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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Chinese police own a company that collects details of people applying for visas to Canada and numerous other countries, giving Beijing security services a direct stake in the processing of private information provided by people planning travel outside China.
Beijing Shuangxiong Foreign Service Company, which operates the Canadian visa-application centre in the Chinese capital, is owned by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, a Globe and Mail investigation has found. And at least some of the people working inside the centre are members of the Communist Party, recruited from a school that trains the next generation of party elite.
Activities held to mark first Chinese People s Police Day
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China s Ministry of Public Security holds a police flag-raising ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 10, 2021. Activities were held to mark the first Chinese People s Police Day, which falls on Sunday. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
China s Ministry of Public Security holds a police flag-raising ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 10, 2021. Activities were held to mark the first Chinese People s Police Day, which falls on Sunday. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
Police from Badaling Police Station of Yanqing Branch of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau patrol near the Great Wall in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 10, 2021. Activities were held to mark the first Chinese People s Police Day, which falls on Sunday. (Photo by Zhang Yan/Xinhua)