Justin Li, who heads the Confucius Institute at Carleton University won't acknowledge the killing of peaceful protestors in 1989 by the Chinese government.
During a Parliamentary Committee hearing on Canada-China relations, Conservative MP Garnett Genius questioned Justin Li, the head of the Confucius Institute at Carleton University after Li claimed to have no affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party.
In the clip, Li claims not to have the "expertise knowledge" to say whether or not the Chinese government killed as many as 2,500 student protestors in Tiananmen Square in 1989 after troops were ordered to open fire on protestors. When asked, Li refused to answer whether it was wrong for the Chinese government to kill the protestors but concluded that it was an "unfortunate event".
Justin Li is the Director of the Confucius Institute at Carleton University. He said that Confucius Institutes are independent of Chinese government control. But then, watch him stumble over a simple question about the Tiananmen square massacre. #cdnpoli #china CC @ipacglobal pic.twitter.com/IJ79dwP3ed
— Garnett Genuis (@GarnettGenuis) May 4, 2021
The Confucius Institute has long been accused by American and Canadian politicians of being a front of the Chinese Communist Party to recruit spies and talent for its many industrial espionage operations.
China has maintained a policy of stealing technology from North American companies and researchers to help advance those same sectors in China.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo previously required all Confucius Institutes in the United States to register as foreign missions. Pompeo said the Confucius Institute is "advancing Beijing's global propaganda and malign influence."
In Canada, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said in a 2013 report, "[The Confucius Institute] is an organization for spreading propaganda." Many of the Confucius Institutes directors are Chinese nationals including Justin Li, who admitted he was living in China during the time of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Across Canada universities and school boards are ending their relationships with the Confucius Institute due to concerns over censorship and propaganda. McMaster University ended its relationship with the Institute in 2013, Toronto District School Board in 2014, and New Brunswick says it will terminate its relationship at the end of its contract in 2022.
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