The Playbook - How China Buys Governments
The Playbook - How China Buys Governments
Michel Juneau-Katsuya, is the former chief of the Asia-Pacific division at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). Think of that as Canada’s CIA. He has some very chilling things to say about the extent to which Chinese intelligence has compromised the government of Canada. Given the state of play here at home, we might want to take just a few minutes to hear what those are.
“There are elected officials at all levels whether it’s municipal, provincial or federal who are being paid by foreign governments and who are not necessarily acting in the interests of Canada.”
“Foreign agents try to recruit elected officials. It’s fairly easy because elected officials don’t necessarily listen to security guidelines to protect themselves.”
“What we know for sure is we have various foreign countries that succeeded in recruiting elected officials — again, municipal, provincial or federal — and were capable of influencing this way.”
Lest you be inclined to downplay the significance of this compromise and believe that Juneau-Katsuya is only talking about minor officials or foreign powers of no great significance let’s be clear. He is saying the Chinese have compromised the entire Canadian government.
"…every [Canadian] Prime Minister has been compromised at one point or another by those [Chinese] agents of influence. …every government, every office was compromised. And when we brought the warning, nobody listened."
Michael Juneau-Katsuya, Former Chief of Canadian intelligence (CSIS), Asia Pacific division.
The Chinese own Canada. Maybe now the draconian measures we are seeing north of the border make more sense.
None of this frighteningly enough is actually news to our intelligence agencies. They have known since at least the 1990s that the Chinese were taking political control of our northern neighbor. And, yet, we have done nothing about it.
Almost as if we were compromised here as well…
It is not just former Canadian intelligence officers who are sounding the alarm. The CSIS recently called foreign interference activities by the Chinese government the "greatest strategic threat to national security."
In a statement provided to CBC/Radio-Canada last Friday, a CSIS spokesperson said that this threat comes not from the "Chinese population" but from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is deploying a strategy aimed at "geopolitical gains" on economic, technological, political and military fronts.
"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 spokesperson.
CSIS added that it takes foreign interference "very seriously" and uses all available legal tools to investigate threats, advise the federal government and take threat reduction measures.
In fact, the CSIS has formally advised Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that China is targeting Canada with a campaign of foreign interference and that it funded at least 11 federal candidates running in the 2019 election. Per CSIS the purpose of this funding was to subvert Canada’s democratic process.
China’s efforts to gain control of Canada’s elected officials included payments through intermediaries to candidates affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), placing agents into the offices of MPs in order to influence policy, seeking to co-opt and corrupt former Canadian officials to gain leverage in Ottawa, and mounting aggressive campaigns to punish Canadian politicians whom the People’s Republic of China (PRC) views as threats to its interests.
Again, just in case you are inclined to find ways to diminish the significance of what the CSIS is saying, consider this bottom-line assessment.
“The Chinese Communist Party … is using all elements of state power to carry out activities that are a direct threat to our national security and sovereignty,” CSIS.
None of this should be news. The Chinese Communist Party runs a vast, worldwide, incredibly well-funded program called the United Front. One element of this effort is “elite capture.”This involves buying politicians, government officials, and other influential figures in target nations.
This is not fantasy. This is not conjecture. This is documented fact, and every competent intelligence service on the planet is aware of it.
Maybe, when we are done arresting former Presidents and charging them with paying hush money to porn stars with whom they may or may not have actually ever had a relationship we might want to take a look at the playbook being laid out for us by our northern neighbor. This is how the CCP takes control of a nation.
Where have we seen that playbook before?