Wei Chengyi responds to allegations on role in 2019 election-interference network
By Staff Global News
Posted March 14, 2023 10:17 am
In order to eradicate, or at least reduce the exploitation of the issue by people with ulterior motives and fabricate them out of nothing to achieve the purpose of confusing the public, I hereby make the following statement:
为杜绝或至少减少别有用心之人利用问题无中生有、无中生有，达到混淆视听的目的，我特声明如下：
1. I am a Chinese-born Canadian citizen, and I take it for granted that I’m close to the Chinese Consulate in China. Canada is a multicultural country, and all ethnic groups are close to the embassies and consulates in Canada of their country of origin. What is wrong with this? Like Canadians living abroad or emigrating abroad, should they be blamed for having close and regular communication with local Canadian embassies and consulates?
1. 我是中国出生的加拿大公民，理所当然地认为我离中国驻华领事馆很近。 加拿大是一个多元文化的国家，各民族都与原籍国驻加拿大使领馆很近。 这有什么问题？ 就像居住在国外或移民国外的加拿大人一样，他们是否应该被指责与当地加拿大大使馆和领事馆保持密切和定期的沟通？
2. My relationship with the Chinese Consulate in Toronto, and even with China, is open. I have no secrets. On the wall of my company’s office, there are public photos of me and them at events, as well as photos of me at the Beijing venue during the two sessions, which can be seen by people who walk into the office; All the pictures are also uploaded to the Internet, everyone can see them at any time. I did not hide them. It was before, is now, and will be the same in the future.
2、我和中国驻多伦多领事馆，甚至和中国的关系，都是开放的。 我没有秘密。 在我公司办公室的墙上，挂着我和他们在活动中的公开照片，还有两届我在北京会场的照片，走进办公室的人都能看到； 所有的图片也都上传到了网上，大家可以随时看到。 我没有隐藏它们。 以前是，现在是，将来也是。
3. The people who involved me in the so-called “interference in the 2019 and 2022 federal elections” either had ulterior motives or simply did not understand the situation of the Chinese community and wanted to stigmatize me. After the second half of 2018, I had basically no contact with the Chinese Consulate in Toronto. Since the arrival of Consul General HAN TAO in August, owing to personal reasons, I have ceased to serve as Chairman of the Federation of Chinese Associations to concentrate on my business. Therefore, the “interference of [the] Chinese Consulate in Toronto through myself in 2019 and 2022 elections”, can be described as “nonsense, hogwash”, which is really not exaggerated. If I want to donate to support a worthy candidate, I personally still have the ability to donate as much as the law allows. Those media people with ulterior motives: don’t act like a snob, Ha-ha!
3. 那些让我卷入所谓“干预2019年和2022年联邦选举”的人要么是别有用心，要么根本不了解华人社区的情况，想要污名化我。 2018年下半年以后，我和中国驻多伦多领事馆基本没有联系。 8月韩涛总领事到任后，由于个人原因，本人不再担任华联会主席一职，专心处理公务。 因此，“中国驻多伦多领事馆通过我自己干预2019年和2022年的选举”，可谓“胡说八道，胡说八道”，一点都不为过。 如果我想捐款支持一位有价值的候选人，我个人仍然有能力在法律允许的范围内捐款。 那些别有用心的媒体人：别势利，呵呵！
4. I support and approve the establishment of Confucius Institutes. I think it’s very good to be able to teach Chinese classes in Ontario schools and teach young people one more language, just as English is commonly taught in Chinese schools today. As for whether to learn or not, it is a voluntary choice of students and parents, and there is no compulsion. The Confucius Institute was suspended later, and it was also everyone’s choice, and under Western democracies, I fully respect this decision.
4. 我支持并赞成设立孔子学院。 我认为能够在安大略省的学校教授中文课并教年轻人多一门语言是非常好的，就像今天中国学校普遍教授英语一样。 至于学不学，是学生和家长的自愿选择，没有任何强制。 后来孔子学院停办，也是大家的选择，在西方民主制度下，我完全尊重这个决定。
5. Some people have alleged that I went to Beijing to attend the two sessions (the People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference), which I was invited to attend, but I was not a representative of the two sessions, and just an observation learner as I also went to Parliament Hill in Ottawa to watch the parliamentary debate in the public gallery. This is a study of different parliamentary systems and enriches one’s own knowledge.
5. 有人说我去北京参加两会（人大、政协），我是受邀参加的，但我不是两会的代表，只是一个观察学习者，同样，我还去了渥太华的国会山，在公众席上观看议会辩论。 这是对不同议会制度的研究，丰富了自己的知识。
6. I am a businessman who is more interested in doing business than anything else, and has no interest in politics at all, nor in doing so. I will concentrate my energy and time on doing better business, making my own contribution to the Canadian economy, and creating more jobs for Canadian citizens. Canada is a democratic, rule-of-law country. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will enforce the law and the law will punish people who break it. Do not use the name of freedom and ulterior motives to slander law-abiding people.
6. 我是个商人，对做生意比什么都感兴趣，对政治一点兴趣都没有，也不想做。 我会集中精力和时间做更好的生意，为加拿大经济做出自己的贡献，为加拿大公民创造更多的就业机会。 加拿大是一个民主的法治国家。 加拿大皇家骑警将执法，法律将惩罚违法者。 不要借自由和别有用心的名义污蔑守法的人。
Wei Chengyi responds to allegations on role in 2019 election-interference network
