彭建邦：”双重忠诚”的说法在我们的政治体系中站不住脚

提案： “双重忠诚”或“别有用心”这两种有问题的说法被经常和不公平地用于不同群体成员，助长了对一些最边缘化群体的偏执和歧视。

作者简介：彭建邦 加拿大宾顿市长 （ Mayor Patrick Brown, City of Brampton )，加拿大保守党党魁候选人

“双重忠诚”或“别有用心”的说法经常被用来质疑某些群体成员对其国家的忠诚，它既不公平，也助长了对一些边缘化群体的偏见和歧视。不幸的是，关于对华人社区政治参与的评论也是这样；这是加拿大人应该关注的一个问题，因为历史事实告诉我们：当一个群体被诬蔑时，所有的群体都可能遭到同样的对待。

参议员 Victor Oh（左二）2013 年，总理斯蒂芬·哈珀在渥太华向他的国家核心小组发表讲话。

图片来源： ANDRE FORGET / QMI

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加拿大华人社区对目前加拿大，特别是美国的保守主义持严重保留态度，这已不是秘密。这种保守主义难以在对中国政府的正当批评、利益相关者对华人社区的真诚参与和承认反亚裔种族主义之间取得平衡。

我们不能要求移民群体脱离他们的族裔传统，或对国家的政治时事没有意见，因为他们就是从那个地方来的。事实上，大多数加拿大人都是移民，除了我们的原住民。我们国家最有吸引力的地方之一，就是民众能够在对自己传统文化感到自豪的同时，保持对加拿大的深深热爱。

有些人只看到加拿大华人社区最糟糕的一面，并试图通过声称他们可能接受外国机构的指令，来消除他们的声音和各种关切。尽管有可能存在外国干涉，但这种怀疑现在却莫名其妙错误地指向了联邦参议员胡子修（Senator Victor Oh）和安省约克区议员李国贤（Joe Li）身上。

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Tom Blackwell最近在《国家邮报》（National Post）上发表一篇文章，文章质疑我为什么会接受胡子修和李国贤的支持。我的回应是，这两位加拿大人为他们的社区和整个加拿大做出了巨大贡献，我为得到他们的支持而感到骄傲。

时任总理的史蒂芬·哈珀（ Stephen Harper ）在任命 30 多年前从新加坡移民到加拿大的参议员Victor Oh时宣称：“所有被任命的参议员都是杰出的加拿大人，他们在各自的追求中表现卓越。” 参议员胡子修在帮助推动哈珀政府就华人人头税和排华法案发布全面道歉而做出巨大努力，这些法案曾是华人在加拿大历史上最黑暗的一幕。

胡子修参议员在代表全体加拿大人方面发挥了重要作用，同时在华人社区内保持了强有力的联系，确保了参议院迫切需要的多元化代表，这是我们都应该庆祝和鼓励的。

安大略省密西沙加市前市长麦考莲（Hazel McCallion）女士曾说过，胡子修参议员以回馈社区和帮助他人而闻名，他与密西沙加社区组织合作，为密西沙加安全城市、经济建设和社区繁荣的做出重要贡献。

万锦约克区议员李国贤（Joe Li）是为数不多的来自少数族裔社区的市一级政治家之一，他在印度出生和长大。多年来，他努力与印度和中国建立牢固的贸易关系。例如，他在参加 2017 年孟加拉全球商业峰会的加拿大代表团中发挥了关键作用，他使用完美的印地语给印度政要带来惊喜和亲近。

胡子修参议员和李国贤议员都是令人自豪的加拿大人，他们在努力工作，以确保代表的社区的关注和声音被听到，因为这是他们当选或被任命为民意代表的使命。无谓的攻击会给他们两者的心理都投下阴影，这是可悲的，也是不可接受的。他们的努力工作正在构造这个国家的美好生活，他们的存在使这个国家变得更好。

仅仅是因为他们表达了加拿大华裔社区中普遍持有的担忧，就暗示他们有“双重忠诚”，或者推断他们可能受到外国机构的影响，这只会掩盖华裔社区真实的意见，并且忽略了他们数十年的为加拿大强大所做的建设性工作。为自己的祖先感到骄傲，并同时成为一个自豪、爱国的加拿大人，这两者并不矛盾。

原文出处：https://nationalpost.com/opinion/patrick-brown-dual-loyalties-trope-has-no-place-in-our-politics

The problematic tropes of ‘dual loyalties’ or ‘ulterior motives’ are two that regularly and unfairly follow members of various groups, fuelling bigotry and discrimination against some of the most marginalized.

There is an issue with how some treat the participation of minority groups in Canada’s democratic process. It definitely feels as if suspicion is the default position of some in the media and politics. This is wrong.

The problematic tropes of “dual loyalties” or “ulterior motives” are two that regularly and unfairly follow members of various groups, fuelling bigotry and discrimination against some of the most marginalized. Unfortunately, the commentary around the Chinese community’s political engagement is no different. That should be a concern for Canadians because the reality is that when one group is maligned, we all are.

It is no secret that the Chinese-Canadian community had serious reservations about the current brand of conservatism in Canada, and particularly in the United States, which struggled to balance justified critiques of the Chinese government with sincere stakeholder engagement in the Chinese community and acknowledgement of anti-Asian racism.

We cannot expect people to break away from their heritage or to not have opinions on current affairs from where they may have immigrated from. This is a reality for most Canadians, as we all are immigrants, save for our Indigenous peoples. One of the beautiful parts of our country is the ability to maintain pride in one’s roots, while maintaining a deep love of being Canadian.

Some only see the worst in the Chinese-Canadian community, pushing them away and attempting to dismiss their diverse concerns by alleging they are simply directives from foreign bodies. While foreign interference exists, that suspicion has now been bafflingly and wrongly directed at Sen. Victor Oh and Markham, Ont.,Coun. Joe Li, as made out in a recent National Post article by Tom Blackwell. The article questioned why I would accept their support. These two Canadians have dedicated their lives to their community and to Canada. I am proud to have their support.

When then-prime minister Stephen Harper appointed Senator Oh, who had immigrated to Canada from Singapore over 30 years ago, he declared that, “All appointees are remarkable Canadians who have distinguished themselves in their respective pursuits.” Sen. Oh would go on to help move the Harper government in issuing a full apology for the Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act, a dark chapter in Canada’s history.

The senator has been instrumental in representing all Canadians, while maintaining strong links within the Chinese community, ensuring the kind of diverse representation so desperately needed in the Senate — something we should all be celebrating and encouraging more of. Former Mississauga, Ont., mayor Hazel McCallion said, “Victor is known for giving back to the community and helping others through his work with Mississauga community organizations including Safe City Mississauga. Also of note is his support of economic development and prosperity in Mississauga.”

Coun. Li, one of the few municipal politicians hailing from a minority community, was born and raised in India. He has worked hard over the years to build strong trade relations with both India and China. For example, he played a key role in the Canadian delegation to the 2017 Bengal Global Business Summit, famously earning a reputation amongst Indian dignitaries by surprising them with his flawless Hindi.

Both Sen. Oh and Coun. Li are proud Canadians, who are working hard to ensure their community concerns and voices are heard, as they have been elected or appointed to do. Casting a shadow on both in a one-dimensional attack is sad and unacceptable. They have worked hard to build a life in this country, a country they have made better with their presence.

By suggesting they have dual loyalties, or inferring that they may be under the influence of foreign actors because they express commonly held concerns in the Chinese-Canadian community, only acts to cast aside their very real community grievances and decades’ worth of work in building a strong Canada. There is no contradiction in being proud of your ancestry and being a proud, patriotic Canadian at the same time.