1
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So in the past, capitalists had a voice:

2
00:00:02,912 --> 00:00:04,941
the Liberals, for example.

3
00:00:04,978 --> 00:00:07,439
And the unions had theirs: the NDP.

4
00:00:07,476 --> 00:00:11,176
But the real grassroots, at the very bottom—

5
00:00:11,213 --> 00:00:13,288
no one was looking out for them.

6
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Could we take all these small parties—

7
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combine all the small parties

8
00:00:17,182 --> 00:00:20,156
into a real third option?

9
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I'm a man of my word.

10
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I talk less and do more.

11
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From what you've just said, CanWest

12
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is a party close to ordinary people

13
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that reflects grassroots voices, right?

14
00:00:33,548 --> 00:00:36,619
And on health care and tax cuts—

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right, you advocate cutting taxes.

16
00:00:39,456 --> 00:00:42,821
But on being close to ordinary people,

17
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how is the NDP different from you?

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The NDP defines itself as blue-collar.

19
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Blue-collar—

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also leaning toward ordinary people,
everyday citizens' voices.

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00:00:53,789 --> 00:00:56,575
It's unlike the traditional BC Liberals.

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The BC Liberals are the party of the elite,

23
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with big business and big money behind it.

24
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Back then the NDP was built around unions.

25
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Unions represent

26
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the working class—by historical definition,

27
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an organization that takes on capitalists.

28
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So every year the union takes

29
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a small cut of members' wages as

30
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your dues. Then every four years,

31
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it pushes the employer to raise your pay.

32
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Now many employers are the government,

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like school boards, garbage workers,

34
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the post office too,

35
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and even, what's it called, the police.

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They're all government employees.

37
00:01:34,432 --> 00:01:37,233
So every four years, these unions go

38
00:01:37,270 --> 00:01:40,169
and ask the government
to raise their members' pay.

39
00:01:41,215 --> 00:01:43,937
The NDP is built on that organization.

40
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So its policies favour, first and foremost,

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its blue-collar union members.

42
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We're not like that.

43
00:01:50,806 --> 00:01:53,241
We stand for all ordinary people.

44
00:01:53,278 --> 00:01:54,423
We speak up for them.

45
00:01:54,460 --> 00:01:57,281
So in the past, capitalists had a voice:

46
00:01:57,319 --> 00:01:59,605
the Liberals, for example.

47
00:01:59,642 --> 00:02:01,959
And the unions had theirs: the NDP.

48
00:02:01,996 --> 00:02:05,196
But the real grassroots, at the very bottom—

49
00:02:05,233 --> 00:02:06,993
no one was looking out for them.

50
00:02:07,030 --> 00:02:08,602
No one cares whether they live or die.

51
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No one listens to their voices.

52
00:02:10,474 --> 00:02:12,104
So we fill that gap.

53
00:02:12,141 --> 00:02:15,331
We go to the most ordinary people:

54
00:02:15,369 --> 00:02:16,740
"What do you think?

55
00:02:16,777 --> 00:02:18,550
You live here too, right?

56
00:02:18,587 --> 00:02:21,619
What should the government do better?

57
00:02:21,656 --> 00:02:24,069
Tell us, and we'll speak up for you."

58
00:02:24,106 --> 00:02:25,978
So we represent the real

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grassroots, the general public,

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00:02:28,219 --> 00:02:31,504
while the NDP represents its

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union-centred membership.

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It's a little different.

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00:02:35,527 --> 00:02:37,752
Ours is broader; theirs is narrower.

64
00:02:37,826 --> 00:02:41,542
So this election comes two years early,

65
00:02:41,579 --> 00:02:44,746
and the BC Conservatives' leader recently

66
00:02:44,783 --> 00:02:46,759
announced his resignation,

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00:02:46,796 --> 00:02:48,846
and then an interim leader took over.

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00:02:48,883 --> 00:02:50,465
What's your take on all this?

69
00:02:50,986 --> 00:02:52,194
It's not truly conservative.

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00:02:52,231 --> 00:02:53,861
"Conservative" is just a name.

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00:02:53,898 --> 00:02:55,974
Also, the BC Conservative Party

72
00:02:56,011 --> 00:02:57,771
is totally different from the federal one.

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00:02:57,808 --> 00:02:59,894
Lately many friends keep telling me

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00:02:59,968 --> 00:03:02,523
that they think the BC Conservatives

75
00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:04,003
and the federal Conservatives

76
00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:06,486
might be the same, a single entity.

77
00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:08,588
There's a misconception. People may think

78
00:03:09,005 --> 00:03:11,437
the Liberals stand for liberty. Not so.

79
00:03:11,474 --> 00:03:12,873
It's just called "Liberal."

80
00:03:12,910 --> 00:03:15,054
"Conservative" means very conservative?
Not so either.

81
00:03:15,091 --> 00:03:17,205
It's only a name, right?

82
00:03:17,242 --> 00:03:19,628
So first, let's be clear:

83
00:03:19,665 --> 00:03:21,560
the federal Conservatives are one party,

84
00:03:21,597 --> 00:03:23,962
the BC Conservatives are another.

85
00:03:23,999 --> 00:03:26,523
The two aren't connected in that way.

86
00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:27,966
Back then, BC Liberal

87
00:03:28,003 --> 00:03:29,721
candidates came into the party,

88
00:03:29,758 --> 00:03:31,356
while some of the original

89
00:03:31,393 --> 00:03:32,871
BC Conservatives weren't as...

90
00:03:32,908 --> 00:03:35,740
There's a lot of internal discord.

91
00:03:35,777 --> 00:03:38,874
Their politics are completely different,

92
00:03:38,911 --> 00:03:42,580
even 180 degrees apart.

93
00:03:42,617 --> 00:03:45,190
Like, I want things fully open,

94
00:03:45,227 --> 00:03:48,045
you want something else—they clash.
There's no reconciling it.

95
00:03:48,082 --> 00:03:49,889
As for our party,

96
00:03:49,926 --> 00:03:51,599
we don't have that many candidates.

97
00:03:51,636 --> 00:03:54,784
I'm running for MLA in Richmond Centre.

98
00:03:54,821 --> 00:03:56,618
Another member of ours, Keenan Yang,

99
00:03:56,655 --> 00:03:58,386
is running in Richmond South.

100
00:03:58,423 --> 00:04:00,459
So far we've fielded only two candidates

101
00:04:00,496 --> 00:04:02,614
since there wasn't enough time to prepare.

102
00:04:02,688 --> 00:04:03,883
Lao Chen, how can

103
00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:05,269
someone join?

104
00:04:05,306 --> 00:04:08,007
Can a person join several parties at once?

105
00:04:08,044 --> 00:04:09,937
Or, say, someone wants to join

106
00:04:09,974 --> 00:04:11,725
your CanWest Party—
- Yes, they can.

107
00:04:11,799 --> 00:04:13,495
But they were in the Conservatives before,

108
00:04:13,532 --> 00:04:15,947
or the NDP—can they still join CanWest?

109
00:04:16,021 --> 00:04:18,572
Yes. Party membership here is open.

110
00:04:18,609 --> 00:04:21,028
It's simply about sharing a set of ideas.

111
00:04:21,065 --> 00:04:23,521
If today I back your party's leadership

112
00:04:23,558 --> 00:04:26,247
and platform, I can join and become

113
00:04:26,284 --> 00:04:29,050
your supporter. If later you fall apart

114
00:04:29,087 --> 00:04:30,681
and I'm not happy with you anymore,

115
00:04:30,718 --> 00:04:33,105
I'll leave and join someone else.

116
00:04:33,142 --> 00:04:34,716
That's completely fine.

117
00:04:35,155 --> 00:04:38,021
What we've mainly talked about today

118
00:04:38,058 --> 00:04:41,367
is your party's platform.

119
00:04:41,404 --> 00:04:44,005
You've gone into a lot of detail

120
00:04:44,042 --> 00:04:46,052
about people's daily lives, right?

121
00:04:46,089 --> 00:04:48,878
And these are real things happening.

122
00:04:49,220 --> 00:04:51,144
So looking ahead,

123
00:04:51,181 --> 00:04:54,272
can you predict how the NDP

124
00:04:54,309 --> 00:04:57,225
and the Conservatives will do this time,

125
00:04:57,262 --> 00:04:59,420
and how things will look

126
00:04:59,457 --> 00:05:01,044
across the province?

127
00:05:01,119 --> 00:05:03,294
Who wins, who loses? Who gets a majority?

128
00:05:03,331 --> 00:05:07,762
Right. I think the NDP will still govern.

129
00:05:08,271 --> 00:05:10,097
It's because they've already made

130
00:05:10,134 --> 00:05:12,706
thorough preparations for this election.

131
00:05:13,477 --> 00:05:14,347
Relatively speaking,

132
00:05:14,421 --> 00:05:15,310
By comparison,

133
00:05:15,384 --> 00:05:18,218
the NDP has its own system,

134
00:05:18,236 --> 00:05:19,329
a relatively stable one. Right.

135
00:05:19,403 --> 00:05:20,894
That's how it'll be. Which means we

136
00:05:20,931 --> 00:05:23,690
have to endure the NDP's high taxes again.

137
00:05:24,699 --> 00:05:27,807
So the voices of ordinary citizens like us

138
00:05:27,844 --> 00:05:29,411
need your party

139
00:05:29,448 --> 00:05:30,921
to carry them upward.

140
00:05:30,995 --> 00:05:33,119
What we can do now is at least

141
00:05:33,156 --> 00:05:35,154
speak our minds during the campaign.

142
00:05:35,191 --> 00:05:36,599
Reporters interview me every day now,

143
00:05:36,636 --> 00:05:38,494
and I've shared all my views with them.

144
00:05:38,531 --> 00:05:41,597
English-language reporters.

145
00:05:41,634 --> 00:05:44,638
At least they can get my message out.

146
00:05:44,675 --> 00:05:47,806
They think what I say makes sense, too.

147
00:05:47,843 --> 00:05:49,421
Like what I said earlier

148
00:05:49,458 --> 00:05:50,967
about education. They

149
00:05:51,004 --> 00:05:53,281
realized a child who doesn't speak

150
00:05:53,319 --> 00:05:55,512
may not actually have autism, right?

151
00:05:55,549 --> 00:05:57,785
They learned that through me. But they

152
00:05:57,822 --> 00:06:00,257
have no way to communicate with parents.

153
00:06:00,294 --> 00:06:03,431
Parents can shout all day; they ignore you.

154
00:06:03,940 --> 00:06:06,138
So in this election,

155
00:06:06,175 --> 00:06:09,491
whoever wins, at least through

156
00:06:09,528 --> 00:06:12,264
this platform we tell everyone we're here.

157
00:06:12,755 --> 00:06:15,652
We can speak for the grassroots now.

158
00:06:15,689 --> 00:06:17,195
Going forward, after this election,

159
00:06:17,232 --> 00:06:19,381
we hope our party can gradually grow

160
00:06:19,419 --> 00:06:22,551
and attract more members. Those who share

161
00:06:22,588 --> 00:06:24,976
our values, who want to help ordinary

162
00:06:25,013 --> 00:06:27,749
people and have ideas—join us.

163
00:06:27,786 --> 00:06:30,055
That way, four years from now,

164
00:06:30,092 --> 00:06:33,103
we'd actually have 93 MLA nomination

165
00:06:33,140 --> 00:06:36,055
slots available. Yes, we should fill them.

166
00:06:36,092 --> 00:06:37,616
As a provincial party,

167
00:06:37,995 --> 00:06:39,414
you must run all 93.

168
00:06:39,451 --> 00:06:41,088
Among all the parties this time,

169
00:06:41,125 --> 00:06:42,454
from what I saw in yesterday's reports,

170
00:06:42,491 --> 00:06:43,928
maybe only the BC Conservatives

171
00:06:43,965 --> 00:06:45,162
have filled all 93.

172
00:06:45,199 --> 00:06:47,378
The NDP seems to have one riding unfilled.

173
00:06:47,415 --> 00:06:48,833
I'm not sure I read that right.

174
00:06:48,870 --> 00:06:50,097
But the two of them

175
00:06:50,134 --> 00:06:52,039
have each nominated over 90.

176
00:06:52,076 --> 00:06:55,418
The other small parties have
two or three, or four or five.

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00:06:55,455 --> 00:06:56,876
Actually, in BC,

178
00:06:56,913 --> 00:06:58,819
as for the small parties, I think

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they should stop going it alone.

180
00:07:00,428 --> 00:07:02,977
Could we take all these small parties—

181
00:07:03,236 --> 00:07:06,875
combine all the small parties
into a real third option?

182
00:07:07,419 --> 00:07:08,865
That way,

183
00:07:08,902 --> 00:07:11,761
voters would have a really good choice.

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00:07:11,798 --> 00:07:13,904
These small parties are all out of power,

185
00:07:13,941 --> 00:07:15,940
meaning we're all on the outside.

186
00:07:15,977 --> 00:07:18,469
We carry no baggage of corruption

187
00:07:18,506 --> 00:07:21,005
or scandal, since we've never governed.

188
00:07:21,042 --> 00:07:22,564
These people all want

189
00:07:22,601 --> 00:07:24,419
BC to do better.

190
00:07:24,456 --> 00:07:26,522
They don't like the current NDP,

191
00:07:26,559 --> 00:07:29,030
nor the current BC Conservatives.

192
00:07:29,067 --> 00:07:31,908
So if it's possible to take all

193
00:07:31,945 --> 00:07:34,008
the small parties in four years

194
00:07:34,045 --> 00:07:36,318
and build them into a third party,

195
00:07:36,355 --> 00:07:38,557
then quite possibly

196
00:07:38,594 --> 00:07:41,179
we'd give voters a third option.

197
00:07:41,216 --> 00:07:43,395
Right now, if voters want a third option,

198
00:07:43,432 --> 00:07:45,382
in some ridings there isn't one.

199
00:07:46,105 --> 00:07:48,106
It's just two candidates. In some ridings,

200
00:07:48,144 --> 00:07:49,434
like mine, there is one.

201
00:07:49,471 --> 00:07:50,925
At least they say, "If you run—"

202
00:07:50,962 --> 00:07:53,269
my friends say, "If you run,
I'll vote for you.

203
00:07:53,306 --> 00:07:54,755
If you don't run,

204
00:07:54,792 --> 00:07:55,950
I won't vote at all."

205
00:07:55,987 --> 00:07:58,592
My diehard supporters—what we call
a loyal base of voters.

206
00:07:58,629 --> 00:08:00,711
In Richmond I have about 2,000 to 3,000

207
00:08:00,748 --> 00:08:03,105
loyal voters. I don't need to campaign;

208
00:08:03,142 --> 00:08:05,471
if I run for mayor, they'll vote for me.

209
00:08:05,508 --> 00:08:07,245
Win or lose, they don't care.

210
00:08:07,282 --> 00:08:08,902
It's about political identity and values.

211
00:08:08,939 --> 00:08:10,815
They're behind you. If I don't run,

212
00:08:10,852 --> 00:08:13,056
they'll never vote for anyone else.

213
00:08:13,094 --> 00:08:14,313
That's something very hard to change.

214
00:08:14,350 --> 00:08:15,720
Campaigning won't change it.

215
00:08:15,757 --> 00:08:18,476
Because in Canada, no law binds

216
00:08:18,513 --> 00:08:21,071
candidates—saying, "In the election,

217
00:08:21,108 --> 00:08:23,513
you promised to do this once elected.

218
00:08:23,550 --> 00:08:24,844
If you don't do it once in office,

219
00:08:24,881 --> 00:08:27,536
I'll remove you." There's no such law.

220
00:08:27,573 --> 00:08:30,158
So before elections they promise the moon:

221
00:08:30,195 --> 00:08:31,543
"I promise this, I promise that."

222
00:08:31,580 --> 00:08:32,686
After making all those promises,

223
00:08:32,723 --> 00:08:34,068
once they're in office, it's bye-bye.

224
00:08:34,660 --> 00:08:37,389
Promises broken. Federally, it's the same;

225
00:08:37,426 --> 00:08:39,969
provincially too, and municipally too.

226
00:08:40,006 --> 00:08:41,514
So in this situation,

227
00:08:41,551 --> 00:08:43,232
people just don't believe anyone.

228
00:08:43,269 --> 00:08:44,733
These friends of mine

229
00:08:44,770 --> 00:08:45,988
just don't believe what anyone says.

230
00:08:46,025 --> 00:08:47,428
They say, "I only trust Lao Chen.

231
00:08:47,465 --> 00:08:49,559
If you get in, you'll do what you say."

232
00:08:49,596 --> 00:08:51,743
Because I'm a man of my word.

233
00:08:51,780 --> 00:08:53,979
I talk less and do more.

234
00:08:54,016 --> 00:08:55,188
I'd never make

235
00:08:55,586 --> 00:08:58,251
grand promises and then deliver nothing.

236
00:08:58,288 --> 00:08:59,957
I'm not that kind of person. So those

237
00:08:59,994 --> 00:09:01,509
who know me know my character.

238
00:09:01,546 --> 00:09:03,244
So wherever I go—if I run provincially,

239
00:09:03,281 --> 00:09:05,821
they follow me there.
If I run for school trustee,

240
00:09:05,858 --> 00:09:06,995
they vote for school trustee.

241
00:09:07,032 --> 00:09:08,098
If I say I'm not running for mayor,

242
00:09:08,135 --> 00:09:09,553
they won't vote for mayor.

243
00:09:09,590 --> 00:09:11,058
That's how it is.