From the Globe and Mail, via david-kilgour.com:
Canada has to ratchet up its ability to spy on China, an ex-diplomat writes in a new report, arguing Chinese agents are infiltrating the Canadian embassy in Beijing and disrupting the lives of dissidents in Canada
A study released this week, A Reassessment of Canada’s Interests in China, finds that Ottawa’s failure to keep its eyes and ears trained on the world’s most populous, and economically dynamic, country is having consequences. Much of the study’s focus is on China’s unconstrained spying and Canada’s relative naiveté.
For example, Ottawa’s envoys to China are said to be so Mandarin-illiterate that they “cannot even read the local daily newspaper” without soliciting the help of locals, whose loyalties are always in question.
And because diplomats are felt to be doing a poor job of interpreting China for Ottawa, federal intelligence agencies are urged to step up.
The report argues that better counterespionage (from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service), improved eavesdropping (from the Communications Security Establishment), and more rigorous assessments (from the Privy Council Office) could improve matters.
