China News Service, August 18th. According to the Canadian "Sing Tao Daily" report, in Canada, representatives of overseas Chinese groups called on the Chinese communities to participate in the federal election and actively vote while ensuring their health and safety. Understand the political platforms of different political parties in terms of racial discrimination policies, economic recovery methods, and support for families and the elderly.
Zhou Pan Kunling, chief executive of the China Overseas Chinese Mutual Aid Association, said in an interview with reporters on Monday (16th) that as a social service organization, it is concerned about the policies of various parties on immigration and refugees.
She pointed out that Canada’s domestic population cannot meet employment needs, so new immigrants are needed to fill job vacancies. International travel has basically stagnated for a year and a half since the epidemic, and economic immigrants have not been accepted. The new government’s immigration policies and immigrants The support of the settlement service will be a topic of concern.
She also pointed out that the elderly have been hit hard during the epidemic, and what national measures the federal government can take to protect the safety of the elderly is also very important.
On the other hand, racial discrimination and hate crimes against Chinese have surged after the epidemic. She hopes that the new government will pay more attention to this and introduce more rigorous policies to combat hate crimes.
Zhou Pan Kunling said that economic recovery after the epidemic is also an important issue.
The epidemic subsidy will expire in October this year. How to stimulate the economy, reduce national debt, how to help companies restore business, and help the unemployed to find jobs are all challenges the new government will face.
In addition, the federal government's support for family and childcare services is also very important.
On the other hand, with the high local housing prices in Vancouver, how to make housing affordable for citizens is also an important issue.
Guo Yinghua, chairman of the Chinese Cultural Center of Greater Vancouver, also pointed out that discrimination against Asians continues to escalate in North America. Although the rule of law in Canada is sound, effective enforcement is worth exploring.
Although the city government is responsible for the specific law enforcement, he wants to know whether the parties recognize the seriousness of racial discrimination and what measures can be improved at the federal level.
Niu Hua, president of the Canadian Chinese Federation, also pointed out that since the epidemic, discrimination against Asians has continued to occur, and anti-racial discrimination will be a very important issue.
He also hopes that political parties should be de-labelled and not use the Chinese as a campaign weapon.
Regarding the question of whether the Chinese should elect a Chinese candidate, Niu Hua said that he was very happy to see Chinese candidates participating in politics, but Chinese voters do not need to be limited to the ethnicity of the candidates when voting, but should pay more attention to the candidates. People’s political background, experience, and beliefs, etc., depend on what changes the candidate can make for the community after being elected, and how to serve the community for a long time.
The local election was held in the context of the fourth wave of the epidemic.
Niu Hua said that the public must first pay attention to safety first and avoid gatherings of large numbers of people. If health or even life safety is sacrificed for the general election, it will deviate from the government's original intention for the welfare of the people.
On the basis of ensuring safety, everyone should actively participate in voting, no matter which political party or ethnicity candidate they vote for, they should actively exercise their right to vote.
(Wang Xuewen)