Original Broadcaster Captioning (Enhanced). Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:58[tentative music playing]
00:01:10[Gaétan] Several months into our investigation, we head to Australia.
00:01:14We've tracked down Eric,
00:01:16the operative who spied on Hua Yong for yea.
00:01:20We don't know where he lives,
00:01:22so we agreed to meet in a safe location.
00:01:25The man you see here is not an actor.
00:01:28It's Eric himself.
00:01:30In a remarkable turn of event,
00:01:32a former Chinese spy agrees to an interview.
00:01:36You guys rolling? Are you rolling? Ready?
00:01:41[Eric speaking in Mandarin]
00:01:44[interpreter] My name is Eric. Of course, that's not my real name.
00:01:49[Gaétan] For security reasons, Eric has asked us
00:01:52not to reveal his real name.
00:01:56[interpreter] From 2008 to 2023,
00:01:59I worked for China's secret police.
00:02:06It's a police force used to suppress political dissent.
00:02:12Its main targets are critics of the Communist Party.
00:02:17Over time, my role evolved. I gained their trust,
00:02:20was promoted and I became an agent,
00:02:22a spy sent on missions to various countries.
00:02:38I went to Thailand on a long term assignment.
00:02:43My primary mission was to infiltrate the Chinese dissident communi.
00:02:47♪
00:03:02[Gaétan] Eric managed to get close Hua Yong
00:03:04and meet him in Bangkok.
00:03:13[Eric speaking in Mandarin] [interpreter] We talked about a lot of things.
00:03:19Hua Yong was influential
00:03:21and many of his activities upset the Chinese authorities.
00:03:25The goal of the operation was to bring him back
00:03:27to China and silence him.
00:03:41The secret police often use money to trap their targets.
00:03:47We discussed trying to lure hm with financial support
00:03:50to open a hostel or some other business ventur.
00:03:53The idea was to get him to go to a country where the secret police could control him.
00:03:59Like Cambodia or Laos. Preferably Cambodia.
00:04:06[Gaétan] So, do you have friends here in Australia?
00:04:10Not too much. A few. Just a few, you know.
00:04:12[Gaétan] Eric has agreed to tell us his story
00:04:15because incredibly, before becoming a spy,
00:04:18he too was a pro democracy dissident.
00:04:32[Eric speaking in Mandarin] [interpreter] I stumbled onto the website
00:04:36of the Social Democratic Party of China.
00:04:39Their ideas appealed to me, so I applied to be a member by email.
00:04:43The police then tracked me do.
00:04:47These police have enormous power.
00:04:50If you don't cooperate, you can end up in prison.
00:04:55So when they caught me, they forced me to work for th.
00:05:03I knew in my heart that I wasn't on the same side as the secret police.
00:05:07Deep down, I was still an anti-communist.
00:05:09So I knew that sooner or late, I would break with them.
00:05:14[Gaétan] Still, Eric spent 15 years as a spy
00:05:17before fleeing the secret police.
00:05:25His first mission abroad came in 2016...
00:05:31when he traveled to India to infiltrate a Tibetan event.
00:05:36[Eric speaking in Mandarin] [interpreter] I went to Dharamshala,
00:05:38where I met the Dalai Lama and other peop.
00:05:41I gathered some information, then wrote a report.
00:05:45We took a group photo and shook hands.
00:05:52[Gaétan] Eric had proven himself as a spy.
00:05:55Next, his superiors sent him
00:05:57on a special mission to Cambodia,
00:05:59a strategic location for the Chinese secret police.
00:06:02[dramatic music playing]
00:06:13[Handler in Mandarin]
00:06:21So, just if you can explain to me, what is this?
00:06:24[Eric speaking in Mandarin]
00:06:26[Gaétan] Eric tells us that one of his targets
00:06:28was the political cartoonist, Rebel Pepper,
00:06:32known for satirizing President Xi Jinping.
00:06:35He left China to escape repression.
00:06:40[Eric speaking in Mandarin] [interpreter] It was a special operation
00:06:43to bring Rebel Pepper back to China.
00:06:48We offered him a few business opportunities.
00:06:54[Gaétan] As with Hua Yong, the secret police tried
00:06:56to draw Rebel Pepper to Cambodia.
00:06:59[Eric speaking in Mandarin] [interpreter] We asked him to design a mascot
00:07:02for a large company.
00:07:06[Gaétan] The spy had the backing
00:07:08of a Cambodian multinational, the Prince Group.
00:07:12[Eric speaking in Mandarin]
00:07:15[interpreter] This is an inflatable version created from his sketches.
00:07:20Company executives were asked to take photos with the masco.
00:07:27[Gaétan] Eric's account reveals the extensive efforts
00:07:30China deploys to track down dissidents.
00:07:34[Eric speaking in Mandarin]
00:07:35[interpreter] These companies appear to be normal businesses
00:07:38with real commercial operations.
00:07:41But they're actually front companies
00:07:43that covertly cooperate with the secret police.
00:07:53[Gaétan] Suspecting a trap, Rebel Pepper refused to go to Cambodia.
00:07:57Hua Yong also evaded a similar secret police schem.
00:08:17[Gaétan] He continues to be tracked in Canada.
00:08:21Eric pulls off an impressive feat.
00:08:25He joins a new dissident group funded by Hua Yong
00:08:28in British Columbia...
00:08:31the Solidarity Association.
00:08:35[Eric speaking in Mandarin]
00:08:37[interpreter] I heard that Hua Yong was using
00:08:39the Solidarity association to carry out covert activities
00:08:43and even wanted to raise money to buy weapons and ammunition.
00:08:47[Gaétan] Eric gets back to his superios
00:08:49about Hua Yong's activities in the group.
00:08:52The spy insists it was too riy to withhold this information.
00:08:57[Eric speaking in Mandarin] [interpreter] I suspected that among
00:09:00the dozen participants in those meetings,
00:09:02there were informants for the Chinese Communist Par.
00:09:05If I had hidden that information,
00:09:07it might have made the police suspicious about m.
00:09:11To me, Hua Yang was a friend and a political ally.
00:09:17He was also a passionate, idealistic person.
00:09:20That matches part of my own personality.
00:09:22I'm something of an idealist myself.
00:09:31[Gaétan] On November 27, 2022,
00:09:34Eric writes to his superiors in China.
00:09:50Coming up... [interpreter] There are strange elements to this case
00:09:54that call for a deeper investigation.
00:09:57[Gaétan] How did Hua Yong die?
00:10:07♪
00:13:22[ominous music]
00:13:29[Gaétan] To understand the circumstances
00:13:31surrounding Hua Yong's death, we travel to Gibsons,
00:13:34a small coastal community in British Columbia.
00:14:10This beach is where Hua Yong began his final expedition.
00:14:20A friend of the dissident welcomes us into her home.
00:14:25[actor's voice] He came over often. He was as joyful as a child.
00:14:29[Gaétan] Fearing for her safety, she declines to be filmed.
00:14:33But we are allowed to show the patio where they spend time togethe.
00:14:37She tells us what happened on November 25, 2022.
00:14:42[actor's voice] At 4:00 p.m., I saw his kayak on the horizo.
00:14:46At 6:00 p.m. I got a call askg me if Hua Yong was at my plac.
00:14:51I went to the beach with a small group of friends.
00:14:54I shouted, "Hua Yong! Hua Yong!
00:14:59Searches went on all night.
00:15:03By morning, they'd found his body.
00:15:07♪
00:15:16Good morning. Good morning.
00:15:25[Gaétan] Li Jianfeng is a former Chinese judge
00:15:28who found safe haven in Vancouver.
00:15:31He made this plaque to commemorate Hua Yong.
00:16:03[Gaétan] Li Jianfeng had long known that Hua Yong
00:16:06was being targeted by the Chinese government.
00:16:09In fact, he helped Hua Yong flee to Canada.
00:16:13So it's from who? Can I see the sender?
00:17:02[Gaétan] A few weeks before his death,
00:17:03Hua Yong said his kayak almost sank
00:17:06after a yacht passed nearby.
00:17:17[Gaétan] Li Jianfeng put together a file
00:17:19on the case and shared several clues with the RCMP
00:17:23for its investigation.
00:17:29What was your first reaction
00:17:32when you learned that Hua Yong was dead?
00:17:36[Eric speaking in Mandarin] [interpreter] I wondered if he'd been assassinated.
00:17:41But later, information online suggested that
00:17:44it might have just been an accident. There are strange elements
00:17:48to this case that call for a deeper investigation.
00:17:56Once, after being hospitalize, he suspected he'd been poison.
00:18:00Some of his friends also believed he was poisoned.
00:18:03[Gaétan] But postmortem toxicology tests
00:18:06came back negative.
00:18:14The Chinese police tracked Hua Yong's every move.
00:18:18Eric reported Hua Yong's movements in Canada
00:18:21to his bosses and even shared photos of his home.
00:18:30[Eric speaking in Mandarin]
00:18:32[interpreter] My superior repeatedly asked me to report.
00:18:39Based on how the Chinese polie usually operate abroad...
00:18:43there were certainly other tes of secret agents in Canada
00:18:46to deal with Hua Yong.
00:18:49I'm almost certain of it.
00:18:52[Gaétan] Eric also revealed that
00:18:54there was a bounty on Hua Yong's head.
00:18:58[Eric speaking in Mandarin]
00:19:00[interpreter] My superior said that if we caught Hua Yong,
00:19:03there would be 100,000 yuan reward.
00:19:07[Gaétan] And the reward, it was for you?
00:19:11[interpreter] Yes.
00:19:21[actor's voice] A few weeks before he died,
00:19:23I told Hua Yong he couldn't use my kayaks.
00:19:27I thought it was too dangerous.
00:19:32[Gaétan] Hua Yong didn't have much money, but he found a patron
00:19:36who gave him the means to buy a new kayak.
00:20:02[Gaétan] Did anyone try to gain influence over Hua Yong using money?
00:20:31♪
00:20:40[Guy speaking in French] [interpreter] Personally, I don't think
00:20:42anything should be ruled out.
00:20:45It's clear they're willing to silence someone by any mea.
00:20:48And of course, they'll do it without leaving a trace.
00:20:55It's a shameless regime that doesn't hesitate to use brutal methods
00:20:59to achieve its goals.
00:21:06[Gaétan] The RCMP says they found no evidence of a crime.
00:21:11Yet, three years after the death,
00:21:13the coroner's investigation continues,
00:21:16which is unusually long.
00:21:20The cause of Hua Yong's death remains a mystery.
00:21:26[Guy speaking in French] [interpreter] We mustn't underestimate the message
00:21:29this death sends to other dissidents.
00:21:33It's clear the Chinese know the lengths
00:21:35to which their secret services will go.
00:21:45[Gaétan] Chen Siming, a dissident connected
00:21:47with Hua Yong, knows this all too well.
00:21:50He claims he received threats
00:21:52from Chinese police after arriving in Canada.
00:21:55He was told to stop talking about President Xi Jinping
00:21:58if he wanted to avoid dying like Hua Yong.
00:22:09[sombre music playing]
00:22:15[Eric speaking in Mandarin] [interpreter] I want to remind Canadians that
00:22:19the Chinese government is very different from theirs.
00:22:24It's a totalitarian regime with strong fascist tendencie.
00:22:29It's a serious threat to world peace,
00:22:32to our democratic way of life, and to freedom of expression.
00:22:42[Dicki speaking in French]
00:22:45[interpreter] The freedom we enjoy in Canada
00:22:48was won over centuries...
00:22:51by generations before us, and it is priceless.
00:22:59It is very important to be vigilant.
00:23:03So do you know what you will do next?
00:23:08[interpreter] It's hard to talk about the future.
00:23:10Maybe the Chinese government will find a way to eliminate .
00:23:13It's a possibility. ["Stranger In The North" by Namewee playing]
00:23:52Oh, my God.
00:24:08♪
00:29:33[theme music]
00:29:35♪
00:30:31You're watching CBC News. I'm Steven Dsouza,
00:30:33Co host of The 5th Estate. Here's what's making news right
00:30:37now.
00:30:39CBC NEWSROOM. I'M DEANA SUMANAC-JOHNSON.
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00:30:46OTTAWA WHERE THE FINAL LIBERAL CAUCUS MEETINGS IS IN THE BOOKS CAUCUS MEETINGS IS IN THE BOOKS AHEAD OF M.P.s RETURNING TO
00:30:49AHEAD OF M.P.s RETURNING TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON MONDAY THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON MONDAY FOR THE FALL SITTING.
00:30:52FOR THE FALL SITTING. MARK CARNEY DIDN'T TAKE QUESTION MARK CARNEY DIDN'T TAKE QUESTION FROM REPORTERS AS HE ARRIVED
00:30:55FROM REPORTERS AS HE ARRIVED THIS MORNING. THIS MORNING. HE'S BACK FROM A BUSY WEEK THAT
00:30:58HE'S BACK FROM A BUSY WEEK THAT INCLUDED AN INVESTMENT SUMMIT IN INCLUDED AN INVESTMENT SUMMIT IN TORONTO, AND A SPEECH TO THE