CHINA Town Hall - Hand on the Pulse: Changing Canadian Public Opinion on China

A recent Pew poll showed that Canadian public opinion of China has grown increasingly unfavourable over the past decade. From the two Michaels to China’s zero-Covid policy to Communist Party influence abroad, many pressure points have surfaced. Canada also has a large and diverse population of Chinese descent that enriches and participates in Canadian politics and society. This panel brought together diverse voices to discuss how Chinese in Canada have historically been treated, and what lessons there are for people-to-people exchange today.

 

This was our second annual collaboration with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR). The virtual Canada-wide China Town Hall took place immediately following the NCUSCR's feature event (7-8pm EST) with the former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, China, and Singapore - Jon M. Huntsman Jr.

 

 

Joanna Chiu is a senior reporter covering national and foreign stories for the Toronto Star and the author of China Unbound: A New World Disorder. As a globally-recognized authority on China, Chiu is a regular commentator for international broadcast media. She was previously based in Beijing as a foreign correspondent, including for Agence France Presse (AFP) and Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) specializing in coverage of Chinese politics, economy and legal affairs. In Hong Kong, she reported for the South China Morning Post, The Economist magazine and The Associated Press. As a passionate connector within the global China experts' community, she is the chair of the NüVoices editorial collective, which celebrates the creative and academic work of women working on the subject of

China.

 

Diana Fu is Associate Professor of Political Science and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, and Director of the East Asia Seminar Series at the Asian Institute, Munk School. She is a non-resident fellow at Brookings and a public intellectuals fellow at the National Committee on US-China Relations. She is also a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. Her research examines popular contention, state control, civil society, and authoritarian citizenship, with a focus on contemporary China. She is author of the award-winning book Mobilizing Without the Masses: Control and Contention in China (2018, Cambridge University Press and Columbia Weatherhead Series).  

 

Christopher Sands, PhD, Director of the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute, is an internationally renowned specialist on Canada and US-Canadian relations. He is also an adjunct professor of Canadian Studies at Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and Senior Fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto. He regularly gives testimony to the U.S. Congress and the Canadian Parliament, is a widely quoted source on Canadian and has published extensively over a career of more than 25 years in Washington think tanks.

 

Henry Yu is Associate Professor of History and the Principal of St. John's College at the University of British Columbia. As a history professor, Dr. Yu’s research and teaching has been built around collaborations with local community organizations, civic institutions such as museums, and multiple levels of government. He is passionate about helping British Columbians unlearn the cultural and historical legacies of colonialism and to be inspired by the often hidden and untold stories of those who struggled against racism and made Canadian society more inclusive and just. Currently, he leads a research team in support of the City of Vancouver’s commitment to create a cultural heritage asset management plan for Vancouver Chinatown, and in 2019 led the UBC-based consulting team for the Province of BC for the creation of a provincial Chinese Canadian Museum. Dr. Yu was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and the Province of BC’s Multicultural Award in 2015 in recognition of his research and community leadership.