Operation Fox Hunt looms over Li’s visit

• It has been something of a taboo in CanadaChina relations, a subject rarely raised in public but clearly on the minds of Canadian governments in their uneasy courtship of the world’s second-largest economy.

The spectre of Operation Fox Hunt — the pursuit and harassment of economic fugitives and other dissidents — cast a shadow Wednesday over the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the first visit of its kind in six years.

In his efforts to revitalize the economic component of Canada’s relationship with China, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not shied away from human rights concerns, including during his first trip to China this month.

But he was forced to address something far more sinister — the fact Chinese government agents are harassing Canadian residents or citizens, hoping to force them back to China to answer for various crimes.

“I brought up a broad range of concerns around security when I met with Chinese leadership a number of weeks ago, and will continue to talk about those issues when I meet with China in the coming days,” Trudeau said Wednesday.

An internal government memo — written last year for the Conservative government by Daniel Jean, Trudeau’s current national security adviser — goes a lot further.

It was not in Canada’s interest to be a “haven for fugitives” and they should be removed, he wrote in his capacity as deputy minister of foreign affairs. The memo was obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

Jean provided additional details of the anti-corruption campaign Chinese President Xi Jinping started in 2014 to repatriate economic fugitives. Critics have called it a ruse that targets political opponents of the ruling Communist Party.

Jean described how three separate Chinese entities — its foreign minister, its supreme court and its Supreme People’s Protectorate — sent out a notice in 2014 urging Chinese nationals who had fled to surrender.

“The notice was circulated amongst the Chinese diaspora, promising lighter sentences for those that surrendered voluntarily ... family members and friends of overseas economic fugitives were advised to encourage their loved ones to surrender.”

The heavily censored document did not mention Canada. But Paul Evans of the University of British Columbia’s Institute of Asian Research said it’s an open secret it happens on Canadian soil, although “it has not been the topic of public discussion.”

“On a 10-point scale, this is not a Level 7 or 8 emergency, but it is a serious concern that needs to be watched,” he said.

The fact Chinese agents have been active in Canada is not new, he said. But their presence is rare. Beijing mainly uses “pressure through telephone calls, relatives in China and other things.”

Jean’s memo suggested China’s spending on foreign espionage has not been matched by its return. Statistics released by Beijing in 2014 covering six months of activity showed the capture of 680 people in 69 countries, including 208 who allegedly fled with $1.93 million.

In his new role, Jean is charged with facilitating the new high-level security dialogue Trudeau established with Beijing on his recent visit, which includes a controversial extradition treaty.

Trudeau defended the move Wednesday as the Conservatives and NDP said China’s frequent use of the death penalty, among other things, made it a bad candidate for such an agreement.

“The idea of an extradition treaty with communist China, with one of the worst human rights records in the world, is a prima facie violation of the Charter of Rights,” said former Conservative minister Jason Kenney.

Trudeau said Canada would never approve the extradition of anyone facing the death penalty.