The background is a report published by the newspaper, according to which China tried to prevent votes against the country in the parliament.
The Canadian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it will expel a Chinese diplomat who has threatened a Canadian member of parliament and his family. The member of parliament has criticized China’s policy.
The Chinese diplomat who is now being expelled has worked at the Chinese consulate in Toronto.
In accordance with diplomatic protocol, Canada declared the Chinese diplomat to be expelled as persona non grata.
– Let me make this clear: We do not accept any kind of outside influence on Canada’s internal affairs. Diplomats in Canada have been warned that such behavior will result in deportation, Canada’s foreign minister Melanie Joly said in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The background to the expulsion is a report published by the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail last week, which claimed that the Canadian administration had turned a blind eye to China’s interference in Canadian affairs.
According to the newspaper, the Chinese intelligence service was planning to target the member of parliament to Michael Chong and sanctions on his relatives living in Hong Kong. Their background was the parliamentary vote in February 2021, in which China’s actions in Xinjiang province were condemned as genocide.
According to a document from the Canadian intelligence service cited by the newspaper, the sanctions against Chong and his relatives were almost certainly intended to set an example and prevent other representatives from presenting anti-Chinese viewpoints.
China denies the allegations
The Chinese ambassador was at the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an interview last week because of the case. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Canada of baseless slander and defamation. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied doing anything wrong and claimed that the whole incident was concocted by the Canadian media and politicians.
Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau has been called to take a hard line on China after it was revealed that China has tried to influence Canadian elections in 2019 and 2021.
China has denied these claims as well. They are being investigated in Canadian Parliament committee hearings and other investigations.