Businessman Says Trudeau’s Invitation to Meet Chinese Premier Inspired Fundraiser

The man who hosted a $1,500-per-person fundraiser for Justin Trudeau in Vancouver says he had been invited by the prime minister to meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang when he visited Canada in September.

Chinese-Canadian businessman Miaofei Pan said he decided to hold the Nov. 7 Liberal fundraiser after Trudeau invited him to a welcoming dinner for Li, according to a daily newspaper in Wenzhou, China. Pan is originally from Wenzhou.

The Tyee, after translating the account in the Wenzhou paper, sought comment from Liberal communication director Braeden Caley. He said Pan’s account of the fundraiser, as reported in the newspaper, is “categorically false.”

The event “was organized by the Liberal Party of Canada and its fundraising volunteers, and its location was not confirmed until late October,” Caley said in an emailed statement. He did not respond to a request to talk further.

Opposition MPs have blasted so-called “cash for access” fundraisers that provide opportunities to meet the prime minister, cabinet ministers and senior government officials in return for political contributions.

Conservative foreign affairs critic Peter Kent said the Pan case suggests donors are being rewarded with access to government events, like the welcoming dinner for Li.

He said the dispute between Pan and the Liberal Party over who was responsible for organizing the fundraiser have created a “he said, they said” moment.

“Canadians will just have to look at the accumulated evidence of cash for access with the health, justice and finance ministers,” Kent said, referencing other fundraisers the opposition has decried.

“Must say I lean to believing the event host,” he added.

Pan explained how he managed to invite the prime minister to a dinner at his home in an interview with the state-run newspaper.

“Not long ago, he [Trudeau] invited me to attend the welcome dinner when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Canada,” Pan told the paper. “I agreed and immediately asked him to have dinner at my Vancouver home and he happily agreed.”

Further details on how and when the exchange occurred weren’t revealed in the newspaper article. The Tyee could not contact Pan Monday. The Oct. 29 article was headlined “The public diplomacy of Wenzhou people abroad; Everyone is a Chinese spokesman.”

The Vancouver dinner was attended by about 80 people, according to the Wenzhou newspaper Metropolitan.

Pan is the former president of the Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations, which boasts more than 200 Chinese member organizations across Canada. In the Wenzhou newspaper article he is identified as the president of the Canada-Wenzhou Friendship Society.

According to Chinese media reports Pan, who has been in Canada since 2006, still has business interests in China. He has been involved in real estate development in Canada.

In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Pan said Trudeau had discussed government business at the fundraiser at his home.

Kent said the timing of the two events suggests a link between the fundraising dinner and the invitation to meet the Chinese premier. That raises questions about whether the Liberals are trading access to government diplomatic events to help fundraising, he said.

“This gentleman has laid out quite clearly the Liberals’ cash for access play,” Kent said. “Despite the oft-repeated speaking note assurances that no laws were broken — or the prime minister’s own ethical guidelines — those who paid for access have clearly been able to raise their issues.”

Kent said Trudeau should be reminded that politicians need “to be beyond any suspicion of improper behaviour.”

Charles Burton, a China expert at Brock University, said the situation raises questions about access to the prime minister and those he deals with as part of his duties.

Burton said access to a senior Chinese government official would be a highly sought after chance and could easily be used to promote business ventures.

“I think that definitely would be what’s going on,” Burton said. “It certainly seems to be a double game of attempting to establish some opportunity to engage with senior leaders both in Canada and China.”

On Monday both the New Democrats and Conservatives urged the federal ethics and lobbying watchdogs to conduct an investigation of the Liberals’ fundraisers.