Human rights activists are angry with the University of British Columbia for renting out one of its classrooms to the Government of Hong Kong for a recruitment exam earlier this month.
In a Dec. 22 letter to UBC President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon, Chinese Canadian Concern Group on the Chinese Communist Party’s Human Rights Violations wrote to express its disapproval of the university allowing the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office to use a room at the Robson Square campus to conduct an exam related to its 2020 National Security Law (NSL) on Dec. 7.
“Successful candidates for this examination are required to swear allegiance to the Hong Kong and, by extension, Beijing governments,” the letter from spokesperson Gabriel Yiu reads.
“Allowing this recruitment activity on UBC’s campus raises serious national security concerns for Canada, especially in the context of potential conflicts between the two governments. Such actions could pave the way for the infiltration of foreign authoritarian influence into our society.”
The NSL was created in response to protests in Hong Kong in 2019. It criminalized anything considered as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign organizations. These include anything related to trying to get Hong Kong to break away from China or undermining the authority of the Chinese government.
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The organization called the NSL a “draconian law that suppresses fundamental rights, including free speech, freedom of the press, and other freedoms.”
“This law has been used to persecute dissent not only within Hong Kong but also within the global Chinese diaspora,” the letter states.
“Hosting this examination on Canadian soil risks enabling the further implementation of the NSL, which is fundamentally at odds with Canada’s democratic values.”
Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan says the Chinese government is trying to recruit people to work in Hong Kong and China. Applicants, she says, are required to show their understanding of the NSL.
“UBC, of course, can rent their space to anybody. However, from my perspective, I think that you should be looking at some ethical standards that should apply,” she said.
“In the very minimum, one would think that any organization, any institution that’s going to rent out a space to a government that is a regular, persistent, violent human rights violators, that they would apply some standards to it.”
Kwan suggested the university should have warned those taking the exam about the concerns regarding the NSL.
In an emailed statement to Global News, Thandi Fletcher with UBC said the university acknowledges the concerns but it does not endorse the activities, views or positions of groups who rent its spaces.
“The university’s role in such situations is limited to the administration of space rentals and ensuring compliance with established policies,” the statement reads.
“As far as the university is aware, the event that took place on Dec. 7 did not violate any laws, regulations or UBC policies. ”
Kwan called UBC’s response “completely inadequate.”
“It’s just basically saying, well, it doesn’t matter. We’re blind to all of these issues,” she said.
“As a global institution, which is what UBC is, you would think that they would have a little bit more thought than to say, ‘We will just follow the regulations of basic rental requirements.’ That’s not good enough.”
While the reasons behind recruiting Canadians remains unclear, Kwan is concerned the Chinese government may be doing it in an attempt to enforce the NSL in other countries such as Canada.
Yiu wrote that UBC should commit to ensure no such exam happens on the university’s property in the future.
“Canada is under increasing threat from foreign authoritarian influence, and it is imperative for institutions like UBC to stand firm in uphold democratic values and protecting Canadian sovereignty,” Yio wrote.