Canada Moves to Deport China-Born Political Donor Over Alleged War Crimes

By Jin Yan, Vision Times

On Oct. 13, Canadian authorities announced they had launched deportation proceedings against Rong Xiang Yuan, a China-born community leader and political donor accused of “committing crimes against humanity” while serving in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) while misrepresenting his military history when he applied for permanent residence.

The Immigration and Refugee Board confirmed that the Canada Border Services Agency referred Yuan, 63, for an admissibility hearing under sections of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act covering war crimes, crimes against humanity, and material misrepresentation. A hearing date has not yet been scheduled.

Yuan, also known by the alias “Tiger,” received Canadian permanent residency in 2008 and has denied the allegations. “He denies in the strongest terms having committed any war crimes, and he has never been charged with or convicted of any such offense in China, Canada, or elsewhere,” his lawyer Daniel Reid told Global News.

PLA service under scrutiny

According to Chinese state-media reports and online accounts reviewed by Global News, Yuan served in the PLA during the later stages of the Sino-Vietnamese conflict and was deployed near the border in 1987. A March 1988 People’s Daily report described him as a platoon leader involved in combat with Vietnamese forces. Other accounts say he commanded a reconnaissance platoon in Yunnan and participated in operations in which Vietnamese soldiers were captured.

For the best of our weekly content！

You are now signed up for our newsletter

Check your email to complete sign up

Yuan’s lawyer said he was wounded during the conflict and later received a citation of merit, but denied that he had participated in war crimes. Reid said Yuan left the military in 1991 and “has had no involvement or affiliation with the Chinese military since then.”

The CBSA is also claiming that Yuan failed to accurately disclose his military record when applying to immigrate to Canada, which is considered a material misrepresentation under Canadian immigration law and can make a permanent resident inadmissible.

Casino activity and political ties

After moving to Canada, Yuan became involved in business, community organizations, and high-stakes gambling. Government records cited by Global News list him as a former director of Port Coquitlam gun retailer Tiger Arms Ltd., a real-estate company owner, and a “high risk” gambler. In 2015, his cash buy-ins at Richmond’s River Rock Casino exceeded C$4 million, drawing attention from British Columbia’s anti-money-laundering authorities.

Regulators later required Yuan and other high rollers to provide proof of the source of their cash because some transactions appeared not to originate from recognized financial institutions. Yuan was never charged with money laundering, and his lawyer said he “denies any involvement in money laundering.”

Around the same period, Yuan helped found the Canada-China Association for Promoting Friendly Relations, an organization whose stated purpose was to bolster ties between the two countries.

He appeared at events with elected officials and Chinese consular representatives, and was photographed beside then-prime minister Justin Trudeau at a 2016 Liberal event. Yuan later donated C$1,500 to Trudeau’s Montreal riding association and another C$2,800 to the Liberal Party of Canada that year, according to Elections Canada records cited by Global News.

His lawyer said those donations were lawful and rejected suggestions that Yuan used them to influence Canadian politics. “He has never lobbied or otherwise sought to influence the Canadian democratic process beyond making lawful political donations, all of which complied with applicable electoral law,” Reid said.

National security concerns

Chinese-Canadian commentator Sheng Xue, who has long focused on Beijing’s influence operations abroad, told Vision Times that she views the case as “not merely an ordinary immigration-compliance matter or an isolated deportation case.”

She said she submitted a memorandum to Canadian authorities earlier this year outlining what she described as national-security concerns involving Yuan’s political relationships, community organizations, finances, and alleged links to pro-Beijing networks.

Kelly Sundberg, a criminology professor at Mount Royal University and former CBSA officer, said the case raises wider questions about immigration screening and political access. “Any investigation concerning a non-citizen living in Canada being alleged of committing war crimes is exceptionally serious,” he told Global News.