Bob Mackin
In his second month on the job, B.C. Premier David Eby sent three members of his NDP caucus to a Lunar New Year banquet in a Richmond casino where they sat across from a People’s Liberation Army veteran now subject to deportation proceedings.
Global News reported Oct. 13 that Canada Border Services Agency has referred the case of Rongxiang “Tiger” Yuan, founder of the Canada-China Association for Promoting Friendly Relations, to the Immigration and Refugee Board. The 63-year-old is accused of war crimes in Vietnam and lying to become a permanent resident of Canada and could be sent back to China.
His lawyer denies the allegations.
Rongxiang “Tiger” Yuan on Jan. 7 (CCSA/FX186)
That is not the only trouble Yuan faces. He is accused in Abbotsford of dangerous operation and refusing to comply with a roadside demand after a July 19 incident while driving a pickup truck on Highway 1. The B.C. government accuses Yuan of owing $507,000 in back taxes on a Fraser Valley property.
In 2023, theBreaker reported on Yuan’s attendance at the Canadian Community Service Association’s “Year of the Tiger” Lunar New Year banquet at River Rock Casino Resort, where Yuan had been a whale gambler.
NDP’s then-Minister of Municipal Affairs Anne Kang and Richmond South Centre MLA Henry Yao, who both hail from Taiwan, and former Minister of State for Trade George Chow were seated across from Yuan at the VIP table.
Yuan spoke to the crowd in Mandarin from the stage about “our second home, Canada” being inclusive, stable and progressive.
“As ethnic minorities, we must also actively participate in and discuss state affairs, we must obey the law and pay taxes according to regulations,” Yuan said, according to a translation.
The former Port Coquitlam gun store owner met Justin Trudeau and made donations to the Liberal Party.
Liberal Party returns to Elections Canada show three donations received July 6, 2016 from Yuan, totalling $4,299.30. He directed one of those to the Papineau Federal Liberal Association, the re-election fund in Trudeau’s home riding in Montreal.
Around the Rim
Focus Taiwan reported that state-owned CPC Corp. will invest US$4.4 billion in an Alaska LNG project and buy 6 million metric tons annually. Supplies to Taiwan could begin as soon as 2032.
Anchorage Daily News reported on Donald Trump’s Oct. 13 visit to Wasilla to boost Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan’s re-election campaign. Trump promoted natural gas investment deals with South Korea and Taiwan.
Trump’s entourage included Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They travelled aboard the Qatar-gifted version of Air Force One and flew through British Columbia airspace
Russia has arrested a reporter from Sapporo, Japan’s Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper for allegedly spying in Russia’s Far East.
Kyodo News, quoting the Tass news agency, reports that a male reporter at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk bureau was accused of collecting information about Russia’s defence for Japanese authorities.
“Russian media said a Moscow court had approved his detention for two months. Espionage carries a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years.”
Australian Defence Force found a recording device aboard HMAS Leeuwin on Oct. 11.
ABC News Australia reported the device was found in a female-only cabin.
Military police and civilian authorities are investigating the incident.
Air Force One, carrying President Donald Trump, around 10 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2026, leaving British Columbia airspace. (FlightRadar24)
Cascadia Calling
In the Portland Tribune, Portland International Airport’s iconic carpet design is now a special edition fleece from Portland-based Columbia Sportswear.
“The Helvetia Series: PDX features the familiar geometric pattern of Portland International Airport’s iconic carpet, a design that has become a symbol of regional pride and one of the city’s most recognizable cultural touchstones.”
A roll of the carpet, with googly eyes, became the grand marshal of last summer’s Starlight Parade.
In Bellingham, Wash., voters will decide whether to establish an independent commission to set the mayor’s salary. Cascadia Daily News reports that other measures on the ballot include a proposal to stop algorithmic price fixing of residential rents.
If you’re in Victoria, don’t bother voting by mail.
CHEK News reports that 3,437 mail-in ballots were requested, but 2,300 are delayed via Canada Post.
“The mail agency said it was holding onto the mail-in ballots until a form was filled out, which the city said had never been required prior to this. Ballots sent in the first batch by the city were sent, without the form being signed, but any in the subsequent batches were held, the city says.”
Mail-in ballots that are not received by the city’s election office before 8 p.m. on Oct. 17 will not be counted.
