VANCOUVER—Cherie Wong says she and her organization will be watching Canadian politicians.

Sitting at a table in an empty restaurant a few floors above Vancouver’s West Georgia Street, the Ottawa resident talks about how Canada’s government seems to have abandoned principles when dealing with Beijing. A few feet away, in another room, the official launch of her new group called Alliance Canada Hong Kong (ACHK) is taking place.

“Ultimately, it comes to the bad choices of this government,” Wong says of the reason the alliance was formed. She is now executive director of the group.

Ottawa, she says, has been silent on the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights abuses in mainland China and Hong Kong. The government ignored the physical intimidation by CCP supporters here in Canada when they surrounded pro-democracy protesters last year in Vancouver at events meant to show support for Hong Kong protesters.

The ACHK will act like an umbrella for other groups advocating for democracy and human rights. Currently there are 14 member groups who have joined across Canada.

About 300,000 Canadians live in Hong Kong. The region has been rife with rioting and protests since last year when the local legislative body tried to implement a law enabling China to quickly extradite criminals from Hong Kong to Mainland China.

Opponents said such legislation would make it too easy for China to extradite political opponents from Hong Kong. It was eventually withdrawn by the local government, but opened a firestorm of demands for democratic reform.

Meanwhile, Canadian politicians push for more trade and cultural ties with Beijing, Wong says, and it’s no longer going to be accepted by Canadians like her.

“What we want to do is mobilize the community groups in ridings to confront their own MPs,” she says. “It is their own constituents, and their own friends and family, who are being harassed and intimidated.”

At Tuesday’s press conference, speakers talked about efforts by Beijing to influence Canadian society and decision making, including the United Front Work Department (UFWD), the Communist Party’s vehicle for such operations.

Some community organizations in Canada claiming to represent Chinese communities have links to the UFWD. Experts often blame the group for harassment and attempts to intimidate Chinese diaspora communities into supporting Beijing’s policies abroad.

At today’s official launch, the organization unveiled five “demands” to be made to the Canadian government, crafted from a survey of 13,000 Hong Kong and Canadian residents, 2,000 from Canada. The survey was open to anyone and posted on social media by pro-Hong Kong democracy activist organization Citizens’ Press Conference.

The demands include using Canada’s so-called Magnitsky legislation to punish Chinese officials who have committed human rights violations, investigate foreign influence into Canadian public and private institutions and to provide humanitarian support for asylum seekers from China.

Ottawa must also condemn China’s human rights violations and protect Canadian’s freedoms from erosion by CPC supporters in Canada, say the demands.

But ACHK isn’t just disappointed in the federal government. The organization has also targeted progressive Canadians, accusing many on the left of being silent on the issue of China’s human rights abuses.

She said she knows many progressives, including members of political parties, who are afraid to speak up against Canada’s approach to mainland China. Wong says she isn’t sure why those who champion human rights and social justice elsewhere say nothing about Beijing.

“I would like to know because I am a progressive,” Wong said. “There’s no excuse or rationale for why they’re silent.”

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After today’s launch, the group is hosting a reception for politicians and community leaders and expect about 20 attendees. How many will show up remains to be seen, she said.

The Chinese government, however, has had no problems getting Canadian politicians to attend their events. MPs, MLAs and municipal politicians are often photographed at events held by Chinese officials or organizations linked to Beijing.

On Monday, the Star reported that a number of B.C. politicians, including the NDP’s Don Davies and Jenny Kwan, attended a Lunar New Year celebration hosted by the Chinese consulate.

“I think they are afraid, or they want to continue to play this economic and trade game with China,” Wong said. “But ultimately we’re sacrificing Canadian values and we’re sacrificing Canadians’ safety and freedom and liberty for these so-called economic gains.”

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