Tuesday, May 30,
2000 Canadian embassy employs Chinese
spies Government documents
Marina Jimenez National
Post
The Canadian government has hired "Chinese spies" at the Canadian
embassy in Beijing, according to an internal government document.
The embassy is forced to hire these employees from the Chinese
Diplomatic Service, who are identified in an internal survey as "by
definition spies."
The survey, conducted in 1998 by the Immigration and Refugee
Board of Canada to assess staffing levels at Canadian missions
overseas, asked whether an expanded role for locally hired staff was
appropriate. At several missions, including Beijing, Damascus and
Dhaka, officials concluded that it would not be "in keeping with
sound risk management" to delegate signing authority to locals,
which would give them the ability to sign off on visa applications.
An official at the Canadian embassy in Beijing wrote:
"At one time this post was not considered a likely place for
immigration program officers ... because of the security concerns
... a communist country [presents], and an inability to hire
employees from outside the Chinese Diplomatic Service bureau who by
definition were all 'spies.'
"However, things have changed considerably in recent years ... we
have attracted several Canadian citizen employees," he continued.
Richard Kurland, a Vancouver-based immigration lawyer who
obtained the documents under the Access to Information Act, says the
survey proves that local culture requires Canada to hire Chinese
nationals whose real employer is the Chinese government.
"They may not be signing off on decisions, but they are likely
making recommendations and they can control whether files go quickly
or slowly through the system," Mr. Kurland said.
Lorna Tessier, spokeswoman for Immigration Canada, acknowledged
the embassy does hire individuals from the Chinese Diplomatic Bureau
who are "beholden to the Chinese government."
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