Geng Tan
{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Geng Tan
| honorific-suffix =
| native_name = {{nobold|谭耕}}
| native_name_lang = zh-hans
| image = Geng Tan - Member of Parliament for Don Valley North - 2019 (cropped).jpg
| alt = Geng Tan in 2019
| caption = Tan in 2019
| riding = Don Valley North
| parliament = Canadian
| term_start = October 19, 2015
| term_end = September 11, 2019
| predecessor = Riding established
| successor = Han Dong
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1963}}
| birth_place = Hunan, China
| death_date =
| death_place =
| profession = Engineer
| party = Liberal
| residence = Toronto, Ontario
| footnotes =
| spouse = Xinglai Laura Huang
| children =
| education = Hunan University (BEng),
University of Toronto (MASc, PhD)
}}
Geng Tan ({{zh|s=谭耕|t=譚耕|p=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.{{cite web |last=Qiao |first=Shan |date=October 23, 2015 |title=First Mandarin-Speaking MP Elected in Canada - New America Media |url=http://newamericamedia.org/2015/10/first-mandarin-speaking-mp-elected-in-canada.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122181225/http://newamericamedia.org/2015/10/first-mandarin-speaking-mp-elected-in-canada.php |archive-date=November 22, 2017 |url-status=usurped |website=newamericamedia.org}}
Early life and career
Tan was born in 1963 in Hunan, China. 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.
Tan worked at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) as a nuclear scientist.
Tan founded the Council of Newcomer Organizations and is a former vice-chair of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations.{{Cite web|url=https://gtan.liberal.ca/biography/|title=Biography {{!}} Geng Tan {{!}} Your member of parliament for Don Valley North|website=gtan.liberal.ca|language=en|access-date=2019-02-08}} Tan was the recipient of both the Ontario Service Award and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for his service to Canada.
Political career
In the 2015 Canadian federal election, Tan was elected for the riding of Don Valley North.{{cite web |last=Otis |first=Daniel |date=October 19, 2015 |title=Geng Tan wins in Don Valley North |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/federal-ridings-toronto-gta/2015/10/19/geng-tan-wins-in-don-valley-north.html |work=thestar.com}} He is the first elected MP born in Mainland China who speaks Mandarin.{{Cite news |last=Blackwell |first=Tom |date=June 25, 2019 |title=Liberal MP hired girlfriend to work in riding office, then fired her and refused to support their baby, lawyers allege |work=National Post |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/liberal-mp-hired-girlfriend-to-work-in-riding-office-then-fired-her-and-refused-to-support-their-baby-lawyers-allege |access-date=February 25, 2023}}
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.{{Cite news |last=Cooper |first=Sam |date=February 24, 2023 |title=Liberals ignored CSIS warning on 2019 candidate accused in Chinese interference probe: sources |work=Global News |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9504291/liberals-csis-warning-2019-election-candidate-chinese-interference/ |access-date=February 25, 2023}}
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. On June 16, 2019, Tan announced that he would not run for re-election.{{cite web| url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/geng-tan-frank-baylis_ca_5d08145fe4b095327838dc30| title=2 More Liberal MPs Announce They're Not Running For Re-Election| first=Zi-Ann| last=Lum| date=June 17, 2019| website=huffingtonpost.ca}} 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.
Tan's wife Xinglai Laura Huang, a scientist with Environment Canada, ran for the Liberal nomination to replace Tan,{{cite news |last1=Rana|first1=Abbas|title=Liberal MP Tan's wife eyes party nomination in wake of his decision not to seek re-election to 'spend time with family'|url=https://www.hilltimes.com/2019/07/04/liberal-mp-tans-wife-eyes-party-nomination-in-wake-of-his-decision-not-to-seek-re-election-to-spend-time-with-family/207196|access-date=November 25, 2019|publisher=The Hill Times|date=July 4, 2019}} but was barred from running by the party.{{cite news |last=Blackwell |first=Tom |date=September 10, 2019 |title=Liberal Party bars wife from vying to replace MP husband embroiled in dispute with ex-girlfriend |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/liberal-party-bars-wife-from-vying-to-replace-mp-husband-embroiled-in-dispute-with-ex-girlfriend |work=National Post |access-date=October 26, 2019 }} He was ultimately succeeded by Dong, who had the support of Liberal insider Chan. 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.
Electoral record
{{2015 Canadian federal election/Don Valley North}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=18492}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Geng}}
Category:Chemists from Beijing
Category:Politicians from Beijing
Category:Chinese emigrants to Canada
Category:Hunan University alumni
Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Category:Politicians from Toronto
Category:Scientists from Toronto
Category:University of Toronto alumni
Category:21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada