歌曲是一种艺术形式。对远渡重洋，不远万里来到加国的新移民来说，家乡的歌曲带给他们温馨，让他们怀旧。但当中加老兵协会的会员们唱起了“我是一个兵”这首军歌时，多伦多一片哗然，嘘声四起。
Songs are a powerful form of art. To uprooted immigrants across the ocean, songs from hometown bring a sense of belonging and nostalgic memories. But the song “I am a Soldier” chanted by the Canada Chinese Veterans Society members in Toronto has sparked heated controversy.
“我是一个兵，来自老百姓。”在异国他乡定居的中国老兵们心目中，这首歌意义深远。它歌颂冲锋陷阵的勇敢，赞扬壮岁从戎的奉献，回忆军旅生涯的激情。许多中老年的加国华裔们也对这首歌记忆犹新，唱起来感触万千，把他们带回情怀激荡，对理想、信念充满向往和追求的年轻岁月。老兵协会的会员们说，这首歌会让那些有着相似军人经历的老兵们在移民加国的征程中相互联系，建立友情。
“I am a soldier, from the common people.” For those veterans now settling down in a foreign country, the song has profound impacts on their lives. It celebrates their courage and friendship and honors their journeys and sacrifices. Many senior or middle-aged Chinese folks can relate to this song on a personal level. It takes them down the memory lane, to their passionate youth and devoted path. Members of the Society said that the song helped them connect with people who share similar military experiences as they build their lives in Canada.
但与很多五十年前中国流行的歌曲一样，“我是一个兵”是一个按中国政府旨意打造的歌曲，其政治色彩浓郁。歌词大肆赞扬中国人民解放军在抗日战争和中国解放战争中的贡献：“我是一个兵，来自老百姓。打败了日本狗强盗，消灭了蒋匪军。我是一个兵，爱国爱人民，革命战争考验了我，立场更坚定。”随着中国政府的宣传机器高速旋转，这首歌的政治信息也广泛传播开来。
But like most popular songs in China five decades ago, “I am a soldier” has a profound political implication, touting the significant contributions of the Chinese military to the Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Communist Revolution. “It defeated the Japanese, vanquished National leader Chiang Kai Shek and being tested by the revolutionary War.” As a part of the Chinese government propaganda operation, the song carries a specific political message.
但几十年后，这首歌中所大肆宣扬的政治信息日益遭到国际社会的质疑。“中国人民解放军赶跑了日本鬼子，赢得了抗日战争的胜利”是一句经不起历史验证的谎言。 历史学家研究显示是国民党在抗日战争中抵御日本帝国的侵略而取得的胜利果实却被共产党和解放军掠取。自从共产党1949年夺取政权以来，中国人民解放军已迅速发展为一个镇压民主力量的军队，它曾开着坦克冲向学生们示威的天安门广场，武装侵占中国西藏，并给香港警察镇压抗议提供后勤支援。
The political message that the song advocated for has been under intense global scrutiny decades later. That the PLA won a victory in the anti-Japanese war proves to be a big lie in history. Research by independent scholars reveals that it was Kuomintang that defended China against Imperial Japanese during WWII, but the PLA claimed the credit for it. Since the Chinese communist party took power in 1949, the army has grown into a powerful military force to quell democratic uprisings. It crushed Tiananmen protests, occupied Tibet, and provided background supports to Hong Kong police.
当这首飘洋过海的军歌传播到加拿大时，立即遭到民主社会的抵制。《国家邮报》的
“加国解放军老兵唱红歌纪念战争经历之殊荣”一文就向读者昭示了华人社区民主力量对这首红歌以及组建的老兵协会的反对之声。同时，它还提出一个耐人寻味的问题，那就是来自中国的新移民，在表达其对其来源国的热爱之情时，这种感情否可在加国无限制地膨胀。
The song has sparked backlash as it spreads across the ocean and into the democratic country of Canada. The National Post article
“Canadian veterans of People’s Liberation Army form association, sing of China’s martial glory” sheds light on the critical voices in the Chinese community that oppose the song and the form of the Veteran Society. It also raises the questions of how far a newcomer from China can go in honoring their motherland.
华裔作家Anna Wang近期出版一本对有关天安门事件的书籍。她表示：“我谴责这种纪念活动，我不知道他们（老兵们）怎么能称自己为加拿大人。我认为他们是在钻加国自由言论的空子。”
“I strongly condemn this kind of activity. I don’t know to what degree that they (the veterans) call themselves a Canadian,” Chinese Canadian writer Anna Wang, the author of the book “Inconvenient Memories” told the Post. “I think they are taking advantage of the freedom of speech in Western countries.”
政治学家Sherman Lai曾为中国人民解放军中校，他对此向《国家邮报》表示:”他们是在占加国民主系统的便宜……共产党和解放军于民主制度和法制系统完全水火不相容。”
“They took advantage of democracy, of the Canadian system,” said political scientist Sherman Lai, a retired PLA lieutenant-colonel. “But communist, the PLA is not compatible with democracy and the rule of law.”
《国家邮报》的报道引起了老兵协会和其支持者们的不满。有些人在微信上发帖，表达其对立之情：“这种批评毫无道理。加拿大是一个多元社会，对不同文化，种族极具包容性。不准许加拿大新移民唱家乡的歌曲是对加拿大价值观赤裸裸的背叛。”
The Post article has prompted an outcry from the society members and its supporters as they took their frustrations on WeChat:” this is an extremely unfair criticism. Canada is a country that embraces diversity, tolerance, and inclusiveness. It is a direct violation of these Canadian values by not allowing newcomers in Canada to sing our favorite songs from home country.”
的确，加国的价值观包容多元文化，族裔和宗教信仰，但却不接受国外的政治势力的影响。在中国专制政府利用其超级强国的实力不断向加拿大施展淫威的今天，通过任何艺术和文化形式向加国开展的政治渗透行为都会遭到摒弃。
But Canada eschews cultural and religious diversity, not political influences brought in by a foreign country. And Canada does not accept Beijing’s penetration through any forms of art and culture, particularly at a time when the authoritarian government increasingly flexes its political muscle at our middle powered country.
Sherman Lai向《国家邮报》记者表示：“在怀旧之前不应该忘记的是这支军队的血腥历史。”
“Before their nostalgia, there is a very bloody history,” said Sherman Lai in the interview with the Post.