Former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford is beside himself following media reports that the mayor of Victoria, BC met with the Chinese ambassador two weeks ago..Chinese ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu met with Mayor Marianne Alto in Victoria on June 27..A press release in Mandarin from the Chinese embassy reported, “The two sides exchanged in-depth views on the development of friendly relations between China and Victoria, and expressed their willingness to make good use of platforms such as sister cities to deepen exchanges and cooperation in a wide range of fields, promote mutual understanding and friendship, and better benefit the people of both sides.”.Peckford expressed incredulity in a Sunday post on his blog with the lengthy title, “Why Is The Mayor Of Victoria, BC, Being Cozy With The Communist Ambassador For China? Isn’t The Parliament Of Canada Establishing An Inquiry Into Foreign (Chinese) Interference In Our Elections?”.“And it is a Press Release from the Chinese Embassy? How proud they must be to so successfully dupe such a Canadian elected official!” he wrote..“This mayor has no business courting a foreign Communist who represents a country that is undemocratic, totalitarian, represents everything that is the antithesis of a democratic Canada.”.On March 17, a CSIS spokesperson told CBC that foreign interference activities by the Chinese government are the "greatest strategic threat to national security.".“To do so, it uses all the state powers at its disposal to carry out activities that directly threaten the national security and sovereignty of the country," said the unnamed spokesperson.”.Peckford thought it was no time to build bridges to China..“China has broken international law in the strait of Taiwan and the South China Sea, continues to subjugate large segments of its population, flaunts trade laws at will and is attempting to spread its anti-democratic ways globally. A country that pollutes indiscriminately while Victoria prides itself on its ‘greenness’? What hypocrisy is that?" .“The Mayor of Victoria in her biography on the municipal website advocates ‘open government‘—a concept of which the Communist ambassador’s government is firmly opposed!”.Peckford, who is retired on Vancouver Island, wonders what Ottawa knew of the meeting..“Did the mayor consult with the minister responsible for foreign affairs before embarking on this suicide mission? How Beijing must be celebrating another inroad into the west —right next to the USA,” he wrote..“As the country investigates so called Confucius Institutes (one was closed at McMaster University) and other such surreptitious moves in our country by the Communist Chinese we have a Canadian mayor wanting to cozy up to China?”’.However, such meetings have old precedents. In 2003, Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco and a delegation from Jinan, China made their communities sister cities..The mayors pledged, “Both cities will actively promote economic and other exchanges between the cities.” The agreement engaged the University of Regina and Saskatchewan Polytechnic and municipal governments. .“Both cities will support the goals of the Regina Sustainable Communities initiatives (Communities of Tomorrow & University of Regina Centre for Sustainable Communities) and the Center for Construction and Development of Environmental Protection and Science Industrial Park in Jinan for improving the quality of life for people in both cities,” the agreement said..Some signs of cultural exchange have become lasting fixtures..Regina City Hall has a statue of Confucious on its front lawn. Dragon Boat races have become an annual tradition..But Peckford believes in the current circumstances; mayors of capital cities should be more wary than warm..“At a time when a controversy looms over possible foreign interference in Canadian elections, including the Chinese, we have a mayor of a provincial capital city elected democratically, wanting to cozy up to an undemocratic, totalitarian regime?" .“Will someone please wake me from this crazy dream?".“And you ask why I continue to highlight problems in my country, Canada?”
