Liberal MP and parliamentary secretary to the Minister of International Development, Anita Vandenbeld, said she’s safe from Chinese election interference claims because she’s “white” and “of Dutch descent.”
According to Vandenbeld, her Chinese colleagues are not as lucky and could have their lives ruined over reports that they’re working for “a foreign interest.”
“As soon as you say someone is disloyal to this country, as soon as you say someone is working with foreign agents for a foreign interest, not just that individual, their families, their communities, their lives are ruined,” said Vandenbeld.
“Once you say that about someone, how do you prove a negative? How do you prove that you’re not?” she continued.
“I can go back to my constituency and tell people, first of all, I’m white, I’m of Dutch descent…Obviously I am not working for China.”
As first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, Vandenbeld made the comments during a House of Commons house affairs committee meeting which discussed the recent reports that China interfered in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
Eleven mostly unidentified MPs, most of whom are believed to be Liberal, have been implicated by reports citing leaked intelligence documents.
One Liberal MP has far been publicly named as having benefited from operations directed by the Chinese government.
According to intelligence sources, Chinese officials bussed students and the elderly to a Liberal Party nomination race in 2019 ordering them to vote for MP Han Dong.
Dong and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have denied the allegations.
“As you are aware, we are unable to comment on your questions regarding secret or top secret matters. That is the law. There are so many factual inaccuracies in your questions that it is not possible to even begin to answer your questions,” wrote the Prime Minister’s Office in response to news reports.
“Han Dong is a strong representative who served his community through the pandemic and consistently works to make life better for people, including calling out discrimination that is too often targeted at the Chinese Canadian community.”
