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Since arriving in Canada almost two decades ago, Rong Xiang Yuan - the founder of an advocacy group called the “Canada-China Association for Promoting Friendly Relations” - has championed closer ties between Ottawa and Beijing, spoken at community events and rubbed shoulders with politicians.

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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.

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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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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.

The CBSA [Canada Border Services Agency] 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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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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“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.

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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