Hong Kong Watch announces new Patrons and Advisor in Canada
Hong Kong Watch is delighted to announce the appointment of two new Patrons in Canada, Melissa Lantsman MP and Cathay Wagantall MP, and also welcomes former Miss World Canada Anastasia Lin to our advisory group.
Melissa Lantsman, who earlier this year was appointed Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party, has served as the Member of Parliament for Thornhill since 2021, and has been a strong supporter of human rights and democracy for Hong Kong.
Cathay Wagantall was first elected to the Canadian Parliament in 2015, representing Yorkton-Melville. She has been outspoken in her support of the democracy movement in Hong Kong and has worked closely with Hong Kong Watch to advocate for a lifeboat scheme to help Hong Kongers find sanctuary in Canada.
Ms Lantsman and Ms Wagantall join our current Patrons in Canada, former Attorney-General Irwin Cotler, Senator Leo Housakos, Garnett Genuis MP, James Bezan MP and former Senator Jim Munson. The late David Kilgour, who had served in many positions in the Canadian government and Parliament including as Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific, was one of our first International Patrons and worked actively with Hong Kong Watch until his death in April 2022.
Our Patrons in Canada serve alongside our other international Patrons in the United Kingdom and the United States. Our Patrons are drawn from across the political spectrum, reflecting our cross-party and bipartisan approach. In the UK they include the last Governor of Hong Kong Lord Patten of Barnes, former UK Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the Labour Party’s Shadow Minister for Asia Catherine West MP, Labour MP Sarah Champion, Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael, the Prime Minister’s special envoy for freedom of religion or belief Fiona Bruce MP, the barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice, KC and the independent cross-bench peer Lord Alton of Liverpool. In the United States our Patrons are the former US Ambassador to Myanmar and now President of the National Democratic Institute, Derek Mitchell, and the former US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback.
In addition to welcoming our new Patrons in Canada, we are delighted that Canadian actor and former Miss World Canada Anastasia Lin is joining our advisory group. Born in China and raised in Canada, Ms Lin is a tireless advocate for human rights and has starred in many films depicting grave human rights violations in China. In 2015 she was banned from participating in the Miss World final held in China, being declared persona non grata by the Chinese Communist Party regime.
Benedict Rogers, co-founder and Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch, said: “We are delighted to strengthen our presence in Canada with the addition of two new Patrons and a new member of our advisory group, and we very much look forward to working with Ms Lantsman, Ms Wagantall and Ms Lin, alongside our other Patrons and advisors, to keep a spotlight on Hong Kong in the Canadian Parliament, government, media and general public and to ensure that Hong Kong is never forgotten.”