Canada expelling diplomat accused of targeting MP Michael Chong’s family
Foreign affairs minister tweets statement declaring Zhao Wei ‘persona non grata’
CBC News · Posted: May 08, 2023 3:36 PM EDT
The federal government is expelling a diplomat accused of targeting Conservative MP Michael Chong’s family.
The government has been under intense pressure to sanction Zhao Wei, who reportedly played a role in attempts to gather information on Chong’s family in Hong Kong in 2021 following the MP’s condemnation of Beijing’s conduct in the Xinjiang region as genocide.
“We will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home.”
The Globe and Mail, citing a top secret document from 2021, reported last week that the Chinese government was targeting a Canadian MP. An unnamed security source reportedly told The Globe that Zhao was allegedly working on efforts to target Chong’s family in China.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-expelling-chinese-diplomat-1.6836336
‘Persona non grata:’ Canada expelling Chinese diplomat after threats to Conservative MP
Dylan Robertson
The Canadian Press
Staff
Updated May 8, 2023 4:26 p.m. EDT
Published May 8, 2023 3:26 p.m. EDT
OTTAWA – The Liberal government is expelling Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei, whom Canada’s spy agency alleged was involved in a plot to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly wrote in a statement that Canada has declared the Toronto-based diplomat as “persona non grata.”
“We will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs,” she wrote.
“Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home.”
Joly’s statement came just as MPs were voting in favour of a Conservation motion calling for certain diplomats to be expelled and for the government to call a public inquiry into foreign interference.
Calls for Zhao to be expelled began last week after a report in the Globe and Mail that CSIS had information in 2021 that the Chinese government was looking at ways to intimidate Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong. the federal government has confirmed that report.
The federal government took its time to decide whether to proceed with both Joly and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warning about backlash.
“This is a serious and significant question,” Trudeau said, speaking with reporters in London where he was attending the coronation of King Charles.
“This is a decision not to be taken lightly and the foreign minister is leaning into this very, very carefully.”
Last week, Joly said that Beijing could threaten the safety of Canadians and the prosperity of the country in retaliation for any expulsion, but Joly now says that is worth that risk.
“This decision has been taken after careful consideration of all factors at play,” she wrote. “We remain firm in our resolve that defending our democracy is of the utmost importance.”
The threats against Chong came after he successfully sponsored a motion in the House of Commons labelling Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China a genocide.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa has been asked to comment on Zhao’s expulsion.
China has previously insisted it does not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, but says it will respond to what it calls provocations.
After the first report on the threats last week, Trudeau said CSIS did not tell anyone outside the spy agency about them, and that neither he nor the public safety minister were briefed.
Chong later said he was told the national security adviser was briefed.
The Liberals have now issued a directive that any such information involving members of Parliament be elevated to the highest levels, even if it seems minor.
The revelation about Chong is the latest in a string of foreign interference attempts allegedly made by the Chinese government in Canada in recent years, including efforts to influence the results of the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
Trudeau has appointed former governor general David Johnston as a special rapporteur to dig into the issue, including whether a public inquiry is needed.
The Conservative motion, which passed easily Monday with the support of every opposition party, does call on the government to move to an inquiry but it is not binding on the government to act.
The motion also asks Ottawa to create a foreign-agent registry, close down so-called police stations run by Beijing, and “expel all of the People’s Republic of China diplomats responsible for and involved in these affronts to Canadian democracy.”
The government is in the process of consulting about creating such a registry but hasn’t put a timeline on when it would proceed with creating one.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2023.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/persona-non-grata-canada-expelling-chinese-diplomat-after-threats-to-conservative-mp-1.6389430
驻加拿大使馆发言人就加方要求中方一名领事官员限期离境发表谈话
2023-05-08 16:15
5月8日，加拿大政府基于个别政客和媒体所谓“中国干涉加内政”的谎言，公然宣布中国驻多伦多总领馆一名领事官员为“不受欢迎的人”。这严重违反国际法和国际关系基本准则，严重违反中加双边相关协定，蓄意破坏中加关系。中方强烈谴责并坚决反对，已向加方提出严正抗议。中方将坚决采取反制措施，由此产生的一切后果由加方承担。
中国从不干涉别国内政，所谓 “中国干涉加内政” 毫无根据，是对中方赤裸裸的污蔑抹黑和基于意识形态偏见的政治操弄。加方无理挑衅，严重损害中国外交领事人员合法权益。
必须指出，中方驻加外交领事人员一贯严格按照有关国际公约和中加双边协定依法履职。加政府不仅不保护中方外交领事人员的合法权益，反而刻意迎合反华势力炒作，采取针对中方领事官员的极端行为，中方对此绝不接受！我们奉劝加方立即悬崖勒马，不要在错误的道路上越走越远。如果加方肆意妄为，中方势将作出坚决有力回击。
http://ca.china-embassy.gov.cn/xw/202305/t20230509_11073548.htm
