Followed, threatened and smeared — attacks by China against its critics in Canada are on the rise

For Yao Zhang, the news came as a shock.

Sexually explicit, deepfake images of her were circulating widely online — an attack that Ottawa blamed on the Chinese government. 

It wasn't the first time Zhang had been targeted by China. Shortly after the Quebec-based accountant-turned-influencer travelled to Taiwan in January 2024 to support its independence, China's national police paid a visit to her aunt in Chifeng, in mainland China.

Zhang was also doxxed — private information about her and members of her family was posted to a website listing people who weren't loyal to China — information only the Chinese government would know. False rumours began to spread online designed to discredit her, alleging that she had an affair with her stepbrother, that she was being paid by the U.S. government.

Zhang isn't alone. CBC News spoke with several other Canadian activists who have spoken out against the People's Republic of China (PRC), all of whom described similar attacks: Family members in China questioned by police. Dissidents followed and surveilled in Canada. Threatening phone calls. Online attacks like spamouflage, using a bot network to push spam-like content and propaganda across multiple social media platforms.

While Zhang says she still feels physically safe in Canada, the attacks take a mental toll.

"I mean, they can reach you, of course, online or through your relatives in China. I don't think there's anything the Canadian government can do."

An investigation by CBC News, in conjunction with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), has found attacks by the Chinese government on dissidents living in Canada — and around the world — are on the rise.

It's a trend that worries experts on China, who say the attacks damage democracy and national security in Canada.

"You've got a foreign government that is causing Canadian citizens and permanent residents to not feel safe in Canada, to not feel they can exercise their own rights and freedoms and speak out," said Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat and expert on Asia who was detained by China for more than 1,000 days. 

"By undermining those communities, they are ultimately undermining Canadian society and politics and ultimately national security."

In June 2024, Parliament adopted Bill C-70 which was supposed to counter the rising threat of transnational repression and foreign interference in Canada by giving government departments and agencies more powers to fight it and by creating a foreign agent registry and a foreign interference transparency commissioner. 

However, nearly a year later, as reports indicate China has become more brazen, little has been done to put those measures in place, leaving it to Prime Minister Mark Carney's government to implement. 

In many cases, dissidents are targeted for expressing opinions contrary to the Chinese government's positions on what it calls "the five poisons": democracy in Hong Kong, treatment of Uyghurs, Tibetan freedom, the Falun Gong and Taiwanese independence.