Last Updated: May 09, 2023, 02:38 IST
Printed Chinese and Canada flags are seen on this illustration, July 21, 2022. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
The expulsion adopted an outcry led by parliamentarian Michael Chong over a damning report by the Globe and Mail final week
Canada introduced Monday the expulsion of a Chinese diplomat accused of getting sought to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker and his household over the MP’s criticisms of Beijing.
“Canada has determined to declare persona non grata Mr. Zhao Wei,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement.
“I have been clear: we will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs. Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behavior, they will be sent home,” she added.
The expulsion adopted an outcry led by parliamentarian Michael Chong over a damning report by the Globe and Mail final week claiming Ottawa had turned a blind eye to Beijing’s interference in Canadian affairs.
The newspaper mentioned China’s intelligence company had deliberate to focus on Chong and his family members in Hong Kong with sanctions for voting in February 2021 for a movement condemning Beijing’s conduct within the Xinjiang area as genocide.
This was “virtually actually meant to make an instance of this MP and deter others from taking anti-PRC positions,” the report cited a Canadian Security Intelligence Service document as saying, using an acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
Zhao Wei, a diplomatic official at China’s consulate in Toronto, was reported to be involved in the intrigue.
After China’s ambassador was summoned last week over the allegations, Beijing on Friday slammed what it called “groundless slander and defamation” by Canada.
The Chinese overseas ministry denied any wrongdoing, insisting the scandal had been “puffed up by some Canadian politicians and media.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has faced growing pressure to take a hard line with Beijing following revelations that it sought to sway Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections — which China has also rejected.
The accusations have become the focus of parliamentary committee hearings and other investigations.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed)
