Wife of Canadian Chinese Diplomat Accuses Chinese Embassy of Lying

More interesting news from defector Jiyan Zhang - it just keeps on getting better and better.

Zhang revealed that, inside the Ottawa Embassy, there is a "political office" containing about 10 members specializing in dealing with any overseas democratic movements, but their main task is to smash the activities of Falun Gong.

The suppression of Falun Gong has continued to increase according to the directives of Luo Gan (security member of the Politburo) who has ordered that Falun Gong is considered as a hostile force and their activities are to be smashed overseas. In the Embassy, Huang is the No.2 in charge for Falun Gong harassment in Canada. She specializes in orchestrating the overseas Chinese community in Canada to isolate and suppress Falun Gong. (more)

CBC: China hoped to thwart CRTC bid, defector alleges
Embassy allegedly wanted to enlist help of Chinese students

CBC News Last Updated: Monday, April 9, 2007 10:38 AM ET - A copy of a memo smuggled out of the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa suggests China may have tried to improperly interfere with a broadcast application before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

The application, made by New Tang Dynasty Television in 2005, was approved by the CRTC, but there are allegations of a lobby effort against it because of the broadcaster's connections to the Falun Gong movement.

The memo was smuggled out of the embassy last month by Zhang Jiyan, the wife of a Chinese diplomat, who is now applying for political asylum.

Zhang went public with her defection 10 days ago. She suspected Chinese officials had figured out she was a secret Falun Gong practioner and feared for her life if she were sent back to China.

She said she came across the memo one day and made a copy. In it, a senior Chinese diplomat at the Ottawa embassy named Whong gives instructions to rally Chinese students studying in Canada and even Canadians of Chinese heritage to lobby the Canadian government against an application by New Tang Dynasty Television to the CRTC.

In an interview with CBC, Zhang suggested Canada's Chinese community needs New Tang because the established Chinese media kowtows to the Chinese government.

She said most other Chinese media companies are afraid of the authorities in their country and stay away from any news related to Falun Gong.

Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat who has done two tours of duty in Beijing, said embassies and ambassadors have a right to lobby for their country's interests, but through proper channels.

For example, the Chinese ambassador could have logged a complaint about the New Tang application with Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs. Burton said using Chinese students in an attempt to influence the outcome of a Canadian regulatory process violates international diplomatic protocol.

"That certainly crosses a line," he said. "It's very troubling because, of course, citizens of another country have no right to participate in domestic Canadian politics. It's inappropriate."

Burton said if the memo is authentic, the Chinese campaign would have violated the principle of diplomacy that an embassy does not interfere in the internal affairs of another country.