Since arriving in Canada almost two decades ago, Rong Xiang Yuan has championed closer ties between Ottawa and Beijing, spoken at community events and rubbed shoulders with politicians.
asserted
Yuan → arrive → politicians
The founder of an advocacy group called the Canada-China Association for Promoting Friendly Relations, he met Justin Trudeau and donated to the then-prime minister and the Liberal Party.
But Canada’s immigration enforcement department is now alleging the Chinese community leader, also known as “Tiger” Yuan, is a war criminal who lied his way into the country.
asserted
who → call → country
Global News has learned the Canada Border Services Agency has launched deportation proceedings against Yuan, who was born in China and is not a Canadian citizen.
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who → learn → China
Yuan has denied the allegations.
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Yuan → deny → allegations
But the border agency is claiming the 63-year-old committed crimes against humanity in the 1980s when he was a member of the People’s Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party.
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he → claim → Party
The CBSA is also accusing Yuan, who lives near Vancouver, of misrepresenting his military record to Canadian immigration authorities when he applied for permanent residence, which he received in 2008.
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he → accuse → 2008
In a statement to Global News, an Immigration and Refugee Board spokesperson said Canada’s border security agency had referred Yuan to the tribunal for a deportation hearing.
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agency → say → hearing
“We can confirm that the IRB has received a referral from CBSA in the matter of Rong Xiang Yuan for an admissibility hearing under paragraphs 35(1)(a) and 40(1)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act,” the Board said.
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Board → confirm → Act
“A hearing date has not yet been scheduled.”
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date → schedule → ?
The first paragraph is the section used to deport those who have committed acts outside Canada that constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity, according to the legislation.
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that → use → legislation
The second is for those accused of “misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter,” which resulted in an error in the decision to approve their immigration status.
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which → accuse → status
Yuan served in the People’s Liberation Army during China’s 1979-to-1991 war against Vietnam, according to a communist party newspaper report and social media posts.
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Yuan → serve → report
His lawyer said in a letter to Global News that Yuan was wounded in the Sino-Vietnamese conflict and was later awarded a citation of merit, but denied any involvement in war crimes.
“He denies in the strongest terms having committed any war crimes, and he has never been charged with or convicted of any such offence in China, Canada, or elsewhere,” Daniel Reid said.
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Reid → say → China
An expert said foreign citizens who have committed war crimes are not allowed in Canada, and failing to disclose involvement in such atrocities on immigration forms was considered misrepresentation.
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failing → say → forms
“Any investigation concerning a non-citizen living in Canada being alleged of committing war crimes is exceptionally serious,” said Kelly Sundberg, a criminology professor at Mount Royal University.
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Sundberg → concern → University
A former CBSA officer who specializes in border security issues, Sundberg said such cases underscored the importance of rigorous immigration screening and sound immigration policies.
“Equally concerning is how a non-citizen facing such serious allegations could apparently gain access to senior politicians and political networks,” Sundberg said in an interview.
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Sundberg → specialize → interview
B.C. court records show that Yuan has other legal troubles as well: the Abbotsford Police Department charged him with two criminal offenses in July.
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Department → show → July
He appeared in provincial court on Sept. 14 to face charges of dangerous operation of a conveyance and refusing to comply with a roadside demand.
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He → appear → demand
He returns to court this week.
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He → return → court
“I can confirm that Mr. Yuan was arrested on July 19, 2026, shortly before midnight on Highway One,” Abbotsford police told Global News.
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police → confirm → News
“Mr. Yuan failed to comply with a lawful roadside demand and was subsequently arrested.”
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Yuan → fail → demand
“At the time of his arrest, he was operating a pickup truck.”
The case comes five years after court records indicate he was fined and banned from driving for three months after being charged with driving while prohibited in Maple Ridge, B.C.
Also in July, the B.C. government placed a lien on the Fraser Valley property listed in Yuan’s arrest records as his home address, alleging $507,000 in unpaid provincial taxes.
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government → operate → taxes
The war crimes allegations date to the Cold War conflict that began in 1979 when China invaded Vietnam, which had broken away from Beijing’s orbit to align with Moscow.
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which → date → Moscow
Vietnam had further upset China’s communist party by overthrowing totalitarian dictator Pol Pot’s murderous pro-Beijing Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.
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Vietnam → upset → Cambodia
The war was in its final stages, but hardly over, when Yuan, then in his mid-twenties, was allegedly deployed to the Vietnamese border region in 1987.
“Certainly there was artillery going back and forth, there were border incursions,” said Université du Québec à Montréal history Prof. Christopher Goscha, who is writing a book about the Indo-China wars.
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who → deploy → wars
A March 23, 1988 news report in the Chinese communist party’s People’s Daily newspaper described Yuan as a platoon leader who took part in a deadly encounter with Vietnamese forces.
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who → describe → forces
After China and Vietnam made peace in 1991, they erased the conflict from official history, but veterans have begun filling the void by telling their stories, Goscha said.
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Goscha → make → stories
According to those online accounts, Yuan led the PLA’s 13th Reconnaissance Platoon on the frontline in Yunnan province, and took part in combat missions and the capture of Vietnamese prisoners.
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Yuan → accord → prisoners
A Saskatchewan-based Vietnamese community leader said if the allegations of war crimes were accurate, he supported the CBSA’s actions.
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he → base → actions
“If that is true, I agree with that,” said Vietnamese Canadian Federation president Dong Van Tran, who recalled living through the conflict, which caused tens of thousands of casualties.
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which → agree → casualties
Yuan was discharged from the military in 1991.
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Yuan → discharge → 1991
His lawyer said he “has had no involvement or affiliation with the Chinese military since then.”
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he → say → military
He went on to what his lawyer called a “successful business career in China and Hong Kong,” and immigrated to Canada in 2008 due to “uncertainty in China,” Reid added.
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Reid → go → China
Once in Canada, Yuan moved into a $4.3-million, 10,000-square-foot house with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms, according to court and corporate records.
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Yuan → move → records
The property has made headlines as the priciest property in Chilliwack, B.C.
A local reporter who visited the seven-acre estate, which has an adjacent four-acre wedding venue, counted 32 security cameras.
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which → make → cameras
An outbuilding reportedly houses a collection of vintage vehicles.
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outbuilding → house → vehicles
Government records list Yuan as a former director of Tiger Arms Ltd., a gun retailer in Port Coquitlam, as well as a “real estate company owner” and a “high risk” gambler.
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records → list → Coquitlam
In 2015, Yuan’s cash buy-ins at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C. exceeded $4 million.
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ins → exceed → million
His heavy gambling got him flagged by the province’s anti-money laundering unit, records show.
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records → get → unit
He was among a group of casino patrons notified they could no longer gamble unless they could prove the source of their cash with bank or ATM withdrawal slips.
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they → notify → slips
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
