(Police officers stand guard outside the Canadian embassy in Beijing on January 27, 2019.
‘When I look at the subtle but intense influence of China on Canadian institutions … it makes me deadly worried,’ says Clive Hamilton
by Tom Blackwell
Originally Published: April 2019
Silent Invasion, Clive Hamilton’s ground-breaking book about China’s covert influence on Australian society, has been both applauded as an overdue exposé and criticized as an exaggeration of the problem. But when he finished the book, he received some unwanted validation of its central thesis: three Australian publishers declined to publish it, citing fear of retribution from Beijing or its allies.
Hamilton, a professor of public ethics at Canberra’s Charles Sturt University and former executive director of progressive think-tank The Australia Institute, eventually found a willing publisher, and now is working on a sequel dealing with similar issues in North America. What he’s discovered so far makes him very concerned for Canada. He spoke with the National Post during a visit to Toronto.
Some experts suggest the problem of Chinese soft-power interference is much more pronounced in Australia and New Zealand than here. Do you agree?
I think it’s more of a problem in Canada.
Yes, Australia’s economic dependence is higher — in terms of trade — but when I look, as I have been doing, at the subtle but intense influence of China on Canadian institutions — parliaments, provincial governments, local governments, universities, the intellectual community, the policy community — it makes me deadly worried.
I’ve met some very well-informed Canadians who aren’t sure Canada will be able to extricate itself from this situation.
I have also been dismayed by the brazenness of friends of the Chinese Communist Party and their activities
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