The Epoch Times office in Ottawa was the site of an apparent break-in attempt this week, just weeks after a string of seven break-ins targeted Epoch Times offices and homes of key staff members in Japan, France, the U.S., Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Staff members discovered on Tuesday evening that a panel of the door of the adjoining garage had been smashed in. Someone apparently tried to enter the office via the garage but was unsuccessful.
The exact time of the incident is unknown, but it likely occurred during a brief interval when the office was vacant. Staff are normally in the building around the clock, so such times are quite rare.
The string of attacks on The Epoch Times began on Feb. 8, when three thugs brandishing knives tied up and pistol-whipped Epoch Times global IT director Peter Yuan Li in his Atlanta home. Leaving cash and jewelry behind, they ran off with Li's two laptop computers.
Staff members say the paper is being targeted because of its coverage of human rights issues in China, and its editorial series on the Chinese Communist Party that has prompted over 9 million resignations from the Party.
"In light of the attacks Epoch Times offices have faced around the world, this attempted break-in of our Ottawa office is very concerning," said Epoch Times Canada managing editor Jason Loftus. "However, if this is an attempt to intimidate us, it has been unsuccessful."
Feeds