【EXLUSIVE】Foreign Influence and Taxpayer Dollars: How the Canadian Government Has Been Funding a China's Communist Party-Affiliated Community Leader
- Liberty Network
- Apr 5
- 4 min read
By Liberty Network in collaboration with The Canadian Chinese Political Affairs Committee (CCPAC)
Executive Summary
Between 2006 and 2022, the Canadian federal government awarded over $1 million in taxpayer-funded grants to the Toronto Community & Culture Centre (TCCC) — a community organization headed by Xinsheng Zhong (also known as Simon Zhong, 钟新生), a figure long associated with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence networks, particularly the United Front Work Department.
CCPACPublic records confirm that 17 separate grants totalling $1,042,749.00 were disbursed to the TCCC under the banner of community service, newcomer support, and anti-racism initiatives. However, Zhong’s leadership roles in multiple pro-Beijing organizations and public recognition as a “patriotic [to China] overseas Chinese” suggest a dual agenda: one of community outreach on the surface, and foreign political influence beneath.
This report compiles the evidence and calls for immediate accountability, transparency, and reforms to ensure Canadian taxpayer dollars are not used — directly or indirectly — to fund foreign interference operations on Canadian soil.
Who Are Xinsheng Zhong and Ping-Teng Tan?
Xinsheng Zhong (钟新生, also known as Simon Zhong) is the Executive Director of the Toronto Community & Culture Centre (TCCC) and co-chair of the National Congress of Chinese Canadians (NCCC), Ontario chapter. His leadership positions give him broad reach within community and political circles, and he has long been associated with organizations that align closely with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) political messaging.
According to local Chinese-language media, Xinsheng Zhong is also a 政协海外列席代表 (Overseas Non-Voting Delegate to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, CPPCC), which is a core united front organization under the Chinese Communist Party.
The CPPCC’s leadership includes senior CCP officials, and it plays a central role in executing China’s global influence strategy through elite co-option, diaspora engagement, and policy alignment with Beijing’s political agenda.
The president of the NCCC that Zhong manages, Ping-Teng Tan (also known as Bingding Chen 陈丙丁), is concurrently the head of the All-Canada Chinese Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China (ACCCPRC). Tan is currently suspended indefinitely from practicing law in Ontario following accusations of misappropriating client funds, according to a Radio-Canada investigation.
The ACCCPRC is part of a global network of "peaceful reunification" councils directly tied to the United Front Work Department and its parent organization, the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification — both instruments of CCP soft power and propaganda. These organizations are explicitly anti-democratic, working to strip democratic rights from the 23 million people of Taiwan, deny Taiwanese sovereignty, and promote Beijing’s goal of forced unification.
By openly aligning with this agenda, the ACCCPRC not only undermines democratic values but also contradicts Canada’s national interests and those of its democratic allies.
A Public Spectacle of Loyalty
On October 29, 2023, the Toronto chapter of the ACCCPRC held a high-profile inauguration banquet attended by over 300 people:
“Chairman Ping-Teng Tan and the full board took office under the witness of Chinese Consul General Luo Weidong. Over 300 attendees sang "Ode to the Motherland" in celebration of China.”
This ceremony — held in Canada, endorsed by a Chinese diplomat, and ending in a patriotic (to China) group song — exemplifies how these organizations serve as symbolic and strategic arms of the CCP, not as neutral community groups.
A Stark Contrast: FBI Arrests in the U.S. — Canadian Grants in the North
While Canada continues to fund leaders linked to CCP-aligned organizations, the United States has taken decisive legal action:
In April 2023, the FBI arrested Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, two individuals affiliated with a New York branch of the same "peaceful reunification" council network. The pair were charged with operating an illegal overseas police station in Manhattan and acting under the direction of China’s Ministry of Public Security to monitor, intimidate, and silence dissidents.(DOJ Press Release)
These arrests were part of a broader crackdown on CCP influence operations. The FBI identified the connection between these "community leaders" and the CCP’s United Front Work Department, and acted swiftly.
If the FBI is arresting leaders of United Front-linked “peaceful reunification” organizations, why is the Canadian government continuing to fund their counterparts in Canada?
While the U.S. treats these networks as a national security threat, Canada is writing them cheques.
A Question for the Government: Why Fund Loyalty to a Foreign Authoritarian Power?
Why has the Liberal government — while publicly claiming to oppose foreign interference — repeatedly funneled taxpayer money to individuals and organizations whose allegiance lies with the Chinese Communist Party?
Why are patriotic [to China] community leaders like Xinsheng Zhong and Ping-Teng Tan — who openly support Beijing’s narratives and appear at CCP-consulate-endorsed events — still receiving Canadian government grants?
This is not multiculturalism. This is a failure of oversight and national security policy. It is a failure to distinguish between genuine community service and covert political operations.
The Canadian public deserves an answer. And Canada’s democratic institutions deserve protection — not compromise.
Conclusion: Time for a Line in the Sand
This is not a partisan issue. It is a matter of national interest, democratic resilience, and institutional integrity.
Canadian taxpayers are unknowingly subsidizing foreign interference by funding organizations whose leaders openly serve the ideological and strategic goals of the Chinese Communist Party. This undermines Canada’s democracy, erodes trust in public funding, and emboldens authoritarian influence on Canadian soil.
If Canada is serious about defending its values and future, then the government must:
Audit all past federal funding to organizations linked to the CCP’s United Front;
Enact mandatory foreign affiliation disclosure rules for public grant recipients;
Coordinate with CSIS and RCMP to vet funding applicants flagged in foreign interference reports;
Publicly identify organizations with ties to hostile foreign governments;
Empower civil society and journalists to investigate and expose foreign influence.
Canada’s strength lies in its open, democratic society. But openness without vigilance is vulnerability.
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