seeming willingness to detain foreign nationals as a political tactic, …
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Q&A: Crime and the Chinese Dream
Beijing (LA Review of Books) – In southern China, the rural town of Fang pulled itself out of poverty thanks to a simple scam. “Cake uncles” approached bakeries outside their hometown to deliver cakes, then faked the …
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The ‘forgotten’ Canadians detained in China
Vancouver (Toronto Star) —The recent arrests of a trio of Canadians in China are part of a trend in recent decades, according to Global Affairs Canada, adding to the current total of around 200 Canadian citizens behind …
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How a red dot kept Chinese-Canadian readers from getting the full story on Huawei
Vancouver (Toronto Star) – Users of China’s hugely popular social-media app WeChat know it well: the big red dot. The dot lets them know the news article they want to read is no longer available. …
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Ex-diplomat who worked on Trudeau’s Hong Kong visit detained in China, reports say
Ottawa (Toronto Star) – A respected former Canadian diplomat has been detained in China, a development observers fear is an alarming tit-for-tat move after Canada’s arrest of a Chinese business executive wanted by the U.S. …
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Lawyer for Huawei exec proposes monitoring bracelet, 24-hour surveillance in bid for freedom
Vancouver (The Star) – In an unusual move, a lawyer for the detained executive of a Chinese telecommunications giant brought an electronic monitoring bracelet to a Vancouver court as he argued for his client’s freedom. …
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Bail hearing for Huawei exec reveals fraud allegations at heart of international strife
Vancouver (The Star ) – A five-year-old PowerPoint presentation is at the centre of criminal allegations against the chief financial officer of Chinese-owned tech giant Huawei in a case that has implications for international relations, …
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Canada under fire for Huawei ties following arrest in Vancouver
Vancouver (The Star ) – The federal government is facing harsher criticism for Canada’s continued involvement with China’s Huawei Technologies after the chief financial officer of the controversial telecom was arrested in Vancouver on Saturday. …
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Inside the Affordable Chinatown Haven That Avoided ‘Renoviction’
Vancouver (VICE) – The May Wah hotel in Chinatown opened its doors in 1913 to provide safe lodging for low-income workers at a time when Vancouver was experiencing a shortage of affordable accommodation as the downtown core …
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Madeleine O’Dea on her memoir The Phoenix Years
Vancouver (NüVoices) – “The riveting story of China’s rise from economic ruin to global giant in the past four decades is illuminated by another, equally fascinating, narrative beneath its surface – the story of the …
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Vancouver society at centre of vote-buying allegations has ties to Chinese gov’t
Vancouver (StarMetro) – A Richmond, B.C.-based society that has been named in an RCMP investigation into alleged vote-buying is part of a Canadian alliance that has met with Chinese government authorities, according to official documents. …
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How animal waste is helping turn China’s lakes green
Kunming (The Guardian) – The farm, located at the end of a narrow dirt path, announces its presence with a piercing stench. At first, the caretaker of the collective facility in Kunming says the farm …
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Life inside the village where people are living super long
Bama County (Goldthread) – Fangfang Chen’s son and daughter expected her to stay home in smoggy Beijing and provide on-call babysitting when they had children of their own—but she had other ideas. She and her …
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Historic Chinese town resists eviction for theme park
Chikan (AFP) – A year ago, customers queued round the block for Wu Ying’s red bean and coconut ice puddings, but now the 60-year-old has to vault a barricade to reach her dessert shop. Wu …
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The 20+ ingredient bowl of rice noodles from Guilin
Yangshuo (Goldthread) – At 5:30 am, Rong Jinhua ties her apron behind her back and bends over a charcoal-fired stove in the small kitchen, checking that her gravy base for today’s bowls of Guilin rice …
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NüVoices Podcast Episode 1: News assistants in China
SupChina is proud to present the NüVoices podcast! In this debut episode, hosts Alice Xin Liu and Joanna Chiu interview two Chinese women who work as news assistants for foreign media in China. News assistants are sometimes dubbed “researchers,” though …
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Animals still a draw, despite shrinking circus crowds
China has some of the world’s laxest animal rights laws, and campaigners have long called for tougher regulations. Dongguan (AFP) – A crowd of just 10 people watched the endangered Siberian tiger roar on command …
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Chinese democracy activist sentenced to 13 years for ‘subversion’
Beijing (AFP) – A prominent Chinese political campaigner was sentenced to 13 years in jail on Wednesday, a court in central China said. Qin Yongmin was found “guilty of subversion of state power,” the Wuhan …
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Widow of Nobel dissident Liu Xiaobo ‘leaves China’
By AFP journalists (Beijing) – Liu Xia, the widow of Chinese Nobel dissident Liu Xiaobo who had been under de facto house arrest in China, left the country Tuesday en route to Germany, according to friends. …
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Report accuses China firms over ozone-depleting gas
Beijing (AFP) – An environmental pressure group claimed Monday that Chinese factories are illegally using ozone-depleting CFCs, which have recently seen a spike in emissions that has baffled scientists. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) campaign …
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Eyeing Olympic glory, China hockey flirts with overseas talent
Beijing (AFP) – The women from China’s far northeast, who spent childhood winters whipping around on frozen lakes and rivers, towered menacingly over the other team as they faced off for puck drop. At China’s …
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Chinese police break up protest of military veterans
Beijing (AFP) – Police have dispersed military veterans who had demonstrated in an eastern Chinese city to protest the alleged beating of elderly ex-soldiers demanding better pensions, witnesses told AFP on Monday. The demonstrations highlighted …
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China’s LGBT community finds trouble, hope at end of rainbow
Beijing & Shanghai (AFP) – When two women wearing rainbow badges were beaten up by security guards in an arty part of Beijing last month, social media users quickly jumped in to fight their corner. China’s …
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Sexpat Journalists Are Ruining Asia Coverage
Foreign Policy – Today, I’m known as a strong advocate in my social circles, promoting women’s and minorities’ voices in media. But when I first moved to China seven years ago, as a 23-year-old Canadian reporter of …
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Exclusive: Rape victim takes on Chinese police over stalled probe
Beijing (AFP) – A Chinese graduate student has become a social media sensation in China after attempting to sue police for dismissing her rape report, giving the country’s fledgling #MeToo movement a new cause. Renee …
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Crackdown shakes Chinese city’s ‘Little Africa’
Guangzhou (AFP) – The Ghanaian university student was roused after midnight by police shouting and pounding on his door in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, where a crackdown on illegal immigration has left many …
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Sinica Podcast: Joanna Chiu On Hong Kong’s Illicit Wildlife Trade
Joanna Chiu of Agence France-Presse joins Kaiser to discuss the illicit wildlife trade in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Joanna went undercover in the two cities to search for stores that would illegally sell her two items …
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Chinese laureate’s widow willing to ‘die at home’ in protest
Beijing (AFP) – The widow of late Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo said that after eight years of house arrest she is ready to “die at home” in protest of her continuing detention by Chinese authorities, …
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China’s ‘makers’ battle mistrust in hi-tech community
Shenzhen (AFP) – Engineers, computer programmers and children tinker with self-made radio-controlled toy cars and robotic arms in China’s southern city of Shenzhen, home to “makers” who belie the country’s reputation as a hub for …
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A Ban on Gay Content, Stopped in Its Tracks
ChinaFile – On April 13, China’s major microblogging platform Sina Weibo announced that, in order to create “a sunny and harmonious” environment, it would remove videos and comics “with pornographic implications, promoting bloody violence, or related to homosexuality.” …
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Former China Politburo member pleads guilty to bribery
Tianjin (AFP) – A former top Chinese Communist Party official who was once tipped for a leadership post pleaded guilty to accepting millions in bribes at his trial Thursday, the latest senior cadre to fall …
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Race for Mexico’s ‘cocaine of the sea’ pushes 2 species toward extinction
Yemeli ORTEGA, with Joanna CHIU in Guangzhou, China (AFP) – The dried fish parts don’t look like much to the novice eye, but the totoaba swim bladders discreetly displayed in this shop in Guangzhou, China …
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Wife of ‘vanished’ Chinese lawyer marches for answers
Beijing (AFP) – The wife of a detained Chinese human rights lawyer who has embarked on a 100-kilometre (60-mile) march to highlight his plight said Thursday she did not even know if he was still …
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China denies detaining underground bishop
Beijing (AFP) – A Chinese religious affairs official on Tuesday denied that authorities briefly detained an underground bishop last week, after the Vatican poured water on Beijing’s suggestion that a deal on the appointment of …
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Foreign companies in China brace for VPN crackdown
Guangzhou (AFP) – Chinese people and foreign firms are girding for a weekend deadline that will curb the use of unlicensed software to circumvent internet controls, as the government plugs holes in its “Great Firewall”. …