MARKHAM, Ontario — Joe Tay reacted viscerally when a campaign volunteer sent him the photograph last week. On a strip of grass beside his yellow placard for Markham regional councillor stood a dark blue sign for Paul Chiang, the retired police officer and former Liberal member of Parliament who quit the 2025 federal election after suggesting to Chinese-language journalists, gathered in his constituency office in Markham–Unionville, that Tay be handed to China’s consulate in Toronto for a Hong Kong bounty.
Even though no one stood in that photo, just two signs, side by side, Tay said a chill ran down his spine.
