China Linked to Fake 'Wanted' Poster, Repression Efforts Against Conservative Candidate
The Chinese government is suspected of repressing the campaign of Toronto-area Conservative candidate Joe Tay, pushing a mock “wanted” poster of him online and boosting disparaging stories about the Hong Kong democracy activist while suppressing searches of his name on social media.
On Monday, Canada's federal elections monitoring task force offered a sobering warning: the People's Republic of China (PRC) appeared to be behind a transnational repression operation to undermine Tay, a Conservative candidate and vocal critic of the Chinese regime. “(Transnational repression) is a particularly egregious form of foreign interference because it is used to suppress free speech and democratic rights,”
Task Force Spokesperson Laurie-Anne Kempton On Transnational Repression
"Since the bounty and arrest warrant were placed on Mr. Tay, members of the SITE task force have noticed a persistent information campaign on social media platforms where Chinese speaking users in Canada are very active," said Kempton.
But the threatening online activity against Tay increased with the launch of the federal election, particularly in late March when he was announced as the Conservative candidate for Don Valley North, Kempton said. Though the transnational repression operation bears all the hallmarks of traditional PRC-backed foreign interference tactics, task force members said they were still working on confirming who was behind it.
Task Force Uncertain On Confirmation
"Confirming ties between a state and suspicious online activity can take “significant time and analysis”," Kempton said. "The material that we’re seeing now is mostly linked to the bounty that was placed on Mr. Tay in December of 2024. We know who issued that bounty and what’s behind it,” added SITE member and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) executive Larisa Galadza in a thinly veiled reference to the PRC.
Tay Campaign Aware Of Online Threats
"It is critical that all political parties and leaders take a clear stand against this foreign interference,” Tay said in a statement. “These activities are happening on a small scale. They have not reached the tipping point of threatening the integrity of our election, either at the national or the riding level,” Kempton said. “The threat actors have not succeeded.”
Repression Campaign Discovered On Big Chinese Social Media Platforms
SITE detected repressive activity against Tay on the biggest Chinese-based social media platforms such as WeChat, TikTok, RedNote and Douyin (TikTok’s sister app in China) as well as on Facebook. To date, SITE members said intelligence only definitively tied the PRC to the campaign.
Canadian Government Already Recognized The Bounty As A Form Of Transnational Repression
The Canadian government has already said Hong Kong’s bounties were a form of transnational repression against Tay and other dissidents. On many of those platforms, the task force also found that positive or posts about Tay on those platforms were hidden from users, while disparaging or negative content was promoted.
Psychological Impact Of Transnational Repression
"The transnational repression and its effect on the democratic process is not about a single act, but rather about the accumulated impact of many acts designed to discredit a candidate, silence criticism and dissent and manipulate the information that informs voters,” Kempton said.
"There is a profound psychological impact on victims who experience (transnational repression). They might experience fear, anxiety and stress due to continuous surveillance and harassment,” she added.