TIMESINDONESIA, JAKARTA – China retaliated by expelling the Canadian consul in Shanghai after Canada ‘fired’ Chinese diplomats it said tried to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker.
Last Monday (05/08/2023), Canada declared Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei “persona non grata” and ordered him to leave the country.
China responded on Tuesday (05/09/2023) by ordering the expulsion of Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, a Canadian diplomat at the Shanghai consulate.
“China reserves the right to react further,” Beijing said in a statement.
The two diplomats had five days to leave the country.
The event marked a significant deterioration in Canada-China relations following reports of alleged Chinese political interference in Canada.
Canada has accused China of targeting opposition lawmaker Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong after Chong accused China of human rights abuses.
Last Thursday, Canada summoned the Chinese ambassador to reiterate that Canada would not tolerate interference in its internal affairs.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been strained since the detention of Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou, who was detained in Canada for fraud in the United States in 2018, and Beijing’s subsequent arrest of two Canadians for espionage. All three were later released in 2021.
At the time, China insisted the two cases were unrelated, but critics accused China of using Canada as a political bargaining chip.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly declared Zhao “persona non grata” on Monday.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada “will not be intimidated” by China’s response.
“We will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect Canadians from foreign interference,” he said.
Canada’s decision follows a Canadian intelligence report, published in the Globe and Mail newspapers, which accused Zhao of being involved in gathering information on Michael Chong, 51, because of his harsh criticism of his treatment. by China to its minority Uyghur population.
He said the Canadian spy agency believed China was seeking details of Michael Chong’s relatives in Hong Kong in a bid to prevent “an anti-China stance”.
The politician had previously tabled a motion in parliament in 2021 declaring China’s treatment of Uyghurs to be genocide, although China denied the allegations and sanctioned Chong soon after.
Melanie Joly said Monday that Canada would not tolerate any form of foreign interference in its internal affairs and that the decision to expel diplomats was made after careful consideration of all factors involved.
Canada’s spy agency has since been tasked with quickly relaying information about threats to lawmakers and their families.
“China opposes it and has submitted serious demarches and strong protests to Canada,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
China last week accused Canada of “slander and defamation” over claims by Beijing that it targeted Michael Chong and his family.
Michael Chong criticized the Canadian government for its mismanagement of this file. On Monday, he said it shouldn’t take the government two years to make that decision.
The allegations come amid other intelligence reports, leaked to Canadian media, accusing China of seeking to interfere in Canadian elections.
In March, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an independent special rapporteur to investigate allegations of tampering.
China has finally retaliated against the expulsion of the Canadian consul from Shanghai after his diplomat was expelled from Canada for allegedly interfering in Canadian internal affairs.
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