Like other film festivals around the world the prospects for holding the 2020 Ottawa Canada-China Film Festival in a theatre are uncertain, but our preparation continues.  A key part of our preparation is monitoring 50 or more film festivals around the world for new and exciting films about China or Chinese-Canadians.  With many film festivals going online there is an opportunity for you to join us in viewing these films as they become available.  To that end as we identify a festival viewing opportunity we will post the relevant information on our Film Festival web page. The first tranche of films we have identified are available free throughout the month of May on CBC, for details see below.

Typically online festival films are only available for a limited period of time, sometimes there is only a single screening but sometimes film are available for up to a month or longer. Depending on the festival there may be opportunities to join an online discussion with a film maker.  Some festival films will be available free of charge.  For others there will be a fee to be paid to the festival, and in some situations the festival are partnering with an established commercial streaming service such as Netflix, Amazon Prime or CBC GEM, or a network broadcaster. Thus each festival will have its own technicalities for what you have to do to get access to the film.

We will endeavour to get you all the relevant information in a timely manner.  However, given the limited time availability of the film we will not typically be able to review the films to select the best of the best as we have done for our sit-in festivals.  This will be a more adventurous Festival of Festivals with its share of surprises and delights.

As we learn more about operating on this online world we hope to bring you interviews and Q&A sessions with film makers and artists, and we will explore other online resources that can add to the pleasure of Chinese and Canadian cinema.

If you know of an interesting festival or films that are available online, or would like to become part of our Festival team please contact us at contact.ccfso@gmail.com.

Dear CCFS members and supporters,

Today, Ottawa has confirmed its first case of COVID-19 (formerly known as the novel coronavirus). The World Health Organization (WHO) has also declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.

In consideration of these recent developments and the well-being of our members, supporters and the general public, as well as after careful consultation with our guest speaker, CCFS has decided to cancel our speaker’s event originally scheduled for March 12, 2020.   The speaker event with Senator Woo will be rescheduled to a later date.

Please be advised that there will be no scheduled event for April. The Executive team at CCFS will continue to monitor the situation. We will provide update to our valued members and supporters through our website ccfso.org and emails.

We wish everyone the best health.  Thank you.

Best regards,

Executive team, Canada-China Friendship Society

Of all the challenges facing newly-appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois-Philippe Champagne, the most difficult will be relations with China. On the one hand, there is concern about the impact of further deterioration in commercial ties on the Canadian economy. On the other hand, fears about Chinese espionage and foreign interference in domestic affairs are prompting calls for a distancing of diplomatic and commercial relations with the PRC. At the centre of current difficulties in the bilateral relationship is the detention of Huawei CFO Meng Wenzhou in Vancouver and the retaliatory arrests of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in Beijing—a dispute that seems to have no resolution in sight. All of the above is happening in the broader context of a deepening trade and technology conflict between China and the United States that has the potential to decouple the two economies in a way that could not have been imagined just a few years ago. There is an urgent need to rethink and reframe Canada-China relations in light of what could be a decades long strategic contest between the US and China, and to do so in a way that maximizes the independence and flexibility of Canadian foreign policy.

Mr. Woo has over three decades’ experience in strategy and policy for business, government and not-for- profit organizations.  Widely recognized as a leading thinker on international economic issues and Canada-Asia relations, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada in November 2016, and sits as an independent representing British Columbia.

Prior to joining the Senate, he was President of HQ Vancouver, a public-private partnership that promotes British Columbia as a location for head offices of international companies.  From 2005-2014, he was President and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, where he continues to serve as Distinguished East Asia Fellow. He is chair of the board of the Vancouver Academy of Music, and a member of some other boards. In 2012, he was honoured with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award for his contributions to Canada-Asia relations.

In September 2017, Senator Woo was elected as the Facilitator of the Independent Senators Group.

Senator Woo Biography