Canada-China: Image credit Twitter @AbigailMCND
Ottawa/CMEDIA: Canada’s federal government’s reported move to expel a Chinese diplomat accused of targeting Conservative MP Michael Chong’s family on Monday was retaliated today by China by ordering a Canadian consul out of the country.
Canada had declared Zhao as “persona non grata,” Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly announced Monday ordering him to leave the country days after noting that such a move would likely lead to consequences.
“What we decided to do was based on us considering all factors,” Jolly said Tuesday in English.
“It needed to be thoughtful, it needed to take some time, and we needed to make sure that we did this in a very serious manner.”
Zhao Wei, a consular officer for China in Toronto has been alleged by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to be involved in a plot to intimidate Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong.
The Chinese foreign ministry was reported saying that Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, the top Canadian diplomat in the business hub of Shanghai, has been asked to leave by May 13.
Following the MP’s condemnation of China’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority, Wei reportedly gathered information on Chong’s family in Hong Kong in 2021 and was allegedly working on efforts to target Chong’s family in China.
The Canadian government has been under great pressure to sanction Zhao Wei.
“We will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs,” 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.”
“We will take whatever action is necessary to continue to protect our democracy and show that we’re standing up for our values and our principles,” Canada’s Prime Minister Justin told reporters Tuesday morning as he headed into a meeting with his cabinet on Parliament Hill.
“We understand there is retaliation but we will not be intimidated,” he added. “We will continue to do everything necessary to keep Canadians protected from interference.”
Although reportedly the government briefed Chong last week,Trudeau and his cabinet have maintained that the report in question was never shared at the ministerial level in 2021.
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