Vancouver Journal: Chinese Prosper in Canada, and Eagerly Read About It:

Leaving the mainstream media out of the political dialogue is not unusual anymore in a city whose Chinese population has exploded from a tiny minority to 30 percent of all residents in just one generation. By making his pitch directly to the 40 percent of his district's voters who are ethnic Chinese, Mr. Chan was giving a nod to Vancouver's parallel worlds.

The Chinese population in Canada has doubled in the last two decades to 1.1 million, or more than 3 percent of all residents. But nowhere is its presence felt more than in this metropolitan area of 1.8 million, of which 342,665, or 19 percent, are ethnic Chinese, according to the 2001 census.

The rise in the ethnic Chinese population has stimulated meteoric growth in the Chinese media and made them an influential player on the Canadian political landscape. Their influence is even beginning to be felt back in Asia, particularly after their aggressive reporting on the SARS epidemic, which reached into Canada last year.

Just as there are shiny new malls here that operate entirely in Cantonese and Mandarin, there is a commerce of ideas, news and entertainment in the local media that is beyond the comprehension of a shrinking majority.

Hmm, the last line sounds a little paranoid.