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A key parliamentary committee has voted to call VFS Global, the company that runs Canada’s visa application centres abroad, to answer questions regarding Chinese police ownership of the facility in Beijing.
The House of Commons committee on citizenship and immigration unanimously agreed to adopt a motion from NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan on Wednesday asking VFS to appear no later than Feb. 24.
Ottawa Must End Contract With Visa Application Company Linked to CCP, Committee Hears
The federal government should cancel its contract with a visa application company that has links to Beijing to prevent the personal data of Hong Kongers trying to flee the city from falling into the hands of the communist regime, a parliamentary committee heard on Feb. 17.
Hong Kong activists and experts testified before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration about their concerns over Ottawa contracting out its visa applications processing to VFS Global, a company known to have close ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One of its subcontractors in China serves as the municipal government’s public security bureau and police department in Beijing.
Canadian Visa-Application Centres in China Owned by CCP-Affiliated Companies
A company owned by Chinese police in Beijing collects detailed personal information as part of the Canadian visa-application process, raising security concerns for travelers applying for a visa to Canada and other countries.
Beijing Shuangxiong Foreign Service Company, which operates the Canadian visa-application centre in China’s capital, is owned by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, according to a Globe and Mail report. With a number of the centre’s staff found to be members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), questions are raised about how private information is kept from the regime that is known for surveillance and security threats.
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The Canadian government is facing calls to cancel an arrangement in Beijing where Chinese police own a company that collects details of people applying for visas to Canada.
As The Globe and Mail reported earlier this week, Canada’s visa application centre in Beijing is operated by Beijing Shuangxiong Foreign Service Company, which is owned by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. And at least some of the people working inside the centre are members of the Chinese Communist Party, recruited from a school that trains the next generation of party elite.