Like Russia, China interferes in the elections of democratic countries

We’re used to talking about Russian meddling in democratic elections, but a public debate that began in Canada a few weeks ago is changing our view. A month ago, the Globe and Mail revealed a series of investigations conducted by Canadian intelligence that confirmed suspicions that had been circulating for some time: The People’s Republic of China attempted to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, Because he wanted conservatives, not liberals, so the government would not have a too-tough attitude toward Beijing. Indeed, we know that even liberals are not soft on China. However, this issue has become a problem for the Prime Minister Justin TrudeauHe was forced to open a commission of inquiry to inquire whether the interference had any effect.

We’re used to talking about Russian meddling in democratic elections, but a public debate that began in Canada a few weeks ago is changing our view. A month ago, the Globe and Mail revealed a series of investigations conducted by Canadian intelligence that confirmed suspicions that had been circulating for some time: The People’s Republic of China attempted to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, Because he wanted conservatives, not liberals, so the government would not have a too-tough attitude toward Beijing. Indeed, we know that even liberals are not soft on China. However, this issue has become a problem for the Prime Minister Justin TrudeauHe was forced to open a commission of inquiry to inquire whether the interference had any effect.

During the G20 in Bali, Trudeau was publicly humiliated by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who chided him for speaking too much to reporters. The arrest – or rather: kidnapping – of two Canadian citizens, Michael Spaver and Michael Kovrik, in retaliation for the arrest of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou, saw a radical change in the relationship between public opinion and Canadian politics at the end of 2018. . That episode, resolved in September 2021 with a “prisoner exchange,” as the Canadian press called it, shook public opinion and forever changed the relationship between Ottawa and Beijing. This has already happened in countries like Lithuania or Australia: relations with China change, and the politics of each side raise insurmountable red lines, each time Beijing hits hard on the economy, national security and citizens of countries that suddenly do not give in. In his blackmail. We too may have to pass through that protective perimeter before we realize how important it is.