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Having finished reading the book, Canada Under Siege: How PEI Became a Forward Operating Base for the Chinese Communist Party, I feel compelled to share some of the more extraordinary details revealed about the Buddhist monks and nuns that have relocated to PEI.
In particular, the book has a section that that shows numerous e-mail exchanges between GWBI leadership and what appears to be laity members in PEI. The e-mails are incredibly revealing.
For years now the rapid pace of land acquisitions by nuns and GWBI laity has been a cause of concern for Islanders living in Eastern PEI. Many have reported feeling pushed out of their community while others have speculated that GWBI is using nuns and laity members to bypass land holding limits outlined in the Lands Protection Act.
In a presentation given to a committee of the provincial PEI government on October 15,2020, three nuns from GWBI stated repeatedly that GWBI does not coordinate or influence land purchases for their laity or nuns in the surrounding region. Venerable Yvonne in particular emphasized that yes, perhaps mistakes were made in the past, but it has been the intention of GWBI to merely assist laity and nuns in making their own private purchases.
What the leaked e-mails show is a very different picture.
Based on the e-mails and other evidence, I feel confident in stating that for a certain number of nuns and laity, GWBI has almost total control over their bank accounts and any properties or land that they own. Below is a summary of how I came to that conclusion.
1.) Venerable Yvonne is officially the director for finance for GWBI. On May 21, 2016 she sent an e-mail to what appears to be a superior attaching her personal bank statements and providing a summary for certain transactions. All the transactions highlighted are over $100,000. In particular, Venerable Yvonne seems to have made a private donation for $800,000 to GWBI on July 30,2015. Venerable Yvonne also made two bank drafts for land purchases on January 12 and February 2 for $215,000 and $123,442.54 respectively.
2. ) In the same e-mail, Venerable Yvonne also advised her superior that she should be informed if they wish to review the bank statement of two other nuns.
3.) On November 3, 2018 an individual using the pseudonym “Heart Light” sent an e-mail to what again seems to be a superior. In it is a summary of the status for twelve properties: what work the properties need done and which laity members will move into the properties and when. Venerable Yvonne confirmed to the committee that she is indeed Heart Light.
4.) Venerable Janet appears to be one of the top leaders in the structure of GWBI, someone Venerable Yvonne answers to. On an e-mail dated August 5, 2016, Venerable Janet reported that there were going to be “5 buyers to hold tittle to avoid IRAC application” on a certain property.
5.) On an e-mail dated June 30, 2016, Venerable Janet expresses her wishes to see property 44 insured as soon as possible and have tenants moved in. A property on 44 Red Oak is owned by Venerable Yvonne.
6.) On an e-mail dated August 16, 2016, Venerable Janet suggests having lay people buy a certain property and then transfer it to GWBI. This is in response to concerns raised about an ongoing IRAC investigation.
7.) Greg Mercer from the Globe and Mail conducted his own investigation and traveled to Taiwan to speak to a former senior monk who disclosed that the head organization for GWBI, Bliss and Wisdom, had access to his personal bank account and used it to move significant amounts of money. The monk also stated this is the norm for senior monks. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IVSJexRbEs&t=101s 13:20)
These are not just examples of a few bad apples. Both Venerable Janet and Venerable Yvonne have significant leadership positions inside GWBI, indicating approval for the management of land and property which in theory belongs to nuns and laity. If this is not outright illegal under the Lands and Protection Act, it at least goes against the spirit of the law.
Residents around the area have every right to be outraged.
What is most disturbing to me though is another e-mail that appears in the book. Just prior to the 2019 provincial election, Venerable Yvonne sent an e-mail to an individual asking for guidance on how to manage various properties since she felt the “housing issue” might feature prominently during the election.
The person who replied back is unidentified, but they are clearly aware of the public relations issues GWBI faces. This person expressed frustration that residents and councilors in Montague were voicing concerns and raising doubts in response to “parishioners” buying land and businesses without a plan. In this person’s view, “It’s simple, we need control.”
This particular e-mail is important for several reasons.
For one it contradicts the narrative that GWBI does not influence or control the activities of their laity members. GWBI has maintained that laity purchase lands around the monastery out of their own volition without influence from the organization. Second, the nuns have been adamant that any mistakes they have made are sincere. That they were merely unaware of the customs and culture of their new home; in truth, they have no wish to cause any discord or animosity in the community. Again, this e-mail shows that someone high up within GWBI is well aware of how to play the public relations game to further their goals. Ignorance is not a suitable excuse in my estimation.
The leadership at GWBI has in my view not provided a reasonable explanation for all these leaked e-mails. In forthcoming articles, I will explore other details in the book that cast further doubts on Bliss and Wisdom and their various subsidiaries like GWBI.
