Bob Mackin
The end of the Chinese Year of the Pig and the start of the Year of the Rat was marked at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond on Jan. 24, with a bevy of politicians.
While Richmond Coun. Bill McNulty was in his traditional God of Fortune costume, what came out of the mouths of other politicians there is of note.
Vancouver Quadra Liberal MP Joyce Murray, the Minister of Digital Government (who WeChats despite parliamentary security warnings) gave greetings on behalf of Prime Minister Just Trudeau.
She almost didn’t get the chance, after the emcee tried to keep the program moving along.
Also attending: Tourism Minister Lisa Beare.
In late August, Beare presided over a photo op at the World Champion Gym in Richmond. The venue’s general manager is Paul King Jin, the accused loan shark and money launder who is the defendant in the government’s civil forfeiture action.
Beare is still not explaining after the bad optics of last August. She didn’t want to stop and comment at Aberdeen because she said she was en route to the women’s room. She went past the restroom and took a back door out of the mall.
Meanwhile, BC Liberal MLA for Richmond-Steveston, John Yap, said he misspoke when he toasted the 20th anniversary of the Macau handover to China.
Yap, standing beside Chinese consul-general Tong Xiaoling at the Four Seasons Hotel, spoke of “two countries, one system.”
Since 1997 in Hong Kong and 1999 in Macau, the semi-autonomous government promise has been “one country, two systems.”
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