theBreaker.news Podcast: Will Richmond elect a mayor who is oblivious to China's human rights abuse?

Advance voting is underway this week for the Oct. 20 local government elections across British Columbia.  [caption id="attachment_6655" align="alignright" width="245"] Hong Guo[/caption] In Richmond, history will be made. Malcolm Brodie, first elected in 2001, is aiming to become the municipality's longest-serving mayor. His main challenger, Hong Guo, wants to become Richmond's  first female and first Chinese-born mayor. Guo, however, is facing a Law Society of B.C. professional misconduct hearing and a $13 million lawsuit over a collapsed real estate bill. On this edition of theBreaker.news Podcast, hear highlights of host Bob Mackin's Oct. 2 interview with Guo. Guo's platform includes a promise to forge closer ties between Richmond and China. The Vancouver suburb is already 60% ethnic Chinese, home to the Vancouver International Airport and a thriving hub for import/export business. In an interview, real estate and immigration lawyer Guo made jaw-dropping statements that contradict the findings of international media and non-governmental organizations, such as "China has lots of freedom of speech" and "there is no human rights abuse in China." [caption id="attachment_6754" align="alignleft" width="214"] David Chen (ProVancouver)[/caption]

Also on this edition, hear Mackin interview David Chen, the candidate for mayor of Vancouver with the new ProVancouver party.

Chen is a financial planner with degrees in psychology and a background that includes scuba diving, HAM radio and forklift driving. ProVancouver wants a new citywide plan that ends spot rezoning and ends foreign presales of condominiums. Chen wants a new citywide plan. Vancouver has become an unaffordable city with too many empty houses and empty retail storefronts, too little affordable housing and too little transparency at city hall. "As a person born and raised in Vancouver, I don't have any other home," Chen said. "I've watched it change, not in very good ways." Plus commentaries and Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest headlines.

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