Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught cropping Ken Ng, the head of the Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham (FCCM), out of photos from an event over the weekend. .Trudeau attended the Taste of Asia festival, hosted by the FCCM along with the Association of Progressive Muslims of Canada (APMC), in Toronto over the weekend. Footage of the prime minister dancing wildly at the event went viral on social media. Then netizens began focusing on the FCCM director who was spotted in many photos lingering near the prime minister. .In photos posted to Trudeau’s official social media account, the prime minister posted a photo of himself with two women. Independent journalist Andy Lee posted the original photo with a fourth person in it and identified him as Ng. .Ng, born in Hong Kong, is an acquaintance of the director of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) United Front, a collection of organizations used to advance Beijing's political interests abroad through business relations, Qiu Yuanping. Director Qiu formerly worked for China’s intelligence agency. The United Front is a key player in Canada’s investigation into Beijing's interference operations..Ng is also a friend of Consul General Han Tao, who according to audio obtained by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) was found liaising with CCP agents to ensure a Liberal election win in 2021, the Bureau reported in December 2023. .The FCCM, known one of the CCP’s diaspora “united front” organizations, is a pro-communist agency that maintains close ties with Beijing.Operating as a “non-profit” out of Markham, ON, the FCCM has hosted a number of sizeable propaganda events on behalf of Beijing, according to an investigation conducted by the Medium in June 2023. . The organization since 2012 has hosted flag-raising ceremonies on China’s national day, October 1. Several CCP bureaucrats have attended the ceremonies, including Qiu when she was director of China’s state council on overseas affairs. Independent MP, formerly in the Liberal caucus, Han Dong, who is at the centre of the foreign interference investigation, has also been known to attend the ceremony. In 2019, Tao attended. “Strengthening the connection between Chinese overseas and our motherland, promoting exchanges and friendship between the people of China and Canada,” he said at the time. . In 2016, the FCCM arranged for Markham to be the “sister city” of Wuhan, China — ground zero of the 2020 coronavirus outbreak. The FCCM in 2017 arranged for the “One Belt, One Road” forum after Trudeau’s four-day trip to China. .Ng himself routinely speaks of the CCP in a friendly manner, frequently attends CCP-affiliated events at the Chinese Consulate-General, and in 2017 became co-chair of the Canada-China Relations Council. He was also found to be on Trudeau's donor list for the 2015 election. .Ng called for the release of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou in 2019 while the "two Michaels," Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian businessman Michael Spavor, were detained in China and condemned the anti-extradition law protests in Hong Kong the same year. “We are deeply saddened by the chaos and disruption of public order in Hong Kong. We hope everyone will support the Hong Kong police in maintaining stability and continue to promote development without causing unrest,” said the FCCM at the time.
