Canada: Retired RCMP officer accused of illegally helping China

A former police officer was charged on Friday with foreign interference, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who claim he assisted China in “identifying and intimidating someone outside the scope of Canadian law.” China has been charged with attempting to meddle in Canadian politics through a number of schemes, including the establishment of unauthorised police stations and the targeting of MPs. Beijing has categorically refuted every one of these claims. The RCMP claimed that 60-year-old William Majcher “allegedly used his knowledge and his extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services to benefit the People’s Republic of China”. It gave no specifics. Majcher, a Hong Kong native, was accused by the RCMP of conspiring and performing acts that benefited a foreign organisation. The two charges result from an investigation that started in late 2021, it added. An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the Chinese embassy in Ottawa. China and Canada have had tense relations for a while. For reportedly attempting to assassinate opposition politician Michael Chong’s family in Hong Kong in 2021, Ottawa expelled a Chinese diplomat in May. One of more than a hundred investigations into foreign interference, police said last month they were looking into claims China sought to intimidate a federal legislator. (With agency inputs)