Followed, threatened and smeared attacks by China against its critics in Canada are on the rise [Video]

For Yao Zhang, the news came as a shock.

Sexually explicit, deepfake images of her were circulating widely online — an attack that Ottawa blamed on the Chinese government. 

It wasn’t the first time Zhang had been targeted by China. Shortly after the Quebec-based accountant-turned-influencer travelled to Taiwan in January 2024 to support its independence, China’s national police paid a visit to her aunt in Chifeng, in mainland China.

Zhang was also doxxed — private information about her and members of her family was posted to a website listing people who weren’t loyal to China — information only the Chinese government would know. False rumours began to spread online designed to discredit her, alleging that she had an affair with her stepbrother, that she was being paid by the U.S. government.

Zhang isn’t alone. CBC News spoke with several other Canadian activists who have spoken out against the People’s Republic of China (PRC), all of whom described similar attacks: …