Ottawa/CMEDIA: Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei, alleged by Canada’s spy agency to be involved in a plot to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong is being expelled by the Liberal government.
Canada has declared the Toronto-based diplomat as “persona non grata,”Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly wrote in a statement.
“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 made the above statement just as MPs were voting in favour of a Conservation motion calling for the expulsion of certain diplomats and the government to call a public inquiry into foreign interference.
Calls for Zhao to be expelled began last week after the federal government has confirmed that 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.
“This is a serious and significant question,” Trudeau was reported saying while 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.”
“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 latest in a string of foreign interference attempts allegedly made by the Chinese government in Canada in recent years is revelation about Chong including efforts to influence the results of the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.
The former governor general David Johnston has been appointed by Trudeau as a special rapporteur to probe into the issue, including whether a public inquiry is needed.
#Canada; #ChineseDiplomat; #Expulsion; #ZhaoWei; #MelanieJoly; #PersonaNonGrata
