Geng Tan

Geng Tan (simplified Chinese: 谭耕; traditional Chinese: 譚耕; pinyin: Tán Gēng; born 1963) is a Canadian engineer and former politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Don Valley North from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Liberal Party, Tan is the first Mandarin-speaker to be elected to the House of Commons.[1]

Geng Tan
谭耕
Geng Tan in 2019
Tan in 2019
Member of Parliament
for Don Valley North
In office
October 19, 2015 – September 11, 2019
Preceded byRiding established
Succeeded byHan Dong
Personal details
Born1963 (age 59–60)
Hunan, China
Political partyLiberal
SpouseXinglai Laura Huang
Residence(s)Toronto, Ontario
EducationHunan University (BEng),
University of Toronto (MASc, PhD)
ProfessionEngineer

Early life and career

Tan was born in 1963 in Hunan, China.[1] He earned a Bachelor of Engineering from Hunan University in China, majoring in organic chemical engineering. Tan went on to obtain his certification as a senior engineer and held various managerial positions. He came to Canada on a student visa in 1998, attending the University of Toronto and completed a Master of Applied Science and doctorate in chemical engineering and applied chemistry.[1][2]

Tan worked at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) as a nuclear scientist.[2]

Tan founded the Council of Newcomer Organizations and is a former vice-chair of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations.[2] Tan was the recipient of both the Ontario Service Award and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for his service to Canada.[2]

Political career

In the 2015 Canadian federal election, Tan was elected for the riding of Don Valley North.[3] He is the first elected MP born in Mainland China who speaks Mandarin.[4]

According to a Canadian Security Intelligence Service report described by Global News intelligence sources, Tan was prepared to accept a 2018 invitation to travel to Taiwan, but was persuaded not to do so by Liberal MPPs Michael Chan and Han Dong.[5]

In December 2018, Tan announced that he would be seeking re-election in the 2019 Canadian federal election. In May 2019 reports surfaced on WeChat and Chinese media that Tan was having an affair. Tan denied the accusations.[5] On June 16, 2019, Tan announced that he would not run for re-election.[6] On June 25, 2019, the National Post broke the news in English-language media and reported that a former constituency staffer had accused him of refusing to pay child support for a child fathered via in vitro fertilization while they were in a relationship. Tan denied the accusations, saying that he had only consented to donating sperm to her, and said he would fight the case in court.[4][5]

Tan's wife Xinglai Laura Huang, a scientist with Environment Canada, ran for the Liberal nomination to replace Tan,[7] but was barred from running by the party.[8] He was ultimately succeeded by Dong, who had the support of Liberal insider Chan.[5] In February 2023, Global News reported that its intelligence sources said that Tan's ouster as an MP was possibly arranged by Chan in favour of Dong, because Beijing did not like what Tan was doing. Chan, Dong, and the Chinese embassy denied the accusations.[5]

Electoral record
2015 Canadian federal election: Don Valley North
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalGeng Tan23,49451.42+14.13$89,171.01
ConservativeJoe Daniel17,27937.82-2.47$70,723.13
New DemocraticAkil Sadikali3,8968.53-12.20$16,603.42
GreenCaroline Brown1,0182.23+0.91–
Total valid votes/expense limit 45,687100.00 $205,015.85
Total rejected ballots 2590.56–
Turnout 45,94663.12–
Eligible voters 72,787
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +8.30
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]

References
  1. Qiao, Shan (23 October 2015). "First Mandarin-Speaking MP Elected in Canada - New America Media". newamericamedia.org. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017.
  2. "Biography | Geng Tan | Your member of parliament for Don Valley North". gtan.liberal.ca. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  3. Otis, Daniel (19 October 2015). "Geng Tan wins in Don Valley North". thestar.com.
  4. Blackwell, Tom (25 June 2019). "Liberal MP hired girlfriend to work in riding office, then fired her and refused to support their baby, lawyers allege". National Post. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  5. Cooper, Sam (24 February 2023). "Liberals ignored CSIS warning on 2019 candidate accused in Chinese interference probe: sources". Global News. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  6. Lum, Zi-Ann (17 June 2019). "2 More Liberal MPs Announce They're Not Running For Re-Election". huffingtonpost.ca.
  7. Rana, Abbas (4 July 2019). "Liberal MP Tan's wife eyes party nomination in wake of his decision not to seek re-election to 'spend time with family'". The Hill Times. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  8. Blackwell, Tom (10 September 2019). "Liberal Party bars wife from vying to replace MP husband embroiled in dispute with ex-girlfriend". National Post. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  9. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Don Valley North, 30 September 2015
  10. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived August 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
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