Feds exclude Hong Kong Police from barred list, which included Russia and Iran
A riot police officer (C) stands guard during a clearance operation during a demonstration in a mall in Hong Kong on July 6, 2020, in response to a new national security law introduced in the city that makes political views, slogans, and signs advocating Hong Kong’s independence or liberation illegal. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images)
A Hong Kong rights advocacy group in Canada is raising concerns over Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) members taking photos of protesters during an international police sporting event in Winnipeg. It is also expressing “outrage” at Canada’s decision to allow the HKPF to compete in the games while banning teams from Russia and some other countries.
“We were initially very surprised, because we felt that Canada, as a free and democratic country, should stand together with its allies that also believe in democracy and freedom. However, later on, in addition to being surprised, we were outraged, as we couldn’t understand why the Canadian government allowed this group of people to enter Canada and furthermore to be able to act freely,” Brian Cheung, a member of Winnipeg Hong Kong Concern, told The Epoch Times in Chinese.
Mr. Cheung says his organization is planning on filing reports about the incidents with the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
Nearly 300 members of the HKPF, led by police commissioner Raymond Siu, were in Winnipeg for several days to attend the World Police and Fire Games (WPFG), which ran from July 28 to Aug. 6. The WPFG did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Epoch Times.
Photographing Protesters
As Mr. Siu departed from Winnipeg on July 30, protesters who gathered at the airport to express their opposition had their images captured on camera by HKPF members accompanying the commissioner, said Winnipeg Hong Kong Concern in an Aug. 3 statement posted on social media.
The group expressed concern about the photographs potentially being used as evidence by the Hong Kong police to target the protesters, such as by “conducting secret investigations in Canada, or even intimidating, threatening, or even using force to attack them.”
Mr. Cheung told The Epoch Times that “over the past week, we have clearly discovered that they [the HKPF] have been intentionally filming our protests, including taking headshots of the protesters in Canada.”
“Much evidence tells us that they may be secretly looking for evidence,” he said. “Once this information is taken back to Hong Kong, we have no way of knowing whether they will use it in the courts to identify or target us, or how they will use these photos or video footage in the future.”
The Epoch Times reached out to Public Safety Canada, the RCMP national headquarters and its Manitoba Division, as well as the Winnipeg Police Service regarding the concerns that protesters were photographed by the HKPF, but they didn’t comment by publication time.
The Hong Kong police had reportedly used facial-recognition technology to identify protesters during the 2019 democracy movement. This technology is also increasingly being used by the Beijing regime for surveillance operations to control the Chinese population.
Mr. Cheung also expressed concerns about the Hong Kong police potentially engaging in intelligence collection during their stay in Canada. He pointed to the series of revelations over the past year about the Chinese Communist Party’s various foreign interference in Canada, such as meddling in the past two federal elections and establishing covert police stations on Canadian soil.
“So far, no government departments, including the RCMP or CSIS, have told us how many of these 300 police officers are genuine athletes,” he said, adding that it’s also an unknown “how many may be involved in national security work in Hong Kong.”
“How can the Canadian government, the RCMP, or CSIS ensure that they are in Canada solely for participating in this sports event? Will they conduct secret investigations outside of the event?”
The reported threats and photographing of protesters at the WPFG occurred after Global Affairs Canada (GAC) previously sent an emailed response to The Epoch Times on July 28 stating that “Hong Kong authorities have no jurisdiction in applying the law within our borders. Canada strongly opposes any attempt to intimidate or silence anyone residing in Canada.” The federal department declined to comment further when asked about the HKPF’s threats against the protesters.
Hong Kong Police Not Banned
Mike Edwards, WPFG’s chief operating officer, told CTV News that the organization works with “our federal partners” to identify countries they deem inappropriate for participating in the games. Russia, Belarus, and Iran were among the countries barred from attending.
Drawing parallels to the police brutality by the Hong Kong police against democracy activists, Mr. Cheung questioned “Why would Canada allow such a police force to enter this country, moreover to act freely [here]?”
The HKPF was widely criticized for its brutal handling of the city’s pro-democracy movement in 2019. Incidents of violence, including the excessive use of tear gas and rubber bullets and accusations of police raping detained female protesters, drew international attention and condemnation.
Another advocacy group, the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement (VSSDM), echoed this concern.
“The VSSDM views the Hong Kong police’s participation in the upcoming World Police and Fire Games, set to open in Winnipeg this Friday, as highly inappropriate,” VSSDM chair Mabel Tung told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement prior to the start of the games.
She added that many Hongkongers are living in exile in Canada to escape human rights abusers, and that the presence of the Hong Kong police “may trigger painful memories of violent attacks for some protesters, who may still be afraid to face any authority figures in uniform, such as our police in Canada.”
Members of the local Hong Kong communities in Winnipeg protesting participation of the Hong Kong police in the games reportedly encountered threats and mockery from members of the attending HKPF. A video recorded by Winnipeg Hong Kong Concern on July 28 shows HKPF members being booed while marching in a parade across the city, to which they responded by shouting threats and expletives in Cantonese at the protesters.
Global Affairs Canada said in an Aug. 4 statement emailed to The Epoch Times that the WPFG is “an independent organization and is responsible for decisions surrounding participation in the event.” GAC “was not consulted and did not provide advice on the participant list for the World Police and Fire Games,” the statement said.
However, another advocacy group, UK-based Hong Kong Watch, in a statement released on July 30, protested Canada’s decision to issue visas to the Hong Kong police to attend the WPFG and said its Canadian branch, Hong Kong Watch Canada, has formally called on the Canadian government to investigate the decision.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said it could not provide a response by publication time.
Winnipeg Hong Kong Concern announced on Facebook that it will hold another protest against the HKPF outside the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg following the WPFG closing ceremony on Aug. 6.