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Liberal MP Han Dong says he hasn\u2019t verified Chinese interference allegations with PMO<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Sean Boynton & Mackenzie Gray Global News
\nPosted March 21, 2023 6:30 pm
\n Updated March 21, 2023 7:37 pm<\/p>\n

WATCH: Liberal MP Han Dong says he won’t ask PMO to verify allegations of Chinese election interference<\/p>\n

Liberal MP Han Dong said Tuesday he has reached out to Canada\u2019s security intelligence agency for more information on allegations he was part of a Chinese foreign interference network during the 2019 federal election.<\/p>\n

But he also said he has not made a similar request to the prime minister\u2019s office \u2014 despite Global News reporting that senior aides to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were briefed by national security officials about the allegations against Dong three weeks before voters headed to the polls.<\/p>\n

Asked why he has not reached out to senior PMO staff to verify the allegations, including Trudeau\u2019s national security advisor Jody Thomas, Dong said he trusts his campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I know the truth,\u201d he responded when pressed by reporters outside the House of Commons Tuesday, which marked the first time Dong has taken questions on the matter. \u201cI know the truth because I know my campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressed again, he pointed to an independent panel\u2019s findings that the results of the 2019 and 2021 elections were not influenced or compromised by attempted foreign interference.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Global News reported last month that three weeks before the 2019 federal election, national security officials allegedly gave an urgent, classified briefing to senior aides to Trudeau, warning them that one of their candidates was part of a Chinese foreign interference network.<\/p>\n

According to sources, the candidate in question was Dong, then a former Ontario MPP whom Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had started tracking in June of that year.<\/p>\n

National security officials also allege that Dong, now a sitting MP re-elected in 2021, is one of at least 11 Toronto-area riding candidates allegedly supported by Beijing in the 2019 contest. Sources say the service also believes Dong is a witting affiliate in China\u2019s election interference networks.<\/p>\n

In late September, about 48 hours before the federal election nomination deadline, CSIS urged Trudeau\u2019s team to rescind Dong\u2019s candidacy, a national security official said.<\/p>\n

Sources alleged that Dong frequently called Chinese officials in Ontario and \u201cwas considered a close friend of the Toronto Consulate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dong denied the allegations to Global News and also in a public statement three days after the story was published. He doubled down on those denials Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never been offered, nor would I accept, any help from a foreign nation. I\u2019m a Canadian,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dong said he was \u201cnot aware\u201d of any help being given to anyone else working on his campaign, or the campaign itself. He said he has spoken with some of his campaign staff who have also denied any knowledge of any interference efforts.<\/p>\n

Pressed, he said he would categorically deny that his campaign received any help from the Chinese consulate in Toronto \u201cto my knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Not my job’ to vet voters<\/p>\n

CSIS was also allegedly concerned about the Liberal Party\u2019s nomination process, according to Global News\u2019 sources. Among the irregularities allegedly observed in the September 2019 contest, sources say, was that Chinese international students with fake addresses were allegedly bussed into the riding and coerced to vote in Dong\u2019s favour or else risked losing their student visas.<\/p>\n

According to sources, an October 2022 CSIS report included details on an investigation into the nomination process in Dong\u2019s Don Valley North riding.<\/p>\n

\u201cCSIS reporting indicates that, during a political party nomination vote prior to the 2019 General Election in Canada, two busloads of Chinese Canadian seniors were brought in to support a specific candidate,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

It adds that the seniors had the name of the candidate they were told to vote for concealed under their sleeves.<\/p>\n

Asked about those specific allegations, Dong said transportation for seniors was a regular service provided by his campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy campaign offered transportation to seniors, not just Chinese seniors,\u201d he said, adding that those services were properly expensed and reported to Elections Canada.<\/p>\n

He added that \u201ca lot of young people\u201d came to support him and his candidacy from all diasporas in the riding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not my job to check if they\u2019re international students, or not international students,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

TWEET THIS
\nCLICK TO SHARE QUOTE ON TWITTER: “IT’S NOT MY JOB TO CHECK IF THEY’RE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS, OR NOT INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS,” HE SAID.<\/p>\n

Dong said he has sent a letter to CSIS director David Vigneault asking for details on the allegations and \u201cto confirm if it was a leak from CSIS\u201d that informed Global News\u2019 reporting. He said he has received acknowledgement the letter was received, but nothing more in response.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never received a phone call from CSIS,\u201d he said. \u201cI have never (been) made aware if there is an investigation by CSIS, RCMP or Elections Canada pertaining to my nomination or my election.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added he has not reached out to the PMO because he \u201ccannot defend myself against an unverified, anonymous source.\u201d<\/p>\n

Global News has not confirmed the CSIS allegations in its original story.<\/p>\n

Global\u2019s ongoing investigation over the past four months has revealed exclusive details about concerns over China\u2019s attempts to interfere and influence Canadian elections, including allegations that a network being run out of China\u2019s consulate in Toronto allegedly aimed to support at least 11 Toronto-area riding candidates from the Liberals and Conservatives in the 2019 contest.<\/p>\n

Those reports, along with reports from the Globe and Mail alleging attempted interference in the 2021 election, have put immense pressure on Trudeau and the Liberal government to detail what they knew about those activities and when, as well as how they are working to protect future elections from interference.<\/p>\n

Government officials have maintained that the interference did not compromise the overall integrity of those elections. An independent report on the panel\u2019s 2021 findings this month reiterated that conclusion.<\/p>\n

Multiple investigations are underway by MPs and national security agencies into the issue. Former governor general David Johnston has also been appointed as a special rapporteur to oversee that work, as well as to examine whether a public inquiry is needed.<\/p>\n

Dong said he supports the current measures being taken to investigate foreign interference, but would not say if he supports the idea of a public inquiry.<\/p>\n

\u2014 with files from Global\u2019s Sam Cooper and Alex Boutilier<\/p>\n

Liberal MP Han Dong says he hasn’t verified Chinese interference allegations with PMO<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n