We are sorry that this newsletter is coming to you a week late. To make it up to our amazing subscribers, this one is extra packed! October‘s newsletter release will be on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays this month. 

The Liberal government recently imposed a 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles. What’s at stake in this move? Is this simply another attempt to cozy up to America’s new cold war against China? Is it an attempt to gain support from autoworkers in the leadup to the next federal election? EVs may not be the only answer to the climate catastrophe we face today, but are they part of the solution? Join us for this special webinar on Canada-China relations and the environment.

Published: Oct 2nd
Written by: Elizabeth Thompson

The Canadian government needs to do more to protect diaspora communities from transnational repression, representatives of several organizations told the inquiry into foreign interference Wednesday. While their proposed solutions vary widely, the groups said some foreign governments are targeting members of diasporas in Canada through harassment, surveillance, spreading disinformation and online threats.

The inquiry was told that diaspora communities are often the first victims of interference by foreign governments. A number of representatives also recommended that Canada tighten up its immigration screening to prevent foreign operatives from getting into the country by misrepresenting their backgrounds.

A Canadian academic testifying before the public inquiry on foreign interference Wednesday, granted anonymity by the inquiry, said Chinese-Canadian professors are under suspicion and new research security policies have make it harder to collaborate with Chinese scholars. This year, she said, 17 of 20 Chinese researchers who were to come to a workshop in Canada couldn't get visas. "Hunting for spies in universities is close to modern day witch-hunting," she said, adding that Canadian universities are losing top talent and top performers feel unwelcome.

Published: Sept 17, 2024
Written by: David Carment & Danika Brown

Much like the U.S., Canada selectively chooses when to hold states responsible for foreign meddling, unfairly labeling some national groups as larger threats than others.

This situation is reminiscent of past controversies, such as the allegations against a former Ontario cabinet minister accused of ties to the Chinese government. The cabinet minister defended his connections as part of the cultural ties valued by many Canadians, arguing that such connections are integral to Canada’s multicultural fabric. Chan’s case underscores the ongoing challenge of balancing diaspora connections with national security concerns and the broader issue of how Canada’s security discourse can sometimes exacerbate tensions and lead to unfounded accusations.

After a decade of effort, China has established its geopolitical influence in Southeast Asia through its rail projects, which will grow further as more lines are completed. Chinese rail projects, especially those involving high-speed rail (HSR) systems, are and will be of considerable benefit to Beijing‘s geopolitical ambitions, but their impact may be limited by lack of progress, lack of connection, and unstable situations in some host states. Further, although China is actively shaping the landscape of Southeast Asian rail, there are opportunities for Japan, China‘s competitor with regards to infrastructure investment in rail systems, to explore.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed deep concerns on Wednesday over the turmoil in the Middle East, stressing that China opposes the violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and opposes moves that fuel antagonism and escalate tensions. This statement follows Israel's launch of ground military operations in southern Lebanon on Tuesday and Iran's military strikes against Israeli territory early on Wednesday.

China calls on the international community, especially major countries with influence, to play a constructive role and avoid further turmoil. China believes that the protracted fighting in Gaza is the root cause of this round of turmoil in the Middle East, and all parties need to work urgently for a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire, a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated.

Recently, experts close to MOFCOM pointed out that China's decision to implement temporary anti-dumping measures on EU brandy through the use of deposits, rather than directly imposing additional tariffs, reflects an effort to resolve trade disputes between the two sides through dialogue and consultation, aiming to maintain normal China-EU trade relations.

Published: Sept 30, 2024
Written by: Yaxin Zhou

Long dubbed “the world’s factory,” China is no longer satisfied with exporting only low-end manufacturing products. With its exports of electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels and lithium batteries, China is now in the process of conquering the American and European green markets. This is why the European Union and the United States, in particular, have begun criticizing China for its “industrial overcapacity.”

Published: Oct 6, 2024
Written by: Adam Tooze

China is the most important driver of worldwide emissions. Rich western countries have accumulated more total emissions. Other developing countries have emissions that are rising more rapidly than China‘s. But China‘s scale makes it different. China alone now accounts for more than 30 percent of global emissions, twice the share of the United States. In the ten years since the Paris agreement of 2015, China alone has been responsible for 90 percent of the growth in global CO2 emissions.

Some of China‘s emissions are attributable to exports delivered to world markets. But as a huge importer of raw materials and semi-finished products China also outsources emissions. And it is above all China‘s domestic energy use that accounts for this huge surge in emissions.

Published: Sept 30, 2024
Written by: Linda Hasunuma & Mary McCarthy

Abstract: This edited transcript of conversations among a group of scholars and practitioners is the culmination of a multi-year, multi-platform dialogue intended to capture the work and motivations of memory activists towards addressing both historical justice and current social and political needs of Asian American communities.

Event: Fri, Oct 18, 2024 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM PDT

“Of Color and Ink” is the first film to document Chang‘s 30-year exile in South America, Europe and the United States and is the result of a 12-year journey by Chinese-American director Weimin Zhang who sought to unravel the mysteries and controversies surrounding Chang's artistic and spiritual quest as he journeyed from East to West.

The film makes a case for his strong influence on Western art, showing that his work formed a bridge not only between China‘s past and present, but also between Eastern and Western aesthetic ideas. The film delves into his extraordinary life in exile and highlights his mission within the global art world.

Far from developing in isolation, let alone in a “clash of civilisations”, east and west were once mutually connected by epic trade routes known as the Silk Roads that carried China’s precious discovery, silk, across the then-known world. If that sounds dry, the British Museum turns it into a fairytale of magic and beauty, as you follow the merchants’ routes to fabulous oases, desert palaces, synagogues, mosques and burial mounds.

Japan's new Prime-Minister Shigeru Ishiba would like to bolster Japan’s military in order to strengthen the “Japan-US alliance as an ‘equal nation’ on par with the US-UK alliance.” The current US-Japan Security Treaty and the Status of Forces Agreement obliges Japan to provide bases for the US in Japan in exchange for a US commitment to defend Japan in case of attack.

The US has more military bases in Japan than in any other country, most of which are on indigenous Okinawa. For years peace groups in Japan and Okinawa have fought to rid their lands of the US bases. Recently, the Okinawa Interest Group highlighted the continuing problem of sexual assault by US military personnel on the island. Ishiba, however, is committed not to reducing the US military in Japan but rather to rebalancing the military alliance by stationing Japan’s military forces on Guam, a US military outpost; by jointly managing US bases in Japan; and by making the Japan-US military alliance the core of a new “Asian version of NATO”.

Sexual assaults have plagued Okinawa ever since U.S. forces first arrived there in 1945. According to Okinawa Women Act against Military Violence (2023), there have been 655 rapes, attempted rapes, and attempted kidnappings. These figures are just the tip of the iceberg; sexual violence is always under-reported. With U.S. and Japanese courts hardly delivering any justice for the victims, whose families and communities are hosting the bases purportedly for the protection of people throughout Japan, these assaults have sparked some of the largest demonstrations and sustained grassroots action against U.S. bases.