David Johnston mentioned it repeatedly in speeches and media interviews, a source of pride and an emblem of his family’s closeness to an important nation.
Three of the former governor general’s five daughters spent at least part of their university years studying in China, he would note, one of them learning to speak Mandarin.
“Johnston said frankly that he has also noticed some changes in his daughters after staying in China,” said a China News Service account of a 2013 speech. “They are more curious, they know how to think critically, and their thinking and vision are more broadened.”
It was all a con.
