Wife of Chinese diplomat in Ottawa defects

[Starseeker]

Well, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed. It's interesting to note that most of the blogs pointing to this piece of news is blocked, even those wrote by Chinese themselves.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070330.wdefect0330/BNStory/National/home

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070330/china_defection_070330/20070330/

China asks Ottawa to reject claimant

ALEX DOBROTA

Canadian Press

OTTAWA — China wants Canada to refuse asylum to a diplomat's wife who fears her adherence to the Falun Gong movement will spell her doom in her country.

"Canada has not a very good reputation," Huang Huikang, the deputy chief of mission of the Chinese embassy in Ottawa, said Friday. "I think the Canadian government will do what they should do."

Jiyan Zhang applied for refugee status in Ottawa earlier this month, fearing a prison sentence and possibly death should she return to China.

"I sensed it was going to be dangerous for me," she said Friday at a news conference on Parliament Hill organized by members of the Falun Gong movement.
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The wife of a Chinese diplomat has defected to Canada, saying she fears persecution if she returns to China.
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The wife of a Chinese diplomat has defected to Canada, saying she fears persecution if she returns to China.
Latest Comments Comments

* "She started drawing suspicions from her colleagues at the embassy...
* No doubt there's human rights abuse in China. Yet, how many...
* You know Wade I just don't know myself. For me this just does...
* It amazes me how people can say so much about things they know...
* 58 reader comments | Comments closed

The Globe and Mail

Her asylum claim has touched a sensitive nerve in an already strained relationship between the two countries. Canada has often berated China for its record on human rights, while Beijing has accused Ottawa of providing haven for fugitives and criminals.

Ms. Zhang and her husband were both posted to Ottawa in 2004, she said. She started drawing suspicions from her colleagues at the embassy when she spoke out in favour of Falun Gong, she said Friday.

The movement, also known as Falun Dafa, combines traditional Chinese breathing practices with Taoist beliefs. Its practice is outlawed in China, where, according to human-rights critics, Falun Gong practitioners are jailed and tortured.

Ms. Zhang said Chinese embassy officials started following her around Ottawa and monitoring her moves as soon as she disclosed her spiritual beliefs. Then, earlier this year, the couple was recalled to China, she said.

But instead of handing back her diplomatic passport as she was ordered, Ms. Zhang sneaked out of the Chinese embassy, leaving behind her husband, who has since returned to China.

"I am quite afraid that something might happen to my husband," she said.

Mr. Huikong denied Ms. Zhang was placed under surveillance. He also denied she had spoken to her colleagues about Falun Gong, characterizing her as an opportunistic migrant posing as a refugee.

"The purpose is the same as any illegal immigrant," he said. "They wish to be rich but [are] using the ugly means."

While the number of Chinese nationals seeking refugee status has been fluctuating between 1,000 and 2,800 over the past decade, the rate of acceptance of refugees in Canada has doubled since China outlawed Falun Gong in 1999.

Canada accepted 21 per cent of asylum seekers in 1998, compared to 49 per cent in 2006.

Ms. Zhang Friday alleged China is using its Ottawa embassy to spy on Falun Gong practitioners in Canada. A special unit of about 12 embassy officials is tasked with following and reporting on Chinese Canadians who adhere to the spiritual movement, she said.

Mr. Huikong vehemently denied those accusations and said China would be angry with Canada if it accepts Ms. Zhang's claim.

"It's not good practice," he said.

Read the comments, it's pretty good here.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv...efect0330/CommentStory/National/home#comments

LOL, people with half assed or no knowledge about China is commenting on this or that as if they knew. Hooray for bigots, idiots, and ignorant people.

Very interesting comment from this guy though:

Global Citizen from Canada writes: This is hugely embarrassing for the Chinese government, and I do believe the lady's claim for asylum. Being part of the diplomatic corp., she is in the prestige position that many others envy. If staying in a western country is what she desires, it is entirely within her means to immigrate. By defecting, she is forgoing her direct and extended families, that price seems too high for simply wanting to stay here. This is unlike the economic refugees who come ashore and can still visit their home country after.

As for Falun Gong, it is being prosecuted by the Chinese government simply because it is an organisation, as any organisation not sanctioned(controlled) by the Communist is banned, perhaps for good reason from the ruler's perspective. Many a dynasties in China were thrown into turmoil or toppled as a result of rebellions started as a sort of cult religion. The Chinese Communist itself was started by well-educated leaders who organised poor peasants to topple the elected Nationalist government. That is a lesson still fresh in their memory and the Chinese Communist is not about to let a tinder start a new fire.

* Posted 30/03/07 at 6:20 PM EDT

Now, what he says actually makes sense in terms of Chinese values and the current Chinese situation. As a diplomat to a country like Canada, she is an elite of the Beijing Inc. It IS very much within her means to immigrate after her husband retires. Of course, there is always the issue that some high level CCP members won't like some of their group immigrating, but a lot of them have kids outside the country anyway. It's viewed as standard practice. There are 2 possibilities - 1. She is really involved as a FLG member, and she got caught red handed, 2. The couple belongs to the Shanghai camp, and their political future ain't very bright.

The most amusing thing is that, most westerners don't seem to understand that it's the wife that will suffer, and not the husband. They probably had a talk and figured it's easier for her to get sympathies as a woman in Canada, and it's much easier to claim it's your wife's fault in front of CCP members don't really get punished unless they've done something that requires an example to be made of. Most of the time, those who are stupid enough to be caught are given a time out for "reflection and penance". The wife will be ostracized by some of her own communities in Canada for speaking out/standing out. But the husband will probably only get a slap on the wrist because his wife is an idiot or something.

More fun and games, since Lai is given a stay in deportation, we will see how this one plays out.

 

[victor]

Very 24.

 

[Wooz]

What's so unusual about Chinese women defecating?

 

[Starseeker]

More info:

‘Not the Last to Part From CCP’, Says Chinese Diplomat’s Wife

Posted by chinaview on March 31st, 2007

The Epoch Times, Mar 31, 2007-Zhang Jiyan

OTTAWA—Ms. Zhang Jiyan (photo right), wife of a diplomat at the Chinese embassy in Canada, attended a rally yesterday morning on Canada’s Parliament Hill to support the 20 million Chinese people who have withdrawn from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). At a press conference in the afternoon she publicly announced her support of these people who have broken away from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. This incident has attracted much media attention.

More than 100 people from Eastern Canada gathered at the rally. Canadian Member of Parliament Rob Anders gave a speech. Former Canadian diplomat Brian McAdam also attended. In addition, support letters were received from renowned Jewish scholar Rabbi Reuven Bulka and David Harris, Senior Fellow for National Security with the Canadian Coalition for Democracies.

‘A New China’

Forty-eight-year-old Zhang Jiyan is the wife of a diplomat at the Chinese embassy in Canada. She is also a Falun Gong practitioner. Zhang attracted the attention of the embassy for privately speaking with other embassy staff about the true situation of the Falun Gong and its persecution in China. The embassy began to monitor her and planned to confiscate her passport. Because of this pressure and to escape from being returned to China to face persecution, she made a decision on March 5 to leave the Chinese embassy.

Zhang said in her statement, “At this event to support 20 million who have quit the Chinese communist party and its affiliated organizations, I not only find it a great pleasure to see so many Chinese people awakening to say “no” to the Chinese Communist party, but I also take pride in myself being one of them and can stand forward today to let out the words that have been hidden in my heart.

“In China, half of the population has been subject to persecution in one way or another in the so-called political movements. Since the Chinese communist party came to exist, 80 million Chinese nationals have been slaughtered. The Chinese communist party’s depletion of the Chinese people’s spiritual life has been a persecution of the nation’s soul, which is a destruction that has affected everyone. In replacement, the party has used its communist ideology to poison the minds of the Chinese for several generations.”

Zhang revealed that the persecution of Falun Gong is not limited to Mainland China. Chinese embassies abroad have also become headquarters for attacking Falun Gong. Moreover, she spoke about a department within the Chinese embassy in Canada specially created to gather information about Falun Gong practitioners and political dissidents.

Control Over Chinese Communities

Zhang noted that the Chinese ambassador had mentioned at an embassy all-staff meeting that he has delivered materials defaming Falun Gong to Canadian Members of Parliament, Canadian government officials, and the former Governor General of Canada. In addition, Chinese diplomats control Chinese communities in Canada in order to influence the mainstream society.

Zhang gave the example that, in 2005 when New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) was applying for permission to broadcast in Canada, embassy officials mobilized the Chinese communities and overseas Chinese students to oppose it by writing to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the regulating agency in Canada.

NTDTV is known to be a voice that dares to report the truth about events in China, she said, including China’s human rights violations. She noted that in actual fact, the writers were expressing the opinions of the Chinese embassy. Moreover, embassy officials made great effort to lobby Canada’s Rogers Cable TV to prevent NTDTV from landing in Canada.

‘Not the Last to Part from CCP’

Zhang continued, “The Chinese Communist Party has now disgraced itself with its long term actions against conscience, and its members have quit or will quit.

In 2005, the whole family of a Chinese staff member at the Chinese embassy in Canada defected.

I am sure that I am not the last to part from CCP in the Chinese embassy; there will be others to follow.”

(please see http://en.epochtimes.com/jiuping/newsletter/issue9/#Rally ).

Zhang said she hopes the governments and peoples of countries around the world will “see through the falsehood of the CCP” because “the days of the party are numbered.” “A new China without the CCP is already looming on the horizon.”

Courageous Real Life Example

At the rally, MP Rob Anders told The Epoch Times that Zhang’s defection is very important. There are many stories that need to be told, he said, and the voices need to be magnified. He noted that Zhang is a courageous real-life example that people are breaking away from the CCP. He added that he hopes even more people will follow this example.

In his speech Anders commended Falun Gong practitioners for their presence on Parliament Hill “whether it is rain or sleet or snow.” “It’s so important for you to share the story of what’s going on inside communist China,” he said. “You send such an important message to people who are in chains and suffering from torture behind the Bamboo Curtain of communism.”

Anders used his own experience as an example, “My personal story is such that if somebody had told me 20 years ago that some of my family who had lived behind the Iron Curtain under the communist rule of Eastern Europe, if somebody had told me that they would be free and that there would no longer be oppression and they wouldn’t be stuck in jail for opposing the political party or just for wanting to have spiritual practice outside what the communist party allowed, I wouldn’t have believed it.

“But it was because of people in the free world who had sent messages that gave hope to those behind that Iron Curtain. And you today, just like so many other days, especially ones that are colder and damper and uglier weather than we have today, you send messages to those people who are behind that Bamboo Curtain. I thank you.”

‘Hope Springs from the Courage of the Oppressed’

In his support letter, Rabbi Bulka said, “As the world is unfortunately bowing in front of the economic juggernaut called China, we must not ever forget the brutality being inflicted by the Chinese regime. Doing business with such people is a moral capitulation, and is even bad business. People who kill will also cheat.

“20 million people quitting the communist party may signal the beginning of the end of oppression. This will be the case if we continue to encourage them, and others who will follow their lead. Never give up. Mighty empires may seem invincible, but human will is stronger. Courage and hope—these are the ingredients we need to succeed. God bless you all.”

David Harris congratulated the rally organizers and called the celebration of the 20 million withdrawals a “most promising milestone.” “With you, I salute those who have chosen freedom over Party, and all others whose dream, work, and ultimate achievement will assuredly be a free China,” he said.

Currently Chinese citizens are renouncing their membership in the CCP and its affiliated organizations at a rate of approximately 30,000 per day. By March 30 the total number of withdrawals had already surpassed 20 million. This week events are being held in about ten major cities in Canada in support of the 20 million who have resigned from the CCP.

- original from The Epoch Times

Statement of Defected Chinese Diplomat’s Wife in Canada

Posted by chinaview on March 31st, 2007

By Zhang Jiyan, special to the epochtimes, Mar 30, 2007-

Zhang JiyanMy name is Zhang Jiyan and I am wife of a diplomat at the Chinese embassy in Canada. I have recently left the embassy.

At this event to support 20 million who have quit the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations, I not only find it a great pleasure to see so many Chinese people awakening to say “no” to the Chinese Communist Party, but I also take pride in being one of them, and can stand forward today to let out the words that have been hidden in my heart.

In China, half of the population has been subject to persecution in one way or another in the so-called political movements. Since the Chinese Communist Party came to exist, 80 million Chinese nationals have been slaughtered. The Chinese Communist Party’s depletion of the Chinese people’s spiritual pursuit has been a persecution of the nation’s soul, which is a destruction that has affected everyone. In replacement, the Party has used its communist ideology to poison the minds of the Chinese for several generations.

In particular, the persecution of Falun Gong, which teaches cultivation of Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance, has shattered the morals and conscience in the society. To date, more than 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted to death; tens of thousands of them are still being held in the Chinese labour camps and prisons, where they have been subject to cruelty, tortures, their lives in great danger, their organs harvested. This reveals the evil nature of the Chinese Communist Party and shall not be tolerated, in accordance with heavenly principles.

I am here calling for all the fellow Chinese to say NO to the Chinese Communist Party so that together we make ourselves free men and women who can hold our rights and the fate of our lives in our own hands. The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party is the solution to the communist poison. Let us spread it far and wide to help more people.

In 1995, I was a family member at the Chinese embassy in France. The embassy invited the founder of Falun Gong to give a presentation. I was deeply touched at heart by Falun Dafa’s teaching of Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance. I became a practitioner later. Falun Gong spread quickly across China, and as many as 100 million Chinese people were practicing it. However, the Chinese Communist Party contradicted its earlier actions of approval by starting to crack down on the practice in 1999 on orders from Jiang Zemin.

The persecution of Falun Gong is not only systematically and widely happening in China. Just as what has been exposed by Chen Yonglin, a former diplomat at the Chinese consulate in Australia, the Chinese embassies and consulates serve as the base for attacking dissidents, especially those who practice Falun Gong in foreign lands (please see http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/archives/afhear.htm ). At the embassy, I personally witnessed materials to incite hatred against Falun Gong. The embassy has a special unit dedicated to collecting information, especially on Falun Gong practitioners.

The Chinese ambassador mentioned at the meetings attended by all embassy personnel that he went to deliver materials defaming Falun Gong to the MPs, the Canadian government officials, and the former Governor General.

The embassy has been in control of the Chinese communities to reach its goal of generating impact and influence on the mainstream society. For example, in 2005, when the NTD (New Tang Dynasty) TV was applying for the permit to CRTC (Canadian Radio and Television Commission) for broadcasting in Canada, they mobilized the pro-communist Chinese groups and the mainland Chinese students to write letters to the CRTC to stop NTD TV from entering Canada, as NTD TV is known to be a voice that reports the truth about what is happening in China, including the human rights violations, while the majority of the other Chinese media choose to either toe the Party line or self-censor in their reporting. The opinions therein expressed were all the opinions of the Chinese embassy. Furthermore, they made their efforts to lobby Rogers Cable TV to prevent NTD TV from landing in Canada.

The Chinese Communist Party has now disgraced itself with its long-term actions against conscience, and its members have quit or will quit. In 2005, the whole family of a Chinese staff member at the Chinese embassy in Canada defected (please see http://en.epochtimes.com/jiuping/newsletter/issue9/#Rally ). I am sure that I am not the last to part from the CCP in the Chinese embassy; there will be others to follow.

It is hoped the governments and peoples of various countries will see through the falsehood of the Chinese Communist Party. The Party’s days are numbered.

A new China without the Chinese Communist Party is already on the horizon.

- original statement from the Epochtimes

And that's from a blocked English Blog. I hope this place doesn't get blocked after me posting that.