The Local: “Everybody is Terrified of Getting the Label”—Why the Spectre of Chinese Interference Hangs Over Don Valley North

Credit: Illustration by Marley Allen-Ash / The Local

A public inquiry cleared former MP Han Dong’s name, but the cloud of foreign meddling still loomed over candidates of Chinese descent during the Canadian 2025 Federal Election.

I had struggled for days with how to introduce and talk about this piece on social media. I was still unsure, except to say I wanted to tell a nuanced story about being Chinese Canadian. I didn’t quite know where my reporting would take me, but as the story took shape, the themes that emerged hit close to home.

Our domestic coverage of Chinese Canadians and China often fall short: at times partisan, ideological, lacking nuance and an understanding of the diaspora. It has real consequences on people's lives, public perception, democracy itself. My reporting unexpectedly allowed me to tell some of that story. Read it at The Local — an incredible online magazine staffed by a small, but mighty team of amazing journalists who tell deeply reported stories about Toronto that typically don’t get told.