Followed, threatened and smeared — attacks by China against its critics in Canada are on the rise

other social media and websites.\”Tay, who was warned by Toronto police to stop campaigning door-to-door for his own safety, said the attacks had a chilling effect on his campaign.”It was very stressful and it definitely impacted my ability to connect with voters,” Tay said. “It’s scary to think that a foreign government is trying to influence our elections and target Canadian citizens for speaking out against their oppressive regime.”The SITE Task Force also reported similar attacks on other candidates who have been critical of China, including Liberal candidate Shaun Chen and NDP candidate Paul Manly, as well as on Chinese-Canadian community leaders who have spoken out against the Chinese government’s human rights abuses.\”We want to raise the alarm that this is happening in Canada,\” said a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. \”We need to take this threat seriously and work together to protect our democracy and national security.\”The federal government has since announced plans to introduce legislation to combat foreign interference and transnational repression in Canada, but the details are still being worked out.\”It’s clear that China is using every tool at its disposal to silence dissent and undermine democratic values in Canada and around the world,\” said Michael Kovrig. \”We need to be vigilant and take action to protect our citizens and our democracy from these attacks.\”Zhang, who continues to speak out against the Chinese government despite the attacks against her, said she hopes that by sharing her story, she can raise awareness about the growing threat of transnational repression in Canada.\”I won’t be silenced,\” Zhang said. \”I will continue to fight for freedom and democracy, no matter what the cost.\”